12 step recovery and Hepatitis C

[HelloKelle]

Okay guys, here's another question I need your advice on. I belong to a 12 step fellowship. I am sure MANY of us have HCV, no one talks about it. There is like ONE support group here in St. Louis that meets like once a month. For us addicts, meetings really bring us together and the support to stay off the sauce is so essential to success.  I would like to start a HCV support group for those of us who have it. A separate group that is not a part of our regular meetings.

Has anyone done this? How did you do it? Where did you start? How did you approach it?

The best way to get out of SELF is to help others - maybe I'm on to something.

Any input from recovering addicts?

Thanks,
Kelle

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

For treatment that involved blood trans fusions before screening, 20% of individuals that contracted HCV got it that way. Now we screen blood donations. Due to the volume of substance in transfusion, virtually no individual that contracted HCV through transfusion cleared the disease themselves. Many that are exposed and have heathy immune systems can self clear the HCV virus. Truthfully a large portion of patients contracted HCV through a needle - but honostly there are a few other ways to get it.

[addictedme]

Thnx for the info,,,here we say that people that matter dont judge and people that judge dont matter,,,either way your right,,between me and the God of my understanding I"m judged enough thk you,,lol

[mtgoat911]

here is the link to the book
http://www.na.org/pdf/litfiles/us_english/Booklet/In%20Times%20of%20Illness.pdf
and addicted me you are right, there are other ways to contract hep c, alot of the older members at hepcfriends got it via blood transfusion, it is more common these days to get hep from needles than blood transfusion
some mothers can pass the virus to their children, this is also not common, i myself have 2 health children, carried both full term with hep
you can also get it from sex, or using infected razors
kelle, i am proud of you for reaching out and asking for help, the disease of addiction tries to keep us controlled by using guilt, fear and shame, there is no need to feel guilty about your hep
i do not announce my illness at my neighborhood board meetings, or at pta meetings, but if someone finds out, i just say yes, its something i live with,
remember those who mind dont matter and those who matter dont mind...dr. suess!!!
people who matter will love you for who you are, they will laugh at your defects, embrase your illness and help you fight it, one day at a time

[HelloKelle]

Yes, we know that you can contract HCV through other means, but most of in NA have contracted it through sharing needles. DUMB DUMB DUMB.  I've NEVER seen NA approved lit on HCV, so I'm gonna start digging for it. I'll let you know.

Kelle

[addictedme]

Could you plz guide me to the na approved hep lit. Also iv drug use isnt the only way to contract hep,,thnx for the info

[mtgoat911]

hey kelle, i am in a bit of a rush, i was unable to post my first 2 reply so i am going to make it short and to the point
please do not take my response as abrasive, just rushed
hep c is a direct result of iv drug use, na found it so important that there is na approved liturature dealing with this illness
if you do not feel comfortable talking about this at your home group please find another one fast
i need to take care of myself physically inorder to have a decent quality of life in recovery, i can not do it alone, i must ask for help and share my experience with others, everytime i go through something dealing with hep i talk about it in meeting, i shared my story at a convention the topic was parenting in recovery and i still talked about it, hep affects daily living
there are very few outside issues in na, maybe na has figured out that addicts need a safe place to talk about their real self, problems and all
you can goto liverdiseasefoundation.org to find a hep c group in your area,
and you can buy doctor mellisa palmers guide to liver disease
you can also join hepcfriends for online support
i do all i can for my physical health, but nothing i do compares to the support i get in na
i hope you are doing well, i wish i had more time
xoxo
stacey

[122 Tactical Fighter Group]

I also have hep c - no huge surprise, eh? Med help also has Hep, Liver, and Gastro forums that arent as nice as this one ... but they are still very good. I agree that helping others is a large key to things. Thats why a group hangs around this forum a lot. I have never been to any HCV type of support groups - dont know if I have ever heard of one either. Good luck though, sounds like a solid idea....