Drug use and HCV

[steve40]

Hello everyone

I've been HCV positive for at least six years.  I probably contracted this disease as a result of heavy drug use between 1995-97.  At that time I was living in San Francisco and addicted to methamphetamines which I smoked, snorted and occasionally did IV.  I checked in to a rehab program in SF but was unable to quit so I moved back to the east coast close to my family.  Meth was (to my knowledge) unavailable here and I have not used it since '97.  However I still craved drugs and soon hooked up with a circle of people that snorted cocaine.  I used cocaine 3 or 4 times a year for the past 4 years, which I thought was pretty reasonable considering my past.  What a mistake!  

I was reading an article this morning regarding a recent study done on H.I.V. positive cocaine users which concluded that their cocaine use had a direct impact on the activity of their virus, increasing viral loads and related illnesses. I'm not H.I.V. positive but believe that my cocaine use may have had the same effect on my Hep virus.  Last year I began feeling increasingly fatigued as my viral load steadily increased, and ALT levels rose into the 600's.  

I guess I thought that I was indestructable. The realization that I was not has been very depressing at times.However some good has come out of this.  I have not used cocaine for 6 months, have been recieving counseling (a great help) and start combo therapy today.

I wanted to share my story in case there is anybody like me out there who might not be convinced about the dangers of drug use...even casual use can be dangerous