Just got a call that I have Hep C genome 3

[sunflowersmakemesmile]

I got a call that I have Hep C - genome 3.  I can not for the life of me figure out how I got this.  I dont do drugs, I dont sleep around. I dont sleep with people who sleep around or do drugs.  I have a tattoo but got it at a licensed place.  I had my gallbladder out 5 years ago and have had complications from that a coule of times and the NP seemed to believe that my symptoms were caused from a blocked bile duct.  The nurse claimed today that while it took them 3 MONTHS to get my lab work back that in fact it appeared I had Hep C.  My questions are -- 1) should I be concerned that it took 3 MONTHS for the lab results to come back? 2) Should I insist on them taking more blood work to reverify I actually have Hep C? 3) Should I go ahead and start treatment for it in the off chance it comes back that in fact I do have it? 4) If I have it, can they tell me how long I've had it? 5) Do I have need to be concerned for my son - who is 2 1/2, should I have him tested? 6) Is this a "forever" sort of thing? 7) Does anyone else not know how they got it?

I'm really scared and worried about what this will mean for my life...for my relationships....for my son - most of all him.

[sunflowersmakemesmile]

I hate that there are some factors in this that still make it an unknown.  I'm very angry with the doctors involved in this for not being proactive.  IF issues after having your gallbladder removed can mimic HepC results (this is what my GI doc told me at the end of may) then more people should be aware. IF test results go 3 months before being returned - shouldnt the doctors office have followed up? I was told that if I didnt hear anything from them to assume it was just a bile stone in my liver that had caused the high counts.....which I did.  And NOW they tell me they get lab results back with HepC.  If someone had followed up I could have been getting treatments for HepC (assuming the follow up work I'm going to ask for tomorrow had come back as positive too) for the last 12 weeks! If I DO have HepC I've now had it for an additional 12 weeks that its been unchecked! So not only will I have the joy of dealing with this disease if I do indeed have it, I will know I could have been treating it for 12 weeks already.  What if that 12 weeks could mean the difference between being successful and not??? maybe no one in the medical field cares about the PEOPLE they are treating anymore....goodness knows it feels that way.  Sorry -- I'm just a bit angry at this all.  

[cm1958]

HELLO,I AM PRETTY SURE I GOT MY HCV BACK IN THE MIDDLE OF 1985 WHILE IN ENGLAND IN THE USAIRFORCE.I GOT 2 TATTOOS DONE AND FOUND OUT I HAD HCV BACK IN 1996 WHEN THEY STARTED TESTING FOR IT.AS FAR AS YOUR LAB WORK IT SHOULD ONLY TAKE A COUPLE OF WEEKS TO GET RESULTS,IF I WERE YOU I WOULD GET RETESTED MAYBE SOMEWHERE ELSE AND FIND OUT IF YOU REALLY HAVE IT.IF YOU DO THIS TYPE OF HCV IS USUALLY THE EASIEST TO TREAT.I AM ONE OF THE UNFORTUNATE 25% THAT HAVE RELAPSED 2 TIMES.THEY REALLY ONLY GUESS HOW LONG YOU HAVE HAD IT AND IT WAS MOST LIKELY FROM THE TATTOO.I HAVE HAD 2 CHILDREN SINCE I HAD THIS STUFF AND THE SAME WIFE NONE HAVE THE VIRUS.ALSO AS YOU CAN READ ON THE FORUMS THERE ARE MANY NEW DRUGS COMING OUT IN THE NEXT COUPLE OF YEARS.THE CURRENT TREATMENTS REALLY SUCK.IF YOU FIND OUT YOU REALLY HAVE IT AFTER YOUR NEXT BLOOD WORK YOUR DR, MIGHT WANT TO DO A LIVER BIOPSY OR ANOTHER NEWER BLOOD TEST TO CHECK YOUR LIVER CONDITION,I FOUND A LIVER INSTITUTE IN DALLAS TEXAS WHERE THE DOCTORS ARE REALLY SHARP WITH TREATING HCV. GOOD LUCK TO YOU, LET ME KNOW WHAT HAPPENS. I AM WAITING NOW FOR NEW DRUGS  TO TREAT HCV 3A     CHRIS

[nygirl7]

Find out first if you just have the antibodies or if you have the actual virus.  Unfortunately it's not an STD so the chances of getting it sexually are very low however the gall bladder operation if they used something not sterile could be possible but more than likely it would be the tattoo. Licensed or not it is very possible as licensed doens't mean that they really make sure to properly sterilize 100% of the time.

There are lots of people who don't know how they got the virus but they sure have it. The good news is there is a cure for most people in your geno.

The good news is you found out you have it so you can either do something about getting rid of it or monitor it closely.  Either way it should help you not to develop too much liver damage in the future hopefully.

Good luck.