NY State Board of Health Letter

OK I know I am being stupid...I received a letter yesterday from the Board of Health saying I have a communiicable disease and telling me what I have (duh, nice a year later).

Well I felt REALLY sort of sad to read that my name was on some government list somewhere stating that I was diseased.

I know that is very irrational, I mean I knew it was reported - but somehow reading it made me feel very, very SMALL.

You know, the prejudice against our disease can so easily have that affect.

I was wondering if anybody else has ever received any notification by the state that you can no longer donate tissue or blood or body parts etc. because you are communicable?

It also containned a little tiny pamphlet on "Living with HepC" and told me I needed to get it all checked out LOL.

I guess the state is slow since this is week 46 out of 72 for me.

[MrsOckert]

As Dale Ray says so eloquently.....

We're the government.  We're here to help you.

[stangshelly]

never recieved a letter and worked in health career 20 yrs with it..weird..oh well not like you need another confirmation that you are communicble..that means extremely likeable ;) just add it to the the wonderful agencies such as the cdc pile of paperwork lol.

[FlGuy]

It could be an NY State thing. They could require medicos to report on a bunch of classes of diseases and stuff. My brother works for a NY county not far from you and always has stories about onerous things required by the state. Government agencies require a lot that normal-thinking people would consider invasive. I'm sure that when you achieve svr that won't be in a file anywhere, though.

[jmjm530]

NY STATE: you can no longer donate tissue or blood or body parts etc. because you are communicable
-----------------------------------

Yeah, I got one of those letters a few years ago, but decided to write back to the lady that sent it.  In short, basically said -- wish you had warned me earlier when I donated sperm to you back in college. You probably don't remember me, but I never forget names.
Nah. Never got the letter or sent a letter back but if I do get one...LOL.

[grace4us]

We received the same letter from Ocean County's department of health back in the first week of March stating that my husband was infected with Hepatitis C.  "what you need to know about Hep C" was included in our packet.  Here' the kicker- The following Monday we go to the doctors to address this and start whatever we needed to.  The doctor looks at the chart  and says "what about the HIV"?  What huh....OMG.  Yeah the health dept. sends a letter about the hep but not the Hiv?  Can someone explain that to me.

[Dale_Ray]

I received on of those letter from Lifeblood in the early 90's. I had no idea what it meant. I had to call them so they could explain to me what it was. I'm not real big on government list of citizens and find it to be another wack at our freedoms. What difference does it make advising you of something you already know and are dealing with. It's like the Engishman said, You chaps didn't like taxation without representation and broke away from the Brits. How do you like taxation with representation?

Don't let this letter ruin your weekend Debbie. It's like anything from our government. There is an idiot behind it and a 90% chance they are a lawyer which is the lowest form of humanity on this spinning ball. There are exception but not many. Climbing down off the box now. Love ya, Dale

[beamishboy]

what do you call a hundred lawyers at the bottom of the sea? Good start....w apologys to mikesimon.....can't wait to get my lettr;it's been 3 yrs since hep status was confirmed..i think i will frame it!

[bobbyullc]

no letter but the hospital did take my wifes name off the wall as a one gallon blood donar. i did get a letter in 1969 saying i was a certerfied herion addict in nys. i wish i had framed it.
keep smilen,
bobby

[Gonna beat it]

I know you must be very grateful that they gave you that all important information.... I'm sure you were sitting down, on the the couch trying to decide what part to donate first, when out of the fog came this letter.... no more trying to decide, I know you must feel a great sense of relief. Sound like the burocratic wheels in NY must be related to the morons in CA.

[Gonna beat it]

Ok, I had to add a little more, it p****s me off that people like us my be on some friggen list, yet our government can't get it S**T together to keep our country safe, the more I think about the angrier I'm getting...Could be the Riba LOL, Sweetie, its not you that small its them, you are stong and brave and when you are cured I would send that letter back and tell them to stick it. Oh well, you know:)

[NYgirl]

You know I totally GET IT that they think they have to keep an all important list of us dirtbags out threatening the ways of good old America but it feels like I'm Barbara Streisand vs. Robert Redford in The Way We Were and us commie bas*ards are a real threat to the good people.

I know in my mind that his is just beauracraZy but...it really feels like an invasion of privacy to know I'm on that list and even if I SVR for ten years = I doubt they will EVER take me off.

It feels like having my fingerprints on file in DC at the FBI or something.

What does it matter to be on there...if I wanted to have sex or shoot drugs or WHATEVER...I'm not going to tell the person that I'm with to call NYState and check if I'm on said list anyway?

How does it HELP in any way?

BLAHHH I haven't had a ribarage in so long (remember how bad I really WAS in the beginning holy COW) and I just don't think this rage is from the Riba...but if Feels like it!

[Dale_Ray]

How can you tell the difference between a skunk and lawyer that have been run over on the highway........there will be skid marks near the skunk. (exception is Mike and SFBaygirl husband):)

[GrandOak]

Here's what you do, take a copy of that letter to your nearest bank, hand it to the teller, tell them that if they do not do as you wish you'll start bleeding all over the place turning the entire building into a hazmat wasteland, and demand that they fill your pillow case with 20's and 10's.

When the police arrive, tell them to check their records to confirm your diseased status and to provide you with a means to leave the country before you start bleeding into the cities water supply, thus turning the entire city of NY into a no man's land.

Of course, they'll probably provide you with an exit to Jersy and promtely arrest you there because it already is a wasteland and some HCV contamination added to the mix would not matter much.  (Sorry if we have any folks from Jersy, perhaps I should qualify that as the Hoboken/Newark area since everyone knows what the Meadowlands has done to that area)

[Morgaina]

Even here in Regina, Saskatchewan, I got a letter. I'm just comforted with the fact that they'll lose it, misfile it, misspell it or forget why they have it!

[cuteus]

I don't think it is a NY thing, I never got one from DOH. Maybe they have not gotten to my name yet, alphabetically? Weird, since I was dx in 03, maybe the dr did not report it?
If institutions have not reported outbreaks of hep c and b in their facilities on a timely manner, why not drs?

[Dale_Ray]

Hey, 100% of what I have in virus came from the medical community so maybe there should be a list of potential carriers and it should include that profession (doctors, nurses, custodians, etc) It could get out of hand pretty quickly I guess. I was diagnosed in the early 90's and other than one letter from Lifeblood no communications at all. Heck what is the number of people who have the stuff or a non A,B or C type hepatitis? I'll make myself nuts if I don't stop now. Your comment was a good one. Dale

[cuteus]

at different stages in this disease, you have different things to worry you crazy.
I was asking about the contrast used in the MRI I had done yesterday. asking the dr if it was used once or several times, etc.
Once you clear, the fear switches to re infection, and you look at the reusable  pillows they place under you, and the bottles, examining table, dental drills, and you can hear the gears in your brain spinning with worry.

it might never end

[Dale_Ray]

Welcome to my world. My hands stay wrinkled and dry from the continual washings. I'm turning into Micheal Jackson without the bad habits and with a healthy looking nose. Now I'm think about his song "beat it" and I really don't know why. Whoops there goes another pink elephant - I have to go now! EEEEHHHHHHHH HHHHHAAAAAA - did I say that out loud? Dale

[Myown]

I know how you feel. I received a call from my local board of health dept. It made me angry and I felt violated.

I think the board of health should be concerned about all the illegals entering carrying who knows what disease, getting FREE health care, when we have Americans that can't get Hep c treatment due to lack of insurance.Country has gone down the tubes.

Grace4us....hiv gets reported to state only, not to local board of health. Amazing. I'm sure everyone can figure out why, I'll resist standing on a soap box.

[copyman]

hey grand easy on the new jersey jokes, lol. i got that letter from the nj communicable disease dept, only one week after labcorp took the blood i got the letter. if i did not have a quick follow-up appoint with the doc i would have found out from them first that i had hcv! from what i found out the lab has to send it to the states for record and to add us to the CDC federal statistic hep list. the states want to make sure you are being treated by a doctor. what really made me mad was i got this letter even before i had the 2nd test that could have said it was a false positive, even though it was only a 5% chance it was still possible, but by then it would have been to late because i would have already been in the system. and once in the system there is NO way out.

[dog_lover]

Oh heck, what does it matter anyway?  Under the guise of National Security the Patriot Act will soon require DNA extracts from all newborns and of course your doctor/patient communication has already been breached. I live in Oregon and to date have received nothing from the State containing any kind of notification.  I'm using the VA health system which pees all over itself to maintain patient's privacy so it may be that they don't report.  Ironic.  Government is a nebulous thing, I have worked for the federal government and found that somewhere between the average employee, who works hard, takes pride in their work and deserve respect to the "upper echelons" where reason seems to be a dirty word and personal rights are something to be worked around. The problem is figuring out where government looses track of what it's doing.  OK, this is getting way off subject but that's not a really bad thing is it?  I hope you all have a great, safe and fun weekend.  It's a beautiful day here in Portland ... Dog_Lover

[cajunlady]

As you know I found out I had HepC in a letter from the health dept; when I donated blood after the Northridge Earthquake. I received my letter within 2 weeks of that blood drive.  I thank God that screening had began on blood or who knows how many people I could have contaminated and not known that was happening.

And, yes I was put on a list never to donated blood/tissue of any kind again. It is now against the law for me to donate my blood.  Not that I would again now that I know I have HepC.  But, they did send me that letter to clarify this to me.

Government BLAAH BLAAH BLAAH!!!!!  If the government would have done their job LOL, in the first place and tried to stop this or slow it down years ago when they had the knowledge, their would not be a list; nor would their be as many people with this disease.  

I do not wish this disease on anyone; but if some of the people in governments families start showing up with HepC, maybe they will push harder and put more money and effort into the cure or vaccanations.  We should have had this resolve years ago.  So, if it takes some family memebers of theirs to show up with this disease to get something done.  WELL read between the lines.

NYGIRL, you keep your head up and be proud that you have come as far as you have and succeeding without their help so far; I might add.

Try and stay COOOOOOOOOOL!!!

cajun