Aa
Roll call: Who had no risk factors?
I'm just curious. After reading many, many posts from people who had high ALT numbers yet were not subsequently tested for hcv, I'm wondering if this was because they had none of the standard risk factors. No IVDU, no transfusions, no employment in a medical setting. The protocols are still not to test the general population, probably because of medical economics - we all know how much treatment costs. Yet from my two years visiting this forum, I've read many posts from folks like myself who didn't fit into the profile and thus weren't tested until substantial liver damage had occurred, in some cases even cirrhosis.
And then I want to ask: How many of you who didn't have the usual risk factors did the following: Had dental work and/or a manicure, shared tools at work, became blood brothers with the kid next door, etc? Who thinks everybody should be tested whenever they have blood drawn? And does anybody have any ideas how we can communicate this need to the medical profession?
And then I want to ask: How many of you who didn't have the usual risk factors did the following: Had dental work and/or a manicure, shared tools at work, became blood brothers with the kid next door, etc? Who thinks everybody should be tested whenever they have blood drawn? And does anybody have any ideas how we can communicate this need to the medical profession?
We are survivors, and Im glad that you both got out of the situation also.
I took my case to court recently and won the claim as having caught HCV from him.
There is also the case of a policeman that was apprehending a criminal, the criminal punched the cop in the mouth/teeth, blood was spilt and the cop later tested HCV positive.
Fighting is a huge risk factor and is quite common too, which may explain why some people that dont know how they became infected.
Hope to see you in AHCS walrus, medhelp deleted my post because I put the link on there, but thats cool, I understand. If you read my profile there is more information.
Linda
I took my case to court recently and won the claim as having caught HCV from him.
There is also the case of a policeman that was apprehending a criminal, the criminal punched the cop in the mouth/teeth, blood was spilt and the cop later tested HCV positive.
Fighting is a huge risk factor and is quite common too, which may explain why some people that dont know how they became infected.
Hope to see you in AHCS walrus, medhelp deleted my post because I put the link on there, but thats cool, I understand. If you read my profile there is more information.
Linda
15 years ago I left my ex-husband for the same reason. It took me over 1 year to get the divorce, but I fought and got all my children, too. In the end it was his loss. Fortunately through time I have been able to forgive... It was terrible to go around with this hate in my heart. And at the same time not to say anything bad about him to my children, so they would not feel bad a bout themselves, having a father like that. I don't think I got the hep c from him though, even though he might have had it / have it. Never thought that those fists in my face could have caused it, as I have enough risk factors myself.
Marcia
Marcia
You should all be members of the Super Chicks club, if not already!
hippygem: pardon my ignorance, but what is AHCS forum? I have had a transplant and do not claim brevity as my virtue. ;)
hippygem: pardon my ignorance, but what is AHCS forum? I have had a transplant and do not claim brevity as my virtue. ;)
After 20yrs I took it to court, and I won my case regarding him giving me hcv from domestic violence, it took 3 years but I did it, and I have felt much relieved ever since because I got some justice.
Hope all is well with you, havent seen you in the AHCS for a while, all going good there, new people joining all the time with various questions.
If there is anyone on here that has had a liver transplant, their story would be valuable on the AHCS forums for others to read that are in same situation.
Cheers
Linda
Hope all is well with you, havent seen you in the AHCS for a while, all going good there, new people joining all the time with various questions.
If there is anyone on here that has had a liver transplant, their story would be valuable on the AHCS forums for others to read that are in same situation.
Cheers
Linda
I agree. My solution was to go to lawschool and then work prosecuting domestic violence for a few years. Felt GREAT!!!
How are you feeling these days. I see you need lots of tests before they decide on a course of tx - please keep us posted on that situation.
I'm keeping a good thought for you. Be well.
jd
How are you feeling these days. I see you need lots of tests before they decide on a course of tx - please keep us posted on that situation.
I'm keeping a good thought for you. Be well.
jd
I am appalled to think a husband would treat a wife in the way you describe. HCV or not, they should go to jail! I am sorry to hear that you had to endure that. Seems like there ought to be a father or big brother around to rectify such situations. Maybe violent superchicks. For guys with appendages that small, we ought to do them a favor and amputate! ;)
I do think fighting is a significant risk factor - my view is this is how the disease has survived over time, with various wars and similar. It seems to me, that the disease has almost mutated into a form that is designed to be transmitted in this manner. It matches my experience, it was expected that I would not be infected as I was bleeding profusely (should have "swept away" the bad blood), but that was not the case, only a tiny contact with open wounds, seems to be enough. Hopefully all those UFC guys and similar, are regulalry tested.
Comeagain - I am not sure if I am SVR yet - I will be finding out in the next few weeks, I am just coming up to 6 months. I have never really felt bitter about my infection, it was a very random thing, not that different than being in an auto accident I think people who have been infected by someone they have a relationship too, have more difficult issues to deal with in terms of emotions and similar. I do agree with you though - that who you hang out with, can be a big risk factor. If people did IV drugs in a safe secure and clean environment, then it would not be a risk factor. In the same way, a relationship with someone who has lived a "criminal" lifestyle, either current or former, is a risk factor.
Comeagain - I am not sure if I am SVR yet - I will be finding out in the next few weeks, I am just coming up to 6 months. I have never really felt bitter about my infection, it was a very random thing, not that different than being in an auto accident I think people who have been infected by someone they have a relationship too, have more difficult issues to deal with in terms of emotions and similar. I do agree with you though - that who you hang out with, can be a big risk factor. If people did IV drugs in a safe secure and clean environment, then it would not be a risk factor. In the same way, a relationship with someone who has lived a "criminal" lifestyle, either current or former, is a risk factor.
I agree with Rocker4 - the government doesn't WANT all the people who have hep to find out because surely it would put all of the insurance companies under and we know who's in bed with them.....
And as with AIDS when it was first discovered there will always be the stigma attached in many, many peoples minds and they figure we did it to ourselves or some other absolutely horrific logic like that.
I did do it to myself - I can't blame anyone except my stupidity for getting this disease I think I had every single risk factor EXCEPT tattooes something my diagnosing GI just couldn't believe.
Now that both of my kids have gone out and gotten tattoes AFTER I treated I've read them the riot act and had to listen to "well I saw it was a new needle" - ARGH I guess you can't learn by listening to your parents? OH wait...I didn't either did I!
(PS I had the knuckle sandwiches for lunch dinner and a midnight snack many many times and he was hcv pos since the early 80s...........never thought of that one before though - another risk for the risk factor pile to check off YES to!) ;)
And as with AIDS when it was first discovered there will always be the stigma attached in many, many peoples minds and they figure we did it to ourselves or some other absolutely horrific logic like that.
I did do it to myself - I can't blame anyone except my stupidity for getting this disease I think I had every single risk factor EXCEPT tattooes something my diagnosing GI just couldn't believe.
Now that both of my kids have gone out and gotten tattoes AFTER I treated I've read them the riot act and had to listen to "well I saw it was a new needle" - ARGH I guess you can't learn by listening to your parents? OH wait...I didn't either did I!
(PS I had the knuckle sandwiches for lunch dinner and a midnight snack many many times and he was hcv pos since the early 80s...........never thought of that one before though - another risk for the risk factor pile to check off YES to!) ;)
It never occurred to me before, but what you've posted makes perfect sense. So I guess I do have an identifiable risk. When my ex-husband was splitting his knuckles on my teeth, that was a risk.
Thanks for sharing that - I know what it can cost to revisit those memories.
jd
Thanks for sharing that - I know what it can cost to revisit those memories.
jd
I contracted the hep c from my IVDU husband that used to beat me up. I keep asking the people that dont know how they became HCV+ if they were ever in a fight and blood was exchanged.
In the past, I had felt pretty sure about the idea that "everyone should be tested", but over time, I've become less and less certain about that in our far from perfect world. Maybe I'd feel more certain about "testing everyone" if treatment were more effective and more affordable, or if doctors were more knowledgeable about HCV, or maybe if we simply had a much more understanding world than we have today. I just know that I'm NOT so sure that EVERYONE should be tested. My instincts tell me that certainly government and insurance both have an impact on why testing is not universal, but I think cost and prevention is only part of the parcel.
Many interesting points have been brought forth, and I definitely feel that testing seems to be pursued only if a doc feels there are "risk" factors. I think we can all agree that testing positive can be psychologically difficult, and not everyone is in a position to do something about the diagnosis. To play devil's advocate, I can understand why some docs may hesitate to test and see it as causing "harm" to a patient -- we all know there's still stigma attached to this disease, and it makes the diagnosed almost certainly uninsurable. And, though not represented much in this forum here, I'm sure there are many people who've been diagnosed who simply wish they didn't know. (I'm not advocating ignorance, simply choice.)
At minimum, I feel people should be educated about Hep C and be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to be tested, but testing EVERYONE...? Educate, then test is my mindset (for now, anyway).
~eureka
Many interesting points have been brought forth, and I definitely feel that testing seems to be pursued only if a doc feels there are "risk" factors. I think we can all agree that testing positive can be psychologically difficult, and not everyone is in a position to do something about the diagnosis. To play devil's advocate, I can understand why some docs may hesitate to test and see it as causing "harm" to a patient -- we all know there's still stigma attached to this disease, and it makes the diagnosed almost certainly uninsurable. And, though not represented much in this forum here, I'm sure there are many people who've been diagnosed who simply wish they didn't know. (I'm not advocating ignorance, simply choice.)
At minimum, I feel people should be educated about Hep C and be allowed to decide for themselves whether or not to be tested, but testing EVERYONE...? Educate, then test is my mindset (for now, anyway).
~eureka
Reason why govts and health system dont make more awareness of hep c prevention and get more tested is because it will cosy tons of money...save money by sweepong the hep c problem under the rug worry bout it later...a real pandemic is coming soon...thousands od new cases a day of hep c are happening...what a f..uckn world eh?
I have no regretts by achieving the virus, but ofcource I regrett starting iv use but that has nothing to do with my hcv disease.
I´m glad you recived SVR man, what you have been exposed to is enough to make anyone bitter for a livetime.
Also glad you pointed out that big riskfactor to hang out with destructiv people is risky in many aspects.
I pray if you not already are is gonna come over that awful incident and get completely healed.
May the good God protect and bless you now and hereafter.
ca
I´m glad you recived SVR man, what you have been exposed to is enough to make anyone bitter for a livetime.
Also glad you pointed out that big riskfactor to hang out with destructiv people is risky in many aspects.
I pray if you not already are is gonna come over that awful incident and get completely healed.
May the good God protect and bless you now and hereafter.
ca
Of course there is no innocent or naughty way to get hcv. Actually, if it weren't for our legal system, there is really no difference between drinking your poison or putting it in your veins, your nose or your mouth. And unless you're a Mormon or something, you've probably done one of the above at one time or another, especially in your adolescence.
The reason I started this thread was because I'm curious how many of us went decades undiagnosed simply because there's this list of "risk factors" that ring a bell: Test this person. And if you don't have anything on that list, then no bell rings and you're never tested.
The more people who don't fit the profile, the more reason why our medical system should test everybody, universally. No value judgments here, just facts.
The reason I started this thread was because I'm curious how many of us went decades undiagnosed simply because there's this list of "risk factors" that ring a bell: Test this person. And if you don't have anything on that list, then no bell rings and you're never tested.
The more people who don't fit the profile, the more reason why our medical system should test everybody, universally. No value judgments here, just facts.
My risk factor was leaving the front door unlocked (contributed to random home invasion, which resulted in infection). Actually, I think the risk factors are everywhere, but one of the biggest sources that is difficult to eliminate, is the prision system. Infection rates are astonishing (in some prisions, up to 70%). My assailant's last address was the prision (his current one too), like it or not, that is the breeding ground for much of the disease, and why it will be so hard to ever eliminate. The prision system is also the reason why a lot of the disease has spread (if you ever see the movie Brubaker (1980), it will make you queasy, as in an early scene you see the prisioners selling their blood for money). Anything you do it life, that brings you a bit closer to a prisioner or former prisioner, be it a tatoo from a dogy parlour, or whatever, brings you potentially, a lot closer to the disease.
Since I am one of the people is still confused as to how I got it, I would be making myself crazy and angry to feel the need to do more than I have done to find out how I contracted it. Clearly, there are many reasons you would like to know how you contracted the disease i.e, how long you had it... But I have provided endless information to medical professionals who are gathering the data more statistically relevantly than this web site possibly could. I think there is an effort to prevent others from contracting this disease. Getting higher percentages of people SVR rates would help the spread of this disease, along with safety precautions and greater overall testing.
I´ve been putting the needle in my arm hundreds maybe a thousand time,not just a few times, still have no guilt what so ever for usurping the virus.
I dont even blame my self.
Why? because I didn´t took the drugs intending to get some virus.
I say as Edith Piaf Je Ne Regrette Rien!!
ca
.
I dont even blame my self.
Why? because I didn´t took the drugs intending to get some virus.
I say as Edith Piaf Je Ne Regrette Rien!!
ca
.
"None of us are any better than any other person --- because of the way we all obtained HCV... "
Precisely, so to dwell on how we contracted the virus is counterproductive and tends to fuel the prejudice.
We KNOW the sources and how the virus spreads, its spread blood to blood. We already know what precautions are required to check the spread of blood-borne pathogens. The details of any particular patient's exposure are irrelevant.
Precisely, so to dwell on how we contracted the virus is counterproductive and tends to fuel the prejudice.
We KNOW the sources and how the virus spreads, its spread blood to blood. We already know what precautions are required to check the spread of blood-borne pathogens. The details of any particular patient's exposure are irrelevant.
No - I think it IS important....
VERY IMPORTANT to know HOW you got it.
You see...
If we KNOW how it is transmitted EVERY SINGLE TIME... then we can contain it somehow.
No one should have gotten it from Rhogam.
No one should be getting it from Hospitals.
No one should be getting it from Dentists.
I'm telling you - if we KNOW where we get it --- we can control it better.
That's the first step in eradicating any disease or pestilence. FIND THE FREAKING SOURCES.
Each of us is very important.
THERE SHOULD BE NO LOOKING DOWN ON ANYONE for any part of this disease.
I'm telling you - NO ONE ASKED for HCV to just jump on board.
Not a single one of us.
No one should be blamed for ANYTHING.
But if we can stop it - we should do everything we can.
And knowing "HOW" it is obtained is one of them.
I honestly don't know for sure - but I'm 90% positive that I got it from Rhogam.
It just all fits.
But that doesn't make me any better than someone who tried drugs a few times and got it...
It doesn't make me any better than someone who got it from sniffing with a bloody straw...
It doesn't make me better than the victim of domestic abuse.
Or the rape victim
Or the child who got it from their mother
Or WHOEVER...
None of us are any better than any other person --- because of the way we all obtained HCV...
Yanno?
I wish each and every single one of you - the very best day!
Meki
VERY IMPORTANT to know HOW you got it.
You see...
If we KNOW how it is transmitted EVERY SINGLE TIME... then we can contain it somehow.
No one should have gotten it from Rhogam.
No one should be getting it from Hospitals.
No one should be getting it from Dentists.
I'm telling you - if we KNOW where we get it --- we can control it better.
That's the first step in eradicating any disease or pestilence. FIND THE FREAKING SOURCES.
Each of us is very important.
THERE SHOULD BE NO LOOKING DOWN ON ANYONE for any part of this disease.
I'm telling you - NO ONE ASKED for HCV to just jump on board.
Not a single one of us.
No one should be blamed for ANYTHING.
But if we can stop it - we should do everything we can.
And knowing "HOW" it is obtained is one of them.
I honestly don't know for sure - but I'm 90% positive that I got it from Rhogam.
It just all fits.
But that doesn't make me any better than someone who tried drugs a few times and got it...
It doesn't make me any better than someone who got it from sniffing with a bloody straw...
It doesn't make me better than the victim of domestic abuse.
Or the rape victim
Or the child who got it from their mother
Or WHOEVER...
None of us are any better than any other person --- because of the way we all obtained HCV...
Yanno?
I wish each and every single one of you - the very best day!
Meki
Thank you for that post, I agree completely. Unfortunately, as with HIV, there are people who believe that there are "innocent" ways to contract HCV as well as "culpable" ways and they tend to believe that some "deserve" the virus. Its a real shame and just one more hurdle to get over for those trying to raise public awareness about this disease.
Its so pointless to dwell on guilt and blame, it distracts from the real problem (need for awareness, prevention and effective treatment) and feeds prejudice. We need all our resources to fight this plague.
jd
Its so pointless to dwell on guilt and blame, it distracts from the real problem (need for awareness, prevention and effective treatment) and feeds prejudice. We need all our resources to fight this plague.
jd
I hate the dialog of how did you get it, if anyone should be supportive of one another its us. We all have it, or have been lucky enough to have "had" it.
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