Pregnancy and Hepatitis C

[alorajean]

I am 24 years old and 36 weeks pregnant and just found out that I have hepatitis c. I am genotype 1a and my viral load was 1.2 million. I want to breastfeed my son when he is born but can not get treatment while i am breastfeeding him. what are the thoughts of waiting until i am done breastfeeding to start treatment.

[elpasolady]

Thanks for sharing your story.  You are very young and have had a hard past, but keep in  mind, that does not have to dictate your future!  Any addict HAS to be motivated to stop their behavior, or it won't stop.  I believe your love for this child is your motivation and chance in your life to turn it around!  One of my favorite personal motivations is that
" today is the first day of the rest of your life"  I know you can do this!!!!  You just have to want to bad enough and have a support system in place.  Do you have places in your hometown to help you fight this and stay strong? If so, use them.  You may have to distance yourself from people that will bring you down.  That could be a hard thing to do, but you need to do what is necessary for you and Wyatt.
As far as the Hep C goes, there is a good chance that you have absolutely NO liver damage at this point if you got it a year ago.  You most definitely can wait for better,stronger, more successful treatments to come around.

Please try to not be too hard on yourself.  The past is the past, we can do NOTHING about that.  We CAN change our futures,  Don't look back ....just forward.  None of us are destined to stay in any situation that we really want to change.
I will be praying for you!!  I am a firm believer in prayer and the power of Christ to change our lives.  I have seen it done too many times !!  You may want to talk to someone in a  young adult program at a local church.  Not all churches are the same. Some are amazing in what they can offer, while others just kind of keep to themselves with not much outreach to the community.  Not trying to preach here, just share with you what help could be available.  I wil research  your area and see if I can give you a recommendation, if you would like.
All the best to you.  Stay strong and don't worry about your hep c too much.  You will beat this someday!  I can almost guarantee this!
Hugs!

[alorajean]

Thank you Debbie, I know that I did not have it when i was released from prison in 2010. I was checked right before i left and they finished the rest of my shots for Hep B because i never finished my vaccinations when i was a child. I was clean. When i relapsed on meth i justified my using because i figured if i was not shooting myself up i wouldnt get as bad as i had before my incarceration. so Q did it for me and i trusted him. he would mix our drugs up together and we eventually started using the same needle. I got pregnant back in August of last year and quit everything then i miscarried in september and ended up getting pregnant again in November with Wyatt. Q got sick and was telling me that he felt like his organs were failing him, so he went to the hospital. i was talking to his son's mother and she told me that he had hep c and b. i asked him about it and he said she was lying and wouldnt talk about it anymore. I went in to the hospital a couple of weeks ago with contractions and the feeling that i was drunk the room was spinning and i couldnt keep my balance. they ran a bunch of tests and then told me that my liver enzymes were a little high and that i should have my dr. check me for hep c. i knew right then that i had it. i went to the doctor and the news kept getting worse and worse for me. i feel like i have this big scarlet letter on me and a big black cloud hovering over my head. i cant even begin to count how many lives he has put in danger for not letting people know that he is sick, he has been so careless with his drug use and i feel like i am obligated to let these people know that they need to get checked. i know that for myself if i keep this a secret it will give me a reason to get high and use drugs and i do not want that. i do not want my son to have a drug addicted mother and someone who isnt going to always be able to give him the best that he deserves. If his dad had let me know then i could have protected myself, i dont hate him for telling me, i wanted to and i wanted to get mad at him and everything but really in the end what does that do but make me even more miserable. i figured that i have had hep c for maybe a year maybe a little less.
i have had a really hard life, drug addiction has always been apart of my life when i was a child and on to my adult life. i want to break the cycle for Wyatt and i feel like this is a huge set back for me but then it also is a huge reason to never go back. i truly believe that Q ignores the fact that he is sick because he does not want to accept that he is sick, its like he has convinced himself that he is okay. when i told him that i was sick he tried to tell me that the dr said he had it then they told him he didnt then they told him he did. but he sure knew alot about it. even now when i do see him he doesnt want to talk about it and all he can say is im sorry.
i have been doing a lot of reading on the web and have ordered a couple of books. the only way i see that i can stop being scared of it is by educating myself as much as i can.
im sorry if that was alot to take in and too much information but i have had a bad day and i just started tying and couldnt stop

[elpasolady]

I felt the same way when I was diagnosed.  I was quite ashamed and felt dirty as well.  However, in time, that intense feeling passed.  I ended up practically forgetting I even had the disease and have lived a very normal life.  I kept it very private, with only a handful of people that knew.  I decided that no one needed to know.  There is a stigma attached to this disease and I did not want people to look at me differently or think that I would somehow infect them, simply by being around them.  The general public is just not educated on these things.
Like I said above, I have had this 33 years and am just now going for treatment.
My advice to you is this....try to put this in the back of your mind for awhile.  You need to concentrate on this precious little angel about to be born ,and you nurse him for as long as you would like. You need to be in great shape with lots of energy to take care of him, especially in the toddler years. You don't need to be going through treatment at that time, unless it is medically necessary. Take care of yourself and start adopting good 'liver' habits.  Your Dr, will most likely recommend seeing your every 6 or 12 months to monitor you and your levels.  I say all this only with the agreement of your Dr.  I hope you end up with a Dr with much Hep C experience.  Also, do your own research.   You need to be your own advocate.  When I was first diagnosed, I read all that I could on this subject. It helped me alot.
So sorry you  had to get this from someone who failed to let you know they were sick.  What a pity.
You are not alone.  This forum is great.  We are all here for you.
How long  ago did you getHep C, if I may ask?
Hugs!
Debbie

[alorajean]

Thank you all for the advice and information. This is all very scary to me and i have been emotionally drained the last couple of weeks. I go see a specialist on the 26th of this month and will be able to talk to the doctor then about what my options. i know that i have not had this for very long cause i know how i was infected. Its just really hard to deal with. i want to do whats best for my son and i believe that breastfeeding him is the best thing i can do for him. I have not had a biopsy yet but will bring it up to the specialist when i see her in two weeks. thank you all again and if yo have any more advice for me please let me know i am very scared and i feel like i have been tainted and wear the scarlet letter. what makes it hard is my sons father has known for many many years that he has had this and didnt care to tell me about it but was sure okay with sharing needles with me.

[Dee1956]

Hi there, congrats on the pregnancy, I am very sorry about the HCV diagnosis, if I were in your shoes I would breastfeed and then treat.  If you are able, breastfeeding is a joy.  You are young and should enjoy your baby, it is a once in a lifetime opportunity.  I would also suggest a biopsy when you are able so you would have the full picture of your condition.
Best Wishes
Dee

[attagrl]

I just wanted to weigh in because I was diagnosed with HCV in '96 at the age of 19, went on to have two children ('02 and '05), both of whom I breastfed for at least 18 months. I delivered naturally; the only special precaution the doctor took was to try to avoid an episiotomy if possible (which he did) in order to minimize my bleeding. With breastfeeding, I took special care to make sure I didn't develop any drying or cracking by using lanolin; never had a problem and breastfeeding was a joy.

Incidentally, I was going to start treatment in '04 and my hepatologist recommended that if we wanted to have any other children, to go ahead and do so, a) because of the slow course of the disease and b) to avoid putting it off another 3-4 years b/c of lingering effects of the IFN/riba. I definitely don't regret it; my youngest is now 5 years old and I'm beginning treatment this fall.

It's a personal decision, to be sure. All the best to you as you weigh your options...

[elpasolady]

I would absolutely wait!  Here is the reason why.  You are very young and have lots of time left to treat.  Hep C is very, very slow progressing disease in almost all cases. I have had it since 1978 as I know how and when I contracted it.  I was not diagnosed until 1996.  I am just now going to start treatment because of the new triple drug therapy.  So, I have had it for about 33 years now and I have never been sick a day from the Hep C.  Most times I don't even remember that I have it.
  My VL is almost 7 million.  Six years ago it was 2.2 million.  So, it takes awhile.
Now, I say this based on my experience.  I'm sure most on this forum have similar experiences.  The choice is up to you and your Dr, but he or she should confirm that you should not be in hurry to treat, especially under your circumstances.   You  may even want to wait until new treatment comes around where you will not have to take interferon.  It is in the pipeline and only a matter of time.  Wondering if you have had a biopsy?
Oh, and by the way, I had my daughter 3 years before I knew I had Hep C and  nursed her for 20 months.  When I found out I had this disease I was sick with worry that I had given it to her.  I had her tested and she was negative....Thank God!
Congrats on your pregnancy!  Keep in touch