Aa
Probably positive
I'm going in for a hep C test and I'm so scared and sick to my stomach. My husband tested pos two years ago durning a Life ins test. He since has a PCR test twice without any detection. I woke up one moring and was wondering if I was actually tested by the Ins. co myself (i did get approved for life ins. in 2008). But I wanted to know if they checked me or not. So I went looking for trouble. The medical examiner told me over the phone that I was not tested because my liver enzymes were normal. I thought they tested for Hep C, HIv and all that stuff. Aparently not. Anyway, I'm in complete panic mode and don't know what to do about this. I'm sure I have it. I shared a needle with my husband back in 1996. We were young and dumb. I never thought this would happen. I'm so scared!!! Will someone tell me how to deal with this. Can I live a normal life? Will I always be depressed? I was recently put on anti depressents for anxiety and now I gotta freakin deal with this. I don't think I'm gonna make it, I'm such a weak person. Any kind words or encouragment will help.
Thanks for taking the time to get back to us; whooooray! Very sweet news indeed! Ps, don't forget to change your screen name :)
--Bill
--Bill
Hey all,
I got back from the doctor's office and I'm neg for Hep C. Unbelievable!! I was so sure I had it. Anyway, I've learned so much about it already and I'm amazed at how aggressive the treatments are getting. The anti viral cure will be just around the corner. Too many people world wide have it and that is not acceptable. I'll be back, but probably in another forum. Thanks for all your support.
I got back from the doctor's office and I'm neg for Hep C. Unbelievable!! I was so sure I had it. Anyway, I've learned so much about it already and I'm amazed at how aggressive the treatments are getting. The anti viral cure will be just around the corner. Too many people world wide have it and that is not acceptable. I'll be back, but probably in another forum. Thanks for all your support.
thanks for all your input (all of you and especially Bill). I will be leaving for my beach trip and try to have a good time. I know this is not the end of the world. Thank God for God and modern medicine. I will post when I get my results next tues. Thanks again. You don't know what it means to me to have some guidance right now.
Hi Ms Redding1,
Quite a few of us have used either Klonopin or alprazolam (Xanax) at one time or another to deal with situational anxiety or GAD. There are some minor issues apparently with liver health and benzodiazapines but most doctors feel the benefits outweigh any risks.
Treatment side effects vary widely from patient to patient. From a personal standpoint, I tended to tolerate it pretty well; although I did get tired toward the end of it all.
There ‘new drugs’ are called ‘STAT-C’ or ‘protease inhibitor’ class drugs. Currently, depending on genotype, or strain of HCV, patients successfully respond to a course of treatment 40-80% of the time; some will not respond at all, and others respond only to relapse. Some folks compare the HCV combo therapy to cancer chemo; those like myself manage reasonably well.
I’m unfamiliar with Remeron, but Celexa is commonly prescribed to HCV patients. Good luck with your test results, and keep us informed as to your progress—
Bill
Quite a few of us have used either Klonopin or alprazolam (Xanax) at one time or another to deal with situational anxiety or GAD. There are some minor issues apparently with liver health and benzodiazapines but most doctors feel the benefits outweigh any risks.
Treatment side effects vary widely from patient to patient. From a personal standpoint, I tended to tolerate it pretty well; although I did get tired toward the end of it all.
There ‘new drugs’ are called ‘STAT-C’ or ‘protease inhibitor’ class drugs. Currently, depending on genotype, or strain of HCV, patients successfully respond to a course of treatment 40-80% of the time; some will not respond at all, and others respond only to relapse. Some folks compare the HCV combo therapy to cancer chemo; those like myself manage reasonably well.
I’m unfamiliar with Remeron, but Celexa is commonly prescribed to HCV patients. Good luck with your test results, and keep us informed as to your progress—
Bill
No I don't have any of the classic symptoms you mentioned. I did get tested and am waiting for the results on Tues. My whole 4th of July weekend is ruined. I will be seeing my Psychatrist today to talk about getting more Klonopin to help calm me down. I don't know if I should mention all this to him because he might not want to give me it in fear of my pending condition. Is it safe to take Klonopin if I do have Hep C? I'm currently on Celexa and Remeron (both low doses). I really want to know more about the process after I'm confirmed positive. In my mind I am pos, so I'm really trying to think about all this in the long term. What are these new drugs that are coming out in a year or so? Do you get terrible sick on the tx?
While it is true that sharing a needle for Iv drug use is the most efficient way to transmit
Hcv, there is always a chance that, in your case, there is no transmission. let me ask
you, do you have stomach pain, joint pain, dark colored urine or light colored stools?
These are the classic symptoms of Hcv, along with fatigue. Normal liver enzymes(ALT/AST) is encouraging.
Fear of the unknown is killing you now. Steal some courage, say a prayer and get
tested. hope for the best. I bet you are negative. Sexual transmission is rare.
Hcv, there is always a chance that, in your case, there is no transmission. let me ask
you, do you have stomach pain, joint pain, dark colored urine or light colored stools?
These are the classic symptoms of Hcv, along with fatigue. Normal liver enzymes(ALT/AST) is encouraging.
Fear of the unknown is killing you now. Steal some courage, say a prayer and get
tested. hope for the best. I bet you are negative. Sexual transmission is rare.
I'm trying to respond to your note, but you have the message and note features blocked :o)
We use the term ‘SVR’ (Sustained Viral Response) synonymously with cure when discussing HCV.
It’s defined by completing our treatment with undetectable viral load; then, removing the treatment drugs, we go an additional six months, maintaining this undetectable status. If we can accomplish this task without having the virus reappear, we’ve achieved SVR.
SVR has been proven durable in 99.9+% of cases, and is used interchangeably with the term cure by hepatologists universally.
--Bill
We use the term ‘SVR’ (Sustained Viral Response) synonymously with cure when discussing HCV.
It’s defined by completing our treatment with undetectable viral load; then, removing the treatment drugs, we go an additional six months, maintaining this undetectable status. If we can accomplish this task without having the virus reappear, we’ve achieved SVR.
SVR has been proven durable in 99.9+% of cases, and is used interchangeably with the term cure by hepatologists universally.
--Bill
Unfortunately, liver enzymes aren’t always elevated in patients with chronic HCV. It’s encouraging that they’re within reference range, but not necessarily predictive of a negative HCV result; only a negative viral testing will determine that.
Good for you for getting in and testing, by the way.
Currently, HCV treatment consists of pegylated interferon and ribavirin; however there are new drugs in late phase clinical trials that are very promising. One of these new drugs, ‘Telaprevir’ could be FDA approved as early as next year, and will hopefully increase the efficacy of HCV treatment.
One thing at a time, though; let us know the outcome of today’s test; ask for hard copies of the results if you like, and someone in here will help you review them.
Again, good luck—
Bill
Good for you for getting in and testing, by the way.
Currently, HCV treatment consists of pegylated interferon and ribavirin; however there are new drugs in late phase clinical trials that are very promising. One of these new drugs, ‘Telaprevir’ could be FDA approved as early as next year, and will hopefully increase the efficacy of HCV treatment.
One thing at a time, though; let us know the outcome of today’s test; ask for hard copies of the results if you like, and someone in here will help you review them.
Again, good luck—
Bill
I got back from the doctor's office and I told her I shared a needle with my husband 15 yrs ago. She said she wouldn't put it down in my chart (I hope). She said all my liver enzyme tests have been normal over the years and that I am not sick right now. She said not to worry too much. Does it make any difference that my liver function tests have been normal all these years? I just had them done again a few weeks ago for an unrelated concern.
I was wondering what is the latest tx for hep c?
I was wondering what is the latest tx for hep c?
PS I dont want to give you false hope about a perhaps false positive on an antibody test as it's highly unlikely but when it comes to insurance companies......and life insurance and things - make sure either way.
Hoping for the best.
Hoping for the best.
Anxiety can be very crippling. Whatever other problems we might (or might not) have, the high stress will surely make it much worst. Medication only masks the symptoms without providing a real relief. Hope you find it helpful
You don't have to tell anybody HOW you got it because it does NOT matter a bit - just tell him your husband tested positive somehow on the life insurance test and you thought better safe than sorry.
Until you know if you even have it try not to worry about it. Most of us have shared all sorts of things with our families and they ended up fine. The odds are great for them to be fine. Since we don't really know if he had it or not (one test positive for antibodies and two tests negative at PCR mean he PERHAPS had a false positive in the first place and should be retested for the antibodies - or his body was able to beat off the infection on it's own and kill the virus (he would still have the antibodies) which in that case you COULD but don't necessarily have to have it).
Just try and relax until you know. Many of us had no idea and did treatment and are cured. 20% of the people (perhaps like your husband) beat the infection off on their own. Many don't have any liver damage yet and do not need to even do treatment at this time.
You can't anticipate what will happen - in life or with hep so try not to sweat it and just get the test.
good luck.
Until you know if you even have it try not to worry about it. Most of us have shared all sorts of things with our families and they ended up fine. The odds are great for them to be fine. Since we don't really know if he had it or not (one test positive for antibodies and two tests negative at PCR mean he PERHAPS had a false positive in the first place and should be retested for the antibodies - or his body was able to beat off the infection on it's own and kill the virus (he would still have the antibodies) which in that case you COULD but don't necessarily have to have it).
Just try and relax until you know. Many of us had no idea and did treatment and are cured. 20% of the people (perhaps like your husband) beat the infection off on their own. Many don't have any liver damage yet and do not need to even do treatment at this time.
You can't anticipate what will happen - in life or with hep so try not to sweat it and just get the test.
good luck.
I doubt if they’ll even ask for a reason to test you; if they do, it’s probably best to discuss how you got it with your doc. I’d probably refrain from telling anyone outside of immediate family for a bit, though.
In the event you get a positive antibody result, they’ll want to retest with confirmation testing down the road.
The odds of a mother passing HCV to their child during pregnancy/childbirth is less than 5%; it happens, but very rarely.
Good luck, and keep us in the loop—
--Bill
In the event you get a positive antibody result, they’ll want to retest with confirmation testing down the road.
The odds of a mother passing HCV to their child during pregnancy/childbirth is less than 5%; it happens, but very rarely.
Good luck, and keep us in the loop—
--Bill
No. It's a street I use to live on. I will be going get my test down today by my doc. Should I tell them I used with my husband. Or just tell them maybe I contracted it from him some how. As far as the Life Ins. test. why the heck wouldn't they test me? And why would they test him? His liver enzymes were all normal during that time. I just don't get it. I wish I wouldn't not dug this up. I do realize it is better to know now. I had my son tested after I my husbands test (they shared a razor) and his was negative. I sure hope I did not pass it onto my daughter (6yr old). I'll keep you all posted.
Sure; not only are antidepressants allowed, they are preferred :o); and many of us are prescribed anti-anxiety agents such as Xanax etc.
HCV is a real pain in the arse, but for the majority of us it’s manageable. I probably got infected from sharing works many years ago too; while many people would rather not discuss it, that’s often how they got it as well.
Unfortunately, doctors don’t test for it routinely; often it shows up when we apply for life insurance, or as a course of employment blood test, sometimes donating blood, etc.
Panic episodes and GAD are no fun to deal with; why not go ahead, get tested so you can move on with life; I promise you, even if the test results are positive, you’ll manage along with the rest of us… really :o)!
Stick around and let us know how the tests come out; in the meantime, try to enjoy life as best you can; you have lots (and lots) of company in here…
Bill
Ps- is the name redding associated with Redding, CA?
HCV is a real pain in the arse, but for the majority of us it’s manageable. I probably got infected from sharing works many years ago too; while many people would rather not discuss it, that’s often how they got it as well.
Unfortunately, doctors don’t test for it routinely; often it shows up when we apply for life insurance, or as a course of employment blood test, sometimes donating blood, etc.
Panic episodes and GAD are no fun to deal with; why not go ahead, get tested so you can move on with life; I promise you, even if the test results are positive, you’ll manage along with the rest of us… really :o)!
Stick around and let us know how the tests come out; in the meantime, try to enjoy life as best you can; you have lots (and lots) of company in here…
Bill
Ps- is the name redding associated with Redding, CA?
Thank you so much for writing me. MY problems stem from my aniexty (I can't deal with things rationally). I just went through all these emotional roller coasters with my husband a few years ago about his positive antibody test. (I just assumed they tested me as well) Ever since then I have had severe anxiety about my familie's health. And now this! I'm glad it is something treatable, but the shame of how I contracted it is killing me. Can you still take anti-depressents during treatment.
You are an angel to me. You made me feel more hopeful with what you wrote.
You are an angel to me. You made me feel more hopeful with what you wrote.
Hi there, welcome to the discussion group. Sorry to hear of your worries; the best course of action to take is go down and ask for the HCV antibody test, and figure this out. It sounds like you’re stuck in panic mode, maybe?
If it turns out you are infected, then you’ll mange somehow. HCV is the most common blood born disease in the U.S. right now, with around 4,000,000 infected; you’ll have plenty of company.
What worries you the most about this? I had it, ended up doing treatment, and am now cured; I’m not alone either; tens of thousands of people have dealt with this too.
Stick around, learn a bit and get the test process started, so you can relax, okay?
Bill
If it turns out you are infected, then you’ll mange somehow. HCV is the most common blood born disease in the U.S. right now, with around 4,000,000 infected; you’ll have plenty of company.
What worries you the most about this? I had it, ended up doing treatment, and am now cured; I’m not alone either; tens of thousands of people have dealt with this too.
Stick around, learn a bit and get the test process started, so you can relax, okay?
Bill
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