acute hep c phase??

How long does it usualy take on average to progress from acute hep c to chronic??
Ive heard 6 months but is that acurate?? Wouldnt it vary from person to person??

Also how likely would it be to contract hep c from sharing paraphanalia to do a rail once in a blue moon if perhaps one of the people did have hep c??

From what i understand the people most at risk are those who frequently use due to deteriation of the nose.

I've read that its considered a high risk factor, even if youve only tooken as much as one rail. But how is that possible?? wouldnt your nose have to be bloody or damaged?

Jenny

[jennny2k]

oops i didnt select a topic

Could the moderator switch the topic to hepatitis C?

[reddawg]

I don't think there is :"acute" HepC. It sometimes takes years for HepC symptoms to show up. HepB can be acute. I just have never heard of acute hepC.
Most risky is IV drug use. I'm an old timer so not sure why what you mean by a rail. Would it be a line snorted with a straw? In that case it would have to be the person who used it before you, for you to get infected.

Do you have HepC now or are you just trying to see if your at risk?

[debnevada]

yes, there IS acute hep c and i had it. per Dr. Gish, one of the best hepatologists in the world.

ask others on the forum

[alagirl]

Like Deb, I had acute hepc also.  I believe six months is the window -

In terms of at risk activities, it only takes once.  

[jennny2k]

No,I just didnt realize sharing intranasal utensils was such a high risk way of contracting it.

I read that hep c is cureable if you start treatment within the first 6 months after infection but then after that its not... What i wonder is how could such a definitive time line be known??

theoreticaly speaking say if it was 7 or 8 months after would there still be a good chance of being cured from this virus?

[desrt]

If you think you have been exposed, you need to be tested, first for antibodeies, then - if positive - for viral load, genotype, AST, ALT, and a raft of other tests. While waiting for your tests to come back you can look up the difference between chronic and acute hepatitis C and learn that most people don't go through an 'acute' phase. If you had acute, you'd probably know it.
Good luck.

[nygirl7]

Nobody can honestly tell you it's safe to do "a rail" once in a while because honestly there are too many questions (does the person have hepc? are their mucous membranes leaking all over the place?)

It's a blood to blood disease but you cannot always see the blood particles.  You'll never know if it was OK or not until you end up with it or not.

By the way - this IS the way I contracted it back in the 80s.  I did much more than once in a while but....who knows which person or when is the time I contracted it?  Never will know just know that I had to do treatment for 72 weeks to get rid of it.  I never had ANY symptoms and only found out I was infected by mistake.  

You'll just never know or have any guarantee.

PS Nor can anyone guarantee that at any time you will be able to kill this disease...it's a tricky bugger and not worth risking getting, believe us.

chances are if you have hepc you are already chronic - most acutes have an exact situation that makes them realize they have it (ie: nurse with a needle stick, etc.).  Someone doing lines.....no that really wouldn't be enough to know unless you JUST started for the first time in the last six months.

Get tested - don't waste your life doing coke - I did and believe me.......I'd do ANYTHING to have those years and all that money BACK.

[cheddarhead]

I had the acute phase back in '05, about two months after a medical procedure. I had no other risk factors and as my hepatologist said, the timing and symptoms were classic "acute" phase. My liver enzymes were totally out of whack, stools turned white (sorry to be gross), skin and eyes turned bright yellow, and urine became ultra-dark. Hey, I was a mess! We waited the usual six months and everything but the enzymes returned to normal, but I decided to go on treatment at my doc's urging. I treated and cleared.

There's some thinking that six months is too short and a 2-year window is better. I wasn't willing to wait two years.

Get tested and if you test positive, get treated. You'll never be any younger or in any better health than you are today. Good luck.

[Rae1]

a 2 year window period? Would I be able to conclude that I am negative after an 8 month antibody test?

[cheddarhead]

The 2-year window period refers to some doctors thinking it's a more realistic time frame for the body to clear the virus as opposed to the six-month standard, but they're in the minority.

I'd think that you'd be in a good spot if you tested negative 8 months after a possible exposure, but I'm not a doctor. Maybe someone will have a more definitive answer for you.

[Rae1]

ah, so you werent talking about the window period for antibodies to first show up, then? I keep reading they could show up as early as 4 weeks after exposure and as long as 6 months.