Health Care Providers

[alagirl]

I was just wondering if anyone else has had the experience of health care providers who have some personal experience with hcv that they talk about.  With only a couple of exceptions, everyone in the medical field who cared for me through diagnosis and treatment was exceptionally kind to me.  And I had a few who told me about their own hcv experiences.  I had one doctor with a best friend who achieved SVR on monotherapy.  He told me this on one of my many pass throughs at the ER because apparently she had had a lot of side effects during tx.  One nurse had fulminant hepatitis and almost died.  Another nurse started crying and told me how her father had had esld secondary to hcv.  She could not have been but about five or six years older than my son and her father had died after a TIPS procedure.  Another nurse watched his dad go through tx a couple of years ago.  His father, also a nurse, had a needle stick transmission.  He cleared.  About a month ago I had a surgeon who asked what he could do to get a family member through tx as she had transfusion level anemia from the riba and they didn't want to stop tx.  I gave him info for the hepatologists and hematologist who got me through tx.  I just wondered if anyone else had this type of experience.

[FloridaMouse]

The gal that regularly draws my blood at Quest told talks to me about her Dad who, like me, is a treatment failure.

Mouse

[nygirl7]

My doctor and the team just couldn't have been more wonderful or I would have dropped him. He  didn't really know any of the updated studies or things and finally towards the end he would ask me questions like I was the doctor. I didn't mind though because whenever I went in with a problem he'd look at me write the script I asked for and on my way I'd go.

Except when I got the 'real' rash (non ribarash) I called for an emergency appt and he took one look at my face and went oh my GOD what happened and I said I dont know what shouldwe do about it and he said pretty dumbfounded "what what I don't know I thought you would tell me what I needed to do". Then he sent me to a derm doc.

It was a strange relationship doctor to patient to say the least but when I finally got SVR after my false pos he called me at work so excited that he kept calling himself by his first name and I had no idea who he was.

He cared a lot and that made me keep him (and IS why I went to Jacobson for the second opinion LOL).

Also I gave his nurses a huge basket of lovely lotions and nail polishes and stuff at Christmas........so they always took my calls and sent me whatever I needed, asap. I guess they appreciated it alot...good hint for anybody out there treating now!

[jdwithhcv]

At about week 40 I was awakened by severe pain in my chest and back.  I went to the ER where I was treated by a doctor who told me his uncle was on tx for HCV.  He had a lot of up to date info on the treatment, and I was relieved to be treated by someone who had a clue about my situation.  He finally found pneumonia on my chest x-rays, and took really good care of me.  He even called me at home later to check on me.

I had good care from many very kind people.  Lots of the lab workers who took my blood thanked me for telling them I had HCV, and many told me of friends and relatives who had Hep C.

I'm lucky to live within sight of an excellent hospital, and because I am in the northeast I have many options for doctors and healthcare facilities.  When I read posts from people who do not have access to nearby hepatologists, I am even more grateful for the good care available to me here.

jd