Anyone on methadone with hep C?

[brendaelk]

I am trying to find out all I can. New to the diagnosis Hep C,  I have lived a normal drug (illegal drugs I should say) and alcohol FREE life on Methadone for 15 years. This is just as terrifying as substance abuse was to me. I feel like the drug use did not kill me, but the hep c probably will. I have had a liver ultra sound that was normal, but not the biopsy yet. I am getting one asap now after reading these forums. I am so grateful to find actual people who are going through this terrifying disease with great feedback. I am genotype 1A. I am also trying to find some individual health insurance that will accept me now. I do not know what to do.

[fretboard]

I used to be a MMP for alot of years, today I'm prescribed methadone for pain.  You are definitely not alone and you've found an awsome forum to learn and treat your HepC.    good luck

[Bill1954]

Glad you found this place too; it can really help us figure things out. Do come back and talk to people here; they can help guide you through the maze :o). If you get a few minutes, take a look at this site as well; it has some excellent basic information available:

http://janis7hepc.com/

Try opening the ‘newly diagnosed' near the top of the page, or click on any topic of interest in ‘other HCV information’ located in the right hand margin.

Take care, and hang in there—

Bill

[brendaelk]

Hi Bill thks for the feedback, I am 54 as well! April birthday. I will get on here tomorrow and read more and do a profile. I am so happy to find this forum and get some help!  THKS to you GSD girl, I  read your recommended threads as well. This is new to me but I know if I can make it through those terrible drug induced years I can deal with this too. It is easier now to ask for help, something we did not do when using. That seems like a different person in a long ago time! Glad to be alive and smarter now! Hope to spend some time on here again soon.

[Bill1954]

“I feel like the drug use did not kill me, but the hep c probably will.”

That just isn’t true. Although HCV can kill, only about 5% of those infected will eventually succumb to the disease. Depending on your genotype (or strain), of HCV, there is a very good chance that you will eventually be able to defeat it. I see now you are Genotype 1; this is a little more problematic to deal with than some of the others, but it’s still very possible to overcome. I had genotype 1, and just recently beat it.

I don’t believe methadone will be an obstacle for you if you need to undergo treatment for Hep C; you will probably be drug tested for miscellaneous substances prior to beginning, though.

Try to find some insurance; this stuff can be expensive to manage; it can cost upwards of US$ 60,000/year for doctors, labs, drugs etc. Even with insurance, it can be a little pricey. Many of us fall back on patient assistance programs provided by the drug manufacturers to help out with drug costs.

You might not even have to undergo treatment; the results of your biopsy will help guide this decision; many folks without substantial liver disease decide to live with the virus, at least for a while. There are new drugs that are in clinical trial as we speak that promise to increase the efficacy of treatment, and possibly reduce the exposure/time we need to treat.

Keep asking questions in here, and stay tuned… lots of new things happening right now.

Good luck to you—

Bill

[GSDgirl]

Hi and welcome to the site.  I don't really remember anyone talking about methadone but that doesn't mean that there isn't anyone that was on it.  I did a search in the search box in the top right of the screen and came up with some reading for you

http://www.medhelp.org/search?query=methadone+%26+treatment

hope the link works

Denise