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Hep C Antibody test was reactive - so many questions
I have been living with HIV for 14 years and doing very well. I have not had unprotected sex since my diagnosis in the 1990's, and have never used intravenous drugs. I have not had intercourse of any kind, either protected or unprotected in at least 10 years.
Each time I have moved or changed doctors, I have been tested for HVC. I have always been negative. My last test was in 2004. My liver function tests have always been normal and I have copies of quarterly tests dating back to 2003.
Now I have a new doctor, so he ran all the tests again. The antibody test for HVC was reactive this time. The s/co ratio was 4.37. The doctor has sent me for confirmation tests (viral load, genotype, etc.) I won't have those results until my next appointment almost a month from now. Can anyone tell me what this number, 4.37, indicates?
The doctor says that I should relax and wait to find out more from the next set of tests, but I'm losing it.
I had a colonoscopy this past summer at a clinic in Nevada which has since been shut down for unsafe anesthesia practices. Somehow it was proven that several people were infected at this clinic. I'm so angry about this. I was trying to take care of my health by having the colonoscopy, and it turns out I may have been infected with a new disease. I have racked my brain and I can't come up with any way I could have been exposed.
What next?
Each time I have moved or changed doctors, I have been tested for HVC. I have always been negative. My last test was in 2004. My liver function tests have always been normal and I have copies of quarterly tests dating back to 2003.
Now I have a new doctor, so he ran all the tests again. The antibody test for HVC was reactive this time. The s/co ratio was 4.37. The doctor has sent me for confirmation tests (viral load, genotype, etc.) I won't have those results until my next appointment almost a month from now. Can anyone tell me what this number, 4.37, indicates?
The doctor says that I should relax and wait to find out more from the next set of tests, but I'm losing it.
I had a colonoscopy this past summer at a clinic in Nevada which has since been shut down for unsafe anesthesia practices. Somehow it was proven that several people were infected at this clinic. I'm so angry about this. I was trying to take care of my health by having the colonoscopy, and it turns out I may have been infected with a new disease. I have racked my brain and I can't come up with any way I could have been exposed.
What next?
There are a lot of people on this board LIVING with Hep C. You have already been down this road of diagnosis with HIV so I don't have to tell you that the early days are the hardest ones and it gets considerably easier as time goes by. All the best.
We have a couple of people on the board who are HIV and HCV pos. So please - talk with them --- and they can help BUNCHES!
Meki
Meki
Yep. This was the place. Regardless of how the tests come out, I will be contacting the health department to make sure they know that I had a colonoscopy there and on what date, and that I am HIV positive. My GI doctor was fully aware. I pray to God they didn't infect anyone who was treated after me. The whole thing is just a nightmare.
Meki has good advice.
I know of one other person that was co-infected with Hep B & C at what I have to believe is the same clinic. The clinic was re-using vials and possibly there were other unsafe practices. Did you have blood drawn there or where you given any injections? I'm not familiar with whether or not that would be part of a colonoscopy. Here is more info:
"A number of separate lawsuits are now being investigated against the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. One group of lawsuits would involve patients who tested positive for blood diseases after receiving treatment at the center. The other is a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of patients who tested negative for those diseases. This lawsuit would focus on the cost of medical testing and the emotional toll that being tested for such diseases causes.
It is unimaginable that a medical services facility would tell staff to reuse syringes and vials, yet it has allegedly happened at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. If you or someone you love was treated at the center, contact a lawyer to determine whether you are eligible to join a class action lawsuit against the center and its directors."
Best wishes.
I know of one other person that was co-infected with Hep B & C at what I have to believe is the same clinic. The clinic was re-using vials and possibly there were other unsafe practices. Did you have blood drawn there or where you given any injections? I'm not familiar with whether or not that would be part of a colonoscopy. Here is more info:
"A number of separate lawsuits are now being investigated against the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. One group of lawsuits would involve patients who tested positive for blood diseases after receiving treatment at the center. The other is a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of patients who tested negative for those diseases. This lawsuit would focus on the cost of medical testing and the emotional toll that being tested for such diseases causes.
It is unimaginable that a medical services facility would tell staff to reuse syringes and vials, yet it has allegedly happened at the Endoscopy Center of Southern Nevada. If you or someone you love was treated at the center, contact a lawyer to determine whether you are eligible to join a class action lawsuit against the center and its directors."
Best wishes.
Relax -- and wait --- time is the only thing.
Sometimes we NEVER know how we were exposed. So don't rack your brain trying to figure that puppy out. LOL - It just doesn't happen sometimes.
Don't be angry. Life happens.
You will go through all the stages of grief that you went through when you learned you had HIV. So keep that in mind.
If you're newly infected, you have better odds, even with HIV - no matter what your genotype --- At least as far as I've learned and that's my personal opinion - the sooner treated - the better the response... I don't know if that works for everyone - but it seems to work for acutes - so I can't imagine logically that it would be different.
KEEP YOUR HUMOR. Laugh - and LOVE.
There is nothing you can do until you get the confirmations - so hang in there --- and keep posting - let us know what's goin on. OK?
Hugs,
Meki
Sometimes we NEVER know how we were exposed. So don't rack your brain trying to figure that puppy out. LOL - It just doesn't happen sometimes.
Don't be angry. Life happens.
You will go through all the stages of grief that you went through when you learned you had HIV. So keep that in mind.
If you're newly infected, you have better odds, even with HIV - no matter what your genotype --- At least as far as I've learned and that's my personal opinion - the sooner treated - the better the response... I don't know if that works for everyone - but it seems to work for acutes - so I can't imagine logically that it would be different.
KEEP YOUR HUMOR. Laugh - and LOVE.
There is nothing you can do until you get the confirmations - so hang in there --- and keep posting - let us know what's goin on. OK?
Hugs,
Meki
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