What do I do now?

[Hopefully81]

Hello. I just found out today that I am in fact positive for Hep C. I got the quantitative HCV RNA results. The first number is 3831 IU/mL the second 3.58 log IU/mL. What does this mean? I see a specialist on Thursday and just want to know what to expect. I'm not sure how I got it. Not that it matters I guess, but my Mother told me she had "non A non B" since she was 19. It wasn't until after I was born that Hep C became a thing. will the specialist be able to tell how I contracted it or how long I've had it?
My next question has to do with nursing school. Do I need to tell them? I've worked so hard to get to where I'm at now and am afraid that if I ask my advisor I will be kicked out. I'm set to graduate in December. What about treatment? I read prior posts that some have been able to work and treatment response is patient specific. What about school/studying/parenting? Should I have my 11 year old son tested as well? My husband's results for antibody screening were negative. Should he get tested again in the future?  I'm kinda freaking out over here.

[1dayatime626]

They wont be able to tell you how u got it or when....

[nygirl7]

Most of us get out children / spouses tested for peace of mind. It is very very rarely passed on that way (first off it's not a sexually transmitted disease and secondly the chance of mother to child is quite low (I think 2 or 3%).  But it can happen so it's best just to know so you can move on and take care of yourself.  I made a bet with God that if my kids didn't have it I'd do all I could to beat it - yup i had to treat very aggressively to keep that promise but they were OK so....that was the deal!

Nursing school does not need to know - there are several nurses that have been through here in the past few years (and one good friend in school right now) who've wandered through the same emotional dilema to tell or not to tell. Well....don't.  Be very specific who you do tell because some people will understand and quite honestly some wont. It's a stigma that is still shared today unfortunately by some ignorant folks.

You 'could' have contracted it at birth but it's unlikely.  Unless you have a specific event (needlestick at a job, getting a tatoo at a sketchy place...) you will most likely never really know where you got it.  It doesn't matter anyway the lucky day was the day you found out.

Now you can learn everything you can and get a good heptologist to find out where you stand and if you have to treat now or if you have time to wait to see if the new drugs come out next year.  Biopsy sounds horrible but it's really not and will tell you exactly how much liver damage you have.  

Ask questions and learn how to read your blood test results......people in here are wonderful and will help you understand them if you just post them up.  Ask the doc for a copy of everything and keep it in a folder. It will come in very handy in the future.

I'll stop boring you to tear and let some of the other guys answer some questions!  Remember this disease is not a death sentence but you do have to follow up with it - it isn't called a Silent Killer for nothing....and you want to take care of it before it gets to that point.

Good luck.