Aa
Scared nurse
I am a healthcare provider who had a needlestick in march of this year. Pt was HCV +. I had a hcv antibody come back reactive yesterday and my world has been upside down since. It was 15 weeks since the needlestick. My s/c ratio is 1.29. I am going back to employer today to have PCR drawn. any advice?? Encouragement?? Feeling very overwhelmed and consumed by this.
Congrats!!! Always love hear good news!!!
Good news, Peach-ster! I'd neglected to put in some info in my posting that might have also helped to keep you calm. There are various forms of our bod's reaction to exposure. There's antibody (Ab) formation to the surface of the viral coat and is, I believe, abbreviated as AbS. It means the immune system has "seen" a virus particle in the bloodstream. Then there's AbC, or antibody to the Core of the virus. There, the viral DNA goodie inside has been detected by our immune system; that's more worrisome. It's possible to have AbS and never develop AbC. I think I found this information (for a friend in your position) on the CDC website.
Anyway, good news, but keep us all posted on developments.
--- Patrick
Anyway, good news, but keep us all posted on developments.
--- Patrick
Got my PCR results back this morning and they were NEGATIVE! This is a negative results 15 weeks post exposure following a reactive antibody of 1.29. I can't believe it actually. I am going to follow up Sept 5th which will be 6 months since my March 4th exposure from a needlestick! I can't say enough about all of the fellow forum posters and the unbelievable amout of support I have felt and received in the last few days!
Your comments and encouragement are priceless and made a significant impact on my life and will continue to do so.
Thanks again or te encouragement and knowledge base!
Your comments and encouragement are priceless and made a significant impact on my life and will continue to do so.
Thanks again or te encouragement and knowledge base!
Hi, peach. I'm a retired RN (male) who somehow picked Hep C up in the early '80s. Still don't remember any needle stick (hated filling out Incident Reports!) so I probably was exposed when one of my pts' bled out from esophageal variscies and blood was everywhere. No way to tell.
Now, like most of the other folks here have responded to you, I'm gonna say the same thing,...calm down. Go check the CDC info page on Hep C for good info. I think I remember the self-cure rate for acute infection is something like 55-60%, so there's a good chance it won't go chronic. If it does, as one of the other folks noted, it's a slow-progressing situation. I've had mine for about 29 yrs now and have only in the last year progressed to cirrhosis (technically). There are some knowledgable people on this forum, so you're in good company. Personally, I'm waiting for my Hepa-guy to call about starting one of the new anti-virals regimens.
In response to your question for info on INF/Riba Tx: I non-responded to the INF regimen twice (!). If you do get put on it, all I can tell you is my experiences, others have different reactions. The first 24 hrs I could have sworn I had malaria. The chills were pretty rough. But by 36-48 hrs they were gone. Over the next few months I developed an itching over all the long bones (shins, forearms) but nowhere else. Had to glove my hands at night to keep from scratching. My nose ran like a faucet, and I carried paper towels instead of Kleenex. But other than those things, I actually felt pretty good. Maybe it was knowing that I was doing something to kill the little critters, but every time my doc asked if I was depressed or suicidal, I'd tell him I actually had more energy and was in a better mood than before! Unfortunately, both times, after six months my PCR had gone UP. Oh, well..... We'll see how the new Tx works for me.
So calm down and read up on factual data (verify anything you read!) . BTW, CDC says that they feel that only 3-4% of transmission is sexual and there's a chance that data is too high. My wife still tests negative after 25 yrs. There seems to be some good folks on this forum.
Carry on, trooper. ---Palera
Now, like most of the other folks here have responded to you, I'm gonna say the same thing,...calm down. Go check the CDC info page on Hep C for good info. I think I remember the self-cure rate for acute infection is something like 55-60%, so there's a good chance it won't go chronic. If it does, as one of the other folks noted, it's a slow-progressing situation. I've had mine for about 29 yrs now and have only in the last year progressed to cirrhosis (technically). There are some knowledgable people on this forum, so you're in good company. Personally, I'm waiting for my Hepa-guy to call about starting one of the new anti-virals regimens.
In response to your question for info on INF/Riba Tx: I non-responded to the INF regimen twice (!). If you do get put on it, all I can tell you is my experiences, others have different reactions. The first 24 hrs I could have sworn I had malaria. The chills were pretty rough. But by 36-48 hrs they were gone. Over the next few months I developed an itching over all the long bones (shins, forearms) but nowhere else. Had to glove my hands at night to keep from scratching. My nose ran like a faucet, and I carried paper towels instead of Kleenex. But other than those things, I actually felt pretty good. Maybe it was knowing that I was doing something to kill the little critters, but every time my doc asked if I was depressed or suicidal, I'd tell him I actually had more energy and was in a better mood than before! Unfortunately, both times, after six months my PCR had gone UP. Oh, well..... We'll see how the new Tx works for me.
So calm down and read up on factual data (verify anything you read!) . BTW, CDC says that they feel that only 3-4% of transmission is sexual and there's a chance that data is too high. My wife still tests negative after 25 yrs. There seems to be some good folks on this forum.
Carry on, trooper. ---Palera
+1 back at ya Willbb
+ 1 Beaner...
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