Aa
Totally confused about hep c
I am a newbie in all meaning of the word. I have never been on a site like this to ask questions and actually get back educated answers. I am also new to the hep c virus. Just recently, I was tested for the hep c virus. I was told the results were positive. I believe the tests were ran a second time, but from what I remember I was told that although the results were positive, my liver count was good. I was homeless, an IV user, and maintained a very poor diet. I have been sober and off the streets for 10 months now. I am sure that I got the virus when I was "using". I thought I was being careful by bleaching my "rig" after my boyfriend would use it. He was the only one that I shared with. But from time to time, I would use someone else's razor or even snort straw or rolled bill without giving a second thought to there being any possibility of contracting the virus that way. As you can tell, I was very naive to the virus and just plain stupid while in my addiction. As careful as I thought I was being, obviously, I wasn't careful enough. So my question is.....how does the hep c virus affect a person? I do not feel sick nor have any symptoms of any illnesses. Is there a treatment? Is the treatment mandatory even if you do not show signs of illness? Is hep c fatal? How long can I live with the hep c virus? I am 34 and have a newborn baby. She is only a week old and now I am scared to death that I won't be around to watch her grow. Please help me understand this virus.
Thank you!
Thank you!
I, too, just found out I was Hep C positive and was told it is 3a genotype. I am four months prego and four months clean. I was tested a year ago and was okay. when i relapsed about 7 months ago, i shared a needle once, and when i was tested just recently, I was positive. I was told that i am lucky for finding out so soon and being able to put a time frame to when i contracted the Hep. I am terrified, but feel so much better having read all of the questions and answers above. I didn't really know where to go and my doctor didn't really help any with questions. He did say that I should wait till after i have my baby before i seek treatment. I am 26 years old and am scared of passing it onto my baby, etc etc. I know the risk is low, but the fear remains. What kind of side effects go along with the treatment for my particular Hep C genotype, 3a? and how soon after i give birth should I start treatment? Also, should i use condoms with my husband until after treatment? I know Hep C can rarely be passed through sex, but should i take the risk of giving it to him? How can i finally have some sense of peace regarding this life altering news?
Sarah
Sarah
Hello and welcome, a big congrats on your sobriety, you are in very good company on this forum as I'm sure you are finding out. You could most likely ask anything and get an answer, just look at some of my posts. (free smile) Anyways, I really don't have anything to add I just wanted to welcome you as I have walked a similiar path.
God Bless
God Bless
(Sigh)
The ****** was meant to spell "assess" in my post above... Med help has built-in profanity filters that confused my spelling with @sses, the plural of @ss, LOL!
Bill
The ****** was meant to spell "assess" in my post above... Med help has built-in profanity filters that confused my spelling with @sses, the plural of @ss, LOL!
Bill
Whoa... What a lot to unload off your shoulders there.
OK. First... Are you gonna die tomorrow? I dunno - got any plans to jump off a tall skyscraper or anything odd like that? Then probably not *grin*.
IS HCV Fatal - it can be. It really depends on a lot of equations. I mean --- some people never have ANY problems with HCV.
Should you be blaming yourself for picking up HCV? Nope --- I didn't use needles or do drugs or anything and I got it. I didn't even get to have wild rampant sex at a drug users convention or anything so glorious. Hep C kinda chooses whoever it wants to --- and it goes there.
Don't lay the blame on yourself - it happens to a lot of people - in a lot of ways.
Now that you've stopped blaming yourself... get familiar with this board... Read through all of the posts for the past couple of months. Spend some time getting the answers you might need...
There is a lot of support here - but you will have to do some research on your own to answer all of the incredible thoughts running through your head right now.
Not a single one of us could tell you what to expect - each person is different. Each circumstance --- each dna is different.
Now - you may be HCV positive --- but have you gotten a VIRAL LOAD test yet?
You'll need that --- and a liver biopsy to know what stage you're at --- and if you'll need to
Breathe --- that is the first step.
Learning is the second step.
Take Baby Steps --- and you'll be fine...
Nice to meet you - and congrats on getting clean and becoming a mother --- sheesh --- and you think HCV is gonna be hard? LOL - heck - you've already done harder things...
Good Luck!
Meki
OK. First... Are you gonna die tomorrow? I dunno - got any plans to jump off a tall skyscraper or anything odd like that? Then probably not *grin*.
IS HCV Fatal - it can be. It really depends on a lot of equations. I mean --- some people never have ANY problems with HCV.
Should you be blaming yourself for picking up HCV? Nope --- I didn't use needles or do drugs or anything and I got it. I didn't even get to have wild rampant sex at a drug users convention or anything so glorious. Hep C kinda chooses whoever it wants to --- and it goes there.
Don't lay the blame on yourself - it happens to a lot of people - in a lot of ways.
Now that you've stopped blaming yourself... get familiar with this board... Read through all of the posts for the past couple of months. Spend some time getting the answers you might need...
There is a lot of support here - but you will have to do some research on your own to answer all of the incredible thoughts running through your head right now.
Not a single one of us could tell you what to expect - each person is different. Each circumstance --- each dna is different.
Now - you may be HCV positive --- but have you gotten a VIRAL LOAD test yet?
You'll need that --- and a liver biopsy to know what stage you're at --- and if you'll need to
Breathe --- that is the first step.
Learning is the second step.
Take Baby Steps --- and you'll be fine...
Nice to meet you - and congrats on getting clean and becoming a mother --- sheesh --- and you think HCV is gonna be hard? LOL - heck - you've already done harder things...
Good Luck!
Meki
Hi Chrissie, and welcome!
First, congratulations on getting and staying clean. I probably contracted this stuff using too, many years ago… maintaining sobriety is the best thing you have going for your right now. Really :o).
You have a lot of questions to address; lets start at the top of you’re list:
Q) How does the hep c virus affect a person? I do not feel sick nor have any symptoms of any illnesses.
A) It is generally considered to be an asymptomatic disease; most of us found out we were infected by routine blood test; it doesn’t generally “present” with definite symptoms, until it’s quite advanced. Some of report fatigue, general aches and pains, depression, etc. Contrary to common belief, people don’t usually run around with yellow eyes or skin like you’d expect.
Q) Is there a treatment? Is the treatment mandatory even if you do not show signs of illness?
A) Yes, treatment is currently available in the form of the drug interferon, which is injected once a week, along with the oral drug ribavirin. These drugs effectively eradicate the virus in about 50% of patients, although some patients don’t tolerate the treatment well. Treatment takes anywhere from 24 to 72 weeks to complete, and some of us deal with flu-like symptoms during the course of therapy. Treatment is not for everyone; as your diagnosis progresses, it would be a good idea to ***** the damage, if any, your liver has sustained. This can be accomplished via liver biopsy, or in some instances, on of the non-invasive alternatives. If you have not demonstrated disease progression per biopsy, it might be wise to postpone treatment pending development of more promising drugs on the horizon. Some of these are in clinical trial as we speak. More on this later :o).
Q) Is hep c fatal? How long can I live with the hep c virus?
A) Hep C (HCV) is statistically fatal in less than 5% of patients. Most of us will die *with* HCV rather than *from it. Again, the best way to determine where you stand is by assessing the amount of damage you liver has sustained to date. Things like viral load, unlike HIV, do not correlate with disease progression.
Just by being aware of your HCV status will dramatically improve your longevity, and you’ll probably be around to be a pain in the @ss to your children for years to come :o).
You’ve come to a great place to educate yourself about this disease… keep asking questions, and get to know the folds here. In the mean time, take a look at the following site:
http://janis7hepc.com/
This will provide you with a good platform to familiarize yourself with the basics; just click on any topic of interest in the blue box on their home page. Additionally, here is a link that will help you understand some of the acronyms and abbreviations we use so freely in here :o):
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/Common-Hepatits-C-Acronyms/show/3?cid=64
As far as your baby is concerned, the possibility of you transferring the disease to your child (perinatal transmission) is *very* low; around 5%. There is nothing to be done until the child reaches about 18 months of age anyway- any tests prior to that likely reflect the mother’s antibodies rather than the infants.
Again, take care, keep asking questions, and stay in touch—
Bill
First, congratulations on getting and staying clean. I probably contracted this stuff using too, many years ago… maintaining sobriety is the best thing you have going for your right now. Really :o).
You have a lot of questions to address; lets start at the top of you’re list:
Q) How does the hep c virus affect a person? I do not feel sick nor have any symptoms of any illnesses.
A) It is generally considered to be an asymptomatic disease; most of us found out we were infected by routine blood test; it doesn’t generally “present” with definite symptoms, until it’s quite advanced. Some of report fatigue, general aches and pains, depression, etc. Contrary to common belief, people don’t usually run around with yellow eyes or skin like you’d expect.
Q) Is there a treatment? Is the treatment mandatory even if you do not show signs of illness?
A) Yes, treatment is currently available in the form of the drug interferon, which is injected once a week, along with the oral drug ribavirin. These drugs effectively eradicate the virus in about 50% of patients, although some patients don’t tolerate the treatment well. Treatment takes anywhere from 24 to 72 weeks to complete, and some of us deal with flu-like symptoms during the course of therapy. Treatment is not for everyone; as your diagnosis progresses, it would be a good idea to ***** the damage, if any, your liver has sustained. This can be accomplished via liver biopsy, or in some instances, on of the non-invasive alternatives. If you have not demonstrated disease progression per biopsy, it might be wise to postpone treatment pending development of more promising drugs on the horizon. Some of these are in clinical trial as we speak. More on this later :o).
Q) Is hep c fatal? How long can I live with the hep c virus?
A) Hep C (HCV) is statistically fatal in less than 5% of patients. Most of us will die *with* HCV rather than *from it. Again, the best way to determine where you stand is by assessing the amount of damage you liver has sustained to date. Things like viral load, unlike HIV, do not correlate with disease progression.
Just by being aware of your HCV status will dramatically improve your longevity, and you’ll probably be around to be a pain in the @ss to your children for years to come :o).
You’ve come to a great place to educate yourself about this disease… keep asking questions, and get to know the folds here. In the mean time, take a look at the following site:
http://janis7hepc.com/
This will provide you with a good platform to familiarize yourself with the basics; just click on any topic of interest in the blue box on their home page. Additionally, here is a link that will help you understand some of the acronyms and abbreviations we use so freely in here :o):
http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/Common-Hepatits-C-Acronyms/show/3?cid=64
As far as your baby is concerned, the possibility of you transferring the disease to your child (perinatal transmission) is *very* low; around 5%. There is nothing to be done until the child reaches about 18 months of age anyway- any tests prior to that likely reflect the mother’s antibodies rather than the infants.
Again, take care, keep asking questions, and stay in touch—
Bill
Hello - First of all, congratulations for being clean for 10 months now! I know finding out you have this virus can be SOOOO scary! I'm only 26 years old, and all of the same questions raced through my mind when I found out. (My mom actually died of Hep C - she also drank a lot which sped it up), so I understand how frightening it can be.
You have come to the right place! There are so many AMAZING people on this forum, and you will find a great deal of knowledge and support. Your first steps are to see a Hepatologist or GI doctor to discuss treatment options. Did your doctor tell you what genotype or your viral load? These are two important "first things" to find out. Some people choose (and many doctors will suggest) that you have a liver biopsy to see how much damage and scar tissue there is on your liver.
Treatment is NOT mandatory, but depending on your genotype it can prove very successful. For example, I am a geno 3a, so with tx (short for treatment on this forum) I have a 70-75% chance of curing this with six months of tx. If you're a genotype 2, your chances increase to 80-85%. If you're a type 1 (which is most common) it will depend on your RVR (viral response....the doctor will explain all of this). So two important factors in deciding to tx or not are 1. genotype 2. Liver damage.
Since you have a newborn, tx might be difficult. If you read through the forum you will see many people have bad side effects with tx. However, there are some that do just fine. The doctor told me that being young, female, and type 3, I have a really great shot at curing this. So you will just have to do what feels right for you.
Please send me a message if you need to talk :)
BC
You have come to the right place! There are so many AMAZING people on this forum, and you will find a great deal of knowledge and support. Your first steps are to see a Hepatologist or GI doctor to discuss treatment options. Did your doctor tell you what genotype or your viral load? These are two important "first things" to find out. Some people choose (and many doctors will suggest) that you have a liver biopsy to see how much damage and scar tissue there is on your liver.
Treatment is NOT mandatory, but depending on your genotype it can prove very successful. For example, I am a geno 3a, so with tx (short for treatment on this forum) I have a 70-75% chance of curing this with six months of tx. If you're a genotype 2, your chances increase to 80-85%. If you're a type 1 (which is most common) it will depend on your RVR (viral response....the doctor will explain all of this). So two important factors in deciding to tx or not are 1. genotype 2. Liver damage.
Since you have a newborn, tx might be difficult. If you read through the forum you will see many people have bad side effects with tx. However, there are some that do just fine. The doctor told me that being young, female, and type 3, I have a really great shot at curing this. So you will just have to do what feels right for you.
Please send me a message if you need to talk :)
BC
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