dormant hepititis c

[liarman]

just how long can this lie dormant-even stretching it to any possibility of infection on any list it was almost 40 yrs ago-is that possible?  do i need to search for another means of contact?  could I have gotten this from a cheating spouse since I have been faithful for this entire time-

[mnkdrt]

I believe it has been reported to lay dormant or show no signs of symptom for up to 20 to 30 years.
mnkdrt-

[MissMiss]

There are no doctors here, just folks dealing with HCV.

I have had HCV for 38 years now.  I believe I got it from a surgery.  I have had some kind of symptoms throughout, mostly the fatigue.

miss

[can-do-man]

says...... from a cheating spouse...... not likely, hep-c is a blood to blood thing. So many ways your blood could have come in contact with some one else's blood almost impossible to know. Plus don't much matter how, just what to do about it. Hope your seeing a good doctor. Take care and best to you.

[jmjm530]

40, 50 years or even more is possible without noticeable symptons. Personally, I contracted Hep C 37 years ago. Others have had it even longer and didn't have a clue until some blood test flagged tje virus.

As CanDoMan suggests, at this point it's counter productive (but very human) to dwell on how you got it. Now that you're diagnosed, next step might be to visit a liver specialist. They're called hepatologists and are usually found at major teaching hospitals.

The good news is that the odds of curing hepatitis c are the best they've been in a long time and hopefully newer drugs in the pipeline will make the odds even better.

Depending on the condition of your liver and other factors, a hepatologist will help you decide whether now is the time to treat or if you should adopt a strategy of watchful waiting. All the best luck.

-- Jim

[Mister beagle bailey]

I agree with can do man, I got HepC from a tatoo in 1997.  It has to be blood to blood contact and there are many ways to get it.

BEAGLE

[Bill1954]

Hi there, I

[can-do-man]

Your right on all them ways to get it. And since so many of us have it 25 plus years things were not as  sterile as they are now.

[jmjm530]

My understanding from reading the literature is that the two most common ways people get hep c is either from a contaminated blood supply or IV drug use.

Here is what the CDC has to say on the matter (numbering my own):
1. (If) you ever injected street drugs, even if you experimented a few times many years ago.
2. If you were treated for clotting problems with a blood product made before 1987.
3. If you received a blood transfusion or solid organ transplant (e.g., kidney, liver, heart) from an infected donor.
4. If you were ever on long-term kidney dialysis.
5. If you were ever a health care worker and had frequent contact with blood in the work place, especially accidental needlesticks.
6.If your mother had hepatitis C at the time she gave birth to you.
7. If you ever had sex with a person infected with HCV.
8. If you lived with someone who was infected with HCV and shared items such as razors or toothbrushes that might have had blood on them.
Full article here: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/c/chronic.htm#5

Unless you can absolutely rule out all the above -- and keep in mind with numbers 6,7& 8 that the hep c status of most people is unknown -- then these appear to be the more likely transmission routes.

My personal opinion is that other transmission routes such as nail saloon or dental contamination are quite rare or else we'd be seeing many more cases in the general population.

-- Jim

[can-do-man]

I agree that dental contaminations are quite rare NOW. But when you go back 25 or more years things wasn't as sterile IV drug and blood transfusion  i think are/were the most common. But if you include razors and toothbrushes, then it would be hard to leave out any blood to blood. Surely not many people share toothbrushes.

[NYgirl]

Good news is it's hard to get HepC via sex but OTHER diseases that are WORSE can be caught very easily.  I think if you are concerned you really need to go and get tested. While Hep can hide out with no symptoms for a long, long time other things like AIDS can kill you - STDs can sterilize you and in women cause cancer.

All in all Hep isn't the worst thing you can "catch".

Best of luck

[Alady1620]

I agree with jmjm about transmission.  

Anybody else find it ironic that the "hippy" in our group brought up fighting.  LOL

[cuteus]

liarman; if you speak of not having any symptoms of end stage liver disease as the virus "dormancy' state, then you are correct. But chronic hep c does not just sit there doing nothing, it is constantly affecting the liver and other organs, you might not feel anything, but that does not mean that liver damage is not progressing. HCV needs to be monitored so that you are not taken by surprise when things get worse. Please do not think that no symptoms means the virus is 'dormant' and doing no damage. There is no such thing in hcv. Some folks do not progress to more damage and some do. You need to monitor YOUR condition to make sure you don't belong to the latter group.

[52TELE]

My brain is in the dormant phase.

[friole]

liarman - Welcome to the forum.  You have received some good information here.   I too frequently hear the term dormant used with reference to hep C.  I found out I had the hep C antibodies in 1993 - at the age of 46.  I researched what I could - there was not much out there.  Since I was not symptomatic, I figured I had escaped liver damage.  I think it is not so much that the virus is dormant, but that your own immune system is strong.  Last year - at the age of 57 I decided it was time to stop fooling myself and find out.  I was still not symptomatic but the biopsy showed some liver damage (stage 1, grade 1).  I have probably been infected since 1968 - 1969.  So yes, you can have this disease for 40 years or more.

alady - we hippies had dark sides too.  Not everything was as it seemed.  Thus the hedonistic ventures into IV drug use that got so many of us here.

[Alady1620]

I'm sorry.  I did not know that about hippyman.  I apologize.

[doglover28]

Good point about nail salons.  I remember getting cut with cuticles sizzors in one.  I think they stuck the sizzors in a jar of alcohol.  I can't remember, but it is pretty scary.  Actually, I think they are supposed to put the items in a machine after, but who knows if they do.

[NYgirl]

The important thing is NOT where or how you got it but that you do know that you have it and therefore can begin to treat it to kill it!

I think we all go through an initial stage of when exactly did I get this? Who gave it to me? What was the way? But then we realize it doesn't matter ONE whit HOW...it's the lucky day we find OUT we have it that matters.

Lucky you say? Yup.  I have a friend who died on Friday - he'd been down a very long long road with this but never really took care of it and finally succumbed to liver cancer as a result of having it for well over 30 years and not doing a thing but continuing to party.

I think I am LUCKY because I found out I have it - it's NOT a fast acting killing disease and there IS a cure for it unlike a lot of other "cancers or tumors or diseases etc".

If we have to get something..........at least we have something we CAN beat!  :)

[can-do-man]

nysaid.........at least we have something we CAN beat! :)...............

Hey now that wasn't very nice. What you gonna get everyone to gang up on me? Im sick gal

[doglover28]

I agree....I am glad that I found out that I have this disease. Hopefully it was caught early enough to treat. Plus, it makes me stop and smell the roses, and it's made me grateful for all the blessings that I do have in my life.  Pam

[Dale_Ray]

you can go a natural full lifetime unless you enjoy a good stiff drink then you got problems. Booze is bad, period.

Blood transfer from one to another and they don't know all of the ways it is transferred. Some get it some don't under the very same conditions. I'm at 28 years now since a blood transfusion. I don't spend a lot of time on the how just on the attempt to cure so I don't pass it on to another by some mysterious way. Dale

[NYgirl]

BOOZE IS BAD.

JUST SAY NO!


LOL how come I didn't know then what I know now?  ;)

[sskip]

I have a boyfriend that is 61 and is dialysis, plus he has hep c that is dormaint is the hep c contagious since it is dormaint

[nygirl7]

There is no such thing as dormant hep you either have it or you do not.

[garret333]

PLEASE HELP ME UNDERSTAND THE RESULT OF MY BLOOD WORK. I WOULD LIKE TO KNOW IF I HAVE/HAD HEP C VIRUS.

HBSAG W/TITER (ECLIA)           0.402                               C.O.V. 1.000       NON REACTIVE
ANTI HBS (ECLIA)                      <2.00   IU/L                      C.O.V. 10.000     NON REACTIVE
HBEAG (ECLIA)                          0.137                              C.O.V. 1.000      NON REACTIVE
ANTI HBE (ECLIA)                       1.760                              C.O.V. 1.000      NON REACTIVE
ANTI HAV IGM  (ECLIA)                0.373                             C.O.V. 1.000      NON REACTIVE
ANTI HBC IGG   (ECLIA)                2.730                            C.O.V. 1.000     NON REACTIVE
ANTI HCV (ECLIA)                         0.039                            C.O.V. 1.000     NON REACTIVE


THANK YOU