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terrified! just found out i have hep c

tackyspiral

tackyspiral

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Joined
Feb 27, 2006
Messages
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i went to the obgyn today for my first ultrasound i found out i am 8 and a half weeks pregnant. I also got the results of my bloodwork and I have hep c which i really was surprised to hear. i realize its not that shocking i used alot of iv drugs in the past. I am clean now and despite the upsetting news and panic attack which followed i wouldnt consider picking up.
I am completely terrified its pretty crazy to see the first lil fetus pic and find out i have hep c at the same has anyone been through this or can offer any advice or just support?
 
I got the following from the Mayo Clinic website:

Treatment isn't always necessary
A diagnosis of hepatitis C infection doesn't necessarily mean you need treatment. If you have only slight liver abnormalities, you may not need treatment, because your risk of future liver problems is very low. Your doctor may recommend follow-up blood tests to monitor for liver problems.


This isn't a death sentence. This is something you very well may die WITH, NOT FROM. So try not to over-worry yourself. Furthermore, if the virus should become active- there are effective antiviral treatments that will reduce the viral load. Is there any indication of what- if any - damage has been done to your liver?
 
i dont have any obvious signs other than fatigue but i am also pregnant so it doesnt necessarily mean much at all. its doubtful that i have done serious liver damage i am only 23 and clearly drinking was not exactly my drug of choice
however i am really overwhelmed w anxiety and so many questions which i cant answer until i get in to see both a gi specialist and perinatal specialist.
for instance acetaminaphen- very bad for liver and people with hep c but the go to med for preg women who have migraines which i struggled w before and even more so now
i guess the anxiety is the worst just one more thing to freak out about
 
Talk to your doctor about Hep C, or they may refer you to a specialist who deals with Hep C. I know people who have it and they were into IV drugs; but they have gotten treatment for it. Your first concern though should be your child though. Good luck.
 
Congratulations on becoming a mother!<3 I know that you will be talking to lots of doctors in the near future which is good.Let us know what they say. Be sure to check out any herbal supplements you may see recommended as good for Hep C with your medical doctor. If you can see a Naturopath that also is an MD that is ideal. Stay positive. Worrying produces stress hormones in your body that affect your child. Now might be a great time to read about Mindfulness meditation---it could really help you on all levels.<3
 
Hey i have Hep-c also (IV heroin). I dont know exactly when i got it. I am guessing about a year ago when i was homeless. Or it could of been 4 years ago when i first shared a rig. But thats besides the point i havent notice any side effects (yet) i heard that you can go decades without feeling any side effects, and it depends on what genotype of hepc you have.1,2 or 3. 1 being the worse. which is only about 15 percent of people who get hep c. I still havent looked into getting any treatment for it. Im just trying to stay positive, and hope for the best. It is what it is and thats all it is.
 
I Have an appointment with a gi doc monday but from the research i have done there is a less than 5% chance of passing it on to my baby which isnt bad but still a risk... surprising considering the baby is in me and my blood is infected.
as i said its alot to deal with especially because i have also come off my vyvanse quit smoking and am almost weened off my xanax all within the last week and a half
 
Wow, major congratulations on quitting all that! You are one strong mama!<3
 
well i mean the benzos are proving to be a lil bit difficult to get completely off of tho from what i have read less than 1 mg a day isnt necessarily terrible i am down to .5 to .75 mg a day it may be better in fact than the stress and panic and overalll effects of not taking them.
also i have an appointment tomorow with gi doc to get hopefully more tests and then answers w the hep c
thank god i still have my parents health insurance plan
 
Sounds like you def have a lot going on in your life at them moment. Well done for cutting down on all that for the good of your baby (and I for yourself too?). Try to focus on the fact that there are effective treatments for Hep C and you will most likely live with this virus for years without it having a major impact on your life. Think of it as just something that needs to be monitored but try not to worry about it if you can. I know that is difficult but worrying will not change the fact you have it so focusing on the fact it is extremely unlikely this will destroy your life would seem like a good idea.

Are there any Hep C support groups where you are? It might be a good idea to see if there are as attending one of these may help.
 
i saw a gi doc today he did tell me that the risk of passing hpv to the baby is actually only one to two percent which is good and he ordered all the furter tests to see if the virus is active and if so what genotype and how much if any liver damge exists
but overall i do feel quite a bit less stressed although everything is still understandably scary
 
That's good news. When do you get the results of your further tests?
 
Hey girl , first off congrats on your child :). I got the same news a little over 5-6 weeks ago and it really fucked my head in. But I'm working with doctors and their is a very good chance I may be free from it with the treatments they have going and how i am responding! I know it's wicked scary and I personally felt real ashamed, but it is in no way shape or form an end all of your life - it's just very important to follow thru w everything your doctors tell you and you will be okay! Hang in.
 
All I can say is that your lucky. Glass half full atleast you don't have HIV. But, on the downside your child is a concerne and also they have a med that they stab you in the leg and it makes you sick but it slows down the hep c. See this is always I stayed from needles. Never had a desire to use them. When I was smoking meth I would do almost anything the get a bigger rush then before but I never was tempted to IV it. I hope the best for you.
 
so i still have not got the rest of the hep tests done but i saw the perinatal doc today i am currently 11 and a half weeks and everything seems good so far!
He did tell me that my initial bloodwork showed i do have a low viral load which means i wasnt one of the lucky few who are able to fight off the virus but i dont know much more than that
so yah i do have the virus but i am still happy so far he said even withnall my risk factors combined it is still a very low probablity of having bad effects on the baby
And he said that my benzo taper is exactly correct! Yay i am doing somethin right which means i am Slowly but faithfully weaning by about .25 a week
Oh and sonicwhite thanks for that advice who knew using needles could have negative consequences? you are totally right i should have just stuck to smoking my drugs off of aluminum foil....
 
so i finally did the rest of my bloodwork and i have type 1a which i guess is not great but other than slightly elevated liver enzymes and iron levels everything else seems pretty normal my gi doc said to just chill and come back in a year - 6 months after i give birth to talk about treatment options i know it sounds horrible but i am really angry i am not supposed to drink anymore and i am scared of getting progressively more sick and tired and terrified of the treatment fromwhat i understand its not exactly a cakewalk and its only got around a 50% success rate
 
tackyspiral said:
i am scared of getting progressively more sick and tired and terrified of the treatment fromwhat i understand its not exactly a cakewalk and its only got around a 50% success rate
Click to expand...

Hep C is a global problem thus big pharma invests a lot of money into research. There are 2 new drugs that are being used to treat Hep C called Boceprevir and Telaprevir.

Quote from Wiki article:

"The SPRINT-1 trial was a phase II trial of Boceprivir in difficult-to-treat patients with HCV genotype 1.[3] Study results were announced at the 44th annual meeting of the European Association for the Study of the Liver in Copenhagen in April, 2009. When used in combination with peginterferon alfa-2b and ribavirin, boceprivir use resulted in significantly higher sustained viral response (SVR) rates in the most difficult-to-treat patients with genotype 1."

Is your doctor a gastroenterologist? If not ask your doctor about seeing one. Success rates are higher than 50%, especially with the new medication. I'm happy to hear that you've stopped drinking, you really do not want to develop cirrhosis, or highten your liver levels so that you HAVE TO receive treatment.

All the best to you and your new baby.
 
damn, i'm so sorry you got this news but the best of luck to you and your unborn baby <3 there's a lot that can be done with modern medicine and i hope the treatment options offered to you at least delay the onset of any severe/debilitating conditions. it must be devastating to deal with, especially due to the 5% risk for your baby, but you have to stay positive and try to be strong. on the bright side, if you were sharing needles, at least you didn't contract HIV.

my thoughts are with you.
 
i am seeing a gastroenterologist and he told me the risk of transmission to the baby is actually closer to 1 or 2 percent which is promising. I am also unsure at this point whether or not to tell my parents. I am 23 so its of course up to me and I know they would be so dissapointed plus they are so proud of the changes I have made, but I would really like to tell my mom in some ways and its not something that will just go away so I suppose they will know at some point...
 
You should be proud tacky it sounds like you are putting your life back together. I know how hard it is to recover from IV use. Keep your head up its a long road but you can do it.
 
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