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Hepatitis C MEGATHREAD

I've had hepC for 30 years; I'm 48.

I didn't know I had it and drank like a fish for 25 years. Now I have Cirrhosis and HCC and will not live long without a liver transplant. I still have no symptoms from it all apart from being tired, though the chemo makes my hair and eyebrows fall out.

The only reason I am alive now is that I went to a STD clinic for the test 7 years ago and quit alcohol on the day I got my result.

FFS, if there is any way whatsoever that you may have hepC, then get tested now, if you want to reduce harm to yourself.

I got mine from a tattoo by the way; when I look back at the standards in most shops back then, I'm sure we've got an epidemic coming.

Some new hepc drugs are achieving 100% success in only 8 weeks. So maybe soon it won't be such a big problem.
 
tackyspiral said:
thank you for cleaning up this thread!!!!
i have heard over and over again milk thistle is amazing for the liver... and for someone with hcv it can be beneficial
i am terrified of treatment..... its not an option for me atm anyway but eventually its something i will need to consider further
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Unless your doc says otherwise, I'd wait for new treatments to come out. They won't be interferon based and should be cheaper and more effective. If you are still at an early stage, you have a great chance of clearing the virus and returning to normal.

Don't waste your money on milkthistle; spend it on fruit, veg and brown rice! Drink plenty of water with lemon and lime slices.
 
Well i am young... 23 and i would like to wait forthe treatment options to improve however i dont think the virus will clear itself at this point i do know that my viral load isnt too terribly high and that my liver enzymes are elevated but not that bad.... I just hope i didnt pass it to my son...the doc told me there was only about a 1 or 2 % chance of transmission from birth and we had a very smooth labor and delivery.... he cant be tested though until he is 18 months old as right now he still has my antibodies so any test would turn up a likely false positive
 
Foreigner said:
However, you should go to a hospital anyway because if your risk is high then they could maybe give you anti-retroviral drugs that you'd take for 21 days to neutralize the virus before it can take hold. Many places do that for HIV exposure now, so they could possibly do the same for HCV.
Click to expand...

Not great news here with PEP drugs for hepatitis C and here

...
Women Spontaneously Clear Hep C Better Than Men

HCV, waist circumference linked to greater liver stiffness

~ interesting.
 
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^ Are you in the U.S. or Canada? (just looking at the "rocky mountains" as your location)

AFAIK you are entitled to a copy of your own patient records. They can charge you a fee for making a copy but they have to give it to you, it's the law.
 
The US... I don't think they are necessarily refusing just not getting to it I guess but its irritating because those records are unnecessary anyway
 
Don't put up with them ignoring your requests for records, tackyspiral. You have every right to your medical records as well as new doctors. The trouble is, many offices have agencies that handle billing separate from medical records. I had to do this, and was unsuccessful dealing with a couple offices. I had to be a bitch about it, calling frequently, speaking to office staff, leaving messages, faxing, calling back to make sure they got my fax. Waiting more, getting quick responses only when I was a pain in the ass. You really have to stay on those people to get what you need. Good luck!


Tips: When you speak to people in the office, ask who handles medical records and if they accept faxes. Keep a record of who it is you spoke to because when you call back, they may give you the shuffle.
 
I have had Hep-C for 30+ years and have been through 2 12 month treatment plans. The second one was terminated at 7 months after testing showed I was not responding.....again. Both were interferon based treatments, one with the pegulated interferon, one without. Both trys used ribavirin in a combination injection. I assume I contacted this virus by using syringes, however the home done tattos that several of us guys gave to each other have poroven that the virus can be spread that way. 2 0f 5 of us contacted hep-c in this way! What is so stupid is that I used to pride myself on saying I never shared syringes. I thought about this statement and realized that I might as well have shared rigs, because we always dipped into the same glass of water, and we always raced to get to the same spoon to draw our magic potion up! Harm reduction here?, If your going to inject your drugs.....dont share anything except your dope (if you have to). Sharing the spoon, the water, and the same cotton are the exact same as sharing the sringe! Tatoos? any blood blood mixing can spread the virus. using the same needle and thread even the same ink with your buddy giving each other tats.....same as a syringe! So be careful!
notsureanymore
 
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