TDS Think I might of got hep c...

[ickray]

I'm bugging out because I was stupid and shared needles twice with my neighbor who from what I heard is positive with hep c. I was just on drugs and not in my right mind. I grew up with him so I trusted him when he said he was clean, but then a chick who he buys H with said she was with him when his doctor called and told him he was positive. When I asked him he gave me some half ass answer saying he had a "false positive" and has to go back for more tests in a week, but I really don't believe it since he was like jumbling his worlds around. I've read that the transmission rate is very low, around 3%, so the odds of not getting it seem to be on my side. I'm going to the doctor to get tested tomorrow. Has anyone here used needles with someone with hep c and actually never got it? Its just I never thought I'd get something that there was no cure for. I feel like my live will be over if I test positive. I just need some support here, I'm freaking out. I know its no ones fault but my own.

 

[neversickanymore]

Hope you didn't get it. Please use this as a lesson.. don't share needles, never never never ever.. If it is an absolute necessity then straight bleach, drawn in and clear REPEAT REPEAT REPEAT then dump the rig into a bowl of it and let it sit there for awhile, , followed by boiling in a water with bleach in it is what I would recommend... don't trust alcohol as a sterilization technique.. I'm mean if you are going to do it anyway, the alcohol won't hurt, but a better antiseptic, listerine will work better, but boil the damn nail as well and draw the hot water into the reig over and over.. but really just use a new pin every time, every time.. saves your veins, and will guarantee that you will not get passed a disease.. also if you are shooting up around other IV users mark your nail, seen allot of people pick up the wrong nail, also other people may not be as worried about their health as you so don't leave your gear out as someone in need of it may just take the opportunity and use it and put it back, never can tell if you went unconscious. this thread has an amzing amount of information including many needle excanges, http://www.bluelight.ru/vb/threads/...ources-Treatment-Options-Community-Assistance THANK THE MIGHTY OCEAN for this amazing thread.. if you're going to IV then step up to the plate and do it rite. I wish you a long string of negative tests.. dump your neighbor if he told you they were clean after they received that phone call as they are a world class piece of shit.

 

[Vaya]

I have not shared needles with someone positive for hep C, but I've shared straws with someone who, immediately afterwards, confided they had it. I'm not sure what the statistics are regarding transmission rates of hep C using straws are, but to my knowledge i don't have it.

I would sincerely recommend neversickanymore's advice and never share needles again. You absolutely never know.

Best of luck at the doctor's tomorrow. I'm glad you're getting checked out. He/she may have more accurate advice on transmission rates and how long it might take post-exposure for hep C to register on a blood test (some things, for example, can take up to four months!), but the number one thing is that you must be upfront with your doctor as to WHY you are getting tested at all. Only then will you receive any peace of mind regarding your impending results (aside from actually getting the results, of course...).

Best wishes,

~ Vaya

 

[Cadamec]

Sure sounds like your friend was bullshitting you. Go get tested. A simple antibody test will tell you. The wait,usually a week or 3, can be excruciating. Then get tested again in 3 months if you get a negative result.

Sharing needles is absolutely the most common form of transmission other than receiving tainted blood. The US blood supply was not even tested until 1993, I believe. People who received blood transfusions before then should get tested. You can have Hep C for decades and not know it until your liver numbers go haywire.

 

[Vaya]

Sure sounds like your friend was bullshitting you. Go get tested. A simple antibody test will tell you. The wait,usually a week or 3, can be excruciating. Then get tested again in 3 months if you get a negative result.

Sharing needles is absolutely the most common form of transmission other than receiving tainted blood. The US blood supply was not even tested until 1993, I believe. People who received blood transfusions before then should get tested. You can have Hep C for decades and not know it until your liver numbers go haywire.

Thanks for that bit about the waiting period; I was interested in discovering the answer to that, myself...

 

[ickray]

Thank you all for the kind words. He is definatly a piece of shit if he lied. I was just out of my mind on H and didn't think of the consequences, and now that I've been clean for almost two weeks my normalcy of thinking has come back and it hit me how stupid I was for doing that. I've actually only used needles less then 10 times in my life, but the first couple times they were with him. I'm just praying I didn't pick it up, I guess its all I can do.

 

[herbavore]

I got stuck with a needle when trying to clean my son's apartment after his death. I was so naive that I didn't think twice about it. Later when I was crying to a friend who is a nurse about the experience of finding all those needles, she asked if I had been stuck and I told her yes. She told me to go get tested immediately and I remember the waiting period being hell. My son did not have hep C but I had no idea if all those needles were actually his or not.

I hope that you are safe. Congratulations on two weeks!