Hep C

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Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:31 pm

I recently found out that I contracted Hep C as a baby from a blood transfusion back in'79. Anyone here know much about how Hep C is treated or knows someone who has been through that.

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:44 pm

if you are still alive, the treatment was sucessful, don't worry about it

If you of the gender that carries children , let your Doc know, but don't worry about it,

Hep C is common, and easily treated and cured, it's not like Diabetes 1 or Rh incompatability

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 9:52 pm

No I haven't had treatment yet, that's the part that's scaring me TBH.

Elite Baiter Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 1043

You are somewhat wrong about the easy cure.

Around 1/4 of infected people can fight it off. The rest will have chronic hep c.
Only 1/5 of these will get cirrhosis. Have they checked for cirrhosis?

About infection. You will only infect people if there is direct blood to blood contact. That could be cut, open sore, wheatever. I wouldn't worry about this too much, but use your own towels, toothbrushes etc.

I'm pretty sure it's not passed through sex, but, if there is bleeding, then chances are much higher.

Child wise. my mother, who has Hep C has had two children, neither of us are infected. I don' t think it is a regular problem.

There are drugs that can help, but a lot have some terrible side effects. Worse than some of the symptoms and the chances of them actually working aren't always great. Check them out first.

Which country do you live in? It can make a huge difference to what you can do about it.

Other things that help, STOP DRINKING. its the big one. stay a good weight and eat healthily. My mother is an acupuncturist, she massively advocates trying it. It really helped her. Much more than the medication did.

That is all i can think of the top of my head.

Oh, get any long term partners and children checked out.

EDIT, location says new zealand. All gov/healthcare sites will say the same things, but here is a NZ one for you. http://www.hepc.org.nz/index.php/Main_Page
the UK one is also quite good. http://www.hepc.nhs.uk/

This might be of interest to you.
http://www.moh.govt.nz/cd/hepc

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:01 pm

Sorry, if you contracted Hep C in 1979, as a baby, and you are still alive, you are cured

Babies are born with symptoms often, it is not something you need to worry needlessly about

Hep C is what used to be called jaundice, your skin went yellow, your eyes the same, vitamin C and antibiotics cured it.

it is a Liver complaint, if you drink a lot of alcohol you will get the same symptoms

I'd suggest telling your Doc, and not worrying about it

Elite Baiter Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 1043

It is not the same as Jaundice. It can sometimes cause Jaundice, but it is not the only thing that can.

It is a virus. If you are lucky, it will have been in a lysogenic state for most of your life, not physically attacking the cells, but replicating with them. So, if you keep healthy, they shouldn't pop up and start damaging you too much.

Talk to your doctor fully about each type of treatment, it's success rates, symptoms, how often they show up. length of treatment. Everything. Then choose which is best for you.

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:33 pm

I apologise for any advice i have given, I'm just an old fart 59 yr old grandfather that has multipile sclerosis, 3 children, 5 grandchildren, 2 of my children have Diabetes 1, diaganosed when both turned 18, or close, it didn't develope till then

Sorry, I grew up in a generation when stuff just happened, you lived or you didn't, I had people I went to school with one day, just die the next, we didn't have major moratoriums about it, it was life

We didn't need trauma consultants, government funding to help us through, we just knuckled down and did what was needed

Helped our neighbours, rebuilt our lives and carried on

Hep C is not a major concern

Western Union · Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:34 pm

To be honest, asking for medical advice on an internet forum is not the way to go. No matter how good the advice is, you�re going to have to confirm it with your doctor before relying on it, so just make an appointment with your GP and get it over with. Better to face your worries head on than forestalling the inevitable � you�re going to have to talk to a professional at some point anyway.

Posted: Mon Feb 25, 2008 10:44 pm

^^ Mr Fishe Said it best
if you have questions, go ask your Doc

Elite Baiter Joined: 19 Jan 2008 Posts: 1043

I didn't mean to sound like i was insulting you, or your intelligence. I hope it didn't come across like that.

I study biology and my mother has HepC, which is the only reason i piped up about it at all really.

As Mr Fishe said. Defiantly get to your doctor, but still do go through every option. It is always good to educate yourself about diseases you carry.

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 12:52 pm

Quote:

I recently found out that I contracted Hep C as a baby from a blood transfusion back in'79.

Shistavi- I'll pile on with the others. Make an appointment today to see your doctor and demand further blood tests. If that's how you found out you contracted it and you still don't have the answers you need, schedule an appointment with a Hepatologist or a Gastroenterologist.

Although you're going to get a lot of support here on eater, there are some great forums on the net just for HepC that can give you current and accurate information. Also, read up on it so that you can ask your doctor the right questions.
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/c/index.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hepatitis_C
http://www.hepc.nhs.uk/

Although HepC is not a major concern to some, an estimated 170 million people worldwide and 4 million in the United States have it. There are about 35,000 to 185,000 new cases a year in the United States. Make the call, get checked out and then take it from there. I will help in any way I can.

Good luck and keep me posted,
FS

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:00 pm

I also have hep C and in the past 20 yrs I have never taken anything for it. I have been told by a dr that there are treatments for it but not to worry too much about it because i have never shown any symptoms.

there is a treatment called interfuron and I have known 2 people who went through the treatment process with very bad side effects. you take a shot, get flu like symptoms for a couple days and by the time you finally get over the symptoms it is time for another shot again. You do this for a period of 6 months and at the end of the 6 month period you are re evaluated. one of my frinds who went through the treatment had to be admitted into a mental hospital for a period. She was a successful professional woman and it seemed a bit suspicious on the timeing.

but ask your dr. if your wondering about it. it is an easy blood test to determine pos or neg. and they can review the treatments with you.

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:04 pm

isnt about time we have a no medical help policy(to match the no politics)
as i gets quite scarey sometimes when people start asking for advice.

Confused

Baiting Guru Joined: 19 Mar 2007 Posts: 2628

Best advice is to talk to your doctor, write down some points to ask.
See if they've any leaflets.
Good hygiene and avoiding blood contact should help stop infecting others,
Again doc s advice should be sought.

Milk Thistle herbal tablets may help, my dad is being treated for liver disease and his consultant reckons they'll do no harm and may do some good.

If you have symptoms of liver disease, easlily found out through blood tests, the best thing to do is to stop drinking and recreational drug use.

It is possible to test positive for antibodies to Hep C without having symptoms, some people develop chronic liver disease , some dont.
As Mr BT says there are antiviral drugs out there

Again see your doctor..

As a wee note babies get jaundice in the first few days etc as thier liver is immature and cant procees the breakdown of bloodcells This raises the bilirubin levels in their blood and they go yellow, UV lights will be used to control this if they get too high bilirubin levels.

Hepatitis A "infectious hepatitis" is mostly aquired through the oral/feacal route, you get fever, flu like symptoms and can go yellow. ( been there, done that )

Hepatitis B used to be known as "serum hepatitis". Spread mostly through contact with infected blood and body fluids ( rather like HIV ). Killed docs, nurses and lab staff during an outbreak in Edinburgh in the early 1970s, the patient given the infested blood survived.

There are another few typings of the hepatits virus

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 4:41 pm

remmy223 wrote:

isnt about time we have a no medical help policy(to match the no politics)
as i gets quite scarey sometimes when people start asking for advice.

Confused

I agree. I can see having a support group thingie but when you are self diagnosing it is scary. Putting on my librarian's hat I will only say "Check out the medical resources at your local library and always consult your doctor".

Posted: Tue Feb 26, 2008 6:02 pm

Thanks for the replies everyone. Te be clear I have seen my doctor and been refferred to the gastroenterology unit at the local hospital. What I was asking was about the drug treatments and if anyone had been through those, because I was curious to hear from others what it had been like etc. I should have tried a hep c, but my first impulse was to ask in a forum i actually go to, human nature to post without thinking I suppose Very Happy

Posted: Wed Feb 27, 2008 12:01 am

As with anything medical that you read on the Internet, check the source of the information (some info is posted by people that have no idea what they are talking about), use it as a guide but not a substitute for medical assistance from your doctor, and don't believe everything you read. Sharing the experiences of others with the same condition can help you to deal with it. Support is a necessary thing, but always talk to your doctor before doing anything that you have read about in a support forum or anywhere else. Seek medical advice only from your doctor, or professionals that he tells you to consult.

Self-diagnosis is a bad thing, and should never be done. Seeking support for a diagnosed condition is only for the purpose of using it as a coping mechanism, nothing more.