Quote:
Originally Posted by Jaci25  I understand Hep. C is a different disease, but is it possible that when I was tested for Hep. B, if I showed Hep. C in my blood, it *might* have shown up in some way?
I was supposed to be tested for Hep. C, but the nurse or somebody misunderstood, and the order was put in for Hep. B. I was so mortified when asked why I feel I would want to be tested for C, that I just let it go and thought.... oh I'll just do this later.
Well duhhhhhh, I knew I wouldn't test + for B, bc I've been immunized against it.
I think I need to be tested but I soooo don't want to, and am hoping somehow when they tested me for Hep. B, that would have tested me for Hep. C also. I don't know exactly what the test was that they did, but I remember when the nurse called she said I tested - for the Hep. B. |
Jaci,
Hey there.
I know exactly how you feel, nervous and scared are just a couple of the ways to describe it.
I went into to detox and rehab last Feb. and as an orderly procedure, they were required to draw blood and run multiple tests, HIV, Hep A, B, C, etc. and I know that if they draw one sample, they can use just that one to look for A, B, and C. Well all my tests (When I left detox) showed pending and they gave me a pamphlet on Hep C (Not very encouraging, but hey) in case the panels came back positive, and the fact that they found my AST and ALT levels very high didn't help the matter either. (Have you been tested for all three and HIV? Also if you tested negative for the others, and haven't had a vaccine for them/doctors didn't find any antibodies for the particular virus in your blood, I would recommend doing so to protect your liver from any more potential damage)
So fast forward to November of last year, I figured I never heard from them cuz all the tests came back negative.
But I wanted to go to my PCP and get tested again just to be sure.
Low and behold I was Hep C positive :-\
The messed up part? I have never used a needle in my life (As far as drug use is concerned). Never had anal sex (I am straight thank you) or any high risk sexual behavior/intercourse or exchange of bodily fluids with anyone that has Hep C (That I am aware of anyway). Although, I have had my fair share of tattoos and piercings, in a professional environment of course.
Though someone said it could be passed from sharing straws/dollar bills that were used to "snort" drugs back in my bad days. So it could have been a million things. I guess I'll never really know.
The good news is it is Geno type III which is one of the easier types to treat and does not require treatment for longer than 6 months (Same with Geno type II, I believe). So the next month was full of tests and ultrasounds, but luckily, no need for a biopsy yet.
I actually just saw my Virologist this week and the good news is, that in November, my ALT's were up near 300! And now, they are down to 70! WHich is still pretty high, but nowhere near 300 (A normal, non-infected body will have an ALT level of 40 or below). So that is definitely a good sign!
Green magma (Wheat and barley grass) are KEY to recovery (In my opinion), As well as a change in diet (Minimizing dairy products such as milk and cheese, not drinking any alcohol, minimizing acetaminophen intake and constantly educating yourself on the virus/keeping up to date). And sometimes if you are lucky and catch it soon enough, your body will be able to heal itself without treatment, since the liver has the natural function of being able to regenerate.
They are in no hurry to get me in to treatment for my Hep C, but when I go again in 6 months, if my ALT's have gone up at all, I will definitely consider beginning treatment; on the other hand, if they keep going down, we'll see what happens!
So the key here is to not wait, even if you fear that you may have it, early detection is the key factor in recovery! The sooner you find out you have it, the sooner it can be treated aggressively (If need be); and if you find out that you test negative, then it will be a huge weight off of your shoulders, I am sure! Something else you should definitely look in to (If you haven't already), is to also get an HIV test, just to make sure. Because unfortunately, Hep and HIV go hand in hand
On another note, there have been many couples with Hep C, even where one or both of the people in the couples have had Hep C and conceived children successfully without them contracting the disease, perfectly healthy children, and even women have a low risk of contracting it from a male during unprotected intercourse (And vice-versa), although it is always recommended that you do use protection!
Anyway, enough preaching to the choir here...
So good luck with everything and please report back on how everything goes!
I will be here if you need me!
Mike.
