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Medical Forum / Diseases and Disorders / Hepatitis / July 2008I just talked to a friend who was an IV drug user and is HepC negative
I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has it. He said he had tried IV drugs a few times back in early 80s, but only a few times. I told him that if he has shared IV drugs then the chance he was infected is about 100%. Obviously this is not true, because he is not infected. As I write this, I am reminded of the 2 in 10 that clear on their own. Maybe that is what happened to him, but I didn't think to ask them that. I think had he been aware of clearing it he would have brought it up. Shooting dope is something you have to learn from a drug addict. I don't see how you can share works, and not have it. I think it is more likely that he cleared, instead of being a user, and never been infected. >I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because >he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >more likely that he cleared, instead of being a user, and never been >infected. I would think getting infected isn't an absolutely sure bet. There's the possibility nobody he shared with was infected, and/or the possibility that he/they used some kind of cleaning protocol? But, if he did manage to get infected, even if he cleared it on his own, he'd still have antibodies. So, I guess the obvious question is, how does he know he was never infected with HCV? Cheers /greyhackles >>I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because >>he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has [quoted text clipped - 22 lines] >So, I guess the obvious question is, how does he know he was never infected >with HCV? I will ask him about his cleaning protocol when I see him again. He said he has been tested. You are right about the antibodies. Had he cleared, it would have still shown up as antibodies. I guess it is not 100% I wonder if any studies like that have been done? I just can't imagine any IV drug user dogging the bullet. Not one of any of the friends I have asked dogged it. Ok.....maybe that one time. :) >>>I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because >>>he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has [quoted text clipped - 37 lines] > Not one of any of the friends I have asked dogged it. Ok.....maybe > that one time. :) Back in 82 when I was playing really stupid, there were about half a dozen of us who regularly got high together and shared works. One guy died of liver failure about ten years ago. I had hep c. A third was tested and is negative for the virus but shows antibodies. A fourth "feels fine" and won't get tested, doesn't want to know. The last couple/few? No idea what became of them. Yep, scary stuff, but some dodge the bullet. Actually they don't dodge the bullet so much as they are lucky enough to have an immune system capable of defeating the virus before it gets a hold with that death grip. Yep, scary stuff. >I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because >he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >more likely that he cleared, instead of being a user, and never been >infected. Keep in mind that the HCV virus can lay dormant in your system for 20 years or more without before becoming active. I was infected while in the Army in the sixties and the antibodies, which triggered the testing for the virus, only appeared four years ago. In between, I was on a supervised weight-loss program and had several blood tests to check liver and kidney chemistry, etc. They never showed the antibodies. Actually, they were discovered when a GP had blood tests run as a part of an annual wellness exam -- obviously I failed that exam! ;o) -- Steve >>I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because >>he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has [quoted text clipped - 15 lines] > Keep in mind that the HCV virus can lay dormant in your system for 20 > years or more without before becoming active. WRONG WRONG WRONG! HCV does not ever "lay dormant" (you're thinking of tumors/cancer). It continously replecates in your liver, destroying liver cells as it does so. What happens after 20 years or so is that people start feeling symptoms. I was infected while in > the Army in the sixties and the antibodies, which triggered the > testing for the virus, only appeared four years ago. WRONG WRONG WRONG The antibodies have been there since at most a few months after your infection. If they just "showed up" four years ago, then you were either infected just four years ago or you had not been tested for HCV prior to that. > In between, I was on a supervised weight-loss program and had several > blood tests to check liver and kidney chemistry, etc. They never > showed the antibodies. HCV antibodies will show up only in a specific test for HCV antibodies. Actually, they were discovered when a GP had > blood tests run as a part of an annual wellness exam -- obviously I > failed that exam! ;o) > > -- > Steve I used - and shared - a needle just ONCE with a guy back in the late eighties. Joined the army thereafter and donated blood once while in. I had an ankle rebuilt a couple years later and several physicals over the years and nobody spotted it till I got tested for a life insurance policy about 9 months ago. Discussing it with my doctor she seemed pretty convinced that that one episode with a needle was responsible and didn't think it unlikely that I went undetected all those years. Gotta wonder why they aren't looking harder. I had a physical a few years back and they said I had an abnormal liver reading and supposedly ran another round of blood tests that came up clean. Don't know whether the virus was hiding or just chock it up to sloppy testing in the past but I gotta wonder at any needle user who claims they are clean. Kyle J. >>>I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because >>>he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has [quoted text clipped - 44 lines] >> -- >> Steve > I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because > he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] > more likely that he cleared, instead of being a user, and never been > infected. Maybe the person he shared with didnt have it. > > I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because > > he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > > Maybe the person he shared with didnt have it. Exactly, one must assume that a set of works is dirty, unless they are a sealed disposable or have been through an autoclave. Also, they must assume that the drug is contaminated unless put through an autoclave or from a sterile unused vial. >> I ran into a friend I had not seen in 25 years. HepC came up because >> he had heard I had it (lots of our friends do). His ex-wife also has [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > >Maybe the person he shared with didnt have it. An IV drug user that shares needles (and maybe a drug dealer that has just sold you the fix) that doesn't have it. Seems very remote to me. One possible way might be that, you get the first fresh set of works. |
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