Hi again Greg, good luck with your search for a new doctor. It`s important to be able to trust your medical team and that doc you saw had such a wrong attitude. Who is he to judge anyone? I hate that sort of thing.
You can rest assured you won`t come across anyone being judgemental here on this forum. We all have a past and a lot of us have made bad choices in our lives, it`s the way life is.
Take care, Jill vvv
missycat said
May 21, 2011
Hi Greg,aw we have all been where you are now.you have done the right thing by coming here and facing it head on.like you i didnt know a single thing about this virus im now 12 weeks though a 24 week course.any questions just ask away.
thinking of you kaz xxxx
-- Edited by missycat on Saturday 21st of May 2011 08:10:13 AM
Greg said
May 20, 2011
Hi Greg,
Firstly a big warm welcome to the forum, you have found a great site for information and support. Sorry to hear about your experience with the first doctor, I had the exact same experience when I was first diagnosed and I didn't follow up on treatment because of the way I was treated. To say you must be feeling overwhelmed at this point would be an understatement, we all have been there but as you said time to fix this. James has listed some great links and there are many more in the knowledge base to read and absorb. if you have any questions just ask there is always someone here who can answer or point you in the right direction.
As Jill has said once you get your tests done you'll know what genotype you have and what your VL or Viral load is. (how much of the virus is in your system)
The treatment lenght depends on your genotype, 1 and 4 are the toughest to treat while 2 and 3 are easier. You have a good advantage already of beating this and that is your age, the younger you are the better the chances you have of beating this. So your in a good position. good luck with your appointment next week, you might want to write down any questions or concerns you have before you see your medical team, as we all have walked out of the doctors office thinking damm I forgot to ask that question...we all do it. Good luck Greg and be easy on yourself your doing the right thing.
I am 13 months ahead of you and have completed treatment and looking forward to being cured. Cure is defined as no virus 6 months after you finish treatment. Here are some links that maybe helpful. (one link per post iPad doesn't like to go back and forth)
Hi there Cinnamon Girl! And yes, Greg is just fine. I have my first appt with a specialist next week so hopefully we will discuss tx and everything else there is to come. This is the first time I have even heard the words genotype, or viral load. I have no idea what those are. I am in the works of finding a new doctor because when he read my blood results he told me I had HCV in a way that made it seem like he could care less. And then he asked if I used to mainline and i told him yes, and he gave me a dirty look and said, ok come back in 2 months. What a jerk, he didnt try to help me in any way. He didnt go over one thing about it because all he did was judge me. But I dont care, i know im not a bad person. I just made a lot of bad choices in my life and am paying for them now and also fixing them now. Thank you so much for your help. There seems to be a lot of great people on this site!
Cinnamon Girl said
May 20, 2011
Hi there gbjohn (can we call you Greg?), and a very warm welcome to the forum. You`ve come to the right place.
First of all, I`m sorry to hear of your diagnosis, it`s something we`ve all been through and so understand the shock that comes with it. Yes, you almost certainly caught the virus through mainlining, but the thing to focuss on now is finding out about doing the treatment (tx) to get rid of it.
You`ve only just got your diagnosis so I expect you`re having further tests done to find out your genotype, viral load, etc, which will give you a much better idea of what you`re dealing with and how long the tx will be.
All the best to you, there`s a lot of info and understanding people here on this site, so you won`t feel alone.
Love from Jill xxx
-- Edited by Cinnamon Girl on Friday 20th of May 2011 07:24:45 PM
-- Edited by Cinnamon Girl on Friday 20th of May 2011 07:25:39 PM
gbjohn2026 said
May 20, 2011
I was just diagnosed yesterday May 19, 2011 with HCV. I know nothing about this and am a little frightened as to what to expect. I have known something had been wrong with me for a few months now like i am always tired, fatigued, and nauseas. I have lost around 12 lbs and just have not felt right. I am a recovering drug user who used to mainline and i am guessing that is how i got this. So if anyone wouldnt mind, would you please list a few things i can expect from this and a few symptoms i am going to experience? I would really appreitiate that. Thank you to all and God Bless.
Hi again Greg, good luck with your search for a new doctor. It`s important to be able to trust your medical team and that doc you saw had such a wrong attitude. Who is he to judge anyone? I hate that sort of thing.
You can rest assured you won`t come across anyone being judgemental here on this forum. We all have a past and a lot of us have made bad choices in our lives, it`s the way life is.
Take care, Jill vvv
Hi Greg,aw we have all been where you are now.you have done the right thing by coming here and facing it head on.like you i didnt know a single thing about this virus im now 12 weeks though a 24 week course.any questions just ask away.
thinking of you kaz xxxx
-- Edited by missycat on Saturday 21st of May 2011 08:10:13 AM
Hi Greg,
Firstly a big warm welcome to the forum, you have found a great site for information and support. Sorry to hear about your experience with the first doctor, I had the exact same experience when I was first diagnosed and I didn't follow up on treatment because of the way I was treated. To say you must be feeling overwhelmed at this point would be an understatement, we all have been there but as you said time to fix this. James has listed some great links and there are many more in the knowledge base to read and absorb. if you have any questions just ask there is always someone here who can answer or point you in the right direction.
As Jill has said once you get your tests done you'll know what genotype you have and what your VL or Viral load is. (how much of the virus is in your system)
The treatment lenght depends on your genotype, 1 and 4 are the toughest to treat while 2 and 3 are easier. You have a good advantage already of beating this and that is your age, the younger you are the better the chances you have of beating this. So your in a good position. good luck with your appointment next week, you might want to write down any questions or concerns you have before you see your medical team, as we all have walked out of the doctors office thinking damm I forgot to ask that question...we all do it. Good luck Greg and be easy on yourself your doing the right thing.
Cheers,
Greg
http://health.state.ga.us/pdfs/epi/notifiable/hepatitis/2008%20ga%20hep%20c%20handbook-final.pdf
I am 13 months ahead of you and have completed treatment and looking forward to being cured. Cure is defined as no virus 6 months after you finish treatment. Here are some links that maybe helpful. (one link per post iPad doesn't like to go back and forth)
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets_pdf/Newly%20Diagnosed_10.pdf
Hi there Cinnamon Girl! And yes, Greg is just fine. I have my first appt with a specialist next week so hopefully we will discuss tx and everything else there is to come. This is the first time I have even heard the words genotype, or viral load. I have no idea what those are. I am in the works of finding a new doctor because when he read my blood results he told me I had HCV in a way that made it seem like he could care less. And then he asked if I used to mainline and i told him yes, and he gave me a dirty look and said, ok come back in 2 months. What a jerk, he didnt try to help me in any way. He didnt go over one thing about it because all he did was judge me. But I dont care, i know im not a bad person. I just made a lot of bad choices in my life and am paying for them now and also fixing them now. Thank you so much for your help. There seems to be a lot of great people on this site!
Hi there gbjohn (can we call you Greg?), and a very warm welcome to the forum. You`ve come to the right place.
First of all, I`m sorry to hear of your diagnosis, it`s something we`ve all been through and so understand the shock that comes with it. Yes, you almost certainly caught the virus through mainlining, but the thing to focuss on now is finding out about doing the treatment (tx) to get rid of it.
You`ve only just got your diagnosis so I expect you`re having further tests done to find out your genotype, viral load, etc, which will give you a much better idea of what you`re dealing with and how long the tx will be.
All the best to you, there`s a lot of info and understanding people here on this site, so you won`t feel alone.
Love from Jill xxx
-- Edited by Cinnamon Girl on Friday 20th of May 2011 07:24:45 PM
-- Edited by Cinnamon Girl on Friday 20th of May 2011 07:25:39 PM
I was just diagnosed yesterday May 19, 2011 with HCV. I know nothing about this and am a little frightened as to what to expect. I have known something had been wrong with me for a few months now like i am always tired, fatigued, and nauseas. I have lost around 12 lbs and just have not felt right. I am a recovering drug user who used to mainline and i am guessing that is how i got this. So if anyone wouldnt mind, would you please list a few things i can expect from this and a few symptoms i am going to experience? I would really appreitiate that. Thank you to all and God Bless.