Hep C is worse than HIV

[huis_rat]

a whore makes only bareback , want take all cumloads with nolimit. this is a question of time and the whore has sex with poz fuckern and pigs with hep-c and other std´s. the whore was pozzed and infected with the high infected hep-c virus.

a whore is a bugchaser ...... take willing multiple toxic infected loads . i am also a cumwhore - also infected with Hiv+ and resistend Hep-C

[bearbandit]

It's an academic question really: you don't need either of them. HIV will almost certainly cause your death if you let it go untreated often in less than ten years, whereas you can live decades with hep C. The difference comes in the treatments: HIV treatment is now relatively safe and tolerable, and because drugs are beginning to fall out of patent, getting cheaper. My partner used interferon (an older hep C treatment) off-label to try to boost his immune system and it is a bitch. I have friends using interleukin (a similar drug) and they dread each drug cycle.

While 90% or so of people with hep C clear it within 6 to 12 months of treatment, it's a punishing (not in a good way) regime. And even worse is the fact that after clearing hep C you can get it again. I spent a miserable summer over 20 years ago with hep B, which resolved naturally (though I have the test again every now and then to make sure I've still got those antibodies). Even after all that time the effects of the damage still show in my bloods. Vaccinate against hep B and hep A!

[speedy2]

I contracted hep B several years ago. It was awful. Hep c is far worse. I am always on the guard against it. If a guy is a drug user no thanks

I had Hep B a few years ago - it was so bad I went from 15 to 11 stone, and nearly lost kidneys and liver, but in the end, after nearly 9 months, it was killed off, and I'm clear and not a carrier. My vision was totally deep yellow, as was my skin, and nearly all taste was affected, and skin sensitivity ramped up to near unbareable levels, even with antihistamines.. I can't imagine that much can be worse!.

[Bttm2go]

However for some of us the vaccine does not take. My doctor let me know again this summer that it did not take for me. He has the same issue. Get vaccinated and make sure it takes.

[ffoz]

vaccine for Hep. C? no vaccine in Australia. only meds to treat the Hep C.

correct me if i'm slightly off track

..

you can get and all gay guys should have their Hep A & B vaccinations.

..

my ex bf, 37yrs old is HIV+ and Hep C+ with liver and kidney problems.......he looks 57yrs old.

.

[bearbandit]

No, ffoz, there is no vaccine for hepatitis C. The news gets worse in that the hep C virus can stay active for quite some time (as in weeks) without a human host, and it's primarily rough sex that's the transmission vector amongst gay men. Although , as I note above, it's curable, the cure can be worse than the disease in terms of how it leaves you feeling. I had a flatmate in the eighties who had hep C and recently heard (we'd lost touch the way you do) that she died of liver cancer in the late nineties. Of course that was before much was known about treatments.

As I understand it Gilead have been sitting on their treatment for Hep C for some time, presumably to raise the price. When my partner started proleukin2 as an off-label immune modulator, he was forced to sign a paper indemnifying the hospital against side effects, amongst which, in neat alphabetical order was "death". His system was so knackered after four years of trying to deal with MAI (a relative of TB), he couldn't cope with the proleukin2 and I honestly believe that that was the cause of the multiple organ failure that led to his death.

If you're in relatively good health when starting hep C treatment, you're probably in for a rough year, but you'll get through it. Some guys have been able to cut their treatment periods down to six months. The shorter the time you put your system through that sort of hell, the better.

Any gay man who doesn't vaccinate against hep A & B is a fool. I've never had hep A but hep B... remember that scene in Alien where John Hurt gets a nasty surprise? Imagine that surprise lasting for months.

Frankly I'm more afraid of hep C than I am of any of the more traditional STIs, including multi drug resistant gonorrhoea...

[Leather69]

Innoculations against hep A don't last. It's something that I got about 12 years ago from some dodgy shellfish at a so called "fine dining" establishment. The local health dept really went thru their kitchen. Got hep B from I don't know what.. didn't realise that I had it until Doc did some tests and found that I was positive to it but it had cleared. Hep A knocked me about for 6 weeks.. bland food, no alcohol, no exercise.. just taking it easy.. TV watching. Lost 10kg (22 lbs).

Really do want Hep C!!!

[1slut]

Most gays with hiv who catch hep c will have strain 1 or 4 which is difficult to treat.

Using the current standard treatment of interferon and ribavirin, one needs 48 weeks treatment and less than 50% success for strain 1 and 4.

Using the newly approved sofosbuvir and ribavirin, one needs 24 weeks treatment and success rate according to studies is near 80% for strain 1 and 4. Side-effects with sofosbuvir is easier but still can be drastic (see my starting thread).

Interferon cost ~$9,000 for 24 weeks. Sofosbuvir costs ~$90,000 for 24 weeks..!! There are already groups protesting this to Gilead, the pharma. Other effective meds also becoming available and also very expensive.

Bearbandit rightly quoted studies showing hep c for non IV drug users is mainly thro rough sex such as fisting. But virus has been shown to remain detected in blood outside the body for many weeks....I am thinking toys, towels, saunas...

BTW, even if treatment is successful, you can catch the same or other strains again. Also your HEP C antibody + status remains even with successful treatment.....thinking about employment and insurance matters.

NO vaccine for hep c.

Vaccine for hep a last ~10years and needs be repeated.

Vaccine for hep b, you need to do a blood test 1 month after vaccine to be sure you have immunity(most physicians not aware of this and do not offer!! ) , otherwise need more jabs.

Excellent info at thebody.com: http://www.thebody.com/content/6050/hepatitis-c.html

I am glad there is so much interests in this topic. Like I said I started this thread to highlight there is more than hiv when you bb. Make the right choice, decide yourself what risk you are prepared to take.

Having completed sofosbuvir and ribavirin, I am feeling back to normal horny self again....hic! No regrets all the fab fun and men in the past, just wish we can sort out all these sti's.

[bearbandit]

Thank you 1slut for such an informative overview.

[Top-Secret]

Hepatitis is a bitch my uncle caught it many years ago (not from sex) but from eating off other peoples plates. I've also been warned about passing bottles around when me and my buddies used to drink out in the alley and share a E&J , like 5 or 6 of us. So i just wanted to share that so whoever reads this can be aware. My uncle was sick as a dog/so my heart goes out to anyone who has it . He didn't die from it and has since been treated  (it was like 25 years ago), so I know for a fact that it's not a death sentence. 

[sluttysublad]

As far as I am aware, Hep-c (dont know about the others as i got vaccinated) can only be transmitted during direct person to person via blood.  So thats why slamming it becomes a risk if you are sharing needles, fisting becomes a risk if there is a cut on the tops hand and a tear in the bottoms rectum, or vigorous anal sex via a similar method of transmission.

 

Never heard of getting it from eating off other peoples plates though - or was that a euphemism?

Edited October 20, 2014 by sluttysublad

[TigerMilner]

I have been concerned about Hep C recently and I asked my Immunologist about it this week at my regular visit for bloodwork.  He told me that Hep B would be worse to get and treat.  I've had the Hep A and B vaccines.  He also told me that just this week a new drug was approved for Hep C and the treatment is only 8 weeks with it.  He also told me not to live in fear.  He said if it happens he will take care of me.  Go out and enjoy life was his advice.

 

This is why it is so important to have a good doctor that you can speak openly about your sexual activity and get realistic advice.  I really appreciate not hearing about condoms when I go for my HIV visits.  Condom clinics are so out of touch with this community.  My doctor even sends me home with doses of antibiotics to take after I binge on sex at a club or bath house or sex party.  That way I can take loads all weekend, assume I picked up an STI and take the meds on monday.  Saves me a lot of hassle and worry.  And I don't leave his office feeling like a piece of garbage.  The director of the clinic I first went to asked me why I drive so far for care when they are right nearby.  My response to him was that they make me feel like I am going to be OK where his clinic made me feel like a dirty whore.  He had no words.

 

So I went out and took 8 loads the next night.  It was awesome.

[rickjamel]

I have been concerned about Hep C recently and I asked my Immunologist about it this week at my regular visit for bloodwork.  He told me that Hep B would be worse to get and treat.  I've had the Hep A and B vaccines.  He also told me that just this week a new drug was approved for Hep C and the treatment is only 8 weeks with it.  He also told me not to live in fear.  He said if it happens he will take care of me.  Go out and enjoy life was his advice.

 

This is why it is so important to have a good doctor that you can speak openly about your sexual activity and get realistic advice.  I really appreciate not hearing about condoms when I go for my HIV visits.  Condom clinics are so out of touch with this community.  My doctor even sends me home with doses of antibiotics to take after I binge on sex at a club or bath house or sex party.  That way I can take loads all weekend, assume I picked up an STI and take the meds on monday.  Saves me a lot of hassle and worry.  And I don't leave his office feeling like a piece of garbage.  The director of the clinic I first went to asked me why I drive so far for care when they are right nearby.  My response to him was that they make me feel like I am going to be OK where his clinic made me feel like a dirty whore.  He had no words.

 

So I went out and took 8 loads the next night.  It was awesome.

Where do you live? Inwant a dictor like that.

[bbzh]

This really boils down to how much risk you are willing to take and how likely you are to have access to treatment if you need it. 

 

Is a night of wild sex taking multiple loads worth $63,000? 

 

http://www.fiercepharma.com/story/payers-hit-back-gilead-94500-price-tag-brand-new-hep-c-combo-pill/2014-10-13

 

You can vigorously debate if the pharma companies should be charging this much for treatment, but once Hep C starts subtracting years from your life, you can't debate that.

 

I wonder if the rationale for holding off on treating it has to do with insurers looking at the risk profile of the infected person. If I was the CEO of an insurance company, would I want to keep paying the bill for someone's sex life or spread that cost to the other insureds, thus resulting in higher premiums for everyone? Hmmm. Maybe not.

[TigerMilner]

Where do you live? Inwant a dictor like that.

My doctor is in Orlando.  It is a three hour drive for me but worth it.  I live in a small coastal town south of there where HIV treatment is five years behind the times.  Private message me for his contact info.