Hep C

[bbzh]

Here a couple of interesting clips about HIV/Hep C co-infection:

 

 

[FillMyArse]

@FillMyArse, you mention a three month window period. Are they still using antibody assays for primary screening in the UK? Here in Alberta the provincial lab uses some kind of test that's halfway between antibody and PCR, with a detection window of iirc 1-2 weeks, but in principle a true PCR test could identify HIV in the blood within days (I think I heard 3 days for the newest tests).

 

tbh I have no idea what method of testing my clinic uses. 

 

Since diagnosis I have had 3 further tests and my HepC blood results always take longer to come back than anything else.

As an aside... my HepC results have gone from 87k up to 580k and last test was back down to 400k. Still not on treatment yet, and finally have my first hospital appointment for it tomorrow (after an NHS balls up with an appointment I should have had back in Sept!).

[TigerMilner]

Excellent thread guys.  Hep C is to me what HIV was to me when I was negative, my biggest fear.  I still get into bareback sex and every so often a sex party or a night at Slammers so I know I live with the possibility of getting.  I hope not.

[MackyJay]

  Hell, I worry about any and every disease out there, but only until the cock is hard and ready to be fed to me or driven in my ass deep and then I only worry that my top is having a great time.

[bbzh]

I've been doing a lot of reading on Hep C. What I have been learning is very fascinating indeed. I used to think it was only something IV-drug users needed to worry about but barebackers are at high risk. 

 

HIV can't live outside the body for any length of time, but apparently the Hep C virus can. 

 

I am having a long and hard think about whether I'll be participating in any more sex parties. I've seen too many guys go from hole to hole without even wiping their dicks off. I know it's a bit of a killjoy to think about such things and sometimes it's just easier to live in denial, but how sobering is it to think that at a sex party, 1 in 4 guys probably have Hep C? Many of the other STIs are easy to clear up if you catch them, but Hep C is not one of them. You are talking anywhere from 12 to 24 weeks of treatment and potentially nasty side effects. (OK treatment times are less and there are few side effects if your insurer is willing to fork over the $80K for the new anti-virals such as Sovaldi or Harvoni). If you are already poz, there are the drug interactions which come into play.

 

I don't think I'll be able to really feel at ease until there is a vaccine for it (and there has been some progress on this by the way).  

 

It's still true that HIV, if left untreated, will kill you faster than Hep C, but Hep C is the silent killer. And under no circumstances do you want both of them in your body.

[TigerMilner]

I discussed my fear of Hep C with my Immunologist at my regular 3 month visit.  He told me that just this week a new drug was approved for Hep C and the treatment is now only 8 weeks.  His advice was to not live in fear.  Go out and enjoy life he said.  He also said that if it does happen he will take care of me. 

 

Talking openly to your doctor about your sexual activity is so important.  I always feel good about my self when I leave his office.  That is a good doctor in my opinion and I feel lucky to have such a good one.

[bearbandit]

I echo everything Tiger says, but sovaldi costs about $80k per course and I believe we're doing triage in the UK for who gets it. Previous treatments using interferon are a bitch: I've nursed one friend and supported many more through the effects of interferon.

But please, go and get vaccinated for hepatitis A and B, and go back for the repeat vaccinations if the first doesn't take (it's an imperfect world). Although I cleared hepatitis B without drug interference, I still know, 25 years later, when my liver's pissed at me. And if you're poz, be aware that the meds put an extra strain on your liver.

Back in the eighties I knew a dyke who had "non-A non-B hepatitis", finally renamed hepatitis C. No treatment around then: she died around the late nineties of liver cancer.

Trivia: hepatitis also has passenger viruses... You can't get hepatitis D without having hepatitis A, ditto for hepatitis E and hep B. With that logic you'd expect a hepatitis F to be a passenger virus with Hep C: not so, it's hepatitis G. Hepatitis F has been described and full clinical notes made, but somehow the hospital treating the patients lost the notes, so although hep F exists, we have absolutely no proof of it. When hep G was discovered it was thought best to skip over the embarrassment of losing a viral infection, hence hep G got its name. Do not worry about the passenger viruses: they're taken care of by the medications prescribed for their "parent" virus...

The other form of hepatitis (which merely means "swelling/illness of the liver") is drug-induced hepatitis: some ARVs can be so rough on a depleted system that they can cause hepatitis in themselves without a viral helper. Not to be worried about: any competent HIV doctor can spot the signs a mile off.

[Poz1956]

I heard a piece on phase II trials of a Hepatitis C vaccine, using a non-traditional approach, that may bypass the roadblocks,  Of course Phase II means we know it doesn't kill you, but we don't know if it works yet.  If it does work, a vaccine is probably still a decade away.  Longer if it doesn't.

 

An MP3 of the show is only available for download from the BBC, for the next 27 days, so grab it fast.  The Hep C story is the first segment of the show.

BBC World Service - The Science Hour

Edited November 12, 2014 by Poz1956

[bbzh]

I discussed my fear of Hep C with my Immunologist at my regular 3 month visit.  He told me that just this week a new drug was approved for Hep C and the treatment is now only 8 weeks.  His advice was to not live in fear.  Go out and enjoy life he said.  He also said that if it does happen he will take care of me. 

 

Talking openly to your doctor about your sexual activity is so important.  I always feel good about my self when I leave his office.  That is a good doctor in my opinion and I feel lucky to have such a good one.

Man, Tiger, you are lucky if your doc will get you $63,000 worth of medication!!!

 

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

 

But this introduces yet another angle in this debate. Who should foot the bill? How much is your life worth? How much is your health worth? It really does sadden me that such a potentially deadly virus can be eradicated, but insurers want to wait until your liver implodes before they give it to you.

[FillMyArse]

Good to see BBRT has added Neg+HEPx and Poz+HEPx options to profiles. Looks like I'm the first to use this new feature too!

[wow4761]

I never worried about Hep C until I contracted it. My body successfully eradicated and cured itself of it .... with no medicines. All I have now are Hep C antibodies.

Granted, there was a 3-month window when I physically felt like shit: lethargic, tired all the time, and weak. Now I know why.

[rawfuckr]

Personally I am surprised that more providers are not testing for HCV.  Even where I go which is a VERY well respected forward thinking institution in a major city only recommends tests for HCV at their clinic locations if they were born before 1975 iirc, and if they were intravenous drug users. 

 

I get the tests often, and ironically they make me more nervous that the HIV tests now since I am on PrEP.  

 

The people at free clinics I've talked with have told me it's a cost issue. Given that Hep C is rare there's always a cost/benefit analysis to be made to see if they should be testing people. From the individual point of view you should be tested regularly, specially if you are on PrEP.

[FillMyArse]

HepC is not rare. It's actually more prevalent than HIV. Quick google search to official stats will give you estimated numbers.

Think for UK it's around 214k people for HepC vs 115k for HIV. (Gov.uk 2014 reports)

Unfortunately there's much less info and awareness out there of HepC than HIV.

[rawfuckr]

HepC is not rare. It's actually more prevalent than HIV. Quick google search to official stats will give you estimated numbers.

Think for UK it's around 214k people for HepC vs 115k for HIV. (Gov.uk 2014 reports)

Unfortunately there's much less info and awareness out there of HepC than HIV.

 

HepC in gay men is less common than HIV I think which is what I was talking about. But I totally agree everyone should know more about it and get tested. Hopefully the 12 week cure-pill treatments will come down in price sometime soon to make them more accessible.

[FillMyArse]

Ahh ok I see. Yeah my last post was based on general population rather than just gay guys.