Hep C Co-Infection

[Guest BZcumdump]

So I contracted Hep C a few months back and during the acute phase, I had 90% of the symptoms, whereas most people don't get any symptoms, so Hep C in many cases becomes chronic for those people with no symptoms unless they are tested with their HIV labs.   

I started on Harvoni and all my liver functions returned to normal within 2.5 weeks, including no more signs of Hep C.    However, it left some scarring on my Liver and I won't know the full extent of the damage until I get another fibroscan after I finish the 84 day treatment of Harvoni.   

What I was shocked to learn (research it for yourself), is that 25 to 30% of HIV+ men are co-infected with Hep C.   If I'm recalling correctly from my research 10% of HIV+ men were co-infected in 2010, so that number has pretty much tripled since then.

Why the increase?  My guess is effective HIV treatment and PreP has caused many more guys to freely bareback with numerous anon partners.   

So now I can no longer drink alcohol and have to avoid refined sugars, saturated fat, excess sodium, and red meat (due to iron levels).  

The worse part is that my cumdump days are over.   If I get Hep C again, I'll probably go into liver failure.   There's no vaccine, and even though there is now a cure, co-infection with HIV is hard on the liver.

HIV, for me at least is no longer the scariest STI, Hep C is.

Don't take my word for it, research yourself.  Just want you to be able to make informed decisions.   

I created this post because I was so ignorant about Hep C rates of co-infection.   Had I known the rate of co-infection before I got it, would I have stopped being a no-loads refused cumdump at the local bathhouse.  True answer.... I probably would have remained a cumdump because I love being one so much, and with Harvoni being a cure, I would have assumed I'd be ok.   But in my case, from the time I contracted it and was dealing with so many symptoms until I was cured, my liver was scarred...I just don't know yet what stage of Cirhossis I have until done with Harvoni.

 

 

[EagerAndHungry]

You're right about the PrEP and more BB.  I read something 4 or 5 years ago that the HIV infection rate has begun to skyrocket, too, as more younger people (say, less than 35 or so) figure that since there are drugs for HIV BB is no risk.  Scary.  As a corollary, because of this one of the reasons insurance rates are increasing because of the increased number of patients requiring current life-long HIV treatment.  It's a big reason more insurance companies are willing to cover PrEP - it's cost is a fraction of full HIV coverage.

[wildbottom]

I'm surprised that the OP had so much liver damage, since it was caught right away in the acute phase - Mavyret is a newer 8 week treatment that cures chronic Hep C, but 45% of cases go away on their own, leaving little to no liver damage in the process.

 

[MomentofReflection]

Ok, there’s a lot about this that got under my skin.  For starters, the rate of coinfection is skewed by intravenous drug users and is probably not that high in Poz gay guys, though still high enough that it should be on your radar.

First, anyone concerned should know that there is a STRONG correlation with heavy non injection drugs, particularly meth.  So strong in fact that for more than a decade researchers weren’t even certain that sex alone could cause coinfection.

second, the incidence of annual seroconversion to coinfection is nowhere near 10%.  I don’t know what the actual figure is, but I’ve seen around 1/2 of 1% of non drug using Poz guys.  The risk of coinfection appears to be highly exaggerated.  In fact, despite all the fear mongering, 45% of confections in Poz guys are still attributed to IV drug use, NOT condomless sex.

Third, the vast majority of people don’t progress as rapidly as the OP has suggested.  The biggest concern I can think of is the recalcitrance of the insurance industry which does appear to drag its feet in authorizing treatment and may limit the number of treatments provided (meaning you’re in your own if reinfected).

Fourth, there is and has always been a coordinated attack on the sexual freedom of hiv+ people.  This is not our first time at the rodeo.  We’ve seen all this fear mongering before with “reinfection”, which turned out to be almost nonexistent and a probable non-issue in the post ARV era.  

Instead of scare stories about coinfection we should be fighting for easier access to HCV meds and earlier diagnoses.

It seems to me that all this pearl clutching about “coinfection” is yet another example of the double standard we see in sexual health, where the HIV- are provided endless opportunities to have th “sex they deserve”, while the hiv+ are browbeaten to keep our pants on.

 

 

 

Edited November 22, 2018 by MomentofReflection

[1slut]

Great article on Hep C reinfection

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