MRSA and HCV

[Chugen]

Hey everybody! I joined your group yesterday and have been reading the comments for hours. All summer I have had MRSA, UTI's and pneumonia. Am I correct that this is related to HCV and will GI Doc be able to help when I see him next week?

[spectda]

I understand that you were diagnosed 3 years ago, but do you know how long you have had hcv?

Welcome.
Dave

[Chugen]

My GI Doc seems great, but are they usually anxious to start meds or remain cautious about treatment? Thank you all!

[nygirl7]

I was going to say the same thing as Spectda.  I was diagnosed in 2005 and a month later had a biopsy and found out I was already stage 3.  BUT...I probably had the disease much much longer and never knew it. Most of us don't. We dont have any symptoms or problems that are attributed to HCV until usually when it's very late in the disease.

Get a biopsy - it sounds horribly painful but really for almost all of us we go "oh that was it?" afterwards. It's really just like a long needle and your liver had no pain sensory nerves to feel anything. Once you know how much liver damage you already have then you can see if you have time to wait. but you need to remember that you need to monitor your condition and have another biopsy every 3-5 years (depending I guess on how far along the damage is).

I was a single mom with two teens and I came to work every day for 72 weeks except 3 days (shoot I take more sick time now!). It was not easy treatment isn't fun but for the most part it is doable.

Heck if I could do it for that long anybody can do it!

Welcome to the group.
Deb

[Chugen]

I do not know how long I have had HCV. Wouldn't it have shown up in various medical problems before?

[spectda]

Hi-
As you said it normally takes decades to develop complications and liver damage from hcv. Most doctors do not test for it unless there is a known risk. Most of us in our 40s-60s have already had the disease for decades.

Many of us (not all of us) have an idea of the generally time period when we got the disease. I assume I contracted it about 30 years ago from iv drug use (been clean for thirty years almost). Many people contracted it from transfusions and other medical procedures before they were able to detect hcv in the blood supply.

I had no symptoms or damage to my liver until the past few years. No indication that I was sick. That is why it's important that you see a hepatologist (liver specialist) or a GI doc that is very experienced with hcv. If you have medical insurance you should be fully diagnosed with your genotype, viral load (count), a liver biopsy, liver enzymes, blood counts...

I know you have a lot on your plate, but the disease is often silent and without symptoms until a person has advanced disease. I don't mean to scare you in any way. I just think it's important to really know what your condition is. Of course you have the right to let nature takes it's course if that is what you choose, but it's always good to make an informed decision and you can't do that without knowing your true condition.

Take Care,
- Dave

[Trinity4]

"Hey everybody! I joined your group yesterday and have been reading the comments for hours. All summer I have had MRSA, UTI's and pneumonia. Am I correct that this is related to HCV and will GI Doc be able to help when I see him next week? "
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Chugen, if you read here long enough you will find there are those that attribute many or all of their medical problems to HCV when in fact HCV has nothing to do with it and is not causing the problems.  Be cautious and don't believe everything you read.

Trinity