mr

[frenchy1978]

im using street herion and im also hep c will using heroin accelerate the progresion of the livr damage

[spectda]

I think frenchy is also this guy. Good luck frenchy!

http://www.medhelp.org/posts/Hepatitis-C/mr-/show/1308429

The name Frenchy reminds me of the frank zappa song:

DIRTY LOVE
Album: Overnite Sensation - 1973
Frank Zappa & The Mothers

Good luck Frenchy, don't be a stranger!

[RCM829]

Hi there-

I don't know your specific history but I know methadone maintenance has helped so many people. Done properly, and under a good clinics supervision, it really can lead to a new and better life. Take care.

[RobertBeWell]

Frenchy has left the building.

[Trinity4]

I'm not judging by any means frenchy but I hope at some point you will consider trying to get into rehab and perhaps a methadone program so that you won't be putting yourself in constant danger.  Being strung out on heroin is like walking in the land of the living dead. Once you're clean you can treat and hopefully SVR which means liver damage will not longer be an issue.

Trinity

[HectorSF]

Here is some information that you might find helpful. By practicing any of these steps you can reduce your chances of contract Hep B or HIV. Both which will complicate being treated for Hep C.

I shared needles 40 years ago and now I am paying the cost. Cirrhosis and failing liver. Be smarter than I was. As everyone says. NEVER SHARE. Find a way to get your own works somehow. Syringe exchange programs, pharmacy. Check with your local community services. Many cities, states have syringe exchange programs (SEPs).

Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2010
The act was signed into law by President Barack Obama on December 16, 2009.The passing of the bill was a crucial development that will provide states and communities with the resources needed to ensure sufficient SEP coverage. Additionally, the act further supports the importance of pharmacists in taking a more active role in participating or providing education regarding syringe safety and exchange activities

Injecting Drug Use Information

How can I minimize the harm associated with injecting drug use?
The harms associated with injecting drug use include the transmission of blood borne
viruses such as HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C, as well as other medical conditions such as vein collapse, abscesses, and blood poisoning.

Other problems may arise from the use of the drug itself such as a dirty hit (impure
drug), overdose and high-risk behavior due to impaired judgment (e.g. unsafe sex).
If you are using drugs, consider alternatives to injecting such as snorting, swallowing, or
smoking.
Injecting is complicated and dangerous. If you do inject, remember these points:

Preparation:
• Wash your hands. Use soapy (detergent) water to wipe down the preparation
surface where the hit will be made ready.
• If you can’t wash your hands, use single wipes with new alcohol swabs to clean
them thoroughly.
• Swab spoon. Wipe the spoon once with a new alcohol swab and let it dry.

Mixing Up:
• Place the drug in the spoon. If unsure about the quality of the drug or your
tolerance to it, use a small amount first.
• Add water to the drug in the spoon. Use an ampule of sterile water, or cooled
boiled water if sterile water is not available. If using cooled boiled water, keep it
in a clean container.
• Clean the handle of the syringe with a new alcohol swab. Use the handle to stir
the drug.
• Place filter in the drug solution. Avoid using filters from tailor made cigarettes as
they contain glass fibers which can damage the veins and heart. Filters for
‘rollies’ are safer, or a bit of a new swab, tampon or cotton bud. If injecting pills,
use pill filters, if you can get them. Filter at least three times. Filters should
never be reused.

Injecting:
• Wipe the skin with a new alcohol swab. This will disinfect the area and lessen the
risk of bacterial infection and abscesses. Do not rub the swab backwards and
forwards: this action removes dirt, bacteria etc. and then just spreads them back
on the skin again.
• Wrap tourniquet. Place your own tourniquet around your upper arm (or above the
injection site). Don’t leave it on too long. If you have trouble finding a vein,
• release the tourniquet and try again. Running warm water over the injection site
will help raise a vein.
• Angle syringe into vein and draw back to ensure that the needle is in the vein.
• When the needle is in the vein loosen the tourniquet and slowly depress the
plunger of the syringe. Remove the needle. Keep your arm straight and apply
pressure to the injection site for a couple of minutes (using a cotton ball, tissue
or toilet paper).
• Rotate injecting sites to avoid damaging your veins.

Cleaning up:

• Recap your own fit. (Never recap anyone else’s fit). Dispose of your fit in a
sealed, rigid walled, plastic container (such as a soft drink bottle with lid or
Fitpack® box), which is placed in the domestic (green) rubbish (do not dispose in
the recycling bin); you can also return your used fits to a needle and syringe
exchange program; or dispose of them in a metal disposal bin provided by some
Local Governments or businesses.
• Double bag any other injecting equipment for disposal, such as swabs and water
ampules, and place in the rubbish bin. Wash your spoons and tourniquets with
warm soapy water after each use.
• Clean up any surface blood spills with disposable material such as tissues or toilet
paper, or a cloth that can go straight in the wash or a bucket of bleach. Follow
this by wiping the area with soapy (detergent) water. Where there is the
possibility of skin contact, the area should be wiped with household bleach.
• When everything is cleared away, wash your hands thoroughly with warm soapy
water. If water is not available, use swabs to thoroughly wipe your hands instead.

How can I clean my equipment to make it safer?

There is no way of eliminating the risk of viral transmission from used syringes. It is
safest to use: a sterile fit; sterile water and swabs; a new, if possible sterile, filter; a
clean tourniquet; a clean injecting space and clean hands.

Recent studies show that bleach-cleaning methods are not as safe as previously
believed. Therefore, cleaning is a last resort and not necessarily safe. However, if no
other options are available, thorough cleaning can reduce risks to some degree.

It is not at all safe to share injecting equipment. Anyone sharing needles, syringes and
other injecting equipment, or drawing from a common pool of drugs, is at high-risk of
contracting HIV, hepatitis B and hepatitis C.

Hectorsf

[Deb9991]

Frenchy:

Please listen to what bill1954 and spectada are telling you.  Don't share needles -- if you are going to continue using injectable drugs, always have your own -- NEVER SHARE.  

Peace be with you.

Debbie

[Bill1954]

Because you’re actively using it might be good to share this with you as well; the info is new, coming out of the 2010 CROI conference in San Francisco:

Hepatitis C Virus Can Survive in Syringes Up to 2 Months under Favorable Conditions

http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/2010_conference/croi/docs/0223_2010_b.html

--Bill

[spectda]

Remember that if you share works you can get infected more then once with another genotype and it will possibly be even harder to treat some day.
Be careful, you never really know what you are getting with street drugs, you know that I am sure.
- Dave

[Bill1954]

Opiates and opioids are generally pretty liver safe; they tend not to do much organic damage to the body. I’m not a medical professional though, so you ought to run this question by a doctor when you get a chance.

What are you doing for harm reduction? Do your best not to share works, and make the disease stop with you, okay? The crap can live in cottons and spoons for days, so it’s not just about the needle.

And keep in mind that you’ll have to get clean to either treat the disease, or to be considered for transplant if it comes to that.

Good luck, Frenchy-- and take care—

Bill