Aa
dating
I've gone out on a few dates and mention I had hep c. I cleared 12 wks into treatment and i've been off treatment for 1 yr a/o may. The misconception out there is that hep c is not curable. I've decided not to mention that I had hep c because both times they never called back. I figured I cleared virus and have been tested 6 mo post treatment. Is that an ethical decision?
Best Answer
Absolutely. You do not have hepatitis C any more. If it were me, I wouldn't tell a date unless I thought it was getting serious. Of course if I had not cleared I would certainly tell before I started an intimate relationship. I don't think you owe a casual date that much medical history if the relationship isn't definitely going somewhere.
i feel you.my co- workers were so understanding. they now tell me i look back to normal. they never asked questions, just how i was doing or was i okay/ it was obvious, they never pryed.dont know how i drove that bus all through tx, but i made it.i would get fatigued around 3;oo., got off work at 4. plus i did major resting on my bus during breaks.
My co-workers knew there was something wrong with me too because of my weight loss and what I like to term as the death mask that we all seem to get. I was so pale and gaunt and despite my efforts to try and hide the ashen skin with darker makeup I still looked sick.
Prior to tx I was social with my co-workers as in lunches, water cooler chats, get togethers after work but that stopped about two months after starting treatment. I spent the remainder of my treatment, about 15 months in my office with door shut. Fortunately I did not have the terrible brain fog many experience so my work wasn't effected too much but I was so terribly fatigued that I would schedule meetings in the AM only because by 2:00 pm I was wiped out. I had to adjust my work load and I made sure my assistant proofed all my reports.
I remember a birthday luncheon we had for one of the girls which I reluctantly attended and as we were leaving several of my co-workers pulled me to the side and said they knew something was wrong with me and they didn't care what it was nor did they want to know but assured me if I needed help in any way there were there for me. I'm lucky, those are the type of people I work with.
To this day the only people that know I went through antiviral therapy and still have the virus is my immediate family. Like you, I didn't find it necessary to share that type of information because it served no purpose.
I can talk about hepc all day long on our forum because as we read what others say we all nod our head up and down in acknowledgment and acceptance and that has always seemed to be enough support for me.
Looking back, I wonder how I got through it and it amazes me how human beings can adapt when they have to.
Trinity
Prior to tx I was social with my co-workers as in lunches, water cooler chats, get togethers after work but that stopped about two months after starting treatment. I spent the remainder of my treatment, about 15 months in my office with door shut. Fortunately I did not have the terrible brain fog many experience so my work wasn't effected too much but I was so terribly fatigued that I would schedule meetings in the AM only because by 2:00 pm I was wiped out. I had to adjust my work load and I made sure my assistant proofed all my reports.
I remember a birthday luncheon we had for one of the girls which I reluctantly attended and as we were leaving several of my co-workers pulled me to the side and said they knew something was wrong with me and they didn't care what it was nor did they want to know but assured me if I needed help in any way there were there for me. I'm lucky, those are the type of people I work with.
To this day the only people that know I went through antiviral therapy and still have the virus is my immediate family. Like you, I didn't find it necessary to share that type of information because it served no purpose.
I can talk about hepc all day long on our forum because as we read what others say we all nod our head up and down in acknowledgment and acceptance and that has always seemed to be enough support for me.
Looking back, I wonder how I got through it and it amazes me how human beings can adapt when they have to.
Trinity
No one but my family knew i had hep c.On the job, everyone thought I had cancer. i should say,assumed i had cancer because of my great weight loss during tx. So i let them assume it. misinformation my son calls it. I work with children. never told it. did not want to chance my job. As much as i want to tell my friends the truth, i decided not to.I CHOOSE TO NEVER REVEAL.
Now that I can possibly think about dating in the future, I also wouldn't share any med info, especially early in the game. It's GONE. I am more concerned now about catching any STD's if and when the time comes and I hit it off with someone. My bold move at the end of tx was to buy a package of condoms. Positive thinking on all fronts!
Pam
Pam
Actually most of us fell in love and even got married without knowing we had hep C ourselves. I would not tell a date since I do not believe it to be sexually transmitted ( and if it's rough, serves him right!). Oh , that is tacky.
Trinity -- Me too. I treated and relapsed and never told my employees, only my partner, just in case I needed help with the work load (I didn't). I am not too much into the sharing at a close level although I sure like it on the board.
Cando -- are you saying love is a pain in the butt?
frijole
Trinity -- Me too. I treated and relapsed and never told my employees, only my partner, just in case I needed help with the work load (I didn't). I am not too much into the sharing at a close level although I sure like it on the board.
Cando -- are you saying love is a pain in the butt?
frijole
I guess I have been lucky in my last several relationships... I have told every man before it got "there" and guess what not a one of them backed away. They wanted to know more. I am in treatment know hoping to gain a svr. If I do i really dont think I will mention it anymore. One question not that i would but if you get a svr can you donate blood?
With all this "love" going around it kinda reminds me of a case of hemmorhoids.... Which reminds me, oh never mind why ruin all this love.
Not to incite acrimony in the midst of a rare MedHelp lovefest...
"You do not have hepatitis C any more. If it were me, I wouldn't tell a date unless I thought it was getting serious. "
Why even discuss it when there is seriousness? Would you also report the fact that you might have been antibody positive and self-cleared if that was the case in your past? Would a prior case of hemmorhoids make the "serious disclosure checklist"?
"You do not have hepatitis C any more. If it were me, I wouldn't tell a date unless I thought it was getting serious. "
Why even discuss it when there is seriousness? Would you also report the fact that you might have been antibody positive and self-cleared if that was the case in your past? Would a prior case of hemmorhoids make the "serious disclosure checklist"?
Olly Olly Oxenfree Batman what a groovy thread!!!!!!!!!
We all agree because we are all RIGHT YAY!
We all agree because we are all RIGHT YAY!
I also agree that Jenny's answer was the best - and I rarely agree about the best answer.
Mike
Mike
I know how to mess en right up,tell em you had the C,and as soon as theyrun for the hills,tell em your also a recent lottery winner.Most people havnt got a clue about hep and trying to explain your cured is like pulling teeth
Thank you my dear. Perhaps I've become a bit redundant and shed no light on the subject but what the heck.
To this day no one at work knows I have hepc, treated and relapsed. It was none of their business and I didn't want people feeling sorry for me or asking questions. None of their business.
If I were in the dating world I wouldn't tell until there was a reason to.
Trinity
If I were in the dating world I wouldn't tell until there was a reason to.
Trinity
Yep, agree with most of the posts. Unless I'm expecting the possibility that some type of transmission activity could take place, it's nobody's business.
Period.
Period.
I agree entirely.
Unlike some people who more openly share this info, I had a habit of not telling anyone unless essential.
The reality is that if you mention it, many people put up their guard and don't know what the heck HCV is.
And then it falls on you to somehow persuade them that it's okay, except you can often see on their faces that they're all of a sudden uncomfy.
Just happened to me yesterday, not concerning a date, but with a shopowner (who also holds a Ph.D., so he's formally educated and you'd think would know better). He wanted to know why I hadn't been in for so long, so I told him about treating and 'curing'.
Well, d-amn it, the first thing he wanted to know was whether I'd had HCV when he came to our place for Xmas dinner years ago!
And he's a great fella but, like most people, he doesn't know HCV from a hole in the wall, except it sounds like something to avoid.
So yeah, heck, you don't even have HCV, so unless you want to test his character right up front, enjoy your date.
Susan
Unlike some people who more openly share this info, I had a habit of not telling anyone unless essential.
The reality is that if you mention it, many people put up their guard and don't know what the heck HCV is.
And then it falls on you to somehow persuade them that it's okay, except you can often see on their faces that they're all of a sudden uncomfy.
Just happened to me yesterday, not concerning a date, but with a shopowner (who also holds a Ph.D., so he's formally educated and you'd think would know better). He wanted to know why I hadn't been in for so long, so I told him about treating and 'curing'.
Well, d-amn it, the first thing he wanted to know was whether I'd had HCV when he came to our place for Xmas dinner years ago!
And he's a great fella but, like most people, he doesn't know HCV from a hole in the wall, except it sounds like something to avoid.
So yeah, heck, you don't even have HCV, so unless you want to test his character right up front, enjoy your date.
Susan
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