I'm scared I have HCV

[BigMistake1]

I told you all my exposure, protected sex and then I cut myself shaving down there maybe a half hour later. I have pain on my right side under my rib area off and on daily. Not too many times in the day but it worries me. I had a negative HCV anitbody test 6 months post exposure which I have been told by numerous people it is conclusive at that time. Other sites tell me it can take up to a year to show antibodies. I also had a LFT 5 months post exposure which was fine. There was no visible blood during the sex I had but I'm sure some vaginal fluids got on my skin and then I cut myself. I was told that the cut would have had to been there during the intercourse for it to infect me. I don't know if I believe this because I have read that HCV can live outside the body in dried blood or other stuff for up to two weeks or longer. Please give me your input. I've had three doctors tell me my liver does not feel swollen. Sorry for posting again but I am just curious. Happy holidays!

[copyman]

I don't know but I'm just afraid to have sex anymore. All this nonsense is just a turn off. In all my 53 yrs I have never felt the need to shave "down there" after sex. Maybe a few time during :) but never after.

The thing that really gets me with these people that ask these questions is, if you know you have a compulsive disorder why would you do stuff like this?
The only thing I can think of is what women have can make a man do some stupid things, even ones with mental disorders :)

[Trinity4]

I'm exhausted....

[BigMistake1]

Thanks guys it really did help a lot. Hope everyone has a good holiday season.

[Trish77]

Now that .. was a very on the mark response.  Maybe the best I've seen to this sort of thing yet.  Mind if we just copy and paste that one for future? :)  Cause surely....it's going to be needed again...and again...and again.  Sigh.

[Willy50]

Sorry, i didn't see the other thread but....

It is impossible to get HCV from another UNinfected person.  I would venture a guess that you are young and having sex with someone in the teens or 20's.  The risk of getting HCV from that demographic age is very slight.  HCV is far more present in older populations; maybe 55 years of age being the median.

Next, even with an infected person your odds of contracting the virus through sex is very slight.  Most of us have been in long term relationships and never transmitted to our partners.

Next, the odds of getting it though shaving are very slight.  I can't follow how or why you were shaving "down there", but when i shave (my face, that is...) I use warm water, maybe shaving cream....and if you did something similar you've reduced the chances....very very slight....to practically nothing.  Keep in mind this person almost guaranteed to be virus free anyway.

Now...even if all that happened in the worst case scenario...... you've gotten a test and it was NEGATIVE.  It sound as if you've been handled by 3 physicians as well as the antibody test.  Your results are negative-accept them.
The odds of you not having antibodies is also very very slight.  

I just don't think the universe aligned perfectly to form that perfect storm of circumstances that allowed you to almost miraculously become infected and then avoid detection.  

I'd get on with my life.  If you cannot, get a more defined riba antibody test if you've not had one or an expensive PCR.  But realize.....if you can't accept the results there is no point in getting the test.

By the way...... there are many people who have sex and become so scared of HIV that they manifest symptoms....those symptoms they associate with HIV.  The mind is very powerful; they get genuinely sick.  They so to speak can worry themselves virtually to death.  Get a handle on your fear and try to understand better where it's coming from.

Try to worry less.

best,
Willy

[James10500]

You got tested it was negative. There is nothing more educated than a test.  Why would you feel better about what some stranger says on the Internet.  You got answers to your questions, but no one coddled you enough rocked like a baby and said it's ok sweetheart.

A) Hep C isn't an STD

B) Don't have sex with prostitutes anymore if your worried about disease

[murariji]

Nobody minds an honest question born of genuine ignorance, but having got the answers either act on them, or go to another site for other opinions. Treatment is very taxing, and sympathies lie with real problems, not imaginary ones.

[BigMistake1]

Wow Im sorry guys. I wasnt trying to offend anyone. I just kinda freaked myself out and wanted someone who is more educated on the subjects input. If I cant let it go and keep having problems then I will do a pcr.

[hcvJames]

Sex can cause paranoia and hypochondria in some people. Maybe this sex thing isn't for you.

[willbb]

"Sorry for posting again but I am just curious."

About what?   What it is like to ask questions of people dealing with HCV!
If you refuse to get a PCR test I would suggest you get a doctor to just start you on the treatment for HCV  and let him know you want to take it for at least 72 wks. just to make sure you don"t have any problems with it down the road.

Hope that helps

WILL

[GSDgirl]

oops, we crossed

[GSDgirl]

WHAT???? You don't even know if the person was infected????  Are you crazy to let yourself dwell on this??  Go get the lab corp PCR that measures copies down to 2.  If that is negative you are negative and can dwell on something else.

[Trinity4]

"No idea if the person was infected."   Yet you title your post I'm scared I have HCV.  Would you call that rational thinking after a negative antibody test at 6 months?
We don't we hear about your sexual escapades any longer and obviously we can't say NO enough times.  GET A PCR for your own peace of mind.

Trinity

[BigMistake1]

No idea if the person was infected. Should I feel good about the tests I have taken and the fact the doctors say my liver isnt swollen? Thanks for your input

[Trinity4]

Have an HCV RNA by PCR done. A PCR is conclusive and I doubt your sincerity about regretting the fact you keep asking the same question over and over.  It goes way beyond curiosity, more like a compulsion.  It's obvious you can't control your mind to think rationally.  I think they call that OCD.

Trinity

[Diane12855]

HCV doesn't live in vaginal fluid... You can only get it from an infected person's blood. Do you even know if this person was infected?

Since it seems that nothing is going to make you feel safe, why don't you just go get a viral load done? That way you aren't waiting for your body to produce antibodies, they are actually looking for the presence of the virus itself. It is a more expensive test, but by the time you pay for all of those doctor appointments and antibody tests, you are paying a lot more anyhow and you still aren't feeling safe.

Diane