hepatitis c questions

[mes326]

My boyfriend has hepatitis c and i am 29 weeks pregnant and am incredibly worried about having it too. i am wondering if anyone knows anything about how long after possible exposure you should wait to be tested. i've heard so many different things, 3 months, 6 months. Also i hear that sexual transmission is low, is this true? how easy is this virus to transmit. and what would happen to my baby if she got it too?

[dlr2007]

Thank you all for your kindness and support! Y'kno, I've been obsessing about this for a while, and when I saw Mes's post I figured I'd chime in, and you all gave me such great answers, I feel so much better- and I know I must not ignore this.
  Meki- you're right- worrying is a waste of time. Either they have it or they don't and it's up to me, as the parent, to find out. Good point about how if I put it off forever, then I'd feel guilty about not having tested 'em sooner... either way guilt seems to kick my @ss- lol.
  Electra- very true how each time in life is special. We never get to redo any of it- a fact which I wish I'd realised in my younger, crazier years. It is MUCH better to test them now than to wait until they get older and then say, oh by the way, you might wanna get tested for Hep C before you have that baby, do any drinking in college (yikes- now that's a worrisome thought!)...
  Whrose- I'm gonna do the same thing you did about testing the kids- I'll have their pediatrician run the test without telling them. I'd like to get them both done at once, so I may have to lie and say it's to see if they have immunity to a vaccine... or something convincing. Hey- I just had a thought- do they automatically test kids of Hep C+ moms, I wonder? Cuz I've know I had Hep C since I was pregnant with my son. I'll hafta ask their doc- wouldn't that be great  if he already tested them! I doubt it though.. wishful thinking. I think I'll take your advice and wait til I get my bx results back. Once I've dealt with that, I'll get the kids tested.
  Thanks again to all of you. I don't know what I'd do without this forum. For years I just hid from the Hep C, knowing nothing about and feeling so scared and veeerry alone. Not anymore!
Prayers and hugs to all of you,
Dee

[Whrose]

you have a good point in not wanting to scare them. after talking with my primary she and i agreed to run the test without her knowlege. for me since i had such en emotional charge, it was better that way as it gave me time to cope with the results and get myself together and if positive break the news to her with our family supporting the process. personally i don't think they need to know you are doing the test, my opinion. the doc called me personally on the phone with the results and was very understanding. Dee with all you are going through right now i think that a few months wait until you are in tx recovery is not a terrible thing. remember the virus is slow to damage and a few months at this point i do not believe will change their histolgy if positive. Electra and Meki have truthful points but you are in tx now and need all your resources to take care of yourself.  i am glad you are talking about this and send big hugs your way today. i wish i could give you the words you need to hear, and boy will i be singing the praise song when those pcr's come back negative and you have the SVR certificate in your hands. take good care:)

[Electra56]

It's really tough- but you have this great community of people for support and advice- I understand how you and Whrose feel about this time in their lives being special- but every point is special, and after grade/highschool, it will be college or something else and serious dating and marriage and ...life- it's all special.  Now would be the easiest time for them- they are home with their family. You've made a good decision, I'm glad whatever insight I may have been able to offer helped.  They will be fine...and remember- all of this could be for nothing, they may be negative. Good luck- we're here for you, I can always have my sister make a post if you'd like to talk to her.  My sister did overcompensate because she felt guilty..but as long as you are aware- you can keep it under control.
Electra

[dlr2007]

OK I'll try again- I've been struggling with this decision for a while and your story has made up  my mind. After my bx I'll get my kids tested. I'm not sure what I'll tell them- I rarely lie to them but they've been thru so much in their lives, I hate to scare them. Look at me, feeling horribly guilty already... this is a tough one. Part of me thinks, well even if they are positive they'll be better tx out in a few years, so why not just wait. It's a tough call either way- I'll keep you posted on how things go. Thanks again!
Whrose, you described exactly the way I feel- I don't want to ruin the special point of life that my children are at- they don't get to live these years over again and I hate the fact that something I did could cause them such suffering. I'm also afraid that if one of my kids came up positive, I would be so racked with guilt that I would be unable to raise them in a normal way. I'm afraid I would be constantly trying to overcompensate for the damage I'd done and therefore not give them any kind of firmness or discipline that they need.
Thank you both so much for your help.
Prayers, Dee
Best wishes,
Dee

[meki]

I'm a firm believer in knowing and testing.

As soon as I found out I had it --- I marched everyone down to the clinic for tests.

If you know --- you can either combat it -or relax...

But if you don't know - you compound the feelings of guilt and anxiety --- which could be for nothing --- or it could be something --- and then you feel guilty about not having done something sooner...

Yanno?

Go get 'em tested.

Hugs much!

Meki

[dlr2007]

Oops- hit enter too soon! Anyway, kids have better SVR rates and fewer sx, I'm told. I've been struggling with this decun

[Whrose]

i real feel for all in this discussion in the most personal way. When i found out i had hcv my heart was breaking at the fear of passing this to my husband and daughter. my girl was just starting  out in high school at the time and i could not face the thoughts of "ruining" her high school years. after about 2 yrs i had my GP run a test on her without her knowlege. thank God it came back negative. my husband has since also tested negative.

Dlr..........i feel for you hon and know what you are going through. Electra has sound advice and its just not going to be easy no way no how.........but the relief you will have when they are negative is the best gift next to birth you will ever get!

Mes. my advice is to enjoy your pregnancy. this is the most wonderful time of your life and don't let your fears keep you from the joy of this miracle that will soon be yours. i do understand the fear you are facing but please don't let hepatitis take one moment of your joy away. treatment during pregnancy would not be an option for you as the meds can cause damage to the fetus. dlr gave you the statistics of transmission and like meki said the risks are really low!  12 weeks from onset of infection should show if you have been exposed and sometimes as early as 3 weeks. i encourage you to share this information with your OB doc and see what he advises. in the meantime please take precautions with your boyfriend until you have your testing resolved. those precautions of transmission can be found on many hep c sites and also with the CDC.
God Bless you and please come back and share your news with us, especially the news of your bubbling bouncing healthy infant!  hope your boyfriend is taking good care of his liver and has seen a doctor. he certainly would benefit from this community and others like it for information and support.
hugs

[dlr2007]

Thank you for your kind words and advice. I'm so happy that your sister's kids cleared- awesome!!! You are right- I really do need to have my kids tested. If they did happen to have Hep C and ended up with liver damage- God forbid- because I'm too afraid to get them tested... well, that doesn't even bear thinking about. My liver doc said kids do great on tx, with higher SVR rates than

[Electra56]

Dee-  I can feel your pain...This is extremely rare, but my sister's  2 kids tested positive (type 2) - it's so unusual that the doctor repeated the test because he did not believe the result. (she was infected prior to becoming pregnant) This happened about 6 years ago, when they were about 9 and 10.  This killed my sister, she felt so guilty...but her kids were ok- they had liver biopsies and had very low inflammation, no fibrosis, VL about 2M.  She had them monitored regularly, and last year they participated in a clinical trial for kids- PEG-intron + Riba- (they were 15 and 16- but the trial included a wide range of ages- all under 18).  Kids are so resilient- they did really well- maintained straight A grades, all their extra-curricular activities, etc...they were treated for 6 months.  They just got their final confirmed SVR, 6 months post-end of treatment. So they can put this chapter behind them. She really did not make a big deal of it with them (they had watched her go through treatment) and really the kids had  a very blase attitude it- it was no big deal for them- even the treatment was not really an issue for them- Everyone is different I realize..

I'm telling you this not to scare you- but because you should have your kids tested fairly soon- only because they could be experiencing damage from the virus- you won't know...unless you do.  If they are negative, you can stop worrying.  If they are positive- you can do something about it.  If you want more information please just ask- I was with my sister through the whole process, so I know how painful and scary it can be.

Electra

[mes326]

so would you say that if i test negative at 3 months that i can stop there, or should i test again later to make sure?

[dlr2007]

Hi Mes326- Sorry to hear you're so worried- I'm sure you'll be fine though. As long as you haven't engaged in any highrisk activities yourself, it's pretty unlikely to get Hep C thru sex. And even if you did by some off chance- odds that you'd pass it on to your baby are only 3-5%. Good luck- get tested then relax!!
  Hi Meki- Wow did you make me feel better, saying how you got infected while you were preggo and your baby was still negative! I may have gotten infected while I was carrying my son (1st baby) and I always feared that perhaps that makes it much more likely to transmit. Of course I'm such a big wimp, my kids are 9 and 13 and I STILL haven't gotten the courage to have 'em tested. Just thinking about it makes my heart do flipflops. I'm thinking of it more and more lately... probably trying to distrat myself from my upcoming bx that I'm NOT looking forward to. Anyway, thanks for sharing that- have a great day!
Prayers and hugs,
Dee

[Electra56]

Meki- just to add to the data pool- ditto on your above comments....but I'm not sure I did the chandelier- perhaps I just don't remember..............

[meki]

ALSO --- the transmission rate is about 30% or lower...
(meaning from mother to child)

AND --- it's 90days for the best read...
(meaning - to make sure you're not infected from LAST point of contact --- so if you had sex today at 5 pm - wait 90 days ---at 5 pm go get tested. LOL!)

[meki]

Mes...

I was infected I believe during my 2nd month of carrying my daughter - and gave birth to her a little over 11 years ago... Just found out last year that I had it...

Have had wild monkey chandelier swinging sex --- at every point during the month - shared razors --- bled all over everyone (once during a major car accident) held my bleeding kids - bled on them --- etc. etc.... I did however stop short of sharing toothbrushes.... AND NO ONE BUT ME --- HAS HCV.

Including my daughter who was born during the time I was infected.

Sooooooo - with that said --- My experience may not be EVERYONE'S experience.... And some people may "get it" easier than others... It's unusual to have it from sexual contact.

ALSO --- the transmission rate is about 30% or lower...

AND --- it's 90days for the best read...

But as a new mother to be --- you should get all of your blood work done - and for multiple diseases checked. I believe in annual testing for HCV.

Good luck - and congrats on the baby!

Meki

[mes326]

well i guess it makes it harder not knowing. wondering if i have been so sad and depressed for over a month for absolutely nothing or if i have to prepare myself for worse. i just wish i could know now.

[debnevada]

You are singing to the choir. Most of us have it and we know it is horrible.

Good luck.

[mes326]

i plan to get tested in september which would be 12 weeks from my last possible exposure. but then i wonder if those results come in negative can i trust that or do i need to retest out to 6 months. everywhere i look gives me a differernt answer. i just want to put this issue to rest. you would think with things like this you would be able to find out right away. its horrible.

[Electra56]

I've had this conversation with many doctors..and I think that the concensus is that the risk of sexual transmission is VERY low, if not zero among heterosexual couples.... but increases with "high risk" sexual behavior-  
Also, transmission of virus to the child is variable- I do not know the average risk, but it is not 100% for sure. So even if you were to test positive- which I doubt, you would not know the status of your child until it is born.  I say focus on the more positive chance that you are not infected- but inform your health care provider that your partner is.
Wait and get tested closer to your delivery time- say at 7-8 months.   In the meantime, as pointed out above- don't share personal items such as razors, toothbrushes.

[mes326]

well if it was just me i would wait the 6 months and put it aside until then. but with being pregnant and due in 2 months i feel like if it would show up before she was due i would rather know just incase something happens so im not surprised. i just can never seem to get a straight answer from anyone, people just brush me off like im talking about strep throat or something.

[Alady1620]

Is there such a thing as a 'mild' form of hepatitis C?  

Mes, you and your baby are probably fine but you should get tested just to be safe.  You can have the baby tested when it is not an infant anymore.

[mes326]

i know its easy to think just wait to get tested at 6 months but when you're pregnant and scared out of your mind for you and your baby its hard to sit back for 4 more months waiting and wondering. i read alot about different things about hepatitis c and just wonder if i test negative at 3 months if i can have any hope with that result. its hard not knowing. wondering if i am worry for no reason or if i really do have it. i just sit here every day running through my mind different ways i could have gotten it. anyway thanks for anyone who is helping and listening.

[FearfulOfDisease]

If you have read any of my posts, you can see how stressed I get and how much I worry.

You can get tested anytime after like 2 weeks after exposure. Howeber, 3 or 4 months from then it could show up in the blood.
By all means you can get tested now. But if its negative, Id suggest another test around month 6.

Dont worry about people thinking you are worrying too much. I am the epitome of that. I worry I was exposed through many ways.
Like I said, you can get tested whenever you like, but it can take up to 6 months for it to show up.
I usually wait the 6 months simply because I hate being stuck with anything. So the less tests the better.

[Zanna62]

I have been living with my husband for over 20 years and he has had HVC the whole time, and I have never contracted it from him. I was told that there is only 3% chance that I could get HVC from him, of course he has a mild form of it, contracted many years ago we are not sure exactly how but probably from some type of injection, probably from a vacine. As long as you are careful not to share anything like a razor where blood can be exchanged, you will be fine. Sex does not seem to transfer it, but as you are pregnate, you can be careful.  Hope this helps.

[FearfulOfDisease]

It is less likely to transmit sexually.

It can show up on a blood test a few weeks after exposed, but can also take up to 6 months to show up on a test. Id wait 6 months then get tested, so you dont have to get tested more than once.