Aa
random statements
Two days in a row at work someone mentioned hep c. First it was in reference to something that came on the news while we were eating lunch. This woman who was obviouslya druggie got busted for trying to sell her 5 year old son for drug money, so this girl looks at her and says "she probably has hep c she's such a looser" then today another girl is talking about one of her clients and says "he's really sick I think he has hep c dont know much about it but I know people die from it" I was like what the Heck!!! I have never said a word to ANYONE about this at work,one person knows who does not know anyone I work with and my family doesnt even know yet. Made me feel like crawling under the table. Wish people knew more about this. Its sad that people think the only ones who get this are looser drug users. :( Think I'm just feeling a little sensitive. Maybe?? Always feel dirty :( Sorry just want my life back.
OMG Goofy...you got me to laugh out loud
Hmmm... normally that doesn't happen until I undress. I guess we have a case of premature elaugholation.
Hmmm... normally that doesn't happen until I undress. I guess we have a case of premature elaugholation.
i just checked out your picture. that's classic. glad to see some people still have a sense of humor. i try to be around funny people because it makes me happier. we all need to have some happiness while going thru this tx. best wishes. belle
If you thnk this is stigma, I caution you never to make an appointment for hemorrhoids, ED, and halitosis on the same visit, Next time I think I'll shop different Docs for each problem. Once my kid gets a little older I guess I can make him earn his alllowance as my stand in.
You thnk our stigma is bad, think of what HIV+ folks must go through....I'm so glad I wasn't co-infected. Its bad enough to have one disease and stigma to guard against...~MM
What your co-worker saw on the news may be the story on CBS about Hep -C. I wrote and lambasted them for telling people that the only people who get it are IV drug users... It is bad enough that there are so many misconceptions about the disease, and then to see a news station adding to the fiction... GRRRRR I agree with Nygirl7 that once you are aware of it it becomes what you catches your attention always... still does mine and I treated in 2006/2007.
That phrase can be applied many ways...Heh. Heh. Heh...;) A penny for your thoughts you naughty boy! LOL~MM
"I will live my life in such a way that it brings joy to myself and to those it touches."
Nice. I can think of a couple worthy substitutions for the word "joy" but those are probably at their best when left ambiguous.
Nice. I can think of a couple worthy substitutions for the word "joy" but those are probably at their best when left ambiguous.
What a couple of uninformed jerks. You don't have to lead with your chin. In other words, you don't have to tell them you have HCV in order to educate your coworkers. You can always talk about a "friend" who has Hep C. After all, we are our own friends.
I too probably got my Hep C from sharing needles back in the day. That was over 27 years ago and I am unrecognizable today from that person I used to be.
Protect yourself from the ignorance out there but don't hesitate to confront it.
Sherry
I too probably got my Hep C from sharing needles back in the day. That was over 27 years ago and I am unrecognizable today from that person I used to be.
Protect yourself from the ignorance out there but don't hesitate to confront it.
Sherry
What's wrong with what the second person said ? The first person is a tool, there are lots of those in the world. I always tell people I have / had HCV. I explain the disease,and don't look back. If you are on tx right now you're probably a little more emotional than usual. Try not to think about it, you have enough to worry about.
We need to raise awareness otherwise the stigma will never end ......jmo.
We need to raise awareness otherwise the stigma will never end ......jmo.
Hiya,
I used to be one of those ignorant health care workers. As a paramedic, Hep C was one of the diseases I feared most. I knew it was a blood-borne pathogen, and I knew it was something I didn't want to get. In essence, most folks who began in the health care field prior to 2000 are taught, if you get it, you die a horrible death.
And then I got a dirty needle stick. I'd had Hep C for nearly 3 years before I found out. Looking back, the episode I had of the "flu" was probably the Hep C taking hold. When I was told I had it, I thought I was going to die. I went through a grieving period for about two weeks and I had to deal with my manager who tried to remove me from my shift. I felt like I was contaminated and everyone around me also seemed to think so.
Then I began to educate myself. Knowledge IS power. Suddenly, I wasn't as afraid, and I began educating those around me. I nearly went "evalengelical", preaching the knowledge to anyone I crossed paths with. -Even my GP who was surprisingly uneducated concerning Hep C treatment and long-term liver issues. I was a one-person war against Hep C ignorance!
I am now 3 years post tx, and am still SVR. I remain a Hep C advocate and occassionally add to infectious control lectures at work. Every new nurse or medic also gets the "Hep C" talk. There is still a lot of ignorance in the health care field -and Hep C still has the stigma of being a "drug user's disease", but I am working on changing that, one person at a time!
Hang in there! I have walked a few miles in your shoes, and it does get easier. The rewards I gained during the journey were worth it. The big things seem smaller, and the little things don't matter much, and what is really important is now much clearer. I now live my life around the mantra: "I will live my life in such a way that it brings joy to myself and to those it touches." (((((((HUGZ))))))
I used to be one of those ignorant health care workers. As a paramedic, Hep C was one of the diseases I feared most. I knew it was a blood-borne pathogen, and I knew it was something I didn't want to get. In essence, most folks who began in the health care field prior to 2000 are taught, if you get it, you die a horrible death.
And then I got a dirty needle stick. I'd had Hep C for nearly 3 years before I found out. Looking back, the episode I had of the "flu" was probably the Hep C taking hold. When I was told I had it, I thought I was going to die. I went through a grieving period for about two weeks and I had to deal with my manager who tried to remove me from my shift. I felt like I was contaminated and everyone around me also seemed to think so.
Then I began to educate myself. Knowledge IS power. Suddenly, I wasn't as afraid, and I began educating those around me. I nearly went "evalengelical", preaching the knowledge to anyone I crossed paths with. -Even my GP who was surprisingly uneducated concerning Hep C treatment and long-term liver issues. I was a one-person war against Hep C ignorance!
I am now 3 years post tx, and am still SVR. I remain a Hep C advocate and occassionally add to infectious control lectures at work. Every new nurse or medic also gets the "Hep C" talk. There is still a lot of ignorance in the health care field -and Hep C still has the stigma of being a "drug user's disease", but I am working on changing that, one person at a time!
Hang in there! I have walked a few miles in your shoes, and it does get easier. The rewards I gained during the journey were worth it. The big things seem smaller, and the little things don't matter much, and what is really important is now much clearer. I now live my life around the mantra: "I will live my life in such a way that it brings joy to myself and to those it touches." (((((((HUGZ))))))
Ignorance,,,,, and self righteousness, "there but for the grace of god" People often speak without thinking, makes them feel good at first but later ych.
I worked with people who called Arabs diaper heads, and they were pretty nice people, just ignorant, and I said thats awful to say. how do you know who they are or what their situation is?
Good luck sweetie and try not to take it personally. breathe and realize how limited their thinking is and what a prison that creates for them. Show by example how much better compassion is.
XXOO Mary
I worked with people who called Arabs diaper heads, and they were pretty nice people, just ignorant, and I said thats awful to say. how do you know who they are or what their situation is?
Good luck sweetie and try not to take it personally. breathe and realize how limited their thinking is and what a prison that creates for them. Show by example how much better compassion is.
XXOO Mary
You should be very proud of yourself for making the intellegent decision to undergo trt. You have the courage to take on the struggle to endure all of the sides to get yourself cured. Only ignorant people make comments like that, so I'd simply ignore it and consider the source.
It's been my expirience which is pretty short lived that it is not only the ignorant and uneducated that place that type of tag on you. I have had 2 PA's and a couple of nurse's treat me like a degenerate looser once they found out I was hcv positive. I will admit I did contract hcv from drug use, but in my life I have also had a 22 year career in the oilfield advancing all the way to being a directional driller, which I am on break from to get my health in order. I am not a degenerate looser, I have made some bad choices in my life. I truely feel for the people, who lived inside the box and still contracted hcv that have to put up with that type of classifacation that the general public puts on us. I try to use this to keep me strong in my conviction to become SVR and I hope you will do the same. Pay them no mind, they don't deserve it.
Will-excellent quote
Keith
Will-excellent quote
Keith
Its sad that people think the only ones who get this are looser drug users. :(
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Possibly you could have said an old saying to them I heard once:
" The only time you should look down on someone .....is when you are helping them up"
Will
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Possibly you could have said an old saying to them I heard once:
" The only time you should look down on someone .....is when you are helping them up"
Will
Don't let others ignorance and lack of compassion effect your thoughts and feelings about yourself. There are the ones who should feel "dirty" because of their easy judgement of others based on blind ignorance. But don't concern yourself with their opinions. Everyone can have an opinion, but that doesn't mean it has any relation to reality. Focus on yourself and taking care of yourself. Don't live by the values or ideas of others.
This is your chance to be a better, kinder and more compassionate person then your colleagues. Educate yourself about this disease. It will empower you and expose their opinions what they are, cruel blind ignorance. Having chronic hepatitis C can be a learning experience if you want it to be. "Turn lemons into lemonade". It will show you how brave and tough you are and will expand your compassion for others who are suffering with their own life challenges. It can be a humbling yet empowering life experience. You do not to be one of these ignorant, uncompassionate people. You are better than that.
Good luck.
Hector
This is your chance to be a better, kinder and more compassionate person then your colleagues. Educate yourself about this disease. It will empower you and expose their opinions what they are, cruel blind ignorance. Having chronic hepatitis C can be a learning experience if you want it to be. "Turn lemons into lemonade". It will show you how brave and tough you are and will expand your compassion for others who are suffering with their own life challenges. It can be a humbling yet empowering life experience. You do not to be one of these ignorant, uncompassionate people. You are better than that.
Good luck.
Hector
Hi, I agree with NYGirl, you might buy a white car and all of a sudden you notice all the white cars on the road. It the same after being dx with Hep C
It is frustrating to hear someone say something stupid about acquiring HCV and hard to know if you feel like educating them or not.
It will get better as time goes on
D
It is frustrating to hear someone say something stupid about acquiring HCV and hard to know if you feel like educating them or not.
It will get better as time goes on
D
It's sort of like when you buy a new car you never see them on the road but then you get one and you see them everywhere. You are probably just noticing it more now that it's an issue.
The stigma of the disease ***** but if you don't say to them 'you realize that many people in the US have the disease and don't know it and they've never done drugs' then they'll never find out. What is it 3mil in the US alone and how many of them are treating? Not many.
The stigma of the disease ***** but if you don't say to them 'you realize that many people in the US have the disease and don't know it and they've never done drugs' then they'll never find out. What is it 3mil in the US alone and how many of them are treating? Not many.
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