Hepatitis C Support Group

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral disease which can cause liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 150-200 million people worldwide.

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deleted_user 04/15/2012

about people quitting treatment, that is not the case alot of the time. Some of us just can't do it. Using words like quitting treatment and stuff like that is offensive. Make sure you educate yourself about treatment, you can put new ppl into a tailspin and seriously get depressed, i know it happened to me when i came in here. That's why i had to leave and distance myself and pull myself back together. Had a good therapist also that went through treatment. Interferon is not for everyone. It just doesn't work for alot of us. Who knows why, but this virus is very smart and mutates. In some cases the interferon and ribavirin doesn't even work on these mutated strains. Whoever didn't get SVR from the old treatment, kieep your head, things are coming down the road for us. take care of yourself in the meantime. Please don't aleinate those who the treatment didn't work for. We are all heppers and need to battle this. Believe me we are the majority that this does not work for. My hope is for new treatments, the more the better.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

Amen. Anger begets anger.

Awesome post.
No matter what the outcome, we are all united with our common bond. And this will always be. Once a hepper, ALWAYS a hepper.
There is no changing that; until that changes.
Unfortunately it won't be anytime soon.

Stick together for the common good.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

Yeah treatment failed me not the other way around. We are in a battle, HIV/aids ppl got united and that is how they got alot of money for their cause.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

Just remember TREATMENT FAILED US, not the other way around.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

Ugh I hate the internet. I did not mean to say your giving up. I meant from my experience I wanted to stop because I was so sick but I had a good support system helping me through it, rooting me on. I just wanted to encourage others. I really hate that my words are taken badly online. I'm well educated on the tx's .... i've been through it twice.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

and the first time mine did come back during tx so I do know very well that it doesn't work sometimes. I also was on procrit. They had extended my tx to 72 weeks until they saw it actually was comming back (to a higher VL than before).

TulsaGal 04/15/2012

I don't find the term quitting treatment to be at all offensive. If you cannot deal with the side effects it is nothing to be ashamed of and I have never seen anyone post anything to that effect.
It is a reality that happens.
I think that it is wrong to make people worry about what terminology they use. Quitting treatment, being taken off of treatment, not responding..... It doesn't matter what you call it. Treatment doesn't work for everyone.
Please don't call people's comments offensive. We are here to support everyone no matter what their situation might be. What is offensive to one person is someone else's reality.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

i understand sorry, just new ppl come in and get confused as to what is really going on. I kept seeing the word failed and stuff and got depressed very badly. It's happened to alot of ppl also i have spoken to over the past year. The people that got SVR we need those to fight for us, some ppl are just too weak to fight. TREATMENT FAILED ME!

TulsaGal 04/15/2012

Treatment also failed me, but I have not given up hope.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

I always stick with the cause (even post tx). I'm not new either I've been on since 2008 just on and off since life doesn't always allow me access to a computer. I did a project in my class to educate people about HCV, the new and old drugs and how it's spread. I did share my own experience also. I also saw an article in the post about it being the new epidemic (I'm glad it's finally getting some attention). HIV and HCV are the most difficult things to deal with (emotionally) I feel because there's such a stigma. I got mine from IV use, I admit that. But when I was on tx both times I felt so alienated because I couldn't really tell anyone why I was so sick. People (esp in DC) are pretty ignorant and tend to believe they can catch if from me touching them. Ugh.

TulsaGal 04/15/2012

Plus there are so many success stories now that it is very encouraging for new people on DS.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

I didn't mean for this to single anyone out, it is something i noticed in alot of the groups. Once you realize treatment failed you, you get your power back and don't feel as bad, i had bad dr's giving me treatment, they made me feel that way, took me awhile to pull myself out of it. I was depressed enough last year to start giving away my stuff, but that is another story, i am here and fighting back, just doing it with nutrtion right now and waiting to see the results of these new treatments some of you are on. HUGS. I agree littlehippychick the internet you can get so easily misunderstood. As humans we communicate with our faces and our bodies, without that, you can easily take something the wrong way. Carry on heppers. Let's take our swords out and kill the dragon.

TulsaGal 04/15/2012

Mike, it's funny because I have never picked up on that attitude. We are all unique and at different stages in our lives. Some of us have not achieved SVR. Someone of us have chosen not to treat yet. Some have chosen never to treat. And some of us have beat the virus. I think this site is very good at providing different options and not ever trying to persuade someone to treat or not to treat.
Anger needs to be directed at the virus not other DS members for using a term that was meant to be innocent.
Take care and I know that someday there will be better treatments for everyone.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

yeah but there is many, many more that don't clear it, that just go into hiding or something, i don't know. only as very small few seek out groups as this, or we would have a million ppl in here. maybe more.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

i don't have any anger really towards anyone, my anger is towards the way things are. Heppers have to get organized just like Aids/hiv patients did in the 80s. They fought back so can we. A fraction of monies are put to research on hcv compared to that of aids, check it out. I bet we would have a vaccine and maybe a cure by now, but it takes money.

deleted_user 04/15/2012

I think with each success story there are probably 100 tragic ones. Hell we are 5 million strong and growing, we can make change happen. Organize.

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