Posted on 12/10/2016 8:20:29 PM PST by fightin kentuckian
I've noticed a lot of commercials about Hep C. The current one tells Baby Boomers to get tested and an earlier one was talking about a cure for Hep C. This is starting to sound like some government conspiracy. And, I'm not a doctor but I didn't think that a virus could be cured.
When my sister and I received shots (early 50s?)the same needle was used, no sterilization.
Mercat isn't demonstrating in front of a school, harrassing church-goers, blocking traffic, appearing on t.v., or demanding that a school principal be fired - she's expressing - here on Free Republic - her feelings of having been offended.
I think that she's entitled to do that and shouldn't be subjected to derisive comments from fellow Conservatives for doing so.
Regards,
We have a friend who suffered for decades and when the new medication came out, she went on the program and no longer has it....expensive but it really seems to work.
I haven’t read through the whole thread yet, but if no one has set you straight yet, there is not and has never been a vaccine for Hepatitis C. The 3 part vaccine is for Hepatitis B, which is a completely different virus than Hepatitis C.
Years past I’ve seen Hep C referred to as straight people’s HIV.
Hep B is transmitted via unprotected sex.
General reply to all:
I am an Infectious Disease RN Clinic Coordinator at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and currently run a clinic with 500+ Hepatitis C patients, and utilize a budget of close to $3.4 million dollars for treatment of Hepatitis C. I have presented nationally on the topic. LOTS and LOTS of misconceptions and outright incorrect information in this thread. Let’s set the record straight.
There are 3 kinds of hepatitis, A, B and C. They are viruses that affect your liver that are completely distinct from each other. A is as different from B as strep throat is different than chicken pox. People say they have no risk because they never injected drugs. If you ever had a paper cut in your life, you are at risk of any of the viruses (Hep B, Hep C, HIV, etc...) that are spread by blood. Certain types of viruses CAN be cured with medication, as I discuss below.
Hep A is generally self limiting, and as previously mentioned, spread by fecal-oral route. There is a vaccine for Hep A that takes 2 injections 6 months apart to achieve immunity. For most people, Hep A won’t cause permanent liver damage.
Hep B is spread by blood to blood contact only. It is a lifelong disease that can be suppressed but not cured. There is a 3 part vaccine for Hep B that occasionally has to be repeated but you can be protected against Hep B if you don’t already have it. You can’t get Hep B by sharing a drink or hugging or kissing. Sexual transmission is possible but quite unlikely.
Hep C also requires blood to blood contact. There is no vaccine for Hepatitis C, although it can be cured. It wasn’t identified until 1989 in Japan, and there weren’t blood tests available for it until 1992. There are 7 different kinds of Hepatitis C, called genotypes: 1a, 1b,2,3,4, 5 and 6. One isn’t worse than the other, they are often geographically based....but that said, there are fewer medications for GT3. Different meds work against different genotypes, and there are now drugs (Zepatier, Epclusa) that work against all genotypes.
As we have learned more about the long term implications of Hep C (HCV), it’s been found to be the leading risk factor for liver cancer. That’s why you’re seeing such a push for it...medicare would rather pay for meds than liver cancer or a transplant. HCV is very uncommonly spread by sexual contact...it is not found in semen or vaginal fluid, but microscopic tears in the skin during sex could allow it to be transmitted via blood. This type of transmission accounts for less than 1% of known cases. HCV has few if any symptoms and is a very slow moving virus, so no, it’s not “dormant”....it just takes a long time to have enough virus to start causing scar tissue and eventually cirrhosis, liver cancer and liver failure. Alcohol hastens that process if you’re a heavy drinker....don’t get me started on YOUR definition of “heavy” versus the medical definition of “heavy”..... The amount of shared medical equipment, etc, is why baby boomers (born 1945-1964) are at the greatest risk. All of the major pharmaceutical companies have programs to provide medications for the uninsured or for those whose insurance won’t cover it....just check their websites. I have utilized these programs many times for my patients.
Harvoni is a commonly known med effective for GT 1a, which is the most common in the US. Those are the ads you see on TV most often. It used to be $1100 per pill, and competition has dropped it to about $300-ish per pill depending on sourcing and contracts, etc. (Check out the price of those Shingles vaccines everyone wants.....) I fully agree that the big pharms are lining their pockets somewhat......same med can be had in India for $4/pill. Not going to try to explain that...there is no justification. The new meds work completely differently than the previous peg-interferon and interferon based injections of yesteryear, which were horrific and of limited success for those who could complete the treatments at all. The new meds are pills only and for most people, 8-12 weeks. OCCASIONALLY, an adjunctive medication called Ribavarin is added to these new meds. Ribavarin isn’t pleasant and can cause horrible birth defects, but there are times depending on genotype and treatment-naive vs treatment-experienced (if you had interferon before but failed to achieve a cure) that it is an important supplement. We avoid it if at all possible.
And even after HCV is cured? There is never immunity...if you go out and share needles with someone who has hep c, you WILL get it again, and it’s much harder to treat the second time around. There is NEVER immunity to HCV...no vaccine, previously treated, etc. Come in contact with someone else’s blood and you are at risk. Period. And it doesn’t take a lot of blood at all to spread it.
The reason HCV can be cured is because it is an RNA virus, which is how the virus replicates in your cells. Hepatitis B and HIV are DNA viruses. DNA is like the “brain” of your cell...kinda hard to kill off HBV and HIV without killing the whole cell. Polio is also an RNA virus. Both HIV and HBV can be fully suppressed but will require a lifetime of medications. HIV IS found in sexual fluids as well as blood, and hence can be spread by sexual activity or by sharing needles, tattoos, airguns in the military (I am also a veteran) blood transfusion, re-usable medical equipment, current heroin epidemic among young people, etc....etc. HBV and HCV are not found in sexual fluids.
Oh, and for the record? The government has had no hand in developing ANY of the 15+ HCV meds on the market today. They are all private pharmaceutical companies: Gilead, Abbvie, Merck Pharmaceuticals, etc. This is not a government conspiracy. (are ya kidding? Take off the damn tin foil hat.....)
Please...please...people...STOP the hysteria and don’t speak out about something you don’t know anything about just to continue the drama. I am HAPPY to receive messages here and speak to anyone one on one who has questions. But the amount of utterly ridiculous misinformation is why HCV is still an issue. It’s ONE FREAKING TUBE OF BLOOD that requires no special preparation to get tested and is generally covered fully by most of the free clinics anywhere in America. They’d rather spend $25-50K (the current cost of most 12 week treatments) to cure your HCV than to pay for a liver transplant or liver cancer. Is there any reason not to do it? It takes 2 different tests to confirm HCV infection, but the first step is at least getting tested for exposure.
And on that note...I bid you adieu.....
Very informative ... thanks.
100%
thx... and to you also.
I still haven’t heard what he/she is offended by. By maybe being tested for a highly contagious virus that can be contracted by those not engaged in risky behaviors?
Please read my post #86.
First, It is NOT transmitted by pedophiles, it is transmitted by blood.
Second, if your pediatrician was “against the Hep C vaccine,” you need a new pediatrician because there is NO SUCH THING as a hep c vaccine and never has been. Is your pediatrician one of those liberal idiots who are anti-vaccine?
Third, “removing your thyroid” to cure a virus is on about the same level of medical stupidity as suggesting removing your skin so you don’t get poison ivy.
(sigh)
So you thunk because you had no symptoms, it’s not serious?
I suggest you drop by the Liver Clinic at any hospital in the country and talk to some patients there. Liver cancer and liver failure often have no symptoms until the final weeks of illness, the point at which you have two options: liver transplant or funeral.
Cite your source for this information, please?
Lemme guess, you read it on the internet? Or your next door neighbor’s grandmother who lives in Venezuela heard it from the lady she sat next to in church 10 years ago whose 3rd cousin twice removed knew someone who saw a witch doctor for treatment, right?
I really need to just stop reading this thread...the utterly ludicrous comments are going to ruin my Sunday football for sure. (sigh)
thank you...
You can stop looking up your lawyer’s phone number....the gubbernmint wasn’t injecting some obscure tracking substance into you. (sigh)
The shots you got were for Hepatitis B, which is different than Hepatitis C. There is not and never has been a vaccine for Hepatitis C.
Yes, you do.
HOW you got Hepatitis C has nothing to do with whether or not you can get treated. The vast majority of people have no idea how they got it. Now if you are still sharing needles to inject heroin, you are putting yourself at risk of reinfection or of getting more than one type of Hepatitis C. In that case, most doctors will delay treatment until you no longer have risky behaviors. But short of that, there are no exclusions to treatment for hepatitis c.
Each of the drug companies have programs for those who are otherwise unable to be treated. You can PM me or check their websites: Gildead Sciences, Abbvie, Merck Pharmaceuticals for more information.
Let me add: there are a few MEDICAL exclusions to treatment. People who have a life expectancy of less than 6 months (whether it’s from Hep C or anything else) will not benefit from treatment, and a few other very obscure types of things. But medical exclusions to treatment are uncommon. Delays to treatment, maybe, but outright exclusions? Rare. And exclusions because of how you got it? Non-existent, and in fact, would be unethical and law-suit worthy if someone is telling you that.
Hepatitis C is the most cutting edge and intricate medicine in the world right now. I can guarantee you if you haven’t seen a doctor/nurse who specializes in Infectious Diseases or Hep C, you are NOT getting the most accurate information. 90+% of the teaching seminars I do are to doctors who have no clue how to proceed. The vast majority of the patients I see after diagnosis have been given incorrect information by the general medical doctor. The docs aren’t bad, this is just fast moving, high tech medicine. I surely wouldn’t ask my neurosurgeon for advice on how to take care of my asthma....same situation with Hep C.
PLEASE, people...send me a PM. I am happy to help anyone with questions or resources. As a federal employee who is as tin foil hat as the rest of us here, I will NOT post my contact information nor provide it. But I will answer questions via PM and provide you resources.
As a Boomer I remember every visit to the doctor ended with a shot. I knew bad things were going to happen when he walked over to the autoclave and pulled out a glass syringe. I didn’t take shots well back in the day.
The VA doctors told him he got it from the air guns the military was using during the Vietnam era to administer vaccinations.
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I and my wife (50’s) were required by our insurer to have a HepC test last year for that reason... my elementary school had mass vaccinations with those devices.
Hep C is transmissible sexually
Ok, vaccines for Hep A and B exist, not C. My bad.
And go ahead, say what you want, but people with hyperthyroidism dont survive viruses as well as people who are hypo.
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