Mad4Chaos

First, some history. A little over a year ago, my son went to rehab because of pain pill abuse. I found out when he returned that he had been using heroin the 2 months before he went to rehab. A year later, he's had some serious relapses with pills, but swears emphatically that he's stayed away from heroin. No one really knows for sure, his addiction turned him into a thief & a liar a long time ago.

A month ago, he heard through friends that his heroin dealer had hep C. He went & talked to the guy he shared needles with, who confirmed it. The guy has lost 80 pounds in the last year, & is preparing to start serving an 8 year prison sentence in a few weeks. I'm not shedding any tears for him.

So here we are. My son just turned 21, 2 separate tests have confirmed he indeed has hep C, & he's had it for approximately 14 months. Can anyone who has experience with this give me an idea of what's in store for him with this?

Thanks

crazybabie

I do not know a lot about it but I can tell you my step-father has Hep. C I have know about it for 8 years not sure how long he has known in his case he was suppose to give himself some injections some form of medication my mom described it as a type of chemo I am not sure that is accurate.

The medication from his injections hurt and made him sick so he stopped them. He is now in stage 3 but gets around pretty good.

I hope that helps give you some insight.

LDT

A family member of mine has it, and apparently has had it for decades. The disease can lay dormant for a very long time. My family member ( who has never shared needles and does not know to this day how he contracted Hep C) is showing no signs of illness, nor are his doctors treating him for it. The opinion of several of his doctors is that he could possibly outlive the Hep C. Also, we have been told there are many exceptionally promising treatments that are soon to hit the market. The current conventional treatment is injections, which have been described to us as a type of chemo. We are fortunate enough to be able to wait for the new drugs.

Everything I'm telling you is our experience with Hep C....I'm not giving out medical advice...just letting you know that there is hope for treatment.

I wish you and your son luck, Mad!

nytepassion

It will depend on the genotype and the staging of his hep c if doctors recommend treatment or not. Some genotypes respond better to treatment then others. The first thing he will want to to is if he drinks, STOP, if he smokes he it would do him good to stop to because of the toxins. Eat right, take care of himself. He needs to pay attention to what over the counter medicines he takes like pain medicine Ibuprofen is filtered by the kidneys and Tylenol is filtered by the liver so he would want to take ibuprofen.

Hep C is not a death sentence. I have it and have had it since 1980's. There are so many hep c forums online where you can go and ask questions, read and find out all you feel you need to know about it. (google hep c forums)

There is also a great book titled "Living With Hepatitis C For Dummies" by Nina L. Paul, Gina Pollichino

A good thing to do is for him to see a Gastroenterologist and he/she will tell him all the things he needs to know and will do follow ups as needed.

If he takes care of himself he can have a perfectly normal life (he will just need to take some precautions).

Hugs,
Passion

washbe2

My son was diagnosed about 8-10 years ago. He has not had any symptoms and has never had any treatment.

Mad4Chaos

Thanks for all the info ladies. My family is still in the acceptance & education phase of this, we've only known for a few days. My son drinks & smokes, along the other illegal crap he puts in his body. Despite my best efforts, he really hasn't grown up & mentally he is a very weak person. That's what's worrying me most right now. He's very reckless when it comes to taking care of himself. He's had 2 life changing incidents (not counting the hep C incident) that require him to take a specific medications to manage the injuries/conditions. But more often then not, he'll ditch the meds & suffer through the symptoms. Doing the right/responsible thing seems to be impossible for him. If this isn't his rock bottom, it feels like the bottom of a 6 foot hole will be his next rock bottom.

washbe2

Sounds a lot like my son and health issues on top of everything else. Will not take care of self - to the point of risking paralysis . I don't get it . Never will. The brain.of an addict doesnt mature while using, so the thinking is irrational . Then we get foggy thinking. I'm still in the fog, but it's getting a little clearer day by day.

octoberrain

@Mad
My husband HAD hep c also. There is a cure like CB was talking about. She is right the meds do make you feel like crap but if you want to cure it you HAVE to stick it out. My husbands is gone now. If he had not stayed with it he would have gotten liver cancer. It is also very expensive.
Good luck and hugs to you and your son.