POZ Community Forums
Main Forums => Living With HIV => Topic started by: pozguy75 on March 28, 2007, 10:52:29 am
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As some of you have noticed, I have been a bit scarce from here for the past few weeks...and I think I owe you all an explanation.
I have been feeling run down, tired...overall: Depressed! So, my doctor put me on Paxil-CR, and I have to say the good news is, I am beginning to feel like me again...HOWEVER...last Thursday, I was hit with a whammy...
I have Hepatitis C.
Needless to say, I am a wee bit terrified as to what this will mean or how it will affect my future...and to top it all off, today...well today is my birthday! What a way to bring in a new year??
So, now...I have treatment decisions to make...I think before I start treatment, I am going to wait another few months to see if I clear this on my own...as it is stated that 15-20% of people do indeed clear it up on their own...my fingers are crossed...
Anyway, I needed to explain my absence and my general mood...
Jeromy
(Who is sad today...)
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Jeromy, So sorry to hear this. Hopefully you will be in that 15-20%. I am happy however to see your smiling face back here.
Be strong,
Woods
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Jeromy,
You are a smart and self empowered guy, and in your heart, you know you can deal with this. Unfortunately, that knowledge doesn't always fill in the gaps of fear and the unknown. Please be easy on your self, and above all, only worry about those things you have an impact on.
This morning, words escape me and I don't think this is helping much, so I'll close, but be sure, you are being supported from Arizona now. Thanks for letting us know.
Love,
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(http://www.vanderbilt.edu/egsa/images/hang.in.there.baby.jpg)
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1) Happy Birthday to the Aries
2) Best of luck with the Hep-C clearing up
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Hey Jer,
First, happy birthday! Second, you've fought a lot of tough (health) battles before, and I know you'll deal with this one, too. Take care and keep in touch.
David
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Almost forgot
(http://img.123greetings.com/eventsnew/birth_kids/1008-006-29-1017.gif)
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Hey Jeromy, sorry to hear of these latest challenges. Hang in there, you'll make it through.
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happy b day and hope you start feeling better....
btw, how do you "clear" up from Hep c?
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sorry to hear the news about the hep c. Depression alone is bad enough. Hell, HIV is a heavy burden in itself. Add everything else and you've got quite a load to carry. But just know we'll help you any way we can which includes CONGRATULATIONS TO THE BIRTHDAY BOY!!
robert
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Gosh, hard to know exactly how to post for this...
I'm so sorry to hear this, but happy birthday?
That's really rotten news. I'm crossing my fingers for you, Jeromy. Glad at least to hear about the depression being alleviated. I've been through the ringer with that myself. I know it is no picnic. I've been missing you. I'll be thinking of you a great, big bunch & hoping that the Hep C clears out. Despite all this news, I'm still wishing for you to find some cheer on your birthday, babe.
Tim
(PS- I got your mail. We'll chat shortly.)
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Jeromy, keep your chin up man. Think positive thoughts. There will be better days just got to take the good with the bad and move on. By the way Happy Birthday. :-* Take care.
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Happy birthday, dearheart. I've not seen much of you since my return. Now I know why.
Brent
(Who loves his J very much)
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Well, the good news is you haven't been hit by a bus. The bad news is that you have Hep C. Im sorry to hear this and about your depression, that can be a REAL bitch to get past.
Call me an optimist (which i totally am) but just when I start to think I have it bad I go and donate some time at a pediatric cancer ward or a burn unit, and it generally grounds me again. I know Hep C is bad news, but you're still here and it could be worse. Please know I am not trying to belittle the situation I'm just providing the flip side of life, hey its what i do.
I wish you the best of luck my man. All the positive thoughts I can muster are coming your way! (non HIV positive thoughts of course, dont need a superstrain of happy thoughts running rampant through the world!)
And happy birthday.
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Happy Birthday ...
You're one in a million so wishing you the best combating the Hepititis and the depression.
Big Hug!
Tom
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Sorry to hear of the Hep C diagnosis. Keep doing good things to your body...like eating well. I will be thinking of you.
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Happy birthday Jeromy! Glad you are seeing the doctor. Sorry about the hep C diagnosis. Hopefully you will clear it on your own. If not, there are some treatments as you know. A lady in my office was diagnosed a year ago and went through 3 months of treatment and it cleared the virus. You have lots of well wishes here! Hang in there!
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First off
HAPPY Birthday!
Second, I hope everything goes well with the Hep C diagnosis. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed hoping that it clears for you.
Ford
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Jeromy,
So sorry to hear about the Hep C. I'm sending good thoughts to you and you will be in my prayers!
(http://img504.imageshack.us/img504/74/hugs44xg8.gif)
Teresa
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Hey Jeromy....Please take good care of yourself....you will make it through all this!
((((((((BIG HUGS)))))))))
:-* :-*
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Jeromy,
Matty the Damned sends his love.
:-*
MtD
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Jeromy,
I hope everything works out for you.
Good luck
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Jeromy, so sorry to hear about this. Hope that it clears on it's own but if not take care of you. Also, Happy Birthday. Try to have a good one. Best of luck. Cristy
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i'm so sorry, what a fucking bitch. Would do anything to make you smille right now, but hope it helps just a liitle we are here.
Will be thinking of you
and heres hoping by next birthday we can celebrate unequivacably with you
BIG hug
x
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Even thought your news is crap... it's good to hear from you, Jeromy.
I've missed you!
Hows about you come up to see me to clear out that Hep C? ;) We'll smoke it out! With cigarettes and cats and scrubbing bubbles!
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Jeromy,I hope it clears on its own,if by chance it doesnt,theres a good chance it can be treated ,cured completly with meds.thinking of you. :)
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Happy birthday, Jeromy and many, many more to come. You'll whip ass on the C, you'll see.
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Even thought your news is crap... it's good to hear from you, Jeromy.
I've missed you!
Hows about you come up to see me to clear out that Hep C? ;) We'll smoke it out! With cigarettes and cats and scrubbing bubbles!
The latest word in the hood here is that cigs and crack will kick what ails ya...at least with KS. Wonder if it would help with the Hep?
I volunteer for a study. ;D
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Here is to hoping you beat this Hep C. Glad you are back, cutie.
rob
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Jeromy,
Your birthday wish (and swats) are in the other thread. Here, I will send you my love and copious amounts of positive energy.
HUGS,
Mark
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Jeromy,
Thinkng of ya man. Sending out all the healing energy I can muster up. :)
Hugs,
John
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Happy birthday, matey.
Bummer about that hep c thing. :(
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Aw shit Jeromy! I so hoped you'd managed to side-step the C - although I did worry that it had something to do with your recent absence. Yes, I noticed, even through my own absence.
I don't remember if I gave you this link before, but just in case, here is one of the best sites for hiv/hep C coinfection information.
http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/
I'm not sure how long you should give your body before deciding whether or not you still stand a chance of clearing the virus, but I would recommend starting the treatment as soon as a decision has been made. Make sure your doctor is experienced with coinfection - I can't stress the importance of that enough. Your best bet would be an Infectious Disease doc as opposed to a Gastroenterologist.
If you want to talk, you know where my PM inbox is. Use it.
And happy birthday hun. You're still young, you're strong, and you have every chance of beating this, whether through your own body's effort or chemical ones. Hang in there!
Huge anti-hep hugs,
Ann
xxx
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Hey J
I second what Annnnnn says
If this is an acute infection with symptoms then I would wait no longer than 12 weeks for a resolution, or even consider treatment asap. There is some evidence that treatment of acute symptomatic (yellow, fever, squits etc) hep C infection has a the highest chance of success, even for HIV coinfected people, if started within this period. This perhaps not true of asymptomatic acute infection (er, reference Matt, try the BHIVA HIV/HCV coinfection treatment guidelines 2004 (http://www.bhiva.org) for starters).
It is of course a valid decision to defer treatment, or not to get your hep C treated.
Get a hep C genotype.
Take care mr
- matt
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sorry to hear this news, Jeromy. I'm coinfected (type 1 hcv) & have done 2 rounds of treatment - so if there's anything i can add in terms of support/info..please do ask.
BHIVA coinfection guidelines matt refers to, kinda gold standard, esp if you need/decide to go down the route of treatment.
hang in there - Kate
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bummer. time to get back up,shake yourself off,and don't look back. Get well.
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Jeromy,
You have certainly been missed here. I'm sorry to learn about your Hep C, and hope there is a good chance it will clear, either on its own, or with treatment. Despite this, I hope you have a happy birthday!
Regards,
Henry
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Hey Jeromy...
Its good hearing from you again good buddy. I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis....I myself am co infected and
can appreciate what it means to face the challenges that come with being HIV/HCV. .... Hang in there! There is treatment and
like HIV you can face this.... Get the facts and discuss your options with a health care professional. It's a bump in the road...
nothing more. Sending you lots of {{{{{Good Vibes & Good Wishes}}}}}}
Modified to add...
HAPPY BIRTHDAY GOOD BUDDY!!!! Wishing you many many more!
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Hey Jeromy
Sorry to hear your news - wishing you the best for clearing it by yourself, and a decent response to treatment if you don't.
Hep C can be a contributing factor to depression btw...
All the best,
Matt x.
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As some of you have noticed, I have been a bit scarce from here for the past few weeks...and I think I owe you all an explanation.
How could we not notice you are so loved on this site! No explanation required but thanks for sharing. We're all family here and we stick by eachother through everything from the good and the bad.
I have been feeling run down, tired...overall: Depressed! So, my doctor put me on Paxil-CR, and I have to say the good news is, I am beginning to feel like me again...
I've suffered from depression more than I'd like since childhood. Talking about my issues was never my way of dealing with things and Prozac didn't work for me. It wasn't until within the last 2 years when I gave Zoloft a try did I notice much of a difference. I'm happy that you seem to have that under control for now with Paxil.
I have Hepatitis C.
That totally Fucking SUCKS! Sorry Jeromy! As you know my nightmare is PML and I know little about Hep- C but you've gotten some great advice from others here. Don't wait to long if something can be done now.
(Who is sad today...)
I hope you're feeling better today knowing that you have your family here.
I still love you no matter what!!
Jeff
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So sorry to hear about this Jeromy. Keep us updated on how everything is going, you know we are all here if you need to vent!
Chris
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Hi Jeromy,
I am so sorry about the hep c. It has been a rough time for you, but you are strong, and optimistic. Take one day at a time, and be good to yourself.
Sending you good thoughts and prayers!
Christine
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Hi Jer...I wish your being away was to be appearing in Grease on Broadway. But at last that will have to wait...I know you can beat back the Hep C and alot of folks here care...Be well and happy birthday with many happy returns of the day !!!
Jody
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Jeromy-
When I recieved an e mail from aidsmeds.com in my spam folder I opened and starting reading some stuff on site.
I had seen Stella 1rst episode and reviewing critique when I saw your pic......tiny but looked so cute made me sign up to the site to learn more about you.
Then I looked up your last entry and you say you are sad...//Its a week later now and hope you are feeling better.
Hiqualityguy@yahoo.com
Brian ;)
[attachment deleted by admin]
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I know nothing about coinfection or chemical treatment of depression...but I'd like you to know that you are in my thoughts and I am sending you lots of positive vibes from across the atlantic ocean.
((((((((((((((((((JEROMY)))))))))))))))))
hope this helps,
Pat
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;)..all signed up with profile..thanks for inspiration...great site.
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How's it going there buddy?
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Jeromy, Happy Birthday my old Mountain buddy..... I am miffed abaout the Hep and I know you will survive this.... Please keep close and do not drift to far... As long as you are getting support from outside of yourself, you going to rock through this... But do not deal with this alone (if you are)...
Love
Eric
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Jeromy-
When I recieved an e mail from aidsmeds.com in my spam folder I opened and starting reading some stuff on site.
I had seen Stella 1rst episode and reviewing critique when I saw your pic......tiny but looked so cute made me sign up to the site to learn more about you.
Then I looked up your last entry and you say you are sad...//Its a week later now and hope you are feeling better.
Hiqualityguy@yahoo.com
Brian ;)
Brian, your sexy.
Al
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Thank you all for the wonderful thoughts and posts, I really truly appreciate the sentiments! So, here I am a week into my knowing and I have calmed down quite a bit...thank God! I think some of my friends were actually considering haing me put to sleep...just for my woe is me talk that I have become very good at!
So...here's the scoop...I am putting off treatment just for a little while, cause I want to get biopsy and a PCR test done first. I need to concentrate on my life at the moment and not the HEP C...I have HIV for crying out loud...I think I should know how to handle the news of yet another incurable disease!
Wow, when I put it that way, I sound like a living petri dish!
Any way, thank you all very much for your well wishes...I am doing quite well...
And mister Brian...thank you...you are quite the looker your self there! You should PM me sometime and maybe we can have our selves a little chat!
Thank you everyone once again!
Jeromy
(Who seems to think it's the Paxil talking here!)
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Hi Jeromy,
Breaks from the forums are healthy.
Thinkin' of you :) Sorry to hear about the Hep C.
Luv and support,
Drew
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It's not the Paxil talking, Baby, it's Jeromy. And I've missed you as well as thought about you lately.
Abrazos,
Creighton
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Great to see you, pozguy75 :) :) :) :) Seems like you have a plan, and that's good :) :) :)
Milker.
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Jeromy,
Sorry to hear of your HepC. However, as Ann and newt have said it might not be the total disaster you feel. I guess one question you should find out after 12 weeks, if you are not someone who clears HepC, is to find out what genotype HepC you have. If you live in America it is probably Genotype 1a or 1b. This will dictate treatment if you decide to go down that route. However, it is possible to get cured of HepC with HIV. I believe a famous HIV activist has done so.
I think the best thing to do is to monitor your HepC viral loads, keeping an eye on your liver levels too. If the virus goes away, you need to follow up on it for a while - clearing HepC is a little weird. It can go away all at once, bounce around for a while and then go, bounce around and stay around or just never really go away. The next few weeks will tell you which you are.
Is this a new infection?
Rich
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[img]Hey Jeromy ...
Just keep your head up ... everything will work out ... try not to worry ... and I will keep you in my prayers
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biopsy
hmmm
READ THIS PAGE - HIV & Hepatitis: Hepatitis C - Tests (http://www.hivandhepatitis.com/hep_c/hepc_test.html)
A good liver doctor will start with a non-invasive evaluation. Ultrasound guided fine-needle aspiration is the best form of biopsy. This needs experienced hands. If this is a new infection a biopsy will tell you nothing. Liver biopsy carries risks and can have side effects, and hurts. It is informative, not definitive, too. However, it is standard of care (still, for a bit longer I guess).
Good luck.
HCV is curable in many cases. Persistence pays off.
Many docs would tell you, given the choice, they would prefer to have HIV than HCV, so pay attention to the hep. (oddly dark and unhumourous choice, eh, one of two viruses).
- matt
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Hi Jeromy,
I was thinking the same thing about biopsy as Matt - especially at this stage, it won't tell you much other than if you've previously damaged your liver through drugs or alcohol. And Matt is right, it hurts like hell! I felt like I'd been kicked by an elephant.
And correct me if I'm wrong, but I seem to remember you telling me that you've always tested regularly for hep C, so you do know this is a new infection.
Once the dust settles, I would recommend you start seriously thinking about treatment. While I don't believe in the hit hard hit early approach to hiv, I do believe in it where hep C is concerned, especially in coinfection. You need your liver!
I can relate to your comment about a petri dish. For a time I felt like a walking jar of virus - with positive tests for hiv, hcv, ebv, hpv, hsv and one or two others I can't remember right now. ;D After a while I figured, eh, the more the merrier! ;)
Hang in there buddy, and remember to give me a shout anytime.
Hepetic Hugs,
Ann
xxx
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Hi Jeromy,
Sorry about your recent diagnosis but you have many chances of clearing the virus. I remember Ann saying she followed a treatment that made her virus remain undetectable. You should do at least as well as she did.
Good luck and take care! ;)
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I would encourage everyone to look at Blondebeauty's post on the fibroscan. Esp people who need liver bio's for HepC.
R