TOPIC:

Hello again,

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post this, but I would like to know more information about transmission. I'm one month on treatment and I've just met someone (timing, right?) and I'm terrified I could pass this to her. Should I wait SVR before getting in a relationship? I mean, it's just two months if everything goes according to plan.

I'm paranoid about all sorts of stuffs, like:

- Can the virus be transmitted by french kissing?
- Can the virus be transmitted by sharing utensils. She wears braces and what if my mouth is bleeding for some reason? Would that make kissing or sharing utensils dangerous?
- Can the virus be transmitted by oral sex?
- Can the virus be transmitted by regular sex?

I'm holding everything back until I can be sure it's safe but it's getting weird.

The reason I'm asking this here is that I've googled about it and people don't see to agree about it. I even talked to a doctor that mentioned that's a case in the literature that the virus was transmitted by woman sharing an earring. Sure, I don't use earrings, but it makes me wonder how this virus can be easily transmitted.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

Hi John,

When you have Hep C (untreated) it is very difficult to pass it on sexually. Essentially straight sex does not do it. There are stacks of couples where one patient is positive and the other has remained negative for decades while normal sexual activity has gone on.

MSM (Men who have Sex with Men) seem to manage it occasionally, but that almost certainly relates to anal sex.

Once you are on treatment by 4 weeks you are almost invariably (80% chance) undetectable and 99.9% certain to have next to no viral load so the risk of sexual transmission, which was close to zero to start with, is not even closer to zero.

So the basic answer to your questions is no, you are very very unlikely to transmit it.

On the pragmatic front, in new relationships, you are given a "blob" of - largely undeserved - trust. That trust is yours to lose as much as it is yours to prove.

So despite the above you are faced with three practical options

1) Lie and say you are saving yourself until you know her better
2) Lie and pretend the pills are vitamins or hide them...
3) Level up and involve her in the discussion.

#1 and #2 are the easy ones and you would probably get away with either

#3 runs the risk of her cutting and running, but, if not, you will have a much deeper relationship and it won't have started out with a lie you will have to keep to yourself for the rest of your life.

My thoughts exactly. I'm thinking about telling her. I didn't tell anyone yet about this, especially my mom who tends to worry a lot, so I was thinking about curing it and tell her after that, but there's no reason to not tell to this new person. Better if she leaves now.

Do you mind if I ask another question? I'm always in a hurry and my breakfast is too light, sometimes a few crackers just to take the medicine. My stomach is fine, but do you think this could get in the way of the medicine absorption?

The reason I'm asking this is that I don't have any side effects but I'm not feeling any improvement on things that were supposed caused by the virus like my geographic tongue and lichenplanus pilaris.

By the way, I saw over 15 dermatologists, over the years and not single one of them asked for a hep c test even when they had the biopsy confirming it was lichen planus. I was the one who had to ask to be tested after reading there was an association between the disease the hep c and this is how I've discovered. It's just insane.

I guess the worst thing it can happen to someone who's anxious in general, particularly about his health, boderline hypochondriac, it's to discover that the anxiety paid off. This is really bad because you tend to believe in your head that's not seeing things properly because of the anxiety.

Hi John,

With any luck those things will settle, but there is a difference between association and caused by.

Anyway a blood test will prove the virus is undetectable and liver functions are better so that's probably not a bad thing to get done to put your mind at rest.

I can't promise but many things often settle once the Hep C is fixed.

I’m positive that if these things don’t go away, it’ll at least improve it. I don’t see why it wouldn’t when the virus burden is removed from the system.

I’ll post my results after everything is over so other people can have a reference and hopefully help them as well.

Thanks again!