Hi Renee,

Good to hear from you! From the sound of it, life has returned to normal for you guys. I agree, after stopping the drugs, sex drive and performance returns with a vengeance. Very tiring, making up for 48 lost weeks.

Hope to hear about your SVR soon. Cheers.

I think Matt means re-infection instead of retransmission. After SVR, there are 2 methods of relapse. One is reactivation of residual virus in your body. The other is a new infection from outside, possibly by a different genotype. This occurs in patients who continue to use IV drugs etc. The risk of infection from sex is almost nil, unless blood is involved. If your partner ''plays around", it is possible that he or she may infect you.  If I had achieved SVR, I would want to be absolutely sure my partner was '' clean '".  It's up to you, but I would insist on an HCV VL test before I had unprotected sex.

Very good point Matt. I didn't think of it that way.

Hey Steffiehoney

You said "I have found myself increasingly paranoid about retransmission."

You have the absolute right to know about your mates condition.

Be just as firm as he is and all will go well.

Matt

My husband and I have been together 19 years. I found out I had HCV early on, but we both tended to ignore that fact I actually thought i'd gotten rid of it after a while. We never used protection. Since the HCV fact became undeniable and I went on treatment my hubby got tested and thank goodness -ve. He is loyal and unconditional in his love for me and would take any risk to be close. I love him for that.

On the other side these days I struggle with libido. I love him dearly and enjoy sex when we have it but I rarely can be bothered. I do to keep us both happy as intimacy is important for not just physical but our emotional relationship too. Because I want him to be happy/satisfied

I'm not sure if it's my age (42) being a busy mum or tx or a combination of all three. I miss feeling aroused and wonder if I should just accept it and just keep a tube of lube in my bedside draw. will my MIA libido come back.

Anyway I feel it is important to maintain initmacy probably more for your partner as I think maybe as women "we may just grow out of it"

When I began treatment(or, right before) my treatment case nurse strongly recommended that my wife get tested; I was glad for that, as she probably wouldn't have gotten tested, just on my say-so.

It was a huge relief to know that my wife tested negative, I would have been crushed to think that I had passed such a horrendous disease to another human being.

Steffie, I think it's OK for you to decide what is best for your body, even if others agree or disagree with your thinking. At the same time I wonder about his not wanting to be tested? A reply of "it's because I wouldn't do treatment anyways" doesn't seem to be sound reply to your concerns.

Carol has non-HepC cirrhosis so; despite the low transmission rate we always used protection. Now if we ever get around to it again, I suspect we will forgo protection. But she has been tested and see's her liver Doc as often as I see mine. We get to sit around and compare ALT levels (what fun).

Another question might be about what else is going on. I heard somewhere that sex is the arena that we act out what everything else thats going on in rest of our lives. So, often it is more about just the sex. Folks that think sex while using protection isnt any fun isnt doing it right.

I can appreciate what you are saying. My partner doesn't have this disease. Since finding out I do, I have demanded protection even though we had 10 years together and he never caught it. I too have a similar worry in reversal. I think you have to do what you feel is right for you. My significant other too would like to continue without, but I have laid down the rules and there are two options, like it or leave it. Amazing how fast men can change their minds! Good luck with whatever you decide. x

So Ive debated on whether or not to post this. After some consideration I have decided that I need advice so Im going to get over my reservations and post. My question is about sex after achieving SVR. Im finally undetectable @ week 10 so Im being optimistic about my chances for SVR. To get the right advice first I need to give my back story. I am not asking about sex in general but on my particular situation. I am in a long term monogamist relationship for the last 9 years. In fact my boyfriend and I are high school sweethearts. I am half way through treatment and we have been abstaining from everything because of treatment side effects (dryness, no energy/desire on my part). My dilemma is about after treatment. I know the risks of transmitting HCV in a heterosexual monogamist relationship are very low. The statistics vary but very low is still a small chance to me. My boyfriend has had routine blood work that shows all his liver enzymes are normal except a slightly high bilirubin. After seeing me on treatment he has decided that he doesnt want to go get tested for HCV because he would not submit himself to treatment as it is now. He also thinks his chances of getting it from me are so low that it shouldnt be a factor. This would all be ok with me except I have found myself increasingly paranoid about retransmission. He has expressed to me that he would not want to wear protection because he doesnt feel its necessary in our circumstances and he feel like it would diminish his enjoyment. Thus my need for advice. He is firm on his stance and comfortable with his decision. Is my uneasiness unfounded or not? Have any of you had long term partners that opted out of getting tested? Would you continue to be intimate in my circumstances? I dont want this to become a road block in our relationship but I dont want to engage in behaviors that could put me at risk.