Hepatitis C peer worker Kiah Glasson shares her story with Users News and gives the low down on all things hep C.

A class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes, which are stronger than fentanyl, are beginning to hit Sydney streets with NSW Health issuing two recent health warnings about the drug.

Kate is a proud Aboriginal woman who has a history of injecting heroin. She wants to share her unique experience of clearing hep C twice, nearly 2 decades apart. Her first treatment was in prison in the early 2000s, with Interferon. Soon after she got out of prison, she got hep C again and didn’t get treated until 2019. Getting treated a second time has been life changing for her and she now supports peers with hep C and drug use.

A number of things come up for users at this time of year: organising pharmacotherapy doses and inter-state transfers; wondering if your dealer is going to be working on Christmas Day; sorting out injecting equipment when NSP hours change over Christmas as staff have a well-earned break! ...But for many of us, there is no break from being a user. And the holiday period brings additional health issues for users, particularly overdose prevention and bloodborne virus awareness.

So what happens when you find yourself dealing super strong gear?

This story is about a friend who would likely be alive today if he didn’t feel compelled to stop taking his life-saving medication.

Tips from those who've done it.

“I asked some of my mob who are living in the country about sharing injecting equipment and why they do it - or more to the point, why they don't have new, sterile fits for every hit.”