You are not alone Many of us here know exactly what you’re going through, having been through the trauma of a diagnosis ourselves. There are 250 million people around the world with chronic Hep B and just because not many people talk about it, it doesn’t mean understanding people are not around.
People are way more understanding than you think they are. Try to talk to a family member, trusted friend or even pet. The HepB foundation has a helpline (Contact Us » Hepatitis B Foundation), as do hepatitis advocacy groups in Australia and other countries. Of course, you can contact people directly on this forum as well. Once it is out in the open a bit, it becomes a bit easier to manage.
The majority of chronic hep B cases are due to exposure to the virus when you are very young. This could have come about with just a simple graze. It is something that you may not have had any control over.
This panic will pass. It may not feel like it at the moment and it may take some time, but as you process the information and get to know more about hep B, it’ll get better for you.
Hep B is not a death sentence. Almost all of us live normal lives (though may worry about what may be in the future and reactions from others). This is a condition that can be managed fairly easily.
I got my viral load test result yesterday
The quantitative result is 169 IU/ml and 1387 copies/ml
The DNA log is 3.14
I spoke to doctor about this and he suggested thst I do not require any treatment
I really want this out of my system
Someone help with what to do please I’m so scared
This is a low viral load and it suggests you are in an immune control phase. The reason the doctor did not suggest treatment is because the guidelines say that if it is below 2000, then there is no use starting treatment (because the medications work to reduce virus in the blood, but can’t get rid of the virus in the liver).
I guess the best advice is to take on your doctor’s advice and monitor with blood tests to see if it changes (every 6 months usually).
Thanks for posting. You likely will need to visit your doctor to get all the appropriate tests so that you know if treatment will help you at the moment or not. This is different from person to person.
Probably the more important test to get would be HBV DNA levels. This will show if treatment is likely to have any benefit for you. It is worthwhile also to get a fibroscan to see the condition of your liver.
Did you get these tests as part of a screening program or were there some symptoms that made you get these tests?
From the results you have provided, it appears that you have had HBV infection in the past (HBcAb positive) but have now successfully resolved the infection on your own (HBeAg and HBsAg are gone and you have free antibodies to both of these viral antigens in your blood). This is called functional cure and this positive outcome occurs very often in people who get HBV infection. HBV infection only becomes POTENTIALLY deadly in the 20-25% of people who do not establish functional cure and go on to develop chronic HBV infection and hepatitis (live inflammation).
Normally, we would also like to see that your liver enzymes (ALT) are normal (this is a very cheap and common test which should be available in Nigeria) and also that you have no detectable virus in your blood (HBV DNA, this is an expensive test which may not be available in your area).
If we knew that your ALT was normal and you had no detectable HBV DNA, you would definitely not need antiviral therapy. Even without the HBV DNA test, I would be inclined to say that you do not need therapy because you are HBsAg negative, which is a highly reliable marker for functional cure. This should be discussed with your doctor.
Lamivudine therapy should be avoided as HBV infection can develop resistance can to this drug. Preferred options for HBV therapy which are available generically are entecavir (ETV) and tenofovir disoproxil fumarate (TDF).
I got it from sceening program. I continue to feel pain at my right hand side of my chest and my back. It worries me a lot since i was diagnosed 1 year ago. Persistant pain me feel to do the test. Im trying to attach the photo but i don’t know why it is not working.
I made another appiontment today with a doctor who request an ultrasound and the Liver function (AST & ALT) for Tuesday
My fear is i learned that early treament started soon ward off damages from the liver.
I just got married and turning 29. It too sad to tell you that my loving father died from this virus December 1,2022 at the age of 59. I and my sister were tested positive of the HBV. I am the only one continue to experince constant pain. I don’t urine yellow, don’t have yellow eyes,don’t ONLY pain, pain,pain at my right hand chest and back.
It is possible that your mother was also infected by HBV as well given that your sister has also tested positive.
Here I have to correct an important error I made in reviewing your original post with your test data (my apologies for this):
You are positive for HBsAg (not negative as I stated) and you have no detectable antibodies for HBsAg. This is fact means that you may actually have significant viral replication on going and an HBV DNA test should be performed in addition to ALT to understand how active your viral replication is.
Certainly your symptoms should not be ignored, especially since they are persistent . They could be related to ongoing HBV viral replication and liver inflammation and starting antiviral therapy might be indicated in your case.
It is never too late to start antiviral therapy to halt the progression of liver disease. The most important thing is to find out if this is required and start it as soon as possible. Antiviral therapy (if indicated) will certainly substantially reduce your liver inflammation, regardless of how long you may have waited to take therapy.
Therefore,
1.Can i start treatment without doing the HBV DNA test?
2.Is it possible for an adult infected to not take antiviral treatment for as long as he uphold to the safety protocol for patients with hepatitis?
3. What are the side effects of taking this antiviral treatment even for just 6 months?
My few days ago test for ultrosound result say normal liver. Normal kidney sides. I don’t know that all?
Can a significant damage be occuring on these organs that this test can’t detect?
What other tests that one can do that can be more accurate than ultrosound?
Let me be real here im scare to take these drugs. Please strengthen my faith as regard my treatment if it’s necessary for me to start.
Thanks
From a poor boy in a remoted part of Africa…LIBERIA
Hi @Isaiah welcome to the forum .
Im not a health expert and I’m sure some expert will answer you, @ThomasTu@availlant you should definitely check your HBVDNA viral load.
if its below e certain threshold you don’t need to take medication.
you start to take antivirals if Alt and AST ( liver enzymes) together with vira load are elevated.
I have been on Tenofovir. since October 2023 and I can say not side effect and my viral load has gone down.
Ultrasound and fibroscan are good. liver biopsy can be the most accurate to see the liver cell’s conditions.
obviously the above must be supervised or organized by your physician.
Most definitely Isaiah. Doctors will not prescribe the treatment unless you need it. There is a universal standard that must be reached before treatment starts. You can remain free of damage until then which can take years, depending when you first contacted HBV.
Don’t be scared. Many of us have been on treatment for years. It is one tablet a day. I have had no side effects whatsoever.
Most importantly to have blood tests and ultrasound every six months and a healthy diet. See your health professional.
I’m glad you have found this group. It has lots of helpful information and advice from lived experience to medical professionals and scientists.
