Hi Thomas!
That’s amazing you created this forum! It’s helps me a lot!
I was crying in the middle of the night when I found this forum and topic.
Best,
Dating is scary am afraid they might use it for emotional blackmail and also afraid of stigma am 25 now got diagonised at 16 i have no idea to date how i got it which makes me sad because i need that closure … i was a virgin until 22 also my family dont have it . I wasnt involved with anyone sexually until 22 as i said . I feel i atleast need closure but how
I feel i will end up alone since i dont have the courage for thee conversation
Wish there was a dating site or something for us
I feel so alone
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Dear @Wyne,
Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing your experiences. I’m so sorry to hear about how hep B has impacted your life. I completely understand how it can all seem so hopeless.
All I can say is that there have been plenty of people who have found love and partnership despite their hep B status. I myself am married to someone who is Hep B negative. It requires open communication and understanding, just like every relationship.
Please keep us updated on your journey and hope you find the support you need.
Thomas
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Hi - I’m a woman with chronic HBV since birth. I do blood tests every 3-6 months and ultrasounds once a year. So far in my life I haven’t had any troubles with this - the past year or so my viral loads have fluctuated a little more so my doctor has suggested treatment in the next year or two depending on next blood test results.
Anyway - I have recently started seeing someone and I can see potential for a long term relationship. We haven’t been intimate at all yet but I am already so nervous about broaching this topic with him. I’m 29 - he’s 26 - and I have only previously disclosed my status to the 2 other people I dated. Luckily, they were relatively receptive to it. I’m suspicious that one broke up with me because of it, despite him saying it was other stuff, because it was right after I disclosed.
Can anyone give some tips from personal experience how I can break this news to him in an appropriate way and possible rescources? The issue is that when you google hepatitis b terrible things come up and I am really worried he will see all of that and freak out.
It’s also very unclear to me whether a hep b vaccine given in childhood is effective or what % effective, what odds are that it could fail — can anyone explain this in better detail for me? I’m also confused about the effectiveness of using condoms to prevent transmission (along w vaccinated). I don’t want to give any false info.
Thank you
Hi @kostas,
Thank you for sharing your story and sorry that hepatitis B has impacted you so much. I’ve moved your post to an existing thread where many people before you have struggled with this exact problem. I think we’ve even had some people refer their partners to this site to learn more about hepatitis B, perhaps this might be a way for you both to navigate this tricky subject.
The hepatitis B vaccine is incredibly effective at preventing chronic infection, but there is a subset of people (~10%) who do not mount a very good immune response, so would need to get booster injections to be protected. If you want to make sure, it is a simple blood test you get from your doctor for anti-HBs antibody. If this value is over 10mIU/mL, then they are completely protected. If it is below, then you would be offered a course of booster vaccines to drive it up.
Condoms have been shown to be very effective in preventing transmission also as long as they are used appropriately!
Thomas
Same here! I have chronic hep b my wife is negative. Most important thing I think is transparency from the onset, which I was sure to do.
Funny thing is my wife admit to me one of her biggest fears in life was always catching an incurable disease lol yet she was ok with being with me. But I think it helps that there’s a vaccine for Hep B and that she trusts science. She also read online about so many other couples who were in similar situations, one where the person didn’t even know their partner was positive because they themselves weren’t aware and yet they never even caught Hep B despite not even being vaccinated (but ofc going ahead and doing so upon learning)
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I came back to share an update about telling the person I have been seeing. I decided to tell him over a phone call that I’m a chronic carrier from birth and that is can be sexually transmitted — and that he can be immune if his vaccine worked correctly and that he can get the titer test to see.
I’m so happy he responded very calmly and appreciated my honesty. He wanted to get the titer test but also wanted to do more research — he went to the doctor the next day and got the titer test. It turns out he needs a booster, so he’s going to move forward with that now.
I’m feeling so relieved and happy that he’s decided to move forward w these steps and that he took it seriously and did his own research too. It also makes me feel happy emotionally that he still wants to see me while we wait for the booster to kick in/work even though we won’t be intimate yet.
He could still change his mind especially if the booster ends up not working but this has given me a lot of hope 
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Dear @kostas,
Thank you so much for sharing your experience with the community. I’m sure that it was very stressful, but it sounds like you’re glad you did it. Looks like you found someone who really took the time and chose understanding rather than fear. I’m so happy for you!
Thomas