Dear @Godsaveme,
Antiviral treatment is much more likely to protect your liver than harm it, so it is something you should definitely consider. If you are having effects from TAF, then you should perhaps talk to your doctor about alternatives such as TDF or ETV.
Thomas
Hi Tomas,
I am also currently considering starting treatment (35F diagnosed in 2010 but probably had it from birth/as a baby/toddler). I live in the UK and the recommended drug here is TDF for females planning on having kids. I have read some posts here saying that there are no side effects from TDF for years on end but I am absolutely terrified nonetheless as 35 is still very young. Are you aware of any studies around TDF/TAF/entecavir side effects? I have a million questions and I cannot seem to easily find the answers I’m seeking.
Hi @AncaSD,
These drugs have been in use for many years now and the safety of them has been well-established. I myself am on TDF for many years with absolutely no problems so far (I am 36). We do have a thread discussing side-effects here (Possible side-effects from antiviral therapy) that may answer some of your questions.
It’s also important to keep in mind that the virus also causes effects (liver inflammation and injury) that are prevented by these medications, so not taking them is also a decision that can affect your health.
Thomas
AncaSD
It is my first time to interact with you and am happy you are here. Parhaps very important for you to note is that our bodies are unique and as such react to deseases and treatment in an unique manner. What we normally have are general guide, ie how majority of the people are affected/react. I myself have an upside story with Hep B infection and am still here strong for others.
Kinoti
Hello @Godsaveme
It is extremely important for you to be on anti-viral treatment, if the doctor says you should be. If the doctor says you should be on it, it means that the virus is attacking your liver and it is being damaged. So, the sooner you get back on antiviral medication, the better for your liver.
Speak to your doctor. There are alternative anti-viral treatments that do not have side-effects, as you have experienced.
Keep Ask informed on how you are going and what you decided to do.
Blessings
Dear Thomas Tu.
I thank you and the forum for the experience sharing.
I am still NOT under any treatment.
My HBV DNA is below 20 IU/ML and AFP increases by the day. 22 IU/ML
7. No concentration at all and my brain seems empty.
The doctor would not let me start treatment still!.
Mild liver fibrosis still exist.
ALT and AST are slightly on the upper limits.
Direct bilirubin is always high while total bilirubin is normal.
I fully understand the purpose of the forum and not to be substituted as a doctor.
But I would really appreciate your traditional support/ experience sharing on the above. I am confused and almost to give up.
Dear @Wadani1,
Thanks for your question and I’m sorry to hear about your suffering. There is no evidence that starting on treatment will solve these issues as 1) these are not generally symptoms caused by Hepatitis B and 2) your HBV DNA levels so low already. As you say, this forum is not for specific medical advice and the best plan would be to visit your doctor to investigate the potential sources to your symptoms.
Thomas
Hello everyone kindly asking if I am in a right truck or wrong, have noticed that the guild line of starting treatment is when someone have the viral load of greater than 2000 u/ml and hepatitis b antigen was positive
But in my case my first initial viral load was 825 u/ml and liver function 
Creatinine - 116.2
Urea - 2.80
Asat - 34.3
Alat - 31.4
Total protein - 72.4
Ggti - 23.1 u/l
I also did liver scan and kidney which all the tests was Okey but I was put on treatment for TDF/3TC (Truvada) when I asked the doctor why I was put on treatment I was told that ’ it’s difficult to tell if I had the virus for a long time or short time and I was told to take the drug for 6 months and do a retest again’ 'now looking at my viral load and the guild line is there anything that I need to worry about. I will appreciate a lot for your response
Hi @Stephen1520,
Given your description, it’s hard to provide a comprehensive idea of what the reasoning is without the viral results.
Thomas
Why were you put on HIV meds
I also don’t know but when I asked the doctor I was told it’s difficult to tell how long have been with the virus in my system but looking at the viral load 825 u/ml the doctor conclude that I should start treatment in old to avoid the progression of the virus and take the drug for 6 months which am still taking
My viral load for hepatitis was 825 u/ml
In some areas, hiv medications may be more accessible or cheaper, due to strong advocacy and funding in the hiv field.
Dear Stephen,
Sounds like your doctor has decided that given your history, the advantages of taking treatment is greater than the risks. However, guidelines advise continuing to take the treatment if you are hbsag positive and not just stop after 6 months.
Thomas
Thomas
This recent research seems to indicate that the extra weight gain in TAF versus TDF users may well be related to increased metabolic impairment due to mitochondria toxicity in TAF versus TDF if I’m understanding things correctly? I mean it’d be an assumption but seems perhaps reasonable: https://www.metabolismjournal.com/article/S0026-0495(22)00273-6/fulltext
It seems mitoq can fix these effects though perhaps: A readily available dietary supplement may reverse organ damage caused by HIV and antiretroviral therapy | ScienceDaily
General disclaimer: This post is full of my own assumptions that I’m just trying to discuss and is not what the article itself says. Anyone else interested would just need to read the article and discuss their thoughts here
Thank you for your advice
Hi Bob,
I think this test-tube study may not necessarily reflect what is happening in a person and I don’t have access to the article to see if the amount of change they are observing would have any reasonable effect in people (particularly compared to other drivers of oxidative rate change like eating a meal). Moreover, there’s no evidence that taking that supplement would help anything in people (as mentioned in the article). I would take both with a grain of salt.
TT
That’s terrible that one would be prescribed hiv med for hep b. Maybe it’s the same. I don’t know if hep b meds that are first line of prescription are also used for HIV patients as their first line.
The tenofovir in the HIV medications are sufficient to suppress HBV replication and is the same as the first line HBV treatment.
Got me wondering of the 3 main medication treatments for hep b, what other medication are in there. To treat something else
Yes, this is definitely a good point and it hasn’t escaped scientists’ notice. Many groups have tried drug library screens for hepatitis B using the entirety of FDA-approved drugs to see if there are other compounds already in clinical use that would help with hepatitis B. This is more of @john.tavis’ wheelhouse and he could probably provide more information on it, but I’m not sure this has been particularly productive.
My understanding is that the models of Hepatitis B are not set up in a way such that accurately screening thousands of samples can be done in a practical or economical manner. New approaches (e.g., easy and scalable manners of measuring how different parts of the virus life-cycle are affected) are the main avenues of research, so that this might yield better results.
TT