Hi @ThomasTu thank you for your response,if you could please elaborate more on interferon or ways that could help me turn into HBeAg negative, just wondering how long it will take to be HBeAg negative, is there any chances that I will turn negative naturally. I really need to get back to work.Please share your thoughts.
Thank you.
1 Like
Hi 12345678
I have read your concerns severally and I feel with you expecially as far as your job security is concerned. Sorry for whatever is happening in your life.How I wish you could share with us why your employer insists that you must term HBeag negative for you to secure your job.I can only guess that might be informed by a misinformation that it is only when one transit from HBeag positive to Hbeag negative when he is not infectious w.If my guess is right,is it possible for you to talk your employer instances when Hep b +ve person is not infectious?
That said,I can see you are repeating in asking what one needs to do to very fast transit from HBeag +ve to HBeag -ve. Go through Thomas response keenly and see it’s responded to.
In a nutshell, it’s impossible to predict who will loss HBeag +ve to HBeag -ve. Moreover, even the rate of the transformation if it has, non can tell.(Thomas has explained this in his response).
I would advise that you have a candid talk with your doctor and explain your concerns and I have no reason not to believe he will be able to offer you what we may not do online.
All the best 12345678.
Regards
Kinoti.
I think this might vary from lab to lab, so I can’t answer this question for this case. There are natural fluctuations in these levels, so it could mean nothing. It could mean reactivation of the virus or waning of the immune response against the virus. In these cases, you and your doctor may consider antivirals to help suppress the virus levels.
As I mentioned before, it is very hard to predict when you will become HBeAg-negative. This can take many years. For example, I am 35 and still HBeAg-positive.
The Interferon treatment is a weekly injection that is meant to stimulate your immune response. There can be significant side-effects associated with it (e.g. fatigue, weight loss, loss of appetite, etc.) and the treatment course is 1 year long. This therapy is also not recommended for every HBV patient, so you need to discuss this with your doctor.
As Kinoti has mentioned, it may be worth talking to your employer, your doctor, or an advocacy society in your area (you might try this website to find one near you - Member listings - World Hepatitis Alliance) to see what can be done. Indeed, if your virus levels are low (e.g. if you take antivirals and your virus levels drop down to undetectable) then the risk of spreading the virus is very very low.
Hope this helps,
Thomas
This is my Lab test result , I will appreciate an insightful explanation of this result.
Kind regards,
Thanks
1 Like
Dear Evans,
Looks like your viral load is slowly going down and that is reducing your ALT levels (meaning there is less liver damage). I see that you’re recently on Entecavir, so I would interpret this as the medication working and helping to protect your liver.
Hope this helps,
Thomas
Thanks so much for your response. I have been on entecavir since April 2019. Around June this year when I meant with my specialists, he wanted to change the medication as the viral load is increasing but he decided to watch it more for the next appointment. Surprisingly the viral load started reducing. What could be behind this? The specialists was very surprised as he has not seen this before.
I actually change a little bit of life style and go to gym. Can this be the reason why the viral load dropped?
THANKS
The usual reason for this is that there is interruption in taking daily medication. If you have not had any interruption, I’m not aware of any reason why it would go up and go back down again (I don’t think going to the gym would affect things much). @MarkDouglas, any ideas here?
TT
1 Like
Just got to know of my status…I’m 36 and worried. I have not been on medication previously. Would be grateful for any interpretation and advice.
The CLINICAL SUMMARY: Liver function test is suggestive of hypoproteinemia and severe jaundice. What does that mean, please?
Hi Bonaparte
I am sorry that your recent discovery gives you hi some jitters. Be encouraged because majority of us have gone down the path and we live to share our success stories.
Moreover, you are warmly welcome into our group where we share what we can to make each other’s life bearable. Be assured our experts will soon be soothing your worries.
Kinoti
Thanks for the encouragement. I appreciate it.
1 Like
Hi @Bonaparte,
Welcome to the community and thanks for sharing your story. I’m sorry about the situation you find yourself in.
The results you have posted suggest that you have Hep B, though some follow-up tests will be needed to show if you have an acute or chronic infection.
Hypoproteinaemia just mean low levels of protein in the blood. Your liver makes important proteins in the blood (in particular, albumin which is low in your case). This may mean that your liver isn’t functioning as well as it should.
Jaundice means yellowing of the skin and eyes, which is due to an increase in bilirubin in your blood. Bilirubin is a normal breakdown product that the body makes. Usually the liver filters this out, but if it isn’t working as well as it should, then bilirubin will build up in the blood.
This is why the interpretation is impaired liver function.
You should now consult with your health specialist to work out what follow-up tests to do to find out the underlying cause of this and how best to treat it. Likely that will include some additional blood tests and an abdominal ultrasound or fibroscan to find out if your liver is damaged or not.
Basically, the best way forward is to keep on top of it by consulting with your doctor.
Thomas
2 Likes
I have a question about the Hep B DNA (Viral loads) results.
- My DNA is oscillating between “HBV DNA not detected” to “<10”. Do I need to worry too much if it’s <10? Maybe a virus is becoming stronger to put away resistance from antivirals ?
Vemlidy helped me bring down viral load significantly but now it’s not always “HBV DNA not detected”.
I do have an appointment with my consultant this month to review the latest results. Hopefully, I will get some answers.
Thank you!
1 Like
Dear @pradeepmlk,
If your HBV DNA is very low, you get very close to the sensitivity of the PCR assay that is used to measure the HBV DNA value. “HBV DNA not detected” means that your value is not different from a negative value. “<10” means it is too low to accurately count how many copies there are in that sample. It is normal for lab value to waver like this, even if nothing changes. For example, if a very low sample is run several times, it can result in “HBV DNA not detected” in some reactions and “<10” for others. I don’t think that this is anything to worry about.
Hope this helps,
Thomas
3 Likes
Thank you, Thomas sir! have a good one.
1 Like
Thank you so very much for this information.I
Diagnosed recently but I have no symptoms and my liver is still okay with no inflammation
Am waiting for my second test after three months . I don’t know when I got infected and I don’t know whether it’s chronic or not how can I tell this?
1 Like
Hi @kiria,
There are a couple of ways to check if it is an acute infection or not:
- Test after 6 months to see if you are still positive for HBs: if you are, then it is a chronic infection
- Test for HBc-IgM and total anti-HBc: if the first is negative and the total anti-HBc is positive, then it is likely a chronic infection.
Most chronic HBV infections are acquired in early childhood or as newborns. It may be impossible to find out when or how you were exposed to begin with.
Thomas
2 Likes
Thank you so much
I appreciate it
1 Like
Hello to all members of the forum,
New results after 2 years with TDF;
Hbsag 10.4 positive
Hbsab ?
Hbeag negative
Hbeab positive
ADN HVB not detected
GPT 20 UI/L
GOT 18 UI/L
GGT 16 UI/L
Platelets 195.000
Results Year and average treatment:
Hbsag 1381 positive
Hbeag negative
Hbeab positive
ADN HVB not detected
GPT 19 UI/L
GOT 16 UI/L
GGT 16 UI/L
Platelets 191.000
Waiting for the hepatologist to see what he tells me.
Greetings to all of you
2 Likes
Dear @Luis,
Thanks for sharing. It looks like a good result with your HBsAg levels coming down quite a bit and your HBV DNA levels still being undetectable. Congratulations!
TT
Hello everyone. First of all, you guys are doing great work by building community and helping people.
I had an exposure 4 months ago. It has been 3 months since I have symptoms (Stomach pain, Urine with bubbles and small white particles, skin gets red when i touch and sometimes rashes, I also feel pain in right side groin sometimes) , I had done test after 4 weeks which was negative.
I have just done HBsAg test and result was negative (more than 4 months post exposure). Today I read an article which says HBsAg may or may not be shown during acute window phase. So my question is: After how much time can we consider HBsAg test negative result to be conclusive? Sorry for my lack of knowledge but I am overwhelmed with the information I am reading.
Also, Ultrasound for abdomen can be helpful in detection in this case?
Thanks and