Yeah I have been closely monitoring everything and as I mentioned even got a CT scan done just 2 weeks before that Ultrasound and so called elasticity that my hepatologist measured. In the CT scan reports came out all normal and also since the last time I did my ultrasound and the doctor (same doctor) gave me the reading of 7 KPA and I did nothing unusual during all this time yeah maybe a pizza or two but I guess if that caused it then I don’t think I am a normal human if you see what I mean.
Hopefully it might be just a faulty report or if it’s right then I am a bit worried and it keep me up in nights just that number. Though my doctor said don’t worry all in order Vemlidy does it work but in a longer run just make sure you keep taking it and don’t miss a day. Which I have been doing ever since even before that since he put me on meds.
I’ll be having my LFT done soon. Hoping to have the virus TND this time rest I will keep the group posted.
Let me know of any suggestions.
@GreyhoundTJX
It’s not about doubting my doctor but it’s about seeking for different opinion
You can genuinely give your own opinion
And not make it feel as if someone is doubting his/her doctor
Most people who posted their Lab investigation here are seeing one doctor or the other
Having a 2nd opinion is not a bad idea please
Hello @Sent-d
I can’t answer your medical questions but someone will soon.
This forum is great for learning about our disease and discussing issues we don’t feel comfortable with in our local communities.
Hi Thomas, I followed up on these labs with a liver specialist. On repeat, I tested negative for HepBe antigen test and negative for all antibodies. They decided I do not have HepB but based on the discrepancy in antibody testing, I can proceed as if I had it at some point and cleared it. Great news!
Fantastic news, @Holly, thanks for letting us all know and I’m glad you can live a bit easier now.
If you are still negative for anti-HBs antibodies, then it is still worthwhile to get the vaccination for peace of mind and to know that you’d be protected should you ever be exposed in the future.
I am a 42 years old male in US. A couple months ago, I was tested positive for HBsAg during my annual exam and was asked to see a infectious disease doctor. This was a shocker to me.
I was raised in a country where HepB is common. So this might have something to do with the test results.
Long story short, I did the follow up with the doc and received the following test results.
ALT (SGPT) - 31
HBV IU/mL < 10 (HBV DNA detected)
HBsAb Quant HBIG Assessment - 7.5
Hep B Core Ab, Tot - Positive
Hep B Core Ab, IgM - Negative
HBsAg Screen - Positive
Hep Be Ag - Negative
Hep Be Ab - Positive
I have follow up scheduled with the doc in 3 weeks and also have a liver ultrasound coming up next week.
I am curious to see what these test results mean as I still have three weeks before the next appointment.
I live a healthy life style and have had no symptoms of illness.
I’ll leave the full explanation of your test results to the experts, but I need to learn this stuff so I will try to interpret the results as long as you understand that I am not a science or health expert and do not work in either fields. However, I do need to learn how to interpret results better, so I am going to do my best with yours and let the experts ‘help’ me where I go wrong and supplement where there needs further explanation. So please bear with me on this:
ALT (SGPT) – 31 = lanine Aminotransferase is an enzyme that is a marker for liver cell damage. Yours looks to be within range.
HBV IU/mL < 10 (HBV DNA detected) = Your viral load is undetectable and that’s a great thing.
HBsAb Quant HBIG Assessment - 7.5 = Here is the definition for this but I have no idea how this relates to you, so experts will need to explain this one. Hepatitis B Immune Globulin (HBIG): A medication that is given as a “post-exposure” treatment to prevent hepatitis B. This means that HBIG is given after a person has been exposed to potentially infected blood or infected bodily fluids, which can include but is not limited to - contact with blood or through a needle-stick, infants born to infected women, and through sexual contact or close household contact with an infected person. HBIG is often used as a post-liver transplant treatment.
Hep B Core Ab, Tot – Positive = This is only a signifier that you may have been exposed to the HBV virus. This needs to be confirmed by the two tests, HBsAg and HBsAb
Hep B Core Ab, IgM – Negative = This is only positive if your infection was recent (6 months).
HBsAg Screen – Positive = This confirms that the Hep B virus is present.
Hep Be Ag – Negative = A positive result would mean that you have a high factor of viral replication, so it’s good that it is negative.
Hep Be Ab – Positive = I could not find this one in our list of definitions, so I looked it up elsewhere and it says: “The HBeAg test is to screen the presence of hepatitis B antibodies. This test is helpful in the detection of active hepatitis B infection. Hence, this test is useful in patients diagnosed with hepatitis B infection to identify if they have an active infection. This test is done in conjunction with the hepatitis Be Antigen test. In case of any active infection, levels of hepatitis B antigens will be high and adverse for Be antibodies. After successful treatment, the hepatitis Be antigen test will be negative and the hepatitis B antibodies test will be positive. Those with latent hepatitis must undergo the HbeAb test at least twice a year. This helps in the early identification of the reactivation of the virus.” - @ThomasTu, Does this mean he has been successfully treated then?
I was initially responding to you to welcome you to the community and say I am glad you found your way here. However, I need practice in basic interpretation of test results, so I took this opportunity. Again, let me reiterate, I am not a member of the medical or science community. So keep in mind that this is basic interpretation and the experts know what all these test results mean in correlation to each other.
I’m glad that you found this community and as a non-expert, these results seem pretty good to me.
Welcome to the forum and glad you found us. Thanks for the questions.
Re: your lab results, these are consistent with a well-controlled infection, with very low viral levels and no ongoing liver. People with these results are generally quite stable and do not progress to liver disease. Essentially this is good news!
ALT/AST remained high till may 23 , inspite of having HBV DNA <32 IU/ML
I went for fibroscan in may 23.
Got following result -
stiffness - 7.1
UAP - 283
My doctor told i have fatty liver and asked to eat more protein and less sugar/carb and add exercise to my routine. Added vitamin e supplement too.
Then in june 23 i got my ALT/AST normal.
Since then i am following diet and exercise and my ALT/AST are within range.
My current medication is -
25 mg TAF in morning after breakfast
Vitamin E cap after dinner
Earlier i used to experience pain in upper right quadrant a lot and almost everytime after having a meal.
Now that has improved and i dont feel pain after eating a meal.
But the pain still remains there and keeps coming and going , though at very less intensity than before.
Is this pain due to fatty liver or due to hep b , this i don’t understand also is it possible that ALT/AST have gone normal but there is still inflammation in my liver due to which i feel pain , does inflammation take longer time to get resolved. Also as per fibroscan score how much fatty liver do i have and how much time does it take to resolve that ?
Accumulation of fat in the liver (steatosis) can also cause inflammation and elevated ALT.
Your previous CAP (not UAP) score of 283 with relatively normal liver stiffness is a sign of steatosis.
Normal ALT readings can be a sign of reduced steatosis but this should be confirmed with other tests.
It is difficult to determine the source of your upper quadrant pain. If your HBV DNA is well controlled it is unlikely to be your HBV infection. While possible, this side effect is rare with TAF.
Keep up with your improved diet (exercise is also helpful here).
I’m happy to join this group. I would to share my recent results and request for an explanation on the confusion I have.
I did my first HBV viral load blood test in Nov 2021 and it was showing 459 IU/ ml. On the interpretation it says patients with >=2000IU/ml require treatment or medication. Obviously the doctor confirmed that I do not need medication and there is nothing to worry.
I did another HBV viral load on 2nd of Sep 2023, the viral load shows 1394 IU/ ml plasma. And further reads on the notes that patients with viral load of >=5000 IU/ml require treatment.
My confusion is, on the first test report, the units of measurement is written as IU/ml while on the second report is written as IU/mlplasma. Is there any difference? Secondly the flactuation seems too big( more than 3 times).
Secondly, why does the first report shows that only a minimum HBV load of >=2000 IU/ml requires treatment whereas on the second report shows that a minimum load to take treatment is >=5000 IU/ml.
Thirdly, I can not confirm if there is improvement or not because the criteria for the tests looks different unless if I’m missing something.
Please help, I’m confused.
My liver function test, abdomen ultrasound and other tests shows that everything is normal.
but I guess if that caused it then I don’t think I am a normal human 
if you see what I mean.
