Hello, I am a new member. I am a 23 years old asian and please forgive my terrible english. I was tested hep b positive with 1.8 million HBV DNA in Feb 2023. My alt ast level were extremely high at that time (around 900). The ultrasound results showed the physical appearance of my liver was totally fine but there was obvious gastritis and I was losing my appetite and feeling sick even when I was drinking water. My body weigh was 52 kg when I was tested with hep b positive. After 1 month of taking antiviral treatment(TDF) and other drugs for gastritis, I was feeling like 100% recovered from my sickness and no longer having issues like lose of appetite and vomiting. But I was facing extreme weight loss after that 1 month. I loss my weight 52 kg to 47 kg (around 10 pounds in a month). I just thought that it was because of my diet plan so I changed my diet plan by eating more than usual. But it did not work out. I loss 2 pounds after 2 months after changing diet (9 May 2023). I am not having issues like fatigue, sickness or pain. I am feeling like totally normal. A few days ago, I found an article on the internet that means unexplained weight loss might be the symptoms of cirrhosis. So, I am so worry about my health. Is there any possible reason for my unexplained weight loss?
Oh good details
Sorry for that challenge but
You don’t need to worry about your weight loss as you are newly diagnosed with Chronic HBV
I am telling you this because this often happen to many peoples who are newly diagnosed with any chronic or serious/acute health problem and this is because of psychological shock(stress).
Many peoples when getting shocking information like that of chronic or acute illness tend to be disappointing with their life or health, from which they become overwhelmed by stresses(here is the problem),when stresses become very high, you lost appetite and hence lost many nutrition benefits of diet including calories, which then end up with losing weight very first.
How to avoid it
One major means of avoiding stress is “ACCEPTANCE” and is the important step toward problem management and treatment.
So please engage your self on accepting the condition
Hopeful you will leave healthy and peacefull.
Thank you so much for your reply. I hadn’t consider the stress before. Yes I felt extremely stressed and anxious when I was diagnosed with HBV. I was searching and reading the articles about the HBV infection and it’s complications from all sources that I could get on the internet (even WHO presses). I also felt loss of appetite in those days. Thank you again for your precious reply and it makes me so relieved. .
Good,
We all pass the same way
But try your best finding the best means of copping mechanism
Hi Khant,
Welcome to the platform and thanks for sharing your experiences with us all. Glad you found this platform and feel free to look around for previous discussions or questions or stories of others. I find those stories to be uplifting, because I do not feel alone after knowing that there are many people going through the same thing that i am dealing with.
From you post you mentioned that the appearance of your liver from ultrasound was fine, so I will probably guess that it is not sure it is cirrhosis. With that said, please bring this up to the attention of your provider if you have not done so already. Let them know about this and see what they can do to find out why you are losing that much weight.
Please try not to stress yourself over your diagnosis. I understand it can get frustrated when you find out, but just know that you are not alone. Many of us have been on that path as well. Things gets better and one is able to adapt well as time goes on.
Best, Bansah1.
@Bansah1 Thank you so much for your advice and for welcoming me so warmly. I was also feeling the same way as you feel when I discovered this platform. I feel safe and warm, and I start gaining some strengths by reading other members’ discussions and replies like yours that are filled with so much caring about each other.
At the previous appointment, my health care provider did not even mention about the weight loss and he said that I was totally fine . Next time, I have to make sure that I complain to my provider about my weight loss, as you advised.
Thank you for your reply Bansah
Dear @khant,
Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing your story.
Large unexplained weight loss can be frightening, but I agree with the others that it is not likely to be due to cirrhosis if your ultrasound is fine. It may also be worthwhile to get a fibroscan if possible to allay your fears. There are also other ways to determine cirrhosis from your blood results (e.g. fib-4 score).
I also agree that you should definitely raise your worries about your weight with your doctor at your next appointment. In the end, you are the expert of your own body, and anything that doesn’t seem normal should at least discussed with your doctor.
Hope this helps,
Thomas
@ThomasTu Thank you for replying and explaining about cirrhosis tests. My ultrasound results were fine, but I was thinking that I couldn’t rely on them because they were taken three months ago. Maybe it is overthinking, and I have to reduce my attention to the HBV viral infection. Thank you for your advice, and unfortunately, I live in a rural area where fibroscan is not available in the hospitals, but at least blood tests are available. P.s. Sorry for my terrible English
Khant,
You are very welcome. I am glad we have a space where we are able to encourage, motivate, and be a source of inspiration/hope for each other. Best, Bansah1
Your English is completely fine, @khant. No need at all to be sorry.
It might be worth looking at calculating your FIB4 score (which has good sensitivity for detecting cirrhosis) based on your blood results that you do have to set your mind at ease: Fibrosis-4 (FIB-4) Calculator - Clinical Calculators - Hepatitis C Online
TT