Hi Alex
You should of course discuss any concerns with your own doctor. However it is very safe and routine to do endoscopy in people with hepatitis or other liver disease. Any sedation is given in small amounts according to how much you need and clears very quickly. You would be monitored carefully. The Vemlidy is very effective and would be expected to result in rapid improvement in liver tests and DNA level. It does not interact with medications for sedation.
Hi @AlexH,
I’d like to join Paul in welcoming you to this community forum and hope you find the support you need here.
I can only agree with both Paul and Simone (who is a senior liver disease specialist and President of the Gastroenterological Society of Australia, so is outstandingly experienced to answer your question).
If you have concerns about the antibiotics and your liver health, you should raise it with your liver specialist. Perhaps @MarkDouglas or @simone.strasser could comment on how likely it is that there would be any problems associated with it.
Thomas
Took my kid to the dentist today. Switch dentist and filled out the new patient form. My kids do not have hep b and are vaccinated. The form ask for health condition including liver disease. Wonder if they can deny you as a patient.
I ask bc now you can get fired for not being vaccinated, you can get denied medical services, private practices, if you have covid. So why not hepatitis b.
If I can deny you if you have covid, why couldn’t I deny you for having hepatitis. It’s the new norm and it’s just scary to know covid and hepatitis could be seen as the same.
It’s interesting that you bring this up because I just went to my longtime dentist, who knows I have Hep B. I am very upfront in disclosing my status to all my doctors and thankfully it’s never been a problem. But I’m kind of a naturalist in that I like to refrain from a lot of xrays and chemical treatments unless absolutely necessary and I get kind of tired of my dentist always trying to push fluoride treatments on me, especially since I already have healthy teeth/gums. This past visit, when they tried to sell me on the fluoride treatment again I said, you know I have hepatitis B, right? So I like to be careful about what I put into my body that my liver needs to process. And finally, a flip seem to switch and the dentist responded, Oh, okay that makes more sense! You should have just said that! It’s probably the first time ever having hepatitis actually helped me…
I’m just being facetious but I can understand your concern. Fortunately for us here in the U.S., HBV is a protected health under the American’s Disability Act (ADA).
Hi Rebecca, I’m really glad that you pointed out that hep b is a protected condition under the ADA law. That is a result of the successful advocacy of the Hepatitis B Foundation!! We had 4 different medical students contact us within less than 6 months who had either been asked to leave their programs or had their acceptance into medical school rescinded because they tested positive for hep b. They had all been vaccinated!! But, turns out they were vaccinated as young children and not at birth. Yep, you’re right … it was perinatal transmission. And all 4 were of Asian descent. To make a very long story short, the Hepatitis B Foundation sued the medical school that rescinded the acceptances of two affected students with the help of the U.S. Dept of Justice civil rights attorney. Our case rested, however, on the updating of the CDC guidelines for hep b infected healthcare workers and students (the last were published in 1991 and we lobbied the CDC to update them which were completed in one year in 2013 - a record turn around!). As a result of winning the lawsuit, not only did the students get compensated for their 3 year wait, but the U.S. DOJ added hep b to the ADA law. This means that in the U.S. a person with hep b cannot be discriminated against because of their medical diagnosis - accommodations must be made as needed. So @Neptune, do not fear that you or anyone else with hep b can denied care or services!!! Thanks again Rebecca … always, Joan
Hello Paul, Simone and Thomas, thank you so much for your comments and encouragements. I went to the endoscopy last week, since I figured it is better to find out if there is any abnormalities now then later. The procedure went well and the doctor found a single non bleeding ulcer and mild gastric. The doctor put me on protonix now. We are waiting for the biopsy. If the biopsy confirms the H pylori bacteria then I have to take antibiotics in addition to the vemlidy. That is a lot of drugs to take at once but that is something I have to do to get better. I am glad that I have found the forum for the people to share their experiences and encouragement and I am not alone in this long journey of chronic hepatitis b.
Hi everyone
Shortly after my diagnosis in 2012, I began to notice some intermittent irregular ulcerations in my tongue. They’re not that painful but can be very discomforting especially with spicy foods.
I found out it’s a condition called geographic tongue (benign migratory glossitis).
I googled it’s causes and found out it is not clearly known but liver diseases such as hep b could be a culprit.
I’ve been prescribed folic acid, multivitamins, mouth washes, which usually give some short term relive but not a solution. Other symptoms that sometimes come with it include upper abdominal pain and loss of appetite.
Kind regards!
Listowel
Hi @Listowel,
That’s an interesting one! I’m not sure if there have been any studies on this association (all I could find was a single case report where 1 person was put on tenofovir and developed it). I have not had this experience either, though would be keen to see if there are others who have experienced it.
TT
Hi everyone it’s been a while. I’ve been goin thru a lot lately just wanted to say I’m very thankful for what Thomas had created here an the very good people I have talked too since I’ve been goin on this platform for us to vent are problems an concerns. I have all my test coming up soon in February I’m a bit worried. I just wanted to give love an strength to all goin these tough times🙏
Thanks Eddie for your posting. And please do keep us up to date on your tests, etc. I’m really glad that you’re finding this forum supportive and helpful during this journey. It truly is affirming to have a community that understands what we each are going through or at least understand that living with hep b is a challenge in many different ways. Keeping you my thoughts! Always, Joan
Thanx for that Joan🙏 I’m keeping everybody all around the world goin through this journey in my prayers too.
This is copy paste health status which is not good I’m also not gaining correct weight…
Hi everyone, just want to wish all of you a Happy New Year. How are you all doing? I’m feeling bit down lately, always thinking how is the future going to be? I’m anxious and very scared especially when I need to do blood test and ultrasound, the waiting game for the result is not fun at all. I’m just here to look for comfort and reassurance. Thank you!
I m in the same boat. My blood work at US is due next month. I get scared. Not about HCC but viral level.
Best of luck!
Hi @Olive ,
Hang in there Olive, as long as you are taking your antiviral each day and staying on top of your checkups with the doctor, you should be pretty good on the HBV side of your health. I think most of us don’t change all that much from lab test to lab test although we all worry about, ‘what if…’.
On top of your daily meds, if you take care of your health and maintain a decently healthy lifestyle, then I think you can have confidence going into your labs and checkup. Think of it as anything else in life, you have done the work, the preparation and diligence, so you can go into whatever with confidence that you’ve done all you can. If something is going to happen then it’s out of your control and all you can do is re-assess, make adjustments and keep on fighting the good fight.
I hope that’s not too abrupt, but I don’t think you have too much to worry about unless you are already at a high level of fibrosis or have reached cirrhosis. If you have times of major anxiety where it disrupts the body and makes it too uncomfortable for you, and breathing deeply in and out for a few minutes doesn’t help, try this little trick; get an ice cube and hold it in your hand or place it against a part of your body that can feel cold very easily for a little bit. A little bit would be long enough that your body has the benefit of shock from the cold but not long enough to possibly burn or injure your skin. The point of doing this, is that it’s supposed to reset something in your nervous system based on fight or flight response to the coldness of the ice. That reset should nullify the physical feeling of anxiety in your body… for at least a little while. It probably won’t cure that anxiety but it should give you some relief in the moment.
I hope this helps and knowing that you are amongst so many people that understand how you are feeling about this and suffer the same thing to one degree or another, hopefully gives you some comfort also. Stay strong Olive, you can handle this!
-Paul
Hey Paul, thank you for your message. It means a lot to me to hear from someone that had experienced. I’m drowning in my guilts, i have a 4 months old baby. His pediatrician referred him to infectious disease because of my hep B status. He got all of the vaccines recommended but the doctor just want to be sure. I’m mad at myself for putting my son at risks. And living with this disease is just hard knowing all the complications and risks. I hope there will be a cure one day for all of us.
Hi @PuallyHBV,
It has been a little more than one year since I started this thread! I’m back now. I just posted an lengthy update under the “Upper right quadrant pain” thread if you want to read it.
But how are you doing? Have you conquered the fatigue? Are you still having the pain below rib cage which I can relate to?
Hi @Olive,
How are you doing? How is your baby doing? You mentioned baby had all the vaccinations recommended which I assume included HepB. I understand your thinking. When I was diagnosed, I read my daughter’s (now almost of legal age) immunization record AND THANK GOD it said that she had the HepB vaccination doses. But I don’t recall if that was just normal (probably so) or if something was triggered during my wife’s pregnancy.
Remain hopeful.
Hi @Joan_Block,
How are you? I hope you’re well. It’s been more than a year since I posted. I just shared an update on my situation under the “Upper right quadrant pain” thread.
Just wanted to let you know that I’m thinking of you. You and @ThomasTu are such a blessing to all of us!