INTRODUCTION THREAD: People affected by Hep B

Hello again.

Thanks for your reply, no is not that, but thanks for asking!

But i went to the doctor today, and he Said 100% We should do some test, and one 1 hour later, i did.

They testet for this:

So just waiting for result now.

Dear @nick0912,

Sorry to hear about your experiences and hope you recover soon. Regarding your questions:

The definition of acute is resolution of the infection within 6 months. That said, there is a low chance that chronic infections are resolved.

Antiviral treatment can prevent ongoing liver damage. If this is the cause of your symptoms then they should go away with successful antiviral treatment. There may be other causes of abdominal pain though, as seen in this thread: Upper right quadrant pain.

Hepatitis B can be asymptomatic for decades and only cause symptoms later in life. The majority of people with chronic hep B got it during birth or during childhood, so this is a possibility. Again, the only way to be sure is to get a hep B panel blood test, which you have just gotten. Look forward to hearing back from you soon. Keep us updated!

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Thanks for your respons as always Thomas!

The result are already back, and this is it…

Hepatitis C virus-Ab [HCV-Ab]; P

NEGATIV


Hepatitis B virus c-IgM [HBc-IgM]; P

NEGATIV


HEPATITIS B VIRUS C-AB;P

NEGATIV


Hepatitis B virus e-Ab [Anti-HBe] ; P

NEGATIV


Hepatitis B virus e (AG) [HBeAg] ; P

NEGATIV


Hepatitis B virus s (Ag) [HBsAg]; P

NEGATIV


Hepatitis B virus s-Ab;P (I think that is Anti-HBs ) ?

Came back with 0.54 IU/L


What does all this mean? That I have been expoused to Hepatitis B, and mabye cleared it? or never got it? I dont understand the last one as I never have got the vaccine for HBV with the rest is negativ.

Im still wating for my doctor to call me today…

@ThomasTu @HealthExperts

EDIT: The Doctor called me back, and said I should not be worry at all… he did not said anything else…

On some danish guidelines about S-AB I found this:

Reference interval

Negative: < 1.0 IU/L

Values ​​> 1.0 IU/L and < 10 IU/L are not considered protective.

Values ​​>= 10 IU/L are considered protective.

Hi @nick0912,

Great news that you are negative for Hep B and Hep C. Given your anti-HBs levels are negative, it is worth considering getting a Hep B vaccine course to make sure you are protected and you can rest easy if you have another potential exposure event.

Thomas

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Hi I wanted to introduce myself to the Hep B Community.
I’m Greg I’m a 57 Italian male I live between Italy and USA .
I have been reading HepBcommunity posts for the past few months and just found the courage and strength to post.
on June 29 2023 I was diagnosed with Acute Hepatits B shocked and devastated about the news. I developed anxiety and depression through the rolocaster of waiting
we are now in October 5 months have gone by and although still high my ASL (from 600 to 160) and and AST (from 400 to 70) are slowly going down
, my Viral loads is 170.000.000.
Although I have 1 more month to go to complete the six months ( acute ) given the high numbers and not response with antibodies my doctor wants me to start antivirals (TDF)
I’m upset and depressed I thought I was going to clear the virus but I haven’t. Instead I have this prospect of dark future with medicines, doctors , hospitals, cancer etc. I can’t get out of this by myself and I have started Psychotherapy for support. I feel alone, scared and very insecure about the future. Are you familiar with those feelings and how do you deal? any suggestion?
Thanks you
Greg

Dear @Gregory,

Welcome to the forum and thank you for sharing your story with us. So sorry to hear about the stressful events in your life, but please rest assured that it gets better over time. We have some threads where people have shared their strategies for coping with these issues:

Please know that you are not alone and there are many people who understand what you’re going through and how difficult it is.

Many of us here have chronic Hepatitis B (myself included) and we can live close to normal lives.

Hope this helps,
Thomas

Thanks you @ThomasTu for your kind words. It’s very hard to accept harsh realities! I hope with therapy I’ll manage somehow.

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Welcome @Gregory
Sorry you are going through this stressful time of uncertainty. Please try not to project the worst, hepatitis B can be managed well, not leading to cancer, it’s the mind that can be a battlefield.
Try and stay in the moment. Count the blessings in your life. Look at a beautiful sunset or scenery which you would have lots of in Italy. My grandparents were born in Milan, but I’ve never been to Italy.
Breath, deep breathing seems to help me .
Get on with your life. Do the things you have always dreamed of.
My diagnosis was a wake up call. I now enjoy my life and try to not dwell on worst case scenario.
Read all the posts. You are definitely not alone. Your feelings are valid also, but try not to let them run away.
Any questions or anything if you want to vent we are here for you

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Thanks you @Caraline I take all the encouragement at moment . Little by little I’ll get out of this depression. It never happened before in my life to feel so insicure and lonely. Nothing exites me, feeling like I’m on an island by myself. I can’t take this situation out of my head even though I try…… just started the therapy I’m on the second day of TDF. Thanks you again for taking the time to reach out to me.

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Hi Everyone. My name is Elizabeth and I am 28yo and have had HBV since birth. I was born in and currently reside in the USA. My mom contracted it in the Philippines when she was an infant and passed it on to me. I watched my mom battle this disease all my life. She was treated in 2004 with interferon and lamivudine and is now testing negative for HBV infection! At the time of her treatment she found comfort in these forums and recommended I join the online community.
As for me, after 10 years of close monitoring through labs, ultrasounds, and fibroscans, my doctor and I have decided it’s time to start implementing treatment. I will be starting Peg-interferon and tenofovir next week for 24 weeks. Unfortunately, I have genotype C and my doctor said there’s a chance the treatment doesn’t work because of how aggressive my virus is, but we’re hoping for the best. Because I have seen my mom go through this process, I am well prepared for what’s coming, however, my husband has never had anyone in his life with this level of illness, or this severe of medication. Any advice on how to prepare him mentally for what’s coming or how to best support me through this process?
Thanks in advance!

3 posts were merged into an existing topic: Hepatitis B and Immigration/visa issues

Welcome @Elizabeth95
I’ve been on Entercavir for about 5 years. With no side effects. It has lowered my liver results so no damage is done.
Is it necessary for you to have Interferon ?
From my understanding it is quite severe.
I have lived experience of chronic HBV, 40 years, but not an expert.
Some one will help you further, soon.
I’m sorry you are going through this but well done for being proactive and contacting us.
We are here for you.

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Hi @Elizabeth95 ,
Welcome to the platform. As Caraline mentioned, I have not been on interferon but those who have do not have nice things to say about it. It is good that you were with your mom when she had her treatment so at least you know something to prepare you for this journey. For your husband, I will say talk to him. Share with him what you observed your mom go through. You might not have the same experience but it will be great to let him know so he will be able to find ways to support you. His support will be helpful. Wishing you the best and keep us posted. Bansah1.

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Hi @Elizabeth95,

Welcome to the forum and hope you find the support you need here.

To answer your question, many people have different experiences with interferon. Please see these threads: Peg interferon treatment and Experiences and queries about interferon therapy and feel free to ask any follow up questions there.

Cheers,
Thomas

Hi @Caraline and @Bansah1 . Thank you guys for the warm welcome.
My MD has opted to start me on the interferon therapy due to how quickly my labs have taken a turn for the worst. Funny enough, my moms progression was on the exact same timeline with things getting significantly worse very quickly once she turned 29 years old. She ended up having cirrhosis and was extremely close to needing a transplant, but fortunately had a good response to her medications. At the time, she was part of the interferon clinical trials and was only able to complete 4 months before having to stop because the side effects were so bad. Fortunately, that amount of time actually worked and she’s now HepB negative on lab tests. The idea is that hopefully I’ll have the same positive response and we’ll be able to reach a functional cure early before I start having children. I’m young and otherwise in perfect health, so I’ve got that working for me. I think my MD chose the interferon too because I’m genotype C which has shown to be resistant to some treatments.
As for my husband, I’ve filled him in on all the details of my family’s past experiences with interferon therapy. Hoping things go smoothly next week!

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That is great. I am E genotype and have no idea how that will respond. We will all be cheering you on and hope that it goes well; and you can clear it in a shorter time than your mom. Keep us posted on how it goes when you get a chance. Best, Bansah1.

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Hello,
I don’t know if I post this correctly here or if I just answer to another post
First of all thanks for this forum, I’m glad that I found it.

My name is Bernd, I’m German and I currently live in Spain. Since a year or so I felt very exhausted for periods of up to 6 weeks with muscle pain and general fatigue, just as one would feel the day before getting sick. I thought that it would come from stress but lately I decided to do a blood test at the doctor. Today I got my results. It was hard for me to understand what exactly was going on, because my Spanish is not so good, but here is what I think the doctor told me.
I have three types of herpes virus and that is the reason why I feel tired and sick so often. However it was also found that I was exposed to the Hepatitis b virus. The doc told me that I most likely got it while having unprotected sex and I should contact my latest sexual partners. I can pin this down to one person that I had sex with around 5 months ago but the person thinks I’m blaming her for infecting me and says that it can’t be from her while at the same time refusing to get tested. From what I know I could also have had it way longer than that without noticing and might have infected her. The doctor told me that I would have to do another blood test in two months and then we would know if my body fights of the virus or if I have it chronically. Until then I just have to wait and only have protected sex ofc. Is there anything else what I can do? And what exactly do the values on my test result even mean? Is there a way to find out since when I have the virus in me?

It says <2,00 UI/L btw

Thank you and all the best to you,
Bernd

Welcome @Bernd
Thanks for Sharing your story and sorry you are going through this uncertain period of your life and a waiting game for you.
I’m not an expert as in a doctor or scientist. I’ve been on this forum since the beginning and chronic HBV 40+ years.
Many of us never know how long we have had the virus or where we got it from. We just have to live with the fact that we have it and try and manage our lives.
My advice to you is to live a healthy lifestyle, eat Mediterranean food, exercise, no drinking or smoking watch everything that you put into your body, goes through the liver. Do not have unprotected sex, share razor blades. Keep wounds covered.
Be positive.
Someone with more experience than me, will be able to answer your questions soon.

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Hi @Bernd,
I join Caraline in welcoming you to the platform. Your results shows that you do not have hepatitis B virus(HBsAg-Negative); which is great news. I am guessing that per your doctor you may have been exposed recently but you will need other tests to confirm that and whether you have immunity or not. (HBsAb, HBcAb).

Most people exposed to hepatitis B as adults are able to clear the virus within 3-6 months; if they don’t after 6 months then it becomes a chronic infection which occurs in 5-10% of adults.

It is always good to practice safe sex if possible, because there are other STI’s or STD’s out there that one can be exposed to. In all, per this results you should feel good that you do not have hepatitis B despite your past exposure. I hope this is helpful and feel better from the herpes soon. Bansah1

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Hola Brend,
Por lo que se desprende de tu analítica, no tienes hepatitis b ni la has tenido nunca.
El ac-anti core totales es negativo y ese es el marcador que indica contacto con el virus.
Los ac del antígeno de superficie (hbsac) también son negativos, lo que significa que no estás inmunizado, por lo que sería importante vacunarte contra la hepatitis b.
Es una lástima que haya médicos hoy en dia que den diagnósticos erróneos por desconocimiento de los resultados de la hepatitis víricas.
Saludos

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