Hi @Koreaner81,
Welcome to the Forum. I’m a researcher who is not HBV+, so I cannot chime in about experiences with the VIR-3434 study. However, I really want to thank you for volunteering for a clinical trial. We test experimental drugs exhaustively before giving them to people, but in the end, only human trials can tell us if they work and are safe. Your contributions are very, very important.
John
Hi @Benitopi
Taking good care of your body is always a good idea, and especially when your body is fighting an infection such as HBV. Herbal medicines can be a source of effective treatments (for example, the anti-cancer drug Tamoxifen originally came from a tree bark and pennicillin from bread mold), but it is good to be careful with them. They are not regulated, tested, or inspected, and quality and dosing can vary tremendously even between bottles of the same product from the same company. In the USA a fraction of what is sold as herbal supplements don’t even contain what they claim to have in them, and toxic contamination have been sometimes found in them. I recommend that you tell your physician what you are taking because some herbal supplements can interfere with drugs. Finally, there is pretty good evidence that coffee can act as a liver protectant (I’m drinking a cup as I type!), so that is another natural product you may wish to try if you like it.
I wish you the very best,
John
Im not taking medication anymore, i tested negative on January 2022, this year, so i stop all medications. My doctor asked me to go for DNA test which came negative. I will go for another check up on 24th of this month, this June. But i heard the liver take time to heal itself and reform.
Hi David thanks so much for joining the hepbcommunity forum and sharing your personal journey with HBV. I’ve had the privilege of watching your very moving video and one that should be helpful to many other people who first learn they have hep b. It’s not easy being told that you have a chronic infectious disease, but especially when you’re so young! Keeping the fear, anxiety and yes, shame, inside of you can really do a number on your mental and emotional health. We are all just so glad that you were able to pull yourself out of the dark hole and find the light. And now to share your experiences and wisdom gained. I hope you don’t mind but I’m going to share the Hepatitis B Foundation’s #justB storytelling page with your David’s Story so other folks can hear from you personally. And I agree with John Tavis that you’re fortunate to be seen by Anna Lok, one of the world’s foremost liver specialists. Please keep posting your thoughts, advice and questions so others can benefit and learn. Always, Joan
I was mistaken on which “David’s Story”. This is not for me but I do want to share my own story captured here: Living With Hep B - Episode 5: David Doan - YouTube
Congrats for the negative test result. Did you take TDF or TAF? How long did you take it along with vegetables, fruits and tea?
Before the start of the herbal medicines i took 3 dose of hepatitis b vaccine called Engerix b. It was recommended by my Doctor. Then i immediayely started the herbal medicine. It took me about 1 year and 6 months. Hepatitis b treatment takes long it depends on your condition. The herbal medicines works slowely but it is affective. But if should incase im recommending the actual medicines i took i can now know the affectives one that God used to cure me.
Lastly to God be the Glory, God is the great healer i was praying always to God the creator to have mercy upon me and heal me. So God used the herbal medicines to cure me completely.
Dear @Benitopi,
It’s great to hear that you were able to avoid HBV infection. It is important to get the vaccination and it is really effective. The other herbal supplements have limited evidence in their effectiveness in preventing HBV, but as long as you have kept your doctor informed to make sure it does not interact with other medications you might be taking it should be OK.
As mentioned in other posts and by @john.tavis, the regulations on herbal supplements are very poor: many times the actual contents of a supplement are absolutely not what is advertised on the outside. This makes it very difficult to know if you are getting the right thing, and can put your health in danger. Please take caution in taking these.
Thomas
Hi
am from Sierra Leone I was informed of having hepatitis B since 2010 and my doctor advice me not to take drugs but just to reduce taking high food rich in protein and fatty foods. After every 6 month I have to visit the lab to do my test and the result is normally good that my liver is fine. The problem now is that am feeling pain at my right and usually get tired and sometimes run fever but what disturb me the most is the dull pain am presently not on treatment. I have decided now this coming week to find another doctor since the first doctor is now working else where and not as a clinician now. Am afraid for my liver not to damage severely and not to develop cirrhosis. The other problem is in my country to find a doctor who is knowledgeable about this disease is a problem…
Dear @Godsaveme,
Thanks for sharing your story and welcome to the community. I’m sorry about the situation that you’re in. Yes, it’s best to keep your condition monitored by a doctor who has experience in Hepatitis B so that you can avoid liver disease progression.
Thomas
Good morning, I know this discussion is old. I recently got my test results, and I am trying to understand it, but it’s overwhelming and I don’t understand a lot of the things I’m seeing. Is there a way y’all can help me understand the test results? I just like to know if I’m beating the virus or is it getting worse? Etc.
Hi @Poseidon, welcome to this forum. The best place to post your results and get some information would be EXPLAINER: Lab results and their interpretation. Please make sure to abide by the best practices - IMPORTANT: Best practice for posting lab results.
Cheers,
Thomas
Hey Thomas,
Thank you so much for reaching back out to me. I’ll be sure post it on the right forum.
Agree with you there, John. We need to be careful with all medication even herbal.
It could be damaging our liver. I was taking black cohosh for menopausal symptoms, until I found out it wasn’t good for the liver.
And, isn’t NSAIDs, anti inflammatory pain killers, may be damaging our liver, if taken regularly? @ThomasTu @
Some say paracetamol in our group but I’ve only known anti inflammatory drugs as bad for liver disease.
Well done. It wouldn’t have been easy changing your lifestyle.
Welcome to our amazing group.
Dear @Caraline,
The biggest issue with most NSAIDs is gastric as chronic use can cause ulcers. The biggest liver impact of the common over-the-counter pain killers is with Tylenol (acetaminophen). It can start having toxic effects on the liver at only twice the OTC dose, and those effects are amplified by alcohol. Therefore, be really careful when using combination cold & flu drugs with Tylenol as many of them have acetaminophen in them. The #1 cause for acute liver failure in the USA is acetaminophen overdose.
John
Hi. I’m Adedeji Joseph, from Nigeria.
A graduate of Electronics and electrical engineering. I’m 26. I just got diagnosed of HBsAg. I never knew I had it, I was just like let me know my status for fun, and pum, they said I have it.
I hope being here will help me cause right now I have like a million streams of thoughts in my head.
I’m glad to be here.
Hi Adedeji-Joseph
Welcome to the forum where people like you and experts share for the good of each other.
Feel free to bring out your disturbing thoughts and experience so that you can be enriched
Kinoti
Welcome to the community, @Adedeji_Joseph, and thanks for sharing your story. Hope you feel that you are not alone here and that there are people on this forum who share your experience. We’re all in this together :). As @kinoti mentioned, feel free to share your feelings here, as they help others out there going through the same thing as well.
Yours sincerely,
Thomas