I’m Rida from Tunisia, A 53-year-old man . Last January 2025, I was diagnosed with hepatitis b just in blood tests for having a work visa to a Gulf country. ( Refused visa because of country regulations)
Well the journey to another country for work has turned out to be a totally different journey - it’s become a journey into survival and a battle with a virus.
From then , I started being under treatment (entecavir) along with regular checking of DNA, hbsag quantitative ,fibrotest, actitest etc .
I’ve been able to get DNA undetectable, a decrease of 90% HBS ag and Anti hbe positif.
Still using entecavir regularly with visiting hepatologist every three to four months.
Discovering my situation early and starting medication soon had helped me get control from the beginning and my state is improving day after day.
Hoping for all of us a great improvement and a functional cure hopefully for everyone of us , have all my kindest regards.
Hi @Its_Me,
Welcome to the community. I am sorry to hear about you being denied a job in another country due to HBV. Regrettably, this issue persists among patients worldwide. Thank you for sharing your experience with treatment. I hope you continue to improve and get some new job offers soon. Please, keep up with your visits; it is crucial. Let us know how you are doing from time to time. Best, Bansah1
I have had Hepatitis B since birth, which I contracted from my mother. I was born the year before the Hep B birth-dose prevention technology became widely available in my city. My mother struggled with medical anxiety when I was young, feeling immense guilt for passing the virus to me. As a result, she sought every form of care for me, both standard and alternative. This likely led to me starting antiviral medication earlier than usual.
I was told that I was put on new medications as soon as they became available locally. I was on lamivudine during my teenage years, then entecavir throughout college, followed by TDF in my early professional life, and eventually TAF when it became available on the U.S. market. My viral load became undetectable while on TDF. However, despite being on TAF for many years, I have not achieved seroconversion. Achieving HBeAg seroconversion is now my biggest goal.
Recently, I was laid off from my job. Fortunately, I still have health insurance through my partner, but I have learned that their plan will no longer cover TAF in 2026. While researching frantically for ways to continue using TAF despite the upcoming insurance gap, I found this forum. I was so glad to discover peers who are in similar situations and to finally have a place to share my experience and concerns.
I am now considering returning to my home country, where TAF is significantly cheaper (approximately $50 per 30-day supply) and where interferon therapy is more commonly recommended in combination with ongoing antiviral treatment, with the hope of achieving seroconversion.
Welcome to the community! It may be possible for you to switch back to TDF or entecavir, as those are available through pharmacy discount programs such as GoodRx. Your partner’s insurance might also cover them. Insurance usually is less strict about approving prescriptions for generic drugs vs brand name. I have heard that entecavir may not be the best option for you if you’ve developed resistance to lamivudine. Many people switched to Vemlidy when it came out because it is marginally better than TDF (Viread), but there’s no harm in switching back, unless you stopped Viread due to side effects.
My name is Prince. I’m from Liberia and split my time between Liberia, DC, and Philadelphia. I have lost multiple family members to liver cancer from hepatitis B, which pushed me toward advocacy and medicine. Most of my time is now dedicated to pursuing medical school, strengthening patient advocacy, and staying involved with health initiatives back home in Liberia.
I learned I had CHB during testing for a nursing program in the states, even though I felt healthy. Facing stigma, even from my university, made me realize how common these barriers are for people living with hep B.
I’m here to connect with others, share my experience, and hopefully support others who are navigating this journey!
Glad to be here and looking forward to connecting.
It’s good hearing from you. However being 30 yrs, you are still too young and could be having many more years ahead to live. It hits me hard hearing about your auntie’s husband’s death coz of liver failure 5 years back. If I could ask:
How old was he at the time of his death because I doubt if he could have been much older than your grandparent who died at 100 years.
what could have caused him develop this liver disease?
Was he on any medication?
Are you and your whole family on medication and if yes, how do you feel ever since you got started on drugs?
Ooh it’s just a blessing having you. Many of us here feel lonely due to stigma and self denial because of this virus. Am fromuganda and It would thus give me strength connecting with someone who feels and understands what am going through .
4- I don’t have HepB, so I am not on any medication.
It’s alright, I don’t feel sad about my aunt’s husband because he was not a good man He loved drinking and smoking when he was alive. He got angry with us too often, and my cousin lived in a very negative environment. We talked to him many many times but he didn’t listen.
that’s the same story with my father, except the angry negative bit. He was a good man but drank and smoked. We talked to him many times too. Addiction is hard.
Do you think this was liver cancer caused by drinking and smoking or HepB?
Hi I was diagnosed with hapetitis B over 20 years ago. I just checked for my status and that was how I found it. I have lived silently with this and now I need help and support. I do even know how I got it. I have started seeing the doctor for treatment. I live in the UK
@Boakye156,
Welcome to the community. I am glad to hear that you are seeing a doctor for treatment and, crucially, remaining in care even if you are not on treatment. Please keep us informed of how things progress from time to time. Best, Bansah1
Thank you for your response. It’s quite refreshing. I am at my low today, I’ve given up on every other thing (love, building a family because I don’t want to be a burden- the side effects of medications and long term consequences of this disease) except myself. I really wish to live a little longer and fulfill my other dreams and 60 is really ripe.
Thank you for the welcome. Though I am on a mission to raise awareness, I am still hesitant to share my status back home in Africa, so I understand. It truly is a gift to have a community like this.
This disease can be managed quite well and I would rather have Hep B than some other illness.
Like kidney disease or cancer. Those illnesses change your life, make it hard to work because you need to go for treatment nearly daily.
I am able to work, medication doesn’t have life changing effects, I had a family, 3 children. My husband did not care that I had HepB, he went and got vaccination.
The long-term consequences and burden are only if you don’t get regular checkups.
He loved drinking and smoking when he was alive. He got angry with us too often, and my cousin lived in a very negative environment. We talked to him many many times but he didn’t listen.