What I learned after a decade with HBV

Just diagnosed or new to the community
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Hello everyone, I’m new here, I wanted to share my journey of over a decade. In 2014, I was diagnosed with HBV, and yes, like everyone else, I started with a lot of uncertainty. At the time, I visited doctors at several hospitals, and at one of them, it was decided to start my treatment with Pegylated Interferon Alpha 2b + Ribavirin (which was strange as Ribavirin isn’t precisely for HBV). A year of weekly injections combined with the Ribavirin pill. I don’t exactly remember my clinical results from back then, and since 2014, I haven’t been given any medication for HBV. As of today, I can say that my body has silently managed to control the virus. In 2021, my viral load was 19,200, and today, in 2026, it’s 62. My transaminases have always been normal, the anti-HBe Ag antibodies are reactive. The doc indicates that I might have achieved a functional cure. Time will tell, and I’ll keep waiting to see the results. What I want to say is, don’t despair, don’t think it’s the end of the world, and it won’t collapse on you. Don’t have negative thoughts when you find out you have HBV. Carrying my virus has personally turned out to be positive in my life, even if this idea seems crazy. I say this because my life took a 360° positive turn in terms of taking better care of my diet, exercising, respecting 7 to 8 hours of sleep, and most importantly, giving up alcohol, cigarettes, fizzy drinks, and all toxic beverages and foods for the body. All this led me to have a semi-athletic body. To mention, I am a fitness trainer, and my physical condition (endurance, speed, swimming, and strength) is much better than that of other people.

I also met the love of my life just when I found out I was a carrier of the virus. With her, I finally settled down and put my feet on the ground, got married, and now I’m a father of two beautiful girls. My life has been completely normal, and for 90% of this decade, I didn’t remember I had the virus. The other 10% I had to remember to go for check-ups every 8 months with the doctor. This was just my positive side, what more could I ask for?

A person carrying HBV is indeed capable of leading a life as normal as anyone else’s. Believe me when I tell you with all my experience, after 11 years, you are no longer “someone with a virus.” You are a person with a lifestyle superior to the average. Many people without HBV have their health and livers more damaged than ours. Don’t lose faith; the immune system is capable of incredible things if we take care of ourselves.

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Dear @Socram,

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with everyone here. Every story helps broaden our horizons of how hep B affects our lives and provide hope to others.

Just to clarify, loss of HBs (not antibodies against HBe) is the main definition of functional cure. This is something you will need to monitor in your ongoing tests.

I don’t think it’s that crazy to frame your condition as something positive. For me, it led to an interesting and rewarding career, as well as understanding my health and the value of life a bit more as you have mentioned. So glad that you ended up meeting someone and having children!

Thomas

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No one explained to us that hvb could also change the way we look at ourselves in the mirror.
Medically we are fine, but the reflection no longer feels the same.
There’s a part of the process that doesn’t show up in medical tests: the way it changes how you see yourself.
You keep living, you keep working, you keep smiling, but your identity no longer feels the same.
They made us believe the problem was the virus, but often it’s the stigma.
The learned silence, the fear of rejection, the feeling of having to hide parts of yourself to feel safe.
Because hvb doesn’t just impact health, it impacts the internal narrative about who you believe you are.
And yet, here we are, alive, in treatment, healthy, and with a consciousness we didn’t have before.
Taking treatment isn’t a weakness; it’s a daily act of dignity, self-love, and responsibility.
It’s no longer about surviving; it’s about inhabiting our lives with dignity.
We are not a diagnosis, we are not a social warning, we are not the stigma that others projected onto us.
We are complete people, human, with history, with love, and with a future, and humanising our stories is also a way to heal the identity that stigma tried to diminish.

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Dear @Luis,

Thank you so much for putting your thoughts and feelings (which I’m sure many of us share) in such a beautiful way.

Thomas

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