Hello everyone! I’m new to the group. I found out that I’m chronic HBV while I was pregnant with my first child at age 23. I had gave birth to 3 kids and now I’m 33 years old. It was a very surprise to me, but I might had to get it when I was an infant having a surgery. I had been doing my check ups every 6 months since I found out I’m positive.
I haven’t been on the treatment yet. I wanted to post my labs and results to see your feedback if I should seek a treatment yet or not.
Hi @Angie,
It’s good that you are receiving periodic check ups every 6 months as per current guidelines for managing chronic HBV.
Your current lab results show an amount of Hep. B DNA on the lower end of the spectrum, with normal ALT levels, and good liver condition from the score of F0-1 (low) for your FibroScan. For North Amercan standards, this would not alert the doctor to start treatment unless you work in a high-risk occupation (nursing, surgeon, etc.).
However, there are newer data that suggests that any level of detectable HBV DNA could be a trigger to prescribe current anti-viral drugs as there are links between the prescence of HBV DNA and progression to HCC. I wouldn’t be alarmed by this though, we have to be kind to ourselves, and your condition is well managed even without anti-virals.
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Hi@Angie,
First of all, welcome to the community and we appreciate you sharing your experience. This can be difficult for some patients at times. To your results, @A7xImpulse is correct. You do have hepatitis B which is confirmed by a positive HBsAg. Your viral load is low and ALT/AST is normal. I don’t think a treatment is needed at this stage. The only exception where I can see treatment as an option given your numbers will be if you have a family history of liver cancer from hepatitis B. Then as a precaution a treatment might be prescribed. But going off your current results alone, you do not meet the required standard for being treated. But please keep up with your regular monitoring and stay in contact with your provider should things change down the road. Sometimes patients will fall out of care when they are told they do not need treatment which is not good. I hope this is helpful. Thanks, Bansah1.
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Also I forgot to add a year ago they found on the ultrasound .7mm hemangioma. They also did CT scan which came with no lesion, and MRI which showed a cyst filled with blood which they say it’s hemangioma. However, since that time I feel very anxious about the HBV and that these tests might be wrong. I became very stressed when it comes to these tests now, and started thinking if I get on treatment it will make me more calm that I’m doing everything possible to protect myself.
Thank you for your time and feedback. I’m happy I was able to find this group. I had been keeping this diagnosis from people, only close family members and my husband are aware of it as they had to be tested when I found out I’m HBV positive. However, they don’t understand how it affected my life since diagnosis. I’m trying not to overthink, but when it comes close to my 6 months check-up I get pretty down and anxious. I have three kids ages 10,7 and 2 and I hope to be healthy to see them growing. I had been with one GI for over 8 years and he seems to be pretty knowledgeable, but I’m still afraid he will overlook something.
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Hi @Angie,
Thanks for your message. I bet you feel frustrated knowing that you have their support but it is hard finding the words and explaining how this virus has affected you? It can really feel lonely because it is challenging trying to get people to understand what we deal with inside like the anxiety we feel getting closer to our follow-up appointment dates thinking whether that was the visit, of getting some bad news etc. You are not alone, many of us in this community deal with it as well. Those feelings are normal as long as it does not take over or begin to affect your daily activities. It sounds like you are doing all the right things here like taking care of your appointments and getting follow-test completed etc. Those can add up overtime, but we have to do it for ourselves and for those that we love and care about.
I understand your concern with your GI about a situation where he or she might miss something. I always encourage other patients to be their own advocate, not to be rude or anything but to speak up when they see something that is not right. It is easy for doctors to miss stuff, giving some of them their workload and not intentionally, but we have to be their third and fourth eyes. We are working together as a team, so don’t feel bad to speak up when you have a concern. In my experience at least I have noticed that when patients are proactive or do care more about their own health the providers respond in similar fashion as well. I keep tabs on my results as much as I can and I make sure to ask questions even the ones I think might be stupid. Having a professional working and respectful relationship with your provider can go a long way. Sorry for my long message. Please if it helps continuously tell your inner self to remember that you are not alone on this journey. There are millions of hepatitis B patients all over the world walking the same walk as you and I. As patients we might feel weak at times because of this virus, but together we are stronger. I hope this helps some. Thanks, Bansah1
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