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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hi @Bansah1
Please assist with my test results and viral load and also the medication they prescribed which is called Adco-Emtevir
I was diagnosed on 14 May 2024 and i am 33 years when i was pregnant with my second child( which i got miscarriage same month) , i didn’t know i have the virus because with my first pregnancy i was at public hospital and they did not check me and second pregnancy i was in private hospital . I have a 9 years old son and my husband who both tested negative. Also could the virus cause miscarriage
Hi @thegiver25,
Welcome to the community and your question. Your results show you do have hepatitis B with a high viral load. I agree with your doctor putting you on the generic version of Truvada. I have never used Truvada so I don’t have any information on that. But I remember hearing hepatologists prescribe it for patients when they run into insurance issues with TDF, TAF, and Entecavir. Our antivirals are also used for HIV management so don’t worry about that.
Something about your results that makes no sense to me is that it says your surface antibody is 0.31, but it also interprets it as being negative. Antibodies should be 0 since you have HBV with a viral load. That is a little confusing unless that reading of 0.31 is an error. The negative results are correct. I am not sure of any evidence linking these antivirals or the virus itself to miscarriages. Sorry about those experiences, nobody should go through that.
I hope this is helpful. Best, bansah1.
Thank you for the response , what does 0.31 surface antibody mean?my liver function came back normal and it has been 3 month since i started the treatment, how long will it take to reduce the viral load? I am scheduled for liver screening and viral load check in January 2025. My doctor is certain that in January the viral load will be down and i can try for another child and i should wait for now
The surface antibody is produced by your body or from vaccination to provide protection or immunity against HBV and other viruses. 0.31 is very low on the scale of things. 10 of higher is stronger immunity. I think it might just be an error.
Everyone is different, but because you viral load is in the millions it might take sometime. But it start going down by 3 months mark. You will see the drop definitely but might take up to a year to get it really low. It’s a slow process but you will get there. Be patient with it.
Best, Bansah1
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Hi Angie
Your laboratory results showed that you have slightly elevation of HBV DNA at 2,629 IU/Mel (_>2,000 IU/ml ) and your ALT slightly elevated at 35 (normal value in women =< 19 by international standard )
Your possibilities of CHB phase may be in the gray zone if you repeat your laboratory tests periodically or in the inactive immune control carrier phase.
To make sure that you are in the inactive carrier phase , you should be further tested with quantitative HBsAg , HBV RNA or HBcrAg which are the products of cccDNA transcriptional activities,however, some laboratory centers are not available except for qHBsAg . If your qHBsAg value < 1,000 IU/ml , it means that you are most likely in the inactive carrier phase . Phases of chronic hepatitis B virus are dynamic and hard to predict when increasing age which our body immune system may alter and lead to increased viral replication due to mutants or wild type strains .
According to WHO guidelines 2024 for CHB management . You have at least two criteria from laboratory results to make decisions on start antiviral treatment . The first one is HBV DNA > 2,000 and ALT elevation, the second one is ALT .elevation . You should consult with your doctor to make decisions about to treat or not to treat.
I hope this may help you.
chul_chan
I would consult with your doctor. I wouldn’t be quick to jump on a lifetime of treatment, since you are young and you don’t meet both of the criterias. I would take 10k to 15k of vitamin d and some vitamin c daily for a month or two. Then redo the test.
That said, I am not giving any advice. It’s what I would do. I found out years ago that I have hepatitis B. Makes me wonder how many time my levels went up and down, before I found out.
The most important thing is to go see your doctor and ask him/her. Prayer sent.