Hi everyone,
newly diagnosed with hepb. So it all started when i donated blood sometime in july and I get a letter from them saying im hepb positive. So i get confirmatory testing and indeed I am positive . And tbh im not even mad about it because it most likely happened at a time out of my control. I am vaccinated(3 doses and can verify) but that doesn’t really matter if i already got the infection(not sure if i was vaccinated early in life, the vaccines on file are when i was 14-16yo). i’m not even much older , only 21 but the community here is pretty welcoming and it’s comforting. Now my question is do you guys think bepirovirsen has a good shot of taking off based off of research?
Hi @ilovejameshetfield,
Welcome to the community, and sorry to meet you under these circumstances. There is still a lot about bepirovirsen that we don’t know. It will take many more years to understand and answer some of the lingering questions. However, we do know that not every patient will benefit from it based on the trial data. Will it make an impact? Yes, but it will take time before we see its full potential. Access, availability, and cost will remain the major concerns, as with every new drug. I hope this helps. Bansah1
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Thank you for the warm welcome. As i’ve read here a lot of others have a vague memory of when they contracted hbv or mostly via vertical transmission. Honestly the same can be said about me. i’m most certain i got it as a child. And i say that because i have 4 documented doses of the hbv vaccine. One when i was young and 3 when i immigrated to the US about 5y ago when i was 16yo. A routine blood donation flagged the virus 3weeks ago and quite frankly i was just like what are the odds. But im glad i found out sooner rather than later. But i hold a positive outlook on it . I feel it’s my time to join you all and advocate for this and let our voices be heard. I’m excited to help in anyway I can.
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and do you also think combination therapy has a good shot as well? like bepirovirsen plus another treatment so it increases the functional cure rate
It’s possible. Similar to you, I was vaccinated and thought i was protected. But in 2014, was when I found out that I have been living with the disease from birth. My entire siblings have it as well. So, your assessment is correct. Hepatitis B is endemic in many parts of the world and those who have it are not even aware. The vaccine is of no use if the person is already infected.
At least you seem to have a positive attitude about it. That can help. Best, Bansah1
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i’m sorry about that. i’m sure it was devastating to find you did what you had to do yet the universe chose you. I feel like that’s why it’s kind of freeing in a way. i did what i had to do. It just happened that the way it was acquired was out of my control. My only concern is my family , now i think they’re somewhat vaccinated (not fully). Was I high risk to them? i don’t think we ever had direct blood to blood contact but could the vaccine atleast have provided them some protection? I’m currently not with them at the moment but just worried about past encounters
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Hi @ilovejameshetfield,
Yes, vaccination is the most effective form of protection. They will develop antibodies in response to the vaccine, which provides long-lasting protection against hepatitis B.
I definitely think it will take a combination of medicines to cure hepatitis B. Ongoing clinical trials are trying to see which antivirals plus Bepi will lead to a complete cure. We shall see what comes out of such trials. Let’s remain hopeful and remember to continue living our lives as best as we can. Best, Bansah1
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Awesome. I appreciate the information . I was just wondering since not all of them have taken the full 3 dose series. But when i do have to see them i’ll recommend them finishing their doses or i’ll never visit them again
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And im very hopeful for the combination treatments which are in sight. But will do my best to live my best life as per your words
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Hi @ilovejameshetfield,
I join @Bansah1 in welcoming you to the community. For your family, I would recommend that they all get the triple panel screening, which checks for active infection, antibodies, and past infection. That will give them a clearer picture on the best next steps. I tried bepirovirsen, and I did initially respond to it, but I also had side effects that required me to stop the treatment early. Eventually, my surface antigen came back, but the levels are much lower than where I started from. I agree that it is most certainly not for everyone. I also agree that access, availability and cost will be huge concerns. Ultimately, I do think that curing hepatitis B will require some sort of combination therapy, yes. We just haven’t found the right combination of drugs yet.
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Thank you very much for the warm welcome @et5656 . And thank you for the recommendation. I do have a question tho . So since i’m still doing confirmatory testing , my HBV DNA came out to be 2420 . What does this mean. Do i need treatment? I will be seeing a specialist in less than a week but i just want to hear from experienced individuals.
Thank you for adding that information. I had assumed, that was already done before starting with their vaccination. It’s a good idea to do that if it wasn’t done before, to make sure they are not already infected. There are cases where the children are not infected since their mother’s are negative while the father is positive. Doing these tests and ensuring that they complete their vaccination series are crucial. Best, Bansah1.
absolutely i’ll inform them on that. You guys in here have been really helpful. I really appreciate it . The past 5 days since i got the information have been nothing short of confusing but again with the recent advancements in medicine im very optimistic about the future because i know one day we’ll be here talking about how we achieved a negative hbsag test result
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