Confused about Test Results

First  off  Thank You for this website. I am very confused about my blood tests. First testing
LFT all normal.
Hep b Surface antbody pos > 10 MIU/ML
Hep B Core AB Total Pos
Hep b Core, IGM  Neg
hep B surf Antigen Neg
Hep c Virus Ab Neg

Upon retesting 6 months later all the tests were the same except
Hep b Surf Antibody and it was neg.
With all the LFT normal, on both testings I'm confused .
Am I a carrier?  Could my positive antibody be a false negative?
What should my next step be?
I want to go to nursing school, would these results prevent me from
doing so?
I do not have a Dr I see on a regular basis and do not have health insurance.

Thanking You in Advance, Gods Blessings to You All.

[cuteus]

Hello there.  I remember someone posted a question about hep b on May 31, check out willing's answer to talk2ha. scroll down to 5/31 the post ....hep b curable? I know a little about hep c only. gl to you

[PhilaGuy]

Hey Gang!  Well, I just found out that my ALT and AST are within normal range for the first time in 20 years!  I got back from the doctor earlier today, and the CBC was fine (just a slight drop in WBC), and my ALT is 34 and my AST is 26 (they were 98 and 47 respectively immediately pre-treatment).  So that was a nice bit of news the day after shot 5.  Also, my sides appear to be GONE lately.  Life is good.  They checked for viral load today, so I should hear about that next week.  By the way, I'm 2b, had since 1984.  My viral load was way high, so that's the only thing that concerns me.  Does anyone know...does being 2b outweigh a high viral load?  I know that 2b is "good" and high viral load is "bad" when it comes to SVR.  Let me know, and have a great weekend everyone!

[cuteus]

great that they checked the vl early in tx, I wish you evr on that. TY for letting us know how well things are going after the initial bumpiness, we need to hear that things stabilize after a while.
be well

[skocthdopole]

Thanks for your response, this is all very new and scary to me.
I wish you the best.

[Amerabrit]

skocthdopole:  Hi, I hope you found the thread Cuteous posted for you.  Very best of luck, I know this stuff is scary but the more information you have, the easier it seems to deal with somehow...

Philaguy:  Great news:).

[Sam Hall]

Does not bein POSITIVE = BEING GAGGED on this site
ie we will make our points then ignore you and return to Pollyanna mode?

[cuteus]

in this forum, as in life, some will agree with you to a point and others won't agree at all. it happens to ALL of us.
If we don't comment, is not that we are ignoring YOU, we are bypassing a negative feeling that we don't need at present.
It's just nicer to hear positives because there are so many negatives in our daily living, especially while on these blessed meds.
I am one that agrees with you to a point.
I am only truly ignoring those that become abusive to us.
stay well

[oldhippiechick67]

I am not qualified to answer your test questions except from my personal experience...I supposedly had Hep B back in the late 60's, but when I got stuck with needle while being a nurse, they told me I had no antibodies to Hep A or B (that was in l986).  the fact that your LFT are normal is great!  I dont think it will prevent you from getting into nursing school, I went to nursing school a long time ago, but unless you have active Hepatitis with elevated LFTs the physical wouldnt send up any alarms in that dept.

[derail]

I'm sorry you feel that way in no way at all ,am I,
for one living in pollyanna world I feel  can state my opinion and if someone doesn't like it, that's OK .it's still can be my opinion .One thing to remember is to not be judgemental in life .there are always gonna be diffeing points of views and someday you may find you have changed yours for whatever reason.Nobody is intentionally being ignored as far as I can see and if you feel that way I am very sorry .Dealing with all the uncertainties in life and HCV is tough enough without feeling ignored and yes apositive mental attitude is mucho important, esp.around others. It does rub off. remember to smile it's contagious. this isn't Kansas toto

[skocthdopole]

To Oldhippiechick,
thank you for your response. I'm so happy to get positive feed back.
So far so good with the LFT. Do you enjoy nursing?
God Bless

[oldhippiechick67]

Oh ya I loved being a nurse, its a great profession and you can pretty much always find work!!  There is a bunch of variety of fields to go into also, so you never get bored with it!  I took off this past year for treatment and was too tired and brain fogged to work.  I did get a lot of exposure to needle sticks and body fluids, but they have done a lot of improvements to avoid that.  I dont know when or how I got Hep C but all that matters is so far I am beating it, and hope to regain my health and energy some time soon!  Best to you in your schooling!!

[ringeding]

hey girlie.....how are you?  hope you are feeling well and that all is good.  sorry i haven't been e mailing at all much lately...if you have time to update your site, i am happy to say i finished tx...YAHOO...waiting til nov. for PCR

......just so nice to see your post....it has been awhile!!!

stay cool girl....

cheers
kimmy

[cuteus]

Hey girl. are still on tx? I am going to extend as much as I can, I know you were pretty close to me in shots.
Glad to see ya around

[skocthdopole]

I worked as a medical assistant in the early eighties for a pediatrician.
Back then there was'nt much to do about safety or universal precautions.
Let me tell you I was stuck thousands of times.
I feel that is how I was infected with Hep B. To my knowledge I have nver been sick or made anyone sick. My problem is not being able to get with the right Dr because of my lack off health insurance. I'm trying to get into the public health system here where I live but it is a big process.
As for my schooling I am going to get the proper diagnosis and proceed from there.
In the mean time I wish you good health and I will keep you in my prayers.

[cheriums]

Are you in the U.S.?  I can recommend a good book, written by a patient-expert.  HEPATITIS B, THE FIRST YEAR.  By William Finley Green.  Doesn't matter how long you've had HBV or when you were diagnosed, really,  It explains a lot,including lab values and what they mean, in language we the people can understand. The labs, in particular, can be very hard to interpret, with HBV. I've given info from this book to M.D.'s I work with. This "First Year" series is published by Marlowe & Co.  (All in the series that I've seen are good.  There's one for diabetes, too.)  cheri

[cuteus]

I had a feeling...I am so glad you heard through the grapevine about peebee...I miss him and his humor.

[Dave_B]

I was just faxed my monthly blood test results and at the bottom it says "Serum slightly lipemic". I've tried to find some reference on this but can't find anything. Does anyone know what it means?

Thanks
Dave

[tuna]

How you been? tried to see if  you were still around last wk. but got no answers. Hope life has been good to you. I finished tx last fri 48/48 and wanted to know if your still doing your web site and if so how do I get there to update and look. take care, Tuna.

[Sam Hall]

'bout that peebee charector think ringading knows more than me but i herd that he cleared at 24 weeks and then suffered acombination of severe set backs.Last i herd was that he was picking up and getting back to work and had a realsupportive e-mail from indy advising to chill and see the funnier side of life.
ps Thanks for the post,rest assured you'll get no abusive stuff from me(i'll get my mates to do it!)LOL

[new-sojourn]

I, too, was a 2b-transfusions in '67, '79 & '85.  For sure '79.
I cl'ed by day 18!  All my blood values were low-normal to normal immediately.  That was 2yrs ago.  My sx's were minimal & I fin'd 24wks. So maybe you did the same.  Good luck

[berlynn]

Showboat...hi sweetie...I am sorry that I haven't been on for a while...yep I did 50 shots and an extra week of the neupo too. I was having a rough time with muscle and joint pain...tossing back vicodin and percoset when the pain got real bad.....then I peeked on here one day and read that there were people who were long aft tx..having bad M and J pain...so I decided to stay away for a while so I didn't scare myself to death...One of my worse fears has been that some of my sx would not go away after tx...especially the pain.

I have been really focusing on the positive and working at building my immune system back up. Having my life back...no matter how slowly...is a GIFT.....so I am going to take GOOD care of it this time around.I started taking YOGA and it is helping get my poor dehydrated and mushy,,,,if thin...body toned and it has really helped with my attitude and my appreciation of life and all of it's gifts. After I stopped the Meds...I had some painful days ...and the last week I have been feeling a little better each day. I have been using accupressure to relieve the pain and I haven't had to take a pain pill for a couple of weeks....yeahhhhh... I wanna quit all meds except vitamins and anything that will help me be stronger and healthier again.
I have also been spending alot of time in my vegetable garden...mostly battleing the many animals who wanna eat it up before I can...lol....we have also been spending alot of time at the lakes...mostly fishing....but now it is getting hot..110 today...we will soon start wake boarding again...and then...this grandma...will make the teenyboppers look bad...hahahaha..just kidding...although..it is alot of fun.
I hope you are feeling well..on this journey of getting our lives back......it feels good to look forward to how good we can feel...especially if we start taking better care of our bodys,,,our mind and our souls.As you are well aware...I have been staying away from the puter lately. But I will look in and hopefully you get this and know that I am doing OK and let me know how you are. I have thought often about you and many others here and you are always in my prayers.If ya want to email me..please do...***@****


Auggie...I honey....I am gonna try to give you a call before we leave for Cosa on Sun. You are finally done.... WOOOOOOOHOOOOOO!!!!!. Remmember...you are comming over for a big weenie roast to celbrate the death of our dragons. We could camp at the lake and build a huge fire there too. I am looking forward to dancing around it in celebration for both of us...and all that came before and all that will come after us.....we have fought hard and we are WINNERS> I love ya gal...I will talk to ya soon.

I am sending love and prayers out to all of you fellow heppers...keep up the fight...it is well worth it.
Take care, Love Kim

[cindee]

Hippie, Good to see you once again. I posted to you awhile back, but I guess you didn't see it. I thought of you the other day when I got dressed.....now that doesn't sound quite right!!!! LOL No seriously I put on a new outfit I had ordered from QVC. My husband is the one who ordered it for me...and he laughing said, You look like a "hippie chick". Now everytime I wear it and I wore it to the doc today...I think of you. But that's not the only time I think of you. I hope you are doing great and feeling good these days. I have really missed your funnies!!!! I wish for you the best of health and you continue to be in my prayers daily. I love ya gal, Cindee

berlynn!!!!!! How wonderful it was to read your post tonite. I am so happy you are done and on your way to a life of happiness and great health! It made me SMILE to see your name. Don't be a stranger, but I understand how needed breaks can be. I start a new tx in 4 to 6 months...wish me well. Much love to you...as you were always an inspiration to me, when we went thru this fight together. Much love and prayers, Cindee

[Indiana]

Berlynn.....WoooHooo! I am SO glad that you made it through. What a ride,eh? Those last few weeks were scary. It took a lot of work to get you through that. I need a vacation now. Hahahaha
I am really glad that the RA symptoms have backed off. Those things are worrysome as they can be very long-lasting and painfull. Is anyone invited to this camp-out at the lake? I want to see that dance with you and OHC around a big fire there. Reminds me of some parties I went to back in the 70's. Will there be body paint involved? Hahahaha

OHC....Glad to see that you have FINALLY finished. I was worried about you. I asked Kimmy to check on you several times to make sure that you were still breathin these last few weeks. Now I understand why you were havin problems after reading your recent posts. You should be feelin pretty good by the 4th of July. Take some small explosives (firecrackers) to that lake party. Blowing things up always makes me feel better. I have a small Dragon here that we could "sacrifice" for the occasion.

Sam Hall......Awww Man. Why didn't you just say it was YOU? You know me. I seldome post a difference of opinion directly at any poster. I argue only the information....not the person who posts it. You cleared up my confusion with your info on your last post in a thread that filled up. I couldn't post a reply there. You are NOT being ignored. But after a post fills up the Forum moves on. If there is anything left to say it takes another post. I thought we had settled our differences. You stated your opinion....and I stated mine. It's ok if we don't "totally" agree. Thats what opinions are all about. Did you actually clear the Hcv? Are you done with the Pcr tests? The effects of the meds should be gone by now for you. If you are still having problems then it needs to be addressed by whatever docs specialize in that field.
I am a VERY positive person by nature. So it's hard for me to imagine not being able to think that way. That isn't to say that everyone MUST feel or think the way I do. All I know is that my way works and so I put it out there and try to help others to get the same feelings. Positive attitude doesn't fix everything, but it sure does beat the apprehensive outlook and the negative feelings that brings with it. I offer my feelings as a road map for others to follow to help get them feeling good about life and themselves.
You KNOW that I am always here for you. And for anyone else that are having problems. I am done so I don't post as much as I used to. I pop in for fun or to get into an interesting opinion post. You have my e-mail so you can always use that to talk more in-depth about things.
I wish you well, my friend.
So who the hell is Sam Hall anyways?

[ellissg]

To the tune of Folsom Prison Blues by Johnny Cash

I hear the shot a coming,
It's coming towards my thigh.
I don't have the courage,
But I just don't want to die.

Far from Heppers prison,
That where I want to stay.
But that Peg keeps on coming,
and I feel very far away.

But if you free me from this virus,
and make this pain go away.
I'll keep the change to my lifestyle,
Just to keep that dragon away.

Far away from my liver,
That's where it will stay.


Chevy: Done with 20 and can't believe how good I feel this morning. Energy is creeping back!!!

Steve

[Showboat]

berlynn:  I am so happy to hear that you made it thru tx in one piece.....lol.been thinking about you soooo much...I agree with you.  I really started having joint pain, and some emotional swings after stopping the meds.  It was strange.  My poor hubby.  We have been putting new flooring in the kitchen and dining room, and painting walls.  And here am I being a total nut case, and nit-picking the entire process.  I am so glad he understands my mental dilema (he went thru tx before).  I would love to be part of the Dragon Roast too.  I guess I am really worried about my end results.  This is my third time to do tx, and I hope the "third time is a charm".  I did show clear last Tuesday from my previous blood test, so at least that is a good start.  Now the wait begins, and I will probably do a 3 month test like you are...(my husband also wants me to).  Thank you for supplying me with you addi again......as I have  been searching for it.   You are always such a positive, upbeat and caring gal. I enjoy our "site chats" and really feel like we have alot in common....... I would love to be part of the "Fireside Dragon Dance", and I will bring my own drum too. :>) I will send you an email this weekend.  I am praying for your SVR......How is your family doing?  Take care and I will talk with you soon.

OHC:  I am so happy to see you post too.  I have not been feeling too well, so I have just started getting back on this site to see what was going on, and there you are!!!!!  To see you and berlynn again made my heart joyful.  I have been meaning to send you an update on my info, and will do so soon. I hope you are feeling great, and am sending prayers for your SVR.  It is good to see you again.  I always enjoyed your posts and really appreciate all of your hard work on your hep site.  Stay well, my friend.

Majneni:  How are you doing?  Was just thinking of you.

Cheriums:  Yes, I read that book too.  I forgot the name of the poster asking about information, but I agree, that book is a good start.  I borrowed one from my local library.  There is much information to be found there.  
To the newbies:  Good luck and stay positive.  There is much information and comfort to be found at this site.  Many wonderful and insightful people here. Bless you all.

[OkieJim]

YOU DID IT GIRL,

I'm so happy for you. Now things will start to be back to normal. Keep drinkin the water for awhile. It really did take some time to get all the meds out.  I'm so close to normal now it's like a dream.
My neibor saw me mowin last weekend and came over to see if I was alright. I even offered to mow his fields just to know I could go all day HA HA!!.  I got about another week to see if I'm still clear at 3 months. I can't remember if its 3 month or 6 month for SVR. I don't really worry about it now. I'm happy to be feelin so much better now and you need to know you will start feelin better each day.
Congratulations to you!!

Love, Peace and Happiness

[Indiana]

Here are all the links I have to info on Hep B.
Hopefully you can find the info you seek in one of them.
Hbv is really hard to figure out. The tests and results are hard for even the professionals to decipher.
I hope these links can help......

http://www.globalserve.net/~harlequin/HBV/
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepatitis/b/
http://qa.hopkins-hepc.org/forum/view_question.html?section_id=121&category_id=95&id=5607
http://qa.hopkins-hepc.org/forum/search_result.html?section_id=121&keywords=hepatitis+b

Test explinations...
http://www.dpcweb.com/medical/infectiousdisease/hepatitus_b_us.html


Best of luck in your quest...............

[skocthdopole]

Thank You for taking time to send these links to me.
Education is the key to understanding these complicated liver problems.
Thanks again and God Bless.

[oldhippiechick67]

Hi everyone, thanks so much for the personal posts directed to me, it is a great feeling to be remembered and missed! Was wonderful to see Berlynn, Cindee, Okie Jim, Tuna, Showboat, Indy, etc hope I didnt forget anyone. I am doing okay, a little less miserable than usual.  I posted my website under some other thread, but I will stick it on here for you Tuna - there is a column on the right of the first page where you can click on to see the board (list) of heppers and also a link to add your info is there.  www.geocities.com/auggieaz     There are some folks I was able to make a personal page for, but somehow I messed up and no matter what I try it wont link up for some others.  
Dave - "lip/o" usually refers to fat and "emic" means pertaining to the blood.  So you have some fatty stuff in your blood, didja eat a big Mac and fries prior to your blood draw??
Ask your doc about it, I dont know what it means for sure.