Finally I had my first fibroscan

[macrold]

After learning about the fibro scan on this forum 2 years ago I went to New York from DC area and had the Fibro scan test at Mount Sinai Hospital. The result - Fibro scan score 5.7 stage 0 Fibrosis.
My recent blood work on 2-15-2013
AST=20 IU/L
ALT=30 IU/L
HBV DNA= 7000 COPIES/ML
AFP, SERUM, TUMOR MARKER 2.9 NG/ML
HBsAg +
Hep Be Ag -
Hep Be Ag +
In 2010 my HBV DNA was 600 copies/ml in 2011 4600 copies/ml in 2012 it went to 8900 & 7000copies/ml. The HBV DNA seems to go up for the first time . I am 48 and knew status in 1988. Do you guys think I need treatment at this time or what options do you recommend at this time?  Doctor thinks consistent with guidelines of HBVDNA >2000 to take Entecavir 1 mg.

[stef2011]

http://www.synlab.com/3554.html

you can contact these labs network in italy and send samples by fedex

they just confirmed they accept samples sent by fedex for testing, they are very reliable and cheap

[billgreenland]

I have been looking for quantitative hbsag test in us for years. No luck. Do you know any lab that accept blood samples for quantitative test?

[stef2011]

and bigmoviebuff

i dont know if any low cost flight to europe/asia is available but just to compare:

hbsag quantity test 8€
fibroscan around 50-100€

india is for sure much much cheaper than this for the same tests and tdf is from 21 to 50usd per month.this is to say it may be cheaper to fly to other conutries with those astronomical medical costs.....

[bigmoviebuff]

thanks macrold.
my MRI cost me around $800 out of pocket and that is with insurance.
so even if my insurance does not cover it, it will still be cheaper.

[calebz]

Try and find a doctor that runs clinical trials around in US and they might be able to send your blood for HBsAg along with clinical trial samples.
Here are the locations for some clinical trial, I see plenty of locations around US.
http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/study/NCT01277601?term=GS-US-174-0149&rank=1&show_locs=Y#locn

[macrold]

Thanks Stef2011 for your insightful information. After learning about the fibro scan on this forum it took me 2 years finally to do it. Hopefully I will find a way to send my blood to India to do the HBSAG quantification test. My genotype is "A” and I will see my HBSAG result and my option for clearing the virus. Here in the US if they do not treat me properly and urgently to clear this virus I might travel where ever it takes me to do so.
Stef2011 do you think with the kind of history like mine is that possible to have this right side, joint and muscle pain and aches including low energy. How can I fight this to get my energy level higher? I also like to meet /befriend someone with Hep B IN dc area to just share info. Finding this forum already is helping much, but never met someone who has a hep b +. Anyone interested please send me a private message.
For those of you who are interested to do the fibro scan call Mt. Sinai Hospital and make appointment with Dr. Douglas Dietrich.
Department of Medicine - Liver Diseases
5 East 98th Street
11th Floor
New York, NY 10029
Tel: [phone]
Fax: [phone]
I just called and made appointment with the Doctor you do not need any referral just tell them that you wont to see Dr. Dietrich and do the fibro scan for Hepatitis B. My Insurance refused to pay by saying that it is out of network because I travelled from Dc to New York. Because this is a fight that I will not quit until I get cured, I paid about $350 out of my pocket.
I will like to hear from anyone who sent his blood from US to over sea for HBSAG quantification. Any info would be appreciated.

[Cjb3695]

I wanted to get it done at mount sinai as well, whats the process?

[new_hepb]

Can you please share a little more info? do you need any referral to do fibroscan at Mount Sinai Hospital?  How much does it cost ( assuming insurance will not cover it)?

[bigmoviebuff]

wow. I had no idea they have fibroscan at Mt Sinai.
My doctor works at Mt Sinai and he only ordered CT scan and MRI.
Does your doctor work at Mt Sinai?
What is the name of your doctor?

[stef2011]

the machines used to test hbvdna must be old because new machines are set in iu/ml

Do you think the sequential treatment to clear hbv will possibly work in my case?
check older posts about trials with this, the lower the hbsag the higher chances, but in any case the hbsag becomes so low that it can be cleared in repeated rounds of pegintf add on, actually the best hbv centers in italy do this since early 2004-2006
genotype A and D has some degree of immue control starting at less than 1000-1500iu/ml and the chances to clear are highest, asian genotypes B and C may have different values i didn t follow asian trials so i am not sure if 1000-1500iu/ml can apply to them too

Do they do it in Canada, any suggestion on how to proceed is appreciated

US, UK and canada dont do this while the rest of the world does, the test is pretty cheap and stupid, we made many posts for different countries and the best thing for US members is to send the blood sample to indian labs by fedex, check for older posts about it
you may also check where to have the test in mexico but it is easier to send the sample

[macrold]

I think the doctor thought my numbers are in IU/ML but they are in copies/ml and I do not know if copies/ml is absolute why is that my results always comeback from the lab in copies/ml. I agree with you the plan must be based on clearing the virus since there is no damage to the liver at this time. Do you think the sequential treatment to clear hbv will possibly work in my case?  I repeated myself twice with Hep Be Ag -
Hep Be Ag +    but I mean Hep Be Ab +
I really need to send my blood to anywhere to get HBsag quantification. Do they do it in Canada, any suggestion on how to proceed is appreciated .

[stef2011]

another mistake entecavir 1mg was thought for those with lam resistance but later on we have seen it doesn t work anyway on lam resistance.

the gain over 0.5mg is nothing but possible sides on the long term use, i bet 1mg is more expensive...

[stef2011]

by the way hbvdna in copies/ml is an obsolete unit, tests must have iu/ml and guidelines are for 2000iu/ml......

the doctor is stupid or he lied to you just to sell lifetime not curing drug which ensures so much money to the drug maker.i dont think he is so stupid so you better stay away from such horrible human being

[stef2011]

since your liver has zero damage i dont see any reason to start taking antivirals if not planning the sequetial treatment to clear hbv definitively and stay out of drugs

[stef2011]

Hep Be Ag -
Hep Be Ag +

there is a mistake here

why did he porposed entecavir?

entecavir is the most expensive hbv drug but it is not the most potent, it is not free of resistance, it doesn t clear hbv infection or cure hbv infection...so why did he proposed entecavir?he is so stupid to just follow guidelines without any knowledge beyond that?can he personalize hbv treatment as the most expert liver specialist (this last one doesn t thelp drug industry to sell drugs to all hbvers...ohhhpsss)

why take entecavir since the only thing it can do is repair a damaged liver or block liver damage in a damaged liver?

you are missing the most important test which can predict hbv clearance on sequential treatment tenofovir and then peginterferon add on?well you are in US and they are a decade back to avoid somebody to get cured...but you can send samples to labs in other countries to test hbsag quant