Hep B Help

Hi people, i have been feeling very sick for the last 3-4 months so i decided to get tested for all stds now it came back with postive to hep b, iam freaking out, just hate my life right now. i got the results can someone tell me if my hep b will go away or its going to be chronic? i dont understand the results iam going to see the specialist in 4 days but i dont think i can manage to control myself, iam very sad. my results are below

Hep B  Surface Antigen - Detected

Supplementary B Surface Antigen - Detected

Hep B e Antigen - Not Detected

Hep B Core Antibody - Detected


Hep B Surface Antibody   < 10     40  mIU/ML  Immune


Iam freaking out, iam only 24 yrs old male, is this going to be with me for the rest of my life ? can someone help me

[Sharp7]

How is are your ALT, AST and AFP levels? Have you had an ultrasound scan done? You also need to test for HBV DNA viral load. These things will give you an indication as to how bad your Hepatitis B is, and whether this is really the cause of you feeling sick.

Most people (here) with chronic Hep B lead normal lives, and most have no symptoms at all. So, Hep B, by itself is not something to fear, as long as we take steps to keep it in control.

Given that you are clearly not well, and you have some kind of Hep B (acute or chronic), I suppose the next steps are:
1. Find out if Hep B is causing these symptoms
2. Find out how bad your Hep B is, and then decide to do something about it.

1 and 2 may or may not be related... hopefully, you will get more tests done that will reveal that.

[needhelp946]

How would  i know if my body will fight it off and i will test negative for hep b?

No ultrasound scan done. Is mine chronic? based on what i posted?

[Sharp7]

95% of people who get infected as adults clear it off on their own. Even so, give any particular case, there is no way to predict the outcome if you test negative for HBsAb. (you tested negative, in your report above)

Until recently, they used to test Anti-HBc to find out if a person has acute or chronic Hep B. Apparently, it is not all that reliable. Now they just observe for HBsAb for about 6 months to confirm.

with the other tests I mentioned if you already see signs of liver damage, you don't need to wait that long.

[needhelp946]

So i dont understand in my case because i tested negative to  HBsAb is that a good sign it's going to treat its self , how would i know if im in that 95% or not? are the odds in my favour or? and if i fall into the 95% does that mean itll go away and i can live a normal life again?

[kuya1746]

im 22 years of age,,,,im chronic hep b,,,so the virus will clear it off on their own????pls send me a message..........tanx........

[Sharp7]

You need to perform several other tests before your question can be answered.

Check http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/HepB-Introduction--Welcome-Page/show/34?cid=153

[Sharp7]

your report says that you do not have antibodies to the HBsAg. People who fight off Hep B test HBsAb positive.

Like I said,  given any particular case, there is no way to predict the outcome.

[needhelp946]

How can i know for sure if my body will fight it off? for example is it a good sign that im also HBeAg negative? is that in my favour? so once i become positive to HBsAb im sero converting?

[Sharp7]

The only question I can answer is "so once i become positive to HBsAb im sero converting?": Yes -- s-seroconverting. You have already e-seroconverted. If you have a high viral load despite your e-seroconversion, it is bad. If you have a low viral-load it is good. Get that test done, and let us know how it turns out.

[CoWriter]

Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg):  detected during acute or chronic hepatitis B virus infection. The presence of HBsAg indicates that the person is infectious.

Your test for Hepatitis B surface antigen is positive meaning that you have either acute or chronic infection and you can pass it to others.  It's called "acute" in the first 6 months.  After that, it is considered "chronic".

Total hepatitis B core antibody (anti-HBc): Appears at the onset of symptoms in acute hepatitis B and persists for life. A positive anti-HBc test like yours, indicates previous or current infection.  


Hep B e Antigen - it's found in the blood only when the Hep B virus is actively replicating.  If the result is high, it means your ability to spread the virus to other people is higher....and a low or negative result means less infectivity.  However, there are some strains of Hep B that do not make e-antigen.  They are especially common in the Middle East and Asia. In areas where these strains of Hep B are common, testing for HBeAg is not very useful.


Hep B Surface Antibody (anti-HBs): A positive test means you either recovered and developed immunity on your own or you have immunity from getting the Hep B vaccine.

A test result of <10 like yours is considered negative.  Meaning you have not developed immunity.

As the others said, there is no way to predict whether you will develop immunity.  Alcohol use doubles the rate of liver damage progression.  So one of the things you can do to help yourself is not drink alcohol.

Co

Source:
http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HBV/PDFs/SerologicChartv8.pdf