Help with Viral load

I recently had a few tests my GP ordered come back, and I was most anxious to see the viral load. The test the GP ordered was "Quantative Hepatitis C titer", and the result came back 23.5 viral load. What on earth does that mean! I tried asking the GP whether this was high or low, and could he convert it to something more I would understand but did not get much response except that he had seen a lot higher, and thought I was not in as bad a shape as we suspected. I tried using the conversion chart's on the Janis website but could not make heads or tails of this.  He did however tell me that I had tested positive for Hep A antibodies, but said there was nothing to be done about it, just said that I probably have had Hep A in the past, probably as a child, if this is so than why have even tested for it in the beginning? What was also amazing to me was that he did not know, or the test did not specify my geno type. Most disappointing.

I am scheduled to see a Hepatologist a month from now, but would like to be armed with some knowledge about myself and what I plan on doing as far as treatment goes. Can someone help me out with this?

thanks,
Looks4Path

[CockSparrow]

the value 23.5 doesnt look like your viral load to me.
It is usually measured in IU such as 100,000IU/mL
or in logs such as 5 log10
both of these are mean the same thing a VL of 100,000
So do you have a copy of the test results that you can post word for word.

Dont worry about the HepA result its actually a good thing.
Catching HepA when you have HepC or HepB for that matter can cause liver failure.

So the fact you have had it in the past means you dont have to get the shots to become immune to HepA.

Hope this Helps
CS

[zazza]

It couldn't be 23.5 million IU/ml then? That would be a high, but not extremely high, viral load. In log10 it would be expressed 7.37.