Liver issues

[coco's daughter]

My mother was told by her Dr. that she tested positive for Hepatitis c antibodies. She has been scheduled the other test that needs to be taken to determine whether or not she actually has the disease. She also was told that she has an extended liver. Does that have anything to do with the Hepatitis? And could long term use of pills Ambien,Prozac etc... have caused the liver to be extended? She also has a thyroid condition and graves disease?

[GrandOak]

First off, welcome to the forum and sorry that our meeting is not under more favorable circumstances. Secondly, we are mainly patients here, most with Hep C, and not doctors, so we can only share what we've learned through personal experiences or have gained in our quest for knowledge to take a more active role in our health care, particularily with respect for Hep C which is often not well understood.

As far as I know an extended liver does that have anything to do with the Hepatitis.  The hepatitis virus does attack the liver, but is a virus which is transmitted by blood to blood exchange.  Most studies I've seen have shown that it does not survive long outside of the body, probably because the virus itself is short lived and relies upon it's fast reproduction rate and mutebility  to adapt to maintain the infection in our bodies.

As most meds flow through either the liver or the kidney, I believe that more by former than the later since the liver is the main blood filter for the body, one needs to always be cautious when taking them to insure that they do not harm or severely compromise these organs.

Meds which can have the most impact upon the liver always carry a cuationary warning and usually are administered with many blood tests monitored by the doctor to insure that they are not severely affecting the patients liver.

As you indicated, the presence of antibodies does not equate to having the infection itself.  But does indicate that the infection most likely was present at some point so further testing is required to see if it is still present.

The good news is that some folks do spontaneously clear the virus on their own before it mutates to become resistant to the attacks by our immune systems.  But unfortunately, this occurs less often than desireable which is why millions in the USA alone have been diagnosed with this insidious disease.  I hope that this is not the case for your mother.

The fortunate aspect is that it is treatable and depending upon genotype and viral load can be eradicated from one's system.  However, like the spontaneous clearing, the treatment is not always successful and the rate of success is far less than desirable, which is why pharmacutical companies are pouring billions into research for newer, more effective, and less harsh medical treatment.

Right now, it seems like your mother is on the right track to determine if she is infected.  She may also want to begin searching for a good Hepatologist who is very knowledgable in this disease and the management of it's treatment just in case as I can speak from personal experience that this sadly is not true of all doctors, even though many seem to stake this claim.

If her tests do come back positive, she will want to have her infection classified as to it's genotype and to determine her viral load.  She will also want to have a biopsy performed to determine what, if any, damage it may have inflicted upon her liver.

The fact is that it really does not matter how she may have been infected, unless there is a concern of someone else out there unknowingly carrying the virus, which sadly is a larger population than most care to admit, so that they can be notified and take appropriate action to not spread the infection any further.  The main concern should be to determine if she still carries the infection and what course of action to take next.

The possibility of having HCV can be a tough realization to face and one all too well understood by most here. I wish you and your mother well and welcome both of you to return here to ask questions, search for information, and find support.

[dun4]

Excellent reply. I would only add be sure to take time to research for your mom. We all learn to deal with HepC, in many different ways. This forum provides a good source of anecdotal experiences. Pick and choose.