Ultrasound done today

Hello!!  I went and got my ultrasound today, and the tech said that my liver looked just fine; no damage.  Should I be relieved and not worry so much? The ultrasound professional isn't a doctor, but I assume that they know what they are doing and can recognize abnormalities.  Will I still have to get a biopsy done?  I have an appt. with a specialist on the 27th, so I'll get a clearer picture then, but for now I feel a little weight lifted.  I appreciate all of your honesty, so how definitive are these ultrasounds?

LeighG

[HCA]

The ultra sound reveals architectural abnormalities in the liver,but does not diagnose fibrosis (the hallmark of Hepatitis C) for which a biopsy is still needed.
The normal ultra sound is, of course, heartening news.

[nygirl7]

The ultrasound shows that you have no tumors or cancer but you need the biopsy to determine just how much liver damage you have. I errantly thought it meant I had no damage when I got the same news but I was already at stage 3 or 4 when I got my biopsy results back a few weeks later.

It's imperative that you do follow up with that biopsy to see how far your liver damage has progressed.  

The good news is you don't have liver cancer!

[nygirl7]

That should read stage 3 OF 4 sorry..........not cirrhotic was lucky to find that out!

[Bill1954]

Hi Leigh,

An ultra sound scan is an excellent tool for determining if any tumors or cysts are present. It can size the diameter of the portal vein, as well as the liver and spleen. It can also determine if fatty deposits are present, and if surface nodularity is found, which is often the case with cirrhosis.

It is not a good tool to determine the subtle differences between levels of fibrosis; for instance, it can’t tell if a patient has stage 1 or stage 3 damage. For this, a biopsy is required. Depending on genotype and other factors, a biopsy might not be indicated. I.e. if you are planning on treating your HCV regardless, you might elect to skip biopsy at this time. If you’re considering deferring treatment, a biopsy can yield enough info to determine the urgency of therapy. If you’re genotype 2 or 3, some doctors will forego biopsy due to the high rate of disease resolution with these particular strains of HCV.

Congratulations on your U/S results; at least you don’t have any serious anomalies; this is good news. Have you made any plans for treatment yet?

Take care—

Bill

[LeighG]

Thanks, guys!  I appreciate your replies.  I'm anxious to get the biopsy done.  I suppose "wishful thinking " kinda comes with the territory, but I have to continue to think realistically, most of the time.  I'm so thankful to be a part of this community. You guys are awesome; a true inspiration to keep a positive attitude.

Leigh

[LeighG]

Not Yet.  I really need to research the tx options.  Actually, all i've heard are bad things about it.  What does geno type mean?  How do I know what type I have ?  Can you refer me to a website that would have the specifics I'm looking for?  I'm starting to recognize some of the terms, as I read the different entries in this forum, but it can be quite confusing, especially to a rookie.

Thanks,

Leigh

[Bill1954]

Leigh, I strongly urge you to review the Janis and Friends website:

http://janis7hepc.com/index.htm

Open the section ‘other HCV information’ located in the right hand margin; this has detailed overviews of this disease by category, and will go far in helping you better understand this illness. Be sure to bookmark the home page for future reference.

Best to you, and welcome--

Bill

[nygirl7]

This website is a great primer for you.  The more you learn the better armed to beat this disease you will be.  Treatment isn't fun but for the most part it is doable. You can't let horror stories scare you away.....if you have to have any disease at least for the most part this one is slow growing and it does have a cure. Hang on to that.

Depending on your geno and your biopsy results you might have time to watch and wait mean get a biopsy every few years and make sure your damage is not getting to the "time to treat immediately" level (which mine was at stage 3).

Use this site as a primer it will explain just about everything then you'll still have more questions for sure.....but you'll understand the answers.

http://www.janis7hepc.com/

[Bill1954]

Leigh, genotype is the particular strain of Hep C you have; genotype 1 is the most prevalent one in the US; and also the most resistant to treatment. GT-2 and 3 require less treatment time with much higher success; currently about six months versus 11 months for GT-1. Successful treatment is defined by completing treatment with undetectable virus, then going six months without meds afterwards *and remaining undetectable*; at this point, the virus will not reoccur (in 99.9% of cases). This is termed SVR, or Sustained Viral Response.

This is very confusing at first, but eventually, you’ll get the gist of it. For a list of the acronyms used in here go to:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/Common-Hepatitis-C-Acronyms/show/3?cid=64

Perhaps this will help make sense of the alphabet soup used in here :o).

Good luck—

Bill