just diagnosed

so - now that I have insurance again after 12 years, I just had "routine" blood tests - all looked well, except for HepC >11 -

any exposure would presumably have been 20 or more years ago.... ALT is on the high side at 34 but within range - and I feel fine - almost never get sick, pretty good on the energy side, am 50 pounds overweight, eat quite healthily, like to drink wine -

so obviously cutting back on the wine, getting more serious about healthy diet, and losing weight is important -

but what about treatment?  how essential is it if I am symptom-free?

will be getting more info from my doctor, but I was kind of blind-sided by this and the more info I have before meeting with her again the better

[FlGuy]

What kind of test was that, have a name for it?  Did the doc order and follow-on tests?

[cluelessnow]

HEP C AB INDEX -

and yes, she mentioned follow up tests to determine viral load, etc -

[FlGuy]

Don't think a positive result of an antibody test necessarily confirms a diagnosis quite yet.  The other tests, assuming they are viral load and/or genotyping, will serve that purpose.

[Bill1954]

There are a few scenarios to a positive antibody test result, clueless.

1) False positive antibody result, which occur relatively frequently. If false positive, you were never initially exposed, and will no further action is required.

2) Antibody positive, RNA negative on retest. About 20% of patients will clear the virus with their own immune response; this leaves them with permanent antibodies, but negative for virus; and no further action required from the patient.

3) And finally, antibody positive, RNA positive on retest. The HCV RNA result is required for official diagnosis; this is the active virus, and if positive, might require treatment eventually.

As you can see, the confirmation testing is necessary before a diagnosis is complete, and until then, you really can’t (and probably shouldn’t) prepare for further action. Hang tight, and let us know about the upcoming test results—

Bill

[cluelessnow]

thanks  - I guess I shouldn't leap and assume #3, the worst option, too quickly -

still, this came as a shock,...  I'm one of those people who believe that my body will tell me if there are problems, etc.... and now I feel like there has been a bomb ticking away for 20 or more years....

[joyce889]

i was recently tested positive from antibodies.. my doc said i have hep c. good thing i read from the posts here (and from asking people here in the forum) that confirmatory test should be done so i asked that i should be tested for viral load. luckily, and with God's grace, i was negative for the virus. good luck and God Bless!!!

[IMstacie]

unfortunately, it is a ticking bomb.  I'm curious as to why you were tested.  You mentioned routine and I don't believe that test is considered routine.  Although I think it should be.

-stacie

[FlGuy]

Nice post. Great result.

[portann]

HI Cluelessnow,

If you think you're clueless about HCV, don't be surprised that your family doc is just as clueless.

If it turns out that you do test positive for HCV via an HCV RNA test by PCR - meaing that you in fact have Hepatitis C and not just the harmless antibodies - then the best conversation to have with your doc is about a referral to a liver specialist, known as a hepatologist.

If you end up seeing a gastroenterologist instead, which would be a second but perhaps not as good a choice, be sure that he/she is highly familiar and experienced with treating HCV.

Anyway, good luck on your testing and here's hoping you only had a false positive or just test positive for the antibodies. If not, there are good and effective solutions. available.

I also discovered this routinely and it knocked my socks off. As it turned out, I presumably had it for over forty years, was symptom-free, treated and had a sustained viral response (SVR), or clinical cure.

Best wishes and maybe print out some info for your doc about the difference between antibody positive and virus positive, JUST IN CASE. :)

Susan

[Diane12855]

You would think that an organ that does as many necessary things as the liver does would hurt like heck if something is wrong with it, but no... By the time you really feel anything from the liver, it is pretty messed up. Actually now that I think about it, after 50 there are a lot of "silent killers" that we need to be concerned about... high blood pressure, diabetes, atherosclerosis, heart disease.... so you might consider trashing your idea about your body telling you when something isn't right. Now is the time for preventative medicine if we want to live a good long life.

[cluelessnow]

thanks to everyone for your comments - haven't gotten the results on the follow-up tests - in addition to the hep c confirming, the doctor ordered a full set of liver function tests (my AST/ALT results are within range...)

I have Kaiser/Medicare Advantage - so we'll see how it goes -

new doctor for me  - she seems okay (actually better than okay),  but I suspect that she is not that experienced with hep C -  I think she understands the difference between antibody positive and viral positive, but supposedly an index >11 is 95-99% definite... so she is assuming that the confirming tests will confirm the virus...

I was glad to read Joyce's comment about being virus-free - maybe I will be lucky too -

and at least I am symptom free....

[Bill1954]

And you still might be antibody positive but have cleared the virus with your own immune response at some point in the past; even with a high signal to cut-off range like >11.0. The in-range liver enzymes are certainly good news, although a percentage of folks with chronic Hep C will have normal ALT/AST.

Good luck and keep us posted—

Bill

[cluelessnow]

I even had the lab tech drawing my blood saying the results were going to be good...

you are  I are in the same neck of the woods  - I'm in Amador County, about 35 miles from Placerville...

[cluelessnow]

I got my second set of results - and basically the doctor said that they confirm the hep c - but is that just eliminating a possible false positive or is it actually confirming the presence of the  virus?

is there a virus load hidden in here?

Hepatitis C virus C33c AB,ser,ql, immune blot REACTIVE (A)
HCV C22P AB, immunoblot, qual REACTIVE (A)
Hepatitis c virus superoxide dismutase Ab NON REAC
Interpretation POSITIVE (A)
Hepatitis c virus ns5 Ab, IB REACTIVE (A)
Hepatitis C virus 5-1-1/C100, immunoblot REACTIVE (A

translation please =

on the good side, all of the liver function tests were okay - although not everything was tested -

[Bill1954]

Heya again,

No, I'm not seeing any RNA-related results in here. Does this test have a collective name? Do you see 'HCV RIBA' included somewhere in the language, perhaps?

[cluelessnow]

I will get the official results in the mail - the dr just emailed me this version -

so I don't know what the collective name might be -

she wants me to attend a hep c given by the gastroenterology dept - but I won't be able to do that for over a month, at the earliest -

[Bill1954]

Hi,

I’m pretty sure those are HCV RIBA results; I’m not very familiar with the individual components, but it looks like this is RIBA.

If so, a reactive/positive result confirms exposure at some point in the past; however, even with known exposure, 15-20% of patients will defeat the virus with their own immune response.

Hopefully, a HCV RNA by PCR test has been ordered; this checks for presence of active RNA virus. If positive, then diagnosis and perhaps treatment can be discussed. I don’t believe any conclusions can be made with the results you posted above. If you get further info, post as it comes in.

Best regards, neighbor--

Bill

[cluelessnow]

thanks, Bill - I appreciate all your help - now I am just going to put this out of my mind, get more active (will have a chance to do lots of swimming in the next few weeks), lose a bit of weight, etc

reading the fed's statistics, they say 75-85% of those infected with hep c go on to be chronic, 60-70% develop liver disease -

since I am apparently so far in the 30-40% without noticeable liver/health problems, I figure I could be in the 15-25% who defeated the virus..  the odds don't seem so long that way -

on the phone, when the doctor first told me about the hep C she mentioned something about testing for viral count - but I think that I have all the results from the 2nd bunch of blood tests - so it appears that she didn't order that - I've asked her, but no reply yet

Chris