Hep C

There is a lot I don't understand about my illness.  Maybe someone can help me out.

My Signal Cut Off, is 24. H  should be <1.00

My Heptimax, HCV RNA was 18900000 H  IU/mL  Reference range LESS THAN 5
Heptimax HCV RNA 7.28  zh  zzLogIU/mL Reference Range LESS THAN 0.7  
It says the range of the HEPTIMAX assay is 5 IU/mL to 50,000 IU/mL

I have no idea whether I have a really bad case or what.

I have been taking a shot, just took my 4th Friday of Peginterferon and six 200 mg Ribivarin tabs daily for the last 5 weeks.  Holding up under it.  No depression that I was warned about.  Terrible tiredness, although that was the symptom that caused me to get checked out.  I have never used an illegal intravaneous drug in my life.  I have had a lot of transfusions from a gunshot wound when I was 14, some 45 years ago and operation 5 years ago.  Don't know if it is pertinent but am alchoholc, sober in AA for 16 years 4 months.

Thanks for any insight I can get.

[Deb_c430]

Probably got it from gunshot wound transfusion,  I think it was  92 they knew it was in blood, before that it was a sort of a mystery, Now they test for it automatically when blood is given.

Lot's got it that way, including me I think.

Congrats on being sopebr so long! Way to go!

There is a really good web site called Janisand friends
http://www.janis7hepc.com/

That can help you track your Vls and CBCs and such!    

I have bad brain drain today, but many can can explain it all to you, much better than I can.

Good luck

Deb

[dlr2007]

You came to a great place to learn about Hep C and get some support! I didn't know jack sh*t about Hep C, just that I'd had it for years, until I came here. And there's nothing like hearing from other people going through the same thing to help you feel better.
  Your viral load doesn't have anything to do with how badly your liver is damaged. Your viral load is important during treatment (tx) because that's how the doctors tell if the tx is working. I don't know a whole lot about it, but you'll learn more here.
  If you had a biopsy (bx) before tx, you should have been told what stage and grade your liver is at. The grades and stages go from 0-4, 0 being no damage, 4 being cirrhosis. Even if you have cirrhosis, you can still beat Hep C through tx and live a long, healthy life.
  Sounds like you're doing great on tx so far. You can learn all about ways to deal with side effects (sx) on this forum- pretty much anything you go through, you can be pretty sure someone on here has expereinced the same thing.
  Best of luck, and welcome!
-Dee

[semosig]

Thanks for your comments.  I did look up my liver biopsy and it doesn't look too bad as it says the PORTAL INFLAMATION (inflammation) GRAD 1-11 (MILD)  Then it says PORTAL FIBROSIS, MILD (STAGE 1, CONSISTENT WITH HISTORY OF HEPATITIS C) It says there is no bridging fibrosis and there is no cirrhosis.  Inflammatory reaction does not have piecemeal necrosis associated with it.  Findings are consistent with the history of hepatits C infection.

Don't know what all this means but that looks good.  Now if I only didn't feel so ROTTEN all the time so I could work I guess things would be OK.  I just do the best I can and hope that I don't end up losing everything.

It is nice that someone out there understands.  Thanks much!

[zazza]

"My Heptimax, HCV RNA was 18900000 H  IU/mL  Reference range LESS THAN 5
Heptimax HCV RNA 7.28  zh  zzLogIU/mL Reference Range LESS THAN 0.7  
It says the range of the HEPTIMAX assay is 5 IU/mL to 50,000 IU/mL"

Looks like you have a viral load of 18'900'000 IU/ml (don't know what the H means).

Your viral load can also be written in log10 form, i e 7.28.

The sensitivity of your test is < 5 IU/ml, or in log10 form: < 0.7

Don't understand why it says the range is between 5 and 50'000 IU/ml, since you obviously got a reading greater than that.

When is your next viral load test due? Did you get one at week 4?

Good luck! You have come to the right place for support.

[zazza]

"The sensitivity of your test is < 5 IU/ml, or in log10 form: < 0.7"

This means that the test will not detect a viral load smaller than this number.