Hep.B&C

     I was diagnosed with Hep.B about 7-9 years ago. Iwas very sick at first, but followed medical advice and recovered. I then got pregnant in 1993, and I was told that not only did I have Hep.B but Hep.C as well.
     After my child was born, I followed up at a Hepatologsts, where he tested me and said that my liver count was barely abnormal. He wanted to give me biopsy and put me on Interfernon treatments. He did say that if the Interfernon treatments were to hard on me, he would stop, because of my tests only being slightly abnormal.
      Well, I got scared and did not show up for my tests or treatments.
      I know I need to go back, but I want to Know, have I put myself in irreversible danger. Also, am I contagious tomy husband and child. Also, how much more serious is it to have both B&C. Is my life expectancy shotened beause of these disease's. Finaly,  I have been on pain med's for a couple of years for a chronic back problem, (first it was E.S.Vicodin,then percocet, now oxycontn),will thes med's worsten my condition?I'm sorry for so many questions, but I'm so scared!
                 Thank you for your time!

[HFHSM.D.-D.M.]

_
Dear Dana D.:
I certainly appreciate your concern and fear.  However, you have a situation where you really need to get more information.  I suspect, that you have a situation where the more you learn the less you will be frightened.  
First of all, you need to find out if you have hepatitis B and/or C.  I can tell you that hepatitis B is often misdiagnosed so it will be critical that the right tests be done.  You have to get a hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and a hepatitis B surface antibody (HBsAb) to diagnose the hepatitis B and a hepatitis C antibody and possible a HCV RNA (PCR) to diagnose the hepatitis C.
If you had either infection when your child was born, there is a chance you passed the infection on to the child.  However, this would be much more likely with hepatitis B than with C.  If that is the case, your pediatrician should know about it and she/he can do appropriate tests to test your child.  Even if this is the case, there are some good treatments available for both infections.  
If your child is negative for hepatitis B, the child should be vaccinated for hepatitis B and then you do not have to worry about giving the child hepatitis B.  You do not have to worry about giving the child hepatitis C but you should be careful to not share razor blades or toothbrushes with the child.  If you have hepatitis B, your husband should be vaccinated (if he has not been exposed in the past).  If you have hepatitis C, the risk of your transmitting the virus to him through sex is small provided you and your husband only have sex with each other.  The risk is between 1 to 2% over 30 to 40 years.  
Having both infections is not necessarily worse than having one of the other.  The viruses can actually interfere with each other.  However, you owe it to yourself to get more information about your situation.  When you do, we can talk more.  Certainly, your child