Re: hepitisis C?

Posted By HFHSM.D.-D.M. on January 31, 1999 at 15:25:27:

In Reply to: hepitisis C? posted by Cindy on January 25, 1999 at 16:34:22:






I was diagnosed with hep nonA/nonB about 15 years ago. at wich point I had an accute case and was hospitalized 7 days due to jaundice.At that time it seemed that I had completely recovered except with elevated ATL. Any way about 3 years ago I started to have extreeme joint pains and fatigue and was diagnosed with rhumemtiod arthritis. To make a long story short the rhuementologist ruled out rhuementoid and quickly sent me to a gastrotoligist who did a biopsy which revealed some scaring that was remenistic of Luekimia how ever, my white count remains normal. I have recently finished interferon tx where my viral load went from 5 million to 6800 but has now started to climb again. my question is due Ineed to be worried about a consistant positive rhuementoid test? and if it effects tx hcv. also do I need to be worried that the biopsy results resemble that of a person who has luekemia?



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Dear Cindy:
Wow, you do ask some unusual and interesting questions.  Let me see if I can try to answer some of them and give you some information that may be helpful.
First of all, I have very little idea what to make of a liver biopsy that shows scarring that is like a patient with leukemia.  Im not certain what this means.  It should be fairly straightforward to figure out if you have leukemia or not.  I cant really say a whole lot more the actual biopsy without seeing the biopsy or the biopsy report.  
The issues regarding hepatitis C, joint pain and a positive rheumatoid factor are complicated and I would like to make some comments.  Many patients with hepatitis C have joint pain and many of them have a positive rheumatoid factor (Some of these patients have a specific condition called hepatitis C related cryoglobulinemia).  These patients often want to know if there joint pain is caused by hepatitis C.  This can be difficult to pin down.  One question we always ask, however, is does the joint pain get better worse with interferon.  If the joint pain is due to hepatitis C and the hepatitis C responds to treatment, the joint pain should improve.  If the pain, however, is due to rheumatoid arthritis, it might worsen with interferon.  So if you tolerated interferon well and your joint pain did not get worse, you should be able to tolerated additional treatment without problems.  
I hope this information is helpful to you.  Again, I would invite you to contact us with additional questions or information.   At Henry Ford, we have an active group of liver specialists and we have a strong interest in and experience with hepatitis C.   You can contact us directly at [phone].
This response is being provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation.  Always check with your personal physician when you have a question pertaining to your health.