Aa
question about hepatitis
hi drs.
about 4 months ago i had unprotected vaginal sex with a dancer at a club. i did get some bacterial stds from this encounter which have since been taken care of. hiv tests were all negative. i have had 3 hepatitis tests done. (i was never vaccinated for hep a and b)
the one at 11 weeks came back negative for b and c. it was a surface antigen test for b and im not sure what the one was for c. this was ordered by me online
the one at 12 weeks came back positive for hep b surface antigen and negative for c. this was ordered by my doctor
at 14 weeks my doctor ran the hep panel again for b and c and did a pcr quantitative test for hep b. the surface antigen test came back negative for b and the test for c was negative as well, also the pcr quant. came back not detected.
i have had the following symptoms:
fatigue, clay and grey colored stools from time to time and weight loss which i since gained back.
i do have a slightly elevated ALT at 69 (AST was 36) other than that all liver function tests were normal. i do drink heavily from time to time
my questions to you are.
is 14 weeks long enough for a definative hep c result?
could the positive hep b test at 12 weeks just have been a false positive?
how accurate would the quantitative test be at 14 weeks.
could the elevated alt be solely from alcohol consumption?
and finally is hep c spread by unprotected sex.
thank you very much for your time.
about 4 months ago i had unprotected vaginal sex with a dancer at a club. i did get some bacterial stds from this encounter which have since been taken care of. hiv tests were all negative. i have had 3 hepatitis tests done. (i was never vaccinated for hep a and b)
the one at 11 weeks came back negative for b and c. it was a surface antigen test for b and im not sure what the one was for c. this was ordered by me online
the one at 12 weeks came back positive for hep b surface antigen and negative for c. this was ordered by my doctor
at 14 weeks my doctor ran the hep panel again for b and c and did a pcr quantitative test for hep b. the surface antigen test came back negative for b and the test for c was negative as well, also the pcr quant. came back not detected.
i have had the following symptoms:
fatigue, clay and grey colored stools from time to time and weight loss which i since gained back.
i do have a slightly elevated ALT at 69 (AST was 36) other than that all liver function tests were normal. i do drink heavily from time to time
my questions to you are.
is 14 weeks long enough for a definative hep c result?
could the positive hep b test at 12 weeks just have been a false positive?
how accurate would the quantitative test be at 14 weeks.
could the elevated alt be solely from alcohol consumption?
and finally is hep c spread by unprotected sex.
thank you very much for your time.
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
I missed that one positive result for HBsAg. Sorry. But given the other results, it has to be false, which your own doctor probably advised you.
thank you for your respone dr. one more question if i may then i'll leave you alone i promise. what would you make of the second hepatatis b test that came back positive?
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Welcome to the forum.
Contrary to common beliefs, hepatitis C is rarely sexually transmitted. The only documented sexual transmission is among men having sex with men, with traumatic (bloody) rectal sex. You can dismiss any concern about hep C, even without testing.
And the risks of hep A or B after any single exposure are extremely low. Further, your test results show for sure you were not infected. Something other than viral hepatitis is responsible for your symptoms. And for sure alcohol is a reasonable possibility -- indeed, it is by far the most likely explanation for it.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
Contrary to common beliefs, hepatitis C is rarely sexually transmitted. The only documented sexual transmission is among men having sex with men, with traumatic (bloody) rectal sex. You can dismiss any concern about hep C, even without testing.
And the risks of hep A or B after any single exposure are extremely low. Further, your test results show for sure you were not infected. Something other than viral hepatitis is responsible for your symptoms. And for sure alcohol is a reasonable possibility -- indeed, it is by far the most likely explanation for it.
I hope this helps. Best wishes-- HHH, MD
You are reading content posted in the STDs Forum
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STDs can't be transmitted by casual contact, like hugging or touching.
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