hi

[helpme114]

I wanted to thank everyone for all of your help reasurring me that everything is gonna be ok with me and my unborn child.I seen my GI doctor yesterday and my viral load is 146460,i go in on March 5th to see what kind of treatment I will be looking in to getting after i deliver the baby. however i am always looking for more information. So if there's anything anyone would like to share witth me please do so because im still larning about hepatitis C and the effects it has on the body and any other aspects of your life.As of right now there is no liver damage but the question i still have is this vviral load high or low? im dont know anything about it,so any help would be appreciated. thank you

[belle19]

i've had hep c for 37 years and did not know it.  i had 2 boys and breast fed them both.  neither one has the virus.  take care of yourself.  read up on the new drugs that are coming out in the future.  you have time.  my vl was @ 500,000 when diagnosed.  good luck to you and your baby.  belle

[Kristina538]

I had a low VL two years after giving birth naturally  breast fed etc., so assum it was low when I gave birth., my liver was certainly still very healthy.   I didn't have my baby tested until he turned 18 years old (negative).  I taught him about blood to blood contact from when he was very young; but as no treatment could be given until he was 18, I couldn't see him having to stress with a diagnosis that nothing could be done about, except the healthy living and care around blood that I instilled into him.   I didn't even tell him my status until I needed treatment (he was 16).

Now that I'm virus free also, it's like lots of miracles have come into our lives after so many years of hope and prayers.   You're at the beginning of something so very very wonderful;   try to put the HVC on the backburner and yes, enjoy the experience.  

[TexSunflwr]

I agree with what Stormy and Pooh said.

I'm glad to hear that you are feeling less frightened about your diagnosis! Thank goodness your liver is healthy. Keep in touch and let us know how you and the baby are doing.

P.

[stormy456]

It sounds to me that you have plenty of time to wait for the new, less challenging treatments to come out in a few years.  As many have said here, the Hep C should not affect your baby.  You're in a very good position right now, so just enjoy your pregnancy and your baby.  It's going to be OK.

[pooh55811]

Your viral load is considered low:

(Viral Load is how many viral particles per ML of blood)

200,000 to 1,000,000 low

1,000,000 to 5,000,000 medium

5,000,000 to 25,000,000 high

above 25,000,000 very high


Your viral load is the amount of specific viruses that you have, in a given volume of your blood (usually 1 milliliter = 1 cubic centimeter). More precisely, it means that the amount of Hep C genetic material found in your blood corresponds to as many Hep C viruses as the given number says. Therefore the given number denotes "viral equivalents."

There appears to be no significant correlation between HCV RNA levels and ALT values or histological activity in patients untreated by anti-viral therapies (Interferon). Viral load varies between infected individuals but is not a useful prognostic indicator nor does it measure the severity of virus-induced liver disease.

Link for more information:
http://www.hepatitis-central.com/hepatitis-c/what-is-viral-load.html