Active or Inactive Hepatitus C

[wb2wkh]

I applied for a job overseas, but on the questionaire it gave a list of medical ailments that would inibit me from taking the job. The question asked if a person has active hepatitus then you cannot take the job.

I came up positive for hepatitus C, but I do not have any of the physical characteristics.

What I want to know is hepatitus C considered an active or inactive hepatitus?

[cncerned]

I have Hep c since the 80's.  I was told at that time it was inactive.
I have had my liver enzymes checked yearly with no elevation.
I am now wondering after reading your blogs that i should see a Dctr!
I have sever joint pain in my lower legs and hands  along with tiredness dont' know if this is due to some type of arthrits and getting older or the hep c is the cause.
I am 46.  

[honey1616]

I agree with your theory Laika and it is puzzling to me also.  My enzymes past few years have always been 18 to 19. In the past I have done yearly checkups and bloodwork. We have good insurance so I take advantage of that.  My husbands had been normal but last year his was elevated so they sent him to GI and of course he had hep c. They told him for his wife to get tested and said just routine as with my enzymes,,,didn't see me showing positive.  Well,,,I was shocked to say the least when it came back positive at a raging viral load of 8.5 mil.  Our dr said since were 1's,,,we needed to treat and he didn't do biopsy's unless our ultrasound or other bloodwork had something worth checking into.  All was normal and we started,,,Of course Now I wish more then anything we had taken our time and read more and insisted on biopsy.  Alot I have read says end stage liver disease could be normal enzymes but honestly I doubt I am that for years,,,,Or otherwise I would more then likely be sick now. I'm just guessing but thinking maybe my immune system was holding it off for awhile but it would have had to catch up sooner or later of course as I got older.

[Aubbie]

The episode of Sat nite live made me laugh!! Ialso think thats awful to give you that runaround. GOOD LUCK  LVBYGOD.                      TO FRANK I am type I and mild bridging fibrosis , I was afraid of Liver biospy but I wanted to know my damage, and I do have feathering and balloon cell Degeneration.  My viral load 129385.   Ilike the md and she explained every thing to me so between all of you and her I'll learn alot!!!  Thank you for caring!!              cigaso ,rev ,honey  I am over weight and I bet I get that weight based amount. MY age 52, 200lbs ,and  sounds like someone didnt get that weight based and should of.I think its gonna be two more weeks for my tx. and I am scared about side effect BUT I got all you supportive  caring patients, that are going through this poison.  THe biospy went fine for me and anyone that should get  I would advise. MY fear my lungs and my age.  WE are doing more blood work.  My syptoms are great fatigue and without starting tx Can't  imagine the hell.I have faith and god bless each one of you!! Aubbie

[LvdByGod!]

rev, honey, cuteus, i couldn't agree more!!!

thanks rev for the obesity article...yeah i thinks it's saying that weight based is superior when you're overweight as apposed to pegasys...(which i'm on go figure)...

thats probably why i had breakthrough...not enough treatment for my weight...now it's cost me a year of life...of course can't get a dr to give a rip one way or the other bout nothin these days.

just had the "nurse" call me back after a 4 day wait for return phone call just for her to say, "oh i think you should call the nurse practioner for that question"!!! gosh if i had something serious i'd be dead by now...and funny thing was that i was thinking 13 lb water gain over 2 days, stomach pains and fevor was serious...silly me. i said what should i have done gone to the emergency room? she says in a wisper," you didn't hear it from me"... as if to be letting me in on some secret that if ya want to live call 911 not us...

but fortunately she did tell me it "wasn't" an emergency...(she isn't even the nurse so that was so reassuring!)...oh she did give me the NURSES PHONE NUMBER... gosh i wonder what nurses i left the messege for under press 3 for a nurse after waiting a full day just to be connected to thier answering machine?...all day last wednesday they kept cycling me through but no answer...then thursday i get the nurses machine, leave my messege, and now she returns my call saying my question requires a nurse! i think i'm in a saturday night live episode...

nice to know i'm in such competent hands...if i ever disapear you will know what happened...i died waiting for a "nurse" to call me back!

[cuteus]

ditto here, normal enzymes throughtout and my first GI was not even going to do a bx, based on that. How ignorant can you be, non chalant when is not your liver is easy.


Has any one heard from peebee/SH?

[cigaso]

For what it's worth, I am a newbee here. I am going on my 5th week of treatment. I am a 51 yom. My liver bx showed grade 2 stage 1 with very mild fibrosis. I had no symptoms. A little brain fog, but I thought that was from hitting the half century mark. From this site and other sites, I determined that it was best to get this hideous disease out of my body. Will it kill you if you don't treat? Who knows, but it can. I didn't want to take the chance. Take the information you get from this site and check it out. I have found the people on this site are very knowledgable and helpful.

[Laika]

You never had elevated enzymes?  How did you even find out you had hepC?  Did you have a biopsy?  I am confused about this aspect of hep C...it seems like if the virus was active (replicating), and it had damaged your liver, then you would have elevated enzymes.  Is that wrong?

Laika

[marchingon]

Thanks for the article rev. I will take it with me when I visit a new GI dr for a second opinion on my relapse later this month. (No hep specialists in my area) I am also so very sorry to learn of your AIH status. A setback like that takes a lot of inner strength to handle and I'd say that you are the man to handle it!
I am now 52 and just 7 mos post-tx and the thought of re-treating for 48 mos while dreadful is certainly something I will do to rid my body of hepc. I am back on a mild AD (I took it during treatment as well) to help me cope, and I don't know if the fatigue and joint pain I feel now is from my active lifestyle, age, or hepc. I am currently doing the vitamin/tea regime that chevy (and tallblonde/susan400?) are doing with the thought being to do everything I know to do to stay healthy and to continue the fight. Here's wishing everyone peace and strength this week.

[layla]

I have not heard of taking smaller doses. In fact I beleive it is most important to be on the recommended doses of both peg and riba. There are many articles about this you can read on the internet. Lowering your doses clearly lessens your chances of SVR. Perhaps they do that for people with asthma but I have not heard of it. Hopefully someone will know more about that and pipe in. LL

[Laika]

I just turned 58 yesterday, beginning 8th wk of treatment.  My biopsy showed stage 2 liver damage, so I got with it pretty quick after finding that out.  Treating is difficult, but there is no alternative.  You have to stick with the correct dose and the prescribed time to treat if you want the best opportunity to get the job done.  Try not to be afraid of the side effects.  There are meds to help you deal with the sides and there is support & info here to help you understand.

Laika

[scruffy]

Honey, I will keep everyone here informed as we learn the most from each other.You are thoughtful and appreciated.

Aubbie, the alt and ast are only elevated a little but they don't tell the extent of damage to the liver. For both me and you I believe the decision to treat is best made based on a biopsy. I'll be 57 in May and I've likely had hcv since 1975. I feel good except for occasional joint aches,fatigue and possibly mild depression. Actually I feel quite healthy. But the big question is-How's the liver?-I don't really know. I don't want to find out the hard way. I should have had a biopsy before treating the first time.Now I need to decide everything all over again. But at least I have the opportunity to do so. Best to you,frank

[Aubbie]

THIS SITE is wonderful and I am 52 and I do worry but I am gonna think Postive,. My alt andast are 126 and 74. Is this high? I am learning so much from all of you. MY MD did tell me older isnt good but you gotta try to kill any virus you can. Connection to Care has approved me and I have to get a ok from a pulmonary first, over asthma  and maybe I can take smaller dose. HAS any body heard of smalller doses given.Sometimes I read and worry about side effects because I am older.   Seems like I have a bad immune system. GOOD LUCK TO ALL and thank you!!!

[honey1616]

Rev,,,,,Thanks for posting that!  I am one of the ones that have always had normal enzymes so this is very interesting.  Of course when I was treating I was 48 so that puts me in the older age group so it does make good sense that at younger ages,,,your odds would be so much better.  I remember after I had already started my treatment,,,,I contacted some other drs about my normal enzymes and they both told me that they probably would not even had me treat and just monitored my enzymes.  But where would that have put me when they started to go up and my being over 50.  My chances then would have been slimmer of course.  As always,,,I do know when treating there is the possibility of getting some other kick backs from the treatment but this can be dealt with.  End Stage Liver is just that... the end of the road and you are praying for a liver.  I'm just afraid that there won't be anything new for HVC for another 7 to 10 years and where will that put alot that are not treating now.  In most cases over the 50 mark with maybe at that point,,,,more liver damage.  The problem is too many are not feeling bad so they take this disease with a very nonchalant attitude and want to see if it does damage later on.  Just how lucky does one feel?  Even if you don't achieve SVR from the meds,,,,most cases,,,it will set you back a stage or 2.  That gives you more time for the plan.  Believe me,,,,I know there are many out there that didn't respond/or relapsed but you tried and hopefully the medicine helped your liver.  And its great when we read all the antidotes for helping symptoms so you can live a more pain free life.  That is what gets from day to day but I just wish more would take it the next step and try to get rid of it.  This disease is serious,,,,if you don't believe me and are new here doing research,,,Go over to Janis support group,,,,Was that ever an eye opener for me when I found that spot about a year ago.  Lots of people that have died or dying from this disease.  Really,,,so sad!  I can only pray that the there will be 100% cure for everyone and every geno in my lifetime!  That would make my day!

Frank,,,,I can understand so well about stepping up to take the "poison" only again.  Really a tough call!  Let us know how it goes in July and what you decide!

[cuteus]

like lvdbygod said you need to go for a viral load test to determine if you do have hep c, physical symptoms is not the measuring stick to determine infection. if there is a viral load by a very sensitive PCR test, you have hep c.

Scott; I saw that study just last week, age was the main reason I chose to treat, I have read in other studies of lowering svr chances as we aged, so it just made sense to treat early.

[scruffy]

Thanks Rev, we need to hear all of the info we can even if we don't like it. For myself It's been nearly a year since end of tx and relapse. My head is together enough to consider more seriously the possibility that if necessary I will once again bite the bullet. That is, take the poison pills. Will talk to doc in july and make some decisions. We'll see what we'll see. I very sincerely hope things go well for you and yours. frank

[LvdByGod!]

hi, first you have to find out if you got tested for the "antibodies" for hep c or the virus itself...usually they test you for the antibodies first and then the hep c virus quantitative/qualatative RNA. if you are positive for the actual virus and/or have a viral count then you have "active" hep c virus...

if you only have the antibodies and not the actual virus then that means you probably fought off the disease at some point in time and it is now innactive...but you will need the hep c RNA to detirmin if it is active now.

remember that if you do have this virus treating it may be the most important thing for you to do at this time...also don't forget to get a biopsy to check for liver damage which hep c causes. you can post your results here and we can try to help you with them...

sandi