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Heppers Who Have Cleared Virus Spontaneously
I got hepc a long time ago, and did nothing about it. I did not know I had cleared it spontaneously until recently when I decided to do something about fatigue, brain fog, and aches,& my blood work came back virus not detected & other liver results ok. My question is to those heppers who have cleared the virus spontaneously w/their own immune system: how do you feel now? I feel the same way I did when I had hepc, no difference, same sx: tired, brain dead, body aches, just like when I had the virus. Do others feel this way? What have you done to feel better, healthier? I do great some days, but other days, I'm wiped out esp if I exercise. Any advice on how to heal myself, thank you.
Great news your PCR is NR ! ! You were one of the 15-20% who cleared by themselves ! !
There are different indicators of liver damage depending , as i understand it ... good idea to confirm your liver condition first, the complaints you voice could be a result of liver damage or ??? At least after checking it you will be assured of your liver's status ...
Then go from there to find out what's causing your fatigue etc .. There certainly are other issue's that can cause your complaints .. imo
If no HCV a few drinks per day seems to be accepted by the medical community as good for the heart ..
I am really missing a few glasses of wine with my dinner ....
I'm still in Tx ... P/R ( Peg/Riba ) .. wk 36 of 48 ? or possibly 60 ? ..
I had absolutely no effects of HCV before Tx ( that I noticed ) .... I truly had no idea i was infected .. after getting a positive test result, i quit drinking , 3 years before starting Tx.
Now in Tx, I'm feeling the Sx of Tx ... one day at a time ...
Good health ! Aaron
There are different indicators of liver damage depending , as i understand it ... good idea to confirm your liver condition first, the complaints you voice could be a result of liver damage or ??? At least after checking it you will be assured of your liver's status ...
Then go from there to find out what's causing your fatigue etc .. There certainly are other issue's that can cause your complaints .. imo
If no HCV a few drinks per day seems to be accepted by the medical community as good for the heart ..
I am really missing a few glasses of wine with my dinner ....
I'm still in Tx ... P/R ( Peg/Riba ) .. wk 36 of 48 ? or possibly 60 ? ..
I had absolutely no effects of HCV before Tx ( that I noticed ) .... I truly had no idea i was infected .. after getting a positive test result, i quit drinking , 3 years before starting Tx.
Now in Tx, I'm feeling the Sx of Tx ... one day at a time ...
Good health ! Aaron
Hi, something happened to me "permanently then" from the 70s hepc exposure, as I've always felt hepc-like, never a "break" from hepc-like flu-like sx of fatigue, brain fog, muscles aches, not one day, not one hour. I could see if I had a "period" of feeling great after the 70s, but never, but the baffling part is that this "hep-like" sx always a "part of me". In fact, I've never known a "normal" day since the day I contracted hepc.Sigh.
GM Aaron,The anti-body is positive, PCR came back NR, and had an ultrasound of liver and stomach areas, was normal. I'd like to have a bx, but gastroent does not see any reason to do that, but I'm planning on writing her a letter due to the fact that I would like to definitively know the shape of my liver. I went through a few decades of partying as a young person, then I totally quit drinking a few months ago, but was not a heavy drinker last 2 decades, but still drank some: a glass of wine 1-2 wk, and lately I notice I don't feel that "twinge" I used to feel in liver next day after drinking. So, as you can imagine, I definitely have some concerns about the shape of my liver. Unlike you, I have ALWAYS felt the effects of hcv - they have never left me, so you can imagine my surprise when I'm told I dont have the virus--esp since I never did anything special to clear up the virus. Thanks for the tip on checking for ammonia levels, I want to ask gastroent about that, so that can cause brain fog eh? Can ammonia levels be treated? Possibly my sx have morphed from hcv to something else, if it did happen that way, it's been a "smooth transition", like I said I still feel as if I have hepc & there's been no period of not feeling this way - that's the baffling thing to me. I'm sure I compromised my immune system in some fashion from the disease. So you felt fine for decades, unbelievable, you were truly blessed until recently after tx, I"ve never really felt good at all. I've read many posts on here about feeling worse about tx, that really *****, I'm sorry. What drugs did you tx? Was your virus cleared? I'm hoping to reverse the effects of the hepc on my body somehow, I would like to find out what others have done to improve brain fog, tiredness, muscle aches. I appreciate your response, and good luck to you as well.
Use the search engine at the top of the page to research discussions on 'occult virus'. 85-90% of people who become serum undetectable (whether clearing on their own or with IFN) still show +&- strand HCV RNA elsewhere in their body. If you truly feel HCV is a factor in your health problems, this could be an avenue worth pursuing.
However my understanding is that after aprox. 8 years serum UND, even these remnants can disappear.
However my understanding is that after aprox. 8 years serum UND, even these remnants can disappear.
hepc in the 70s and definitely know that my present sx are in direct relation to exposure to hepc so many years"
If you only had hcv for less than six months (which is when you can clear it) then no this has nothing to do with hcv at all
If you only had hcv for less than six months (which is when you can clear it) then no this has nothing to do with hcv at all
So you had a Recent - RNA - PCR/viral load test done and it came back Undetected & you had your liver tested using Fibrosure or Fibroscan or a Biopsy or Ultrasound or any of the other blood tests for Any liver impairment ... and it is definitely healthy , no Fibrosis or Cirrhosis ? ALT/AST CBC tests are not enough to know liver condition ..
You didn't say which tests you did to know your liver was healthy ?
As Hector said, the Acute phase usually does clear in apx. a year .. if not ... it's classified as Chronic .. no longer Acute ... so it's not very likely that you would have these complaints as a result of HCV infection , as you cleared it long ago .
Consider consulting with your GP or GI or Hepatologist ... or if the Tests listed above were Not done .. maybe you want to double check if in fact your liver Really is in good shape ..
Some folks may have normal ALT/AST but still be infected ...
If you ran only the Anti Body test and it came back Neg ..
That would be a false negative, as we will Always Test Positive for Antibody's for rest of our lives .. If you had a PCR and it came back Undetected ..
Great ! Your truly blessed to have cleared the virus yourself !
Once it's gone .. it's gone and ... any damage it can do is gone with it ..
In fact many folks have some liver regeneration & reversing of liver damage caused by this virus ... after beating the virus
The complaints you describe are indicative of HCV ... And Many other ailments , so in your case would almost certainly would be from some other ailment ...
It took almost 35 yrs before I felt Any of the effects of this virus ... I didn't know / had No Idea I was HCV positive ... until a general checkup , in 2008 at 51 yrs old ...
I didn't have Any effects, Plenty of energy, clear thinking etc etc ... until I started Tx 36 weeks ago ..
I was, like you , definitely exposed in the mid 70's...
High ammonia levels will also cause brain fog .. so you might want to have your Ammonia levels checked ...
Good luck !
You didn't say which tests you did to know your liver was healthy ?
As Hector said, the Acute phase usually does clear in apx. a year .. if not ... it's classified as Chronic .. no longer Acute ... so it's not very likely that you would have these complaints as a result of HCV infection , as you cleared it long ago .
Consider consulting with your GP or GI or Hepatologist ... or if the Tests listed above were Not done .. maybe you want to double check if in fact your liver Really is in good shape ..
Some folks may have normal ALT/AST but still be infected ...
If you ran only the Anti Body test and it came back Neg ..
That would be a false negative, as we will Always Test Positive for Antibody's for rest of our lives .. If you had a PCR and it came back Undetected ..
Great ! Your truly blessed to have cleared the virus yourself !
Once it's gone .. it's gone and ... any damage it can do is gone with it ..
In fact many folks have some liver regeneration & reversing of liver damage caused by this virus ... after beating the virus
The complaints you describe are indicative of HCV ... And Many other ailments , so in your case would almost certainly would be from some other ailment ...
It took almost 35 yrs before I felt Any of the effects of this virus ... I didn't know / had No Idea I was HCV positive ... until a general checkup , in 2008 at 51 yrs old ...
I didn't have Any effects, Plenty of energy, clear thinking etc etc ... until I started Tx 36 weeks ago ..
I was, like you , definitely exposed in the mid 70's...
High ammonia levels will also cause brain fog .. so you might want to have your Ammonia levels checked ...
Good luck !
Hi, thanks for your response - Yes I know I was exposed, definitely had hepc in the 70s and definitely know that my present sx are in direct relation to exposure to hepc so many years ago. I was not aware that the spontaneous clearing of hepc occurs with the 1st year of exposure, I have no idea when I cleared this, so thx for that info. In fact, in the 70s, I would go to the drs and they were not even aware of hepc back then, so it's been just lately 2008 til now that I know for sure I had hepc and cleared it with my immune system. B/c my immune system did such a great job, I got left with a mess I can tell you that much - I'd like to know how to get my energy back. That's my number 1 complaint, fatigue, no energy from clearing this illness. Any suggestions from those that are now clear of the virus, how to get my energy back, please help, anyone.
If you had a HCV RNA PCR blood test and it showed no detectable virus then you don't have hepatitis C. When you say "I got hepc a long time ago" you mean you were exposed to HCV a long time ago, and had symptoms of acute hepatitis C, but you never developed chronic hepatitis C. This was because your body was able to fight off the virus. So I guess you know you were expose because you have the anti-HCV antibodies and you had detectable virus during the acute phase?
The acute phase only last for 6 months after exposure. The spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C usually occurs within the first year of exposure.
Many illness cause " tired, brain dead, body aches" so in order to find out what is causing these symptoms you need to go to your general practioner and have she/he diagnose you.
Good luck to you.
Hector
The acute phase only last for 6 months after exposure. The spontaneous clearance of hepatitis C usually occurs within the first year of exposure.
Many illness cause " tired, brain dead, body aches" so in order to find out what is causing these symptoms you need to go to your general practioner and have she/he diagnose you.
Good luck to you.
Hector
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