hep b & c

[rbs925]

I was recently diagnosed with hep c, no biopsy or treatment yet. my last tests say i am positive for b also, which i don't understand because i got the vaccination for a&b a couple years ago, and at the time i was negative for c.
i am 37yo male, today i will see my primary care and i'm not sure what to ask and if i should push for treatment.
this is what my tests showed:

ALK PHOS 230
AST/GOT   550
ALT/GPT    574

if anyone can decipher these number or has any advice it would be much appreciated, i don't know too much about treatment and i'm not sure what all the numbers mean.
thank you

[alagirl]

the other thing is, do you have any additional test results?  Did you see and are you sure that you have, test results showing that you have hep A and hep B?  I mean, your liver enzymes are elevated, but other things can do that.  I once got terribly elevated liver enzymes because the doctor put me on zocor, a statin medication.Turned out that unbeknownst to me I was terribly allergic to statins and they immediately started to break my liver down.  And my liver enzymes went way up.

So see if you have any other test results specifically addressing the hcv.hcb tests and then post those,  Good Luck.

[rbs925]

thank you

[alagirl]

Do you have any idea when you got c.  I ask because if its within the last six months you may be able to treat acutely, for a shorter period of time.  I'd get right on that portion of it before you run out of time.

[CoWriter]

Instead of getting retested, you can have a viral load test done to confirm that you have them.  If the viral load shows a number then you definitely have it.

Two of your liver enzymes are more than 10 times the normal so something is wrong.  The one thing you didn't mention is whether you have any risk factors.  My guess is that you do, otherwise why would they be testing you for Hep B and C on a regular basis?

Co

[rbs925]

thank you,
i need to get re-tested. i'm going to do that asap, at least i know what questions to ask now and have more info.

[rbs925]

i'm going to bring it up with my doctor..i was told there are some really good specialists i can hook up with, i'm in boston and we have a huge medical presence here so it should work out.
thank you.

[katla]

If your blood test shows you are reactive/positive to HBsAb (Ab=antibodies) that just means you responded successfully to the vaccine. If it shows you're positive/reactive to HBsAg (Ag=antigens), that means you are infected with the virus. If that's the case speak to your doctor and get retested to make sure the result is correct.

Both Hep B and/or C elevate liver enzymes (AST, ALT) which in your case are high.

Hope this helps...good luck.