ENZYMES

[BIGSARGE]

My wife has hepatitis C, she has apparently had it since childhood, only discovered about 15 years ago, she is now 40 WF,

she took the course of interferon about 10yrs ago, with no apparent change in enzyme levels. the levels have never changed since it was discovered.

recently the results of her enzyme test came back, and were normal.

we have not been able to get insurance because of the hep. c.

with the enzymes at normal levels, does this mean the virus is gone, or what?  dont want to get too excited.

[MichaelT]

Using liver enzyme levels to determine what is going on with someone that has hep c is not a reliable way to do things.

One course of action would be to determine if your wife is still infected. A blood test that checks for viral RNA (in this case) is indicated, because she will always show positive with the antibody test. The test is called a PCR test. She might be one of the fortunate 20% whose body successfully rid itself of this virus.

If it turns out that she is still infected, it will be important to determine the condition of the liver, most responsibly by a biopsy.

It is also important to determine what "family" the virus is, or genotype, and how much is present, to decide the details of treatment if you decide to treat at this time.

I hope this is helpful!  God bless!

-Michael

[jimi2u]

Not sure if this is a direct comparison or not but I was denied insurance in 1996. Since that time I have cleared the virus and been tested each year with negative PCRs. My enzymes have remained consitently elavated each year that I was doing the RNA testing. I just was told that I can get insurance again because of having been clear for five years irrespective of my LFT's. I don't  know how high your wife's are ,as mine were only slightly elevated , but if I were you I would find an insurance agent that can connect you with the companies that have Doc's on staff  for underwriting purposes. I was told in the past that most companies don't really do a very good job of analyzing each case, just kind of  "go by the book."  Hope this helps  Jimi

[lackalustre]

are you saying it has to be 5 years that you are clear of the virus before you can get insurance?  we are planning to look into dropping our health policy and maybe getting something different- depending on my PCR in Feb. premiums are killing us.     will no one cover me for 5 years if im clear??  or is there a standard book protocol??

[jimi2u]

Not really sure about book protocols and I am speaking only of life insurance. My experience was this, the company I was with tripled my premium upon diagnosis and when I looked elsewhere I was uninsurable. I tried every year with letters from different GI's to no avail. Finally this year, for some reason and I assumed it was the five year window, I was accepted as standard again .
peace Jimi