Aa
i just had blood work for hep c it came back very bad
Hi,I just received a call from my liver dr.he said that my blood results for my hep c were very bad,in fact worse than 2 days ago,because I had the same blood work done at the ER.i am afraid that I am in advanced stage liver failure. What do these tests mean and is it too late for treatment?? My liver is inflamed and skin is turning yellow,and pee is very dark. Please help in anyone knows or has survived this.im 39 yrs old and I'm scared to death.
If you do have hep c it takes normally decades of infection to cause liver damage. Only about 20% of patients infected for over 20 years will go on to develop liver cirrhosis.
I had hep c for 30 years before I was diagnosed with cirrhosis. I was cured of hep c after being infected for 37 years. I am now free of hep c for about 2.5 years but have had cirrhosis for 10 years. I never had any of the symptoms you are describing.
Do you have any idea how or when you became infected? Hep c is a blood borne virus it requires hep c infected blood to enter your blood stream.
Hep B is also blood borne while hep A is a food and water borne virus from contaminated sources it must be ingested.
Both hep A and B may have an acute phase where those newly infected will experience symptoms like yours. This does not happen very often with hep c.
I had hep c for 30 years before I was diagnosed with cirrhosis. I was cured of hep c after being infected for 37 years. I am now free of hep c for about 2.5 years but have had cirrhosis for 10 years. I never had any of the symptoms you are describing.
Do you have any idea how or when you became infected? Hep c is a blood borne virus it requires hep c infected blood to enter your blood stream.
Hep B is also blood borne while hep A is a food and water borne virus from contaminated sources it must be ingested.
Both hep A and B may have an acute phase where those newly infected will experience symptoms like yours. This does not happen very often with hep c.
Hi Ed
Was this the test for hep c antibodies or the HCV RNA by PCR test that tests for the hep c virus itself? If it was the HCV RNA test and the result was your viral load that test result varies all the time. Having a viral load simply means you have hep c. There would be no reason to repeat this test unless you are being treated for hep c to monitor progress. Hep c viral load has nothing to do with severity of illness.
Did you have a liver enzyme panel? This looks for your liver enzyme levels with names like ALT and AST among others also your bilirubin levels should be on the liver panel. If bilirubin is elevated this can cause jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).
Somehow I am thinking this test was a liver panel. Do you know what tests you had and your exact results? Many of us have online access to our test results. I can see mine on a web site called MyChart. If you don’t have this you can request your doctors office to provide copies. Most of us like to track our tests to better understand what is going on and to be a partner with our doctors in our care.
Are you sure it was hep c not Hepatitis A or B? Although people initially infected with hep c may have an acute period with symptoms the majority do not. This is why hep c is called a silent illness as the majority of people don't realize they are infected and may have no idea when they became infected.
If it is hep c there are medicines available for about 4 years now that can cure hep c for most people about 98%. Also about 25% of people newly infected with hep c can beat the virus on their own with no medicine needed.
Whatever is going on I am sure your doctors will do their best to help.
Best of luck
Was this the test for hep c antibodies or the HCV RNA by PCR test that tests for the hep c virus itself? If it was the HCV RNA test and the result was your viral load that test result varies all the time. Having a viral load simply means you have hep c. There would be no reason to repeat this test unless you are being treated for hep c to monitor progress. Hep c viral load has nothing to do with severity of illness.
Did you have a liver enzyme panel? This looks for your liver enzyme levels with names like ALT and AST among others also your bilirubin levels should be on the liver panel. If bilirubin is elevated this can cause jaundice (yellowing of the skin and eyes).
Somehow I am thinking this test was a liver panel. Do you know what tests you had and your exact results? Many of us have online access to our test results. I can see mine on a web site called MyChart. If you don’t have this you can request your doctors office to provide copies. Most of us like to track our tests to better understand what is going on and to be a partner with our doctors in our care.
Are you sure it was hep c not Hepatitis A or B? Although people initially infected with hep c may have an acute period with symptoms the majority do not. This is why hep c is called a silent illness as the majority of people don't realize they are infected and may have no idea when they became infected.
If it is hep c there are medicines available for about 4 years now that can cure hep c for most people about 98%. Also about 25% of people newly infected with hep c can beat the virus on their own with no medicine needed.
Whatever is going on I am sure your doctors will do their best to help.
Best of luck
2 Comments
I'm not sure the results but I'm sure there was a liver panel and viral load test either way ill find out tomorrow and let you know. And I will find out my exact results.then mabey u can answer a few questions for me.thank you for your fast responses
Yes please let us know which tests you have had and your results and include the reference ranges if possible these vary between labs.
Just any out of normal tests along with your ALT, AST, bilirubin would be helpful and viral load test and name of the test should do it.
You viral load likely has 2 numbers that are really the same number expressed in 2 different ways one in normal counting numbers and the other is the same number expressed as a logarithm.
My result before I treated was:
HCV RNA RT-PCR, QT IU/mL 2065760
HCV Log 10 IU/mL 6.315
So I had over 2 million copies of the virus per mL as my viral load before I was cured back in May 2015
Just any out of normal tests along with your ALT, AST, bilirubin would be helpful and viral load test and name of the test should do it.
You viral load likely has 2 numbers that are really the same number expressed in 2 different ways one in normal counting numbers and the other is the same number expressed as a logarithm.
My result before I treated was:
HCV RNA RT-PCR, QT IU/mL 2065760
HCV Log 10 IU/mL 6.315
So I had over 2 million copies of the virus per mL as my viral load before I was cured back in May 2015
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