recently diagnosed

[ginarenae1024]

I recently tested positive for hep c. The results say anti-HCV positive and anti-HCV signal/cutoff 22.1. I researched what the 22.1 means and couldn't find anything. Does anyone know what this number means?

[ceanothus]

That question is really hard to answer. There are almost always some side effects but for many people, probably the majority, they are not that bad. For some unlucky ones they can be very bad indeed. There is no way to know in advance which group you will be in, although by purely anecdotal evidence it seems that treatment is easier if you are younger, if your liver has not yet suffered very much damage from the virus, and if you don't have other medical issues that complicate treatment. There are a number of different virus genotypes out there and that will affect which drugs you need to take and how long you need to take them, and the treatment meds are changing pretty rapidly these days. A new kind is being studied that offers better success rates than ever with fewer side effects than others, and I think it might be approved within a year (although one can never be sure until it happens). I'd suggest reading up at http://hcvadvocate.org and here. Just remember when reading here that the people who have a fairly easy time with tx (treatment) are not usually posting on this site - we get mostly those who are having a hard time and are looking for help in dealing with it.

[ginarenae1024]

Thank you so much, I've been looking online all day trying to find out what that means lol. Also, this is a pretty vague question, but I'm just curious, are the a lot of negative side affects to the general medication used for hep c? I haven't started any mess yet but just curious.

[ceanothus]

No, the cutoff number is just used to distinguish between small antibody reactions that might be false positives, and stronger reactions that are clearly positive. There aren't really any different degrees of infection, but as Will said, there are a number of people (15-20%) whose bodies can successfully fight off the initial infection and they only carry the antibodies but not the virus, so further testing is needed to see whether you actually have the virus or not. This next test will measure the actual quantity of viral particle in your blood, but I'll tell you in advance - that number also doesn't indicate the severity of your infection, and is only really useful in measuring your response to therapy once you start treating. Good luck!

[ginarenae1024]

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[ginarenae1024]

thank you! so the number isn't any type of degree o the disease?

[willbb]

The s/co  being at 22 means you have tested positive (reactive) for Hep C.

Further blood testing must now be ordered by you physician  ( a HCV/RNA by PCR)  to ascertain whether or not you have active HCV.

There is a possibility you have been exposed to the virus and your own immune system has fought it off (in which case you will always test pos. for the antibodies which are neither harmful nor contagious) or as I mentioned above you do have HCV.

There are many sites about HCV and the testing . Here is one you may want to go over while waiting

http://www.aafp.org/afp/1999/0101/p79.html

Good luck and welcome
Will