treatment of Hep C

[sophie345]

Is it possible, after hep c becomes Chronic, they can treat it in a way that it doesn't lead you to death?

[sophie345]

I meant Tylenol, not Advil, soory.

[sophie345]

Hi every one :),

Hope you are enjoying the warm days. For me living in Canada, that means a lot :) It was about time to have some warm sunshine :)
He did blood test about a week ago, and it appeared ALT and AST has decreased considerably but still a bit high.
Why it was high, we don't know. they said it might be because of some pills he used to take and Advil.
He will do another blood test in 5 months I guess.
He is taking pills to improve his liver and also some pills for stomach, as they found sth there that can be treated taking pills, we hope.

At this time of the year he has allergy, but recently, I feel like as he started his new medicens, his allergy became so severe that he can't breath. Now, he did some tests today trying to find out what is going on.

[sophie345]

Hi every body,

Thanks so much for all your support so far :*

Yes, we are so happy and excited about this) He can't believe that he is among those few people. He is now celebrating this :D (we are in different countries for a short while).  

He is not online now Diane, so that I can ask him those questions. Will ask him as soon as he shows up.

and Dave again thanks so so much, I will have a look at this list you provided try to compare his symptoms with those of these illnesses.


Have a great day every one,
Sophie  

[willbb]

Hi Sophie....would just like to say that is great news that your B/F does not have HCV.

Above Specta has given you a very comprehensive list of the different ailments that may cause elevated enzymes. Hopfully his doc can ascertain what is causing this.

Good luck
Will

[spectda]

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/elevated-liver-enzymes/MY00508/DSECTION=causes

"By Mayo Clinic staff
Many diseases and conditions can contribute to elevated liver enzymes. Your doctor determines the specific cause of your elevated liver enzymes by reviewing your medications, your signs and symptoms and, in some cases, other tests and procedures.

More common causes of elevated liver enzymes include:

Certain prescription medications, including statin drugs used to control cholesterol
Drinking alcohol
Heart failure
Hepatitis A
Hepatitis B
Hepatitis C
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Obesity
Over-the-counter pain medications, including acetaminophen (Tylenol, others)
Other causes of elevated liver enzymes may include:

Alcoholic hepatitis (liver inflammation caused by drinking alcohol)
Autoimmune hepatitis (liver inflammation caused by an autoimmune disorder)
Celiac disease (small intestine damage caused by gluten)
Cirrhosis (liver scarring)
Cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection
Dermatomyositis (inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness and skin rash)
Epstein-Barr virus
Gallbladder inflammation (cholecystitis)
Heart attack
Hemochromatosis (too much iron stored in your body)
Hypothyroidism (underactive thyroid)
Liver cancer
Mononucleosis
Muscular dystrophy (inherited disease that causes progressive muscle weakness)
Pancreatitis (pancreas inflammation)
Polymyositis (inflammatory disease that causes muscle weakness)
Toxic hepatitis (liver inflammation caused by drugs or toxins)
Wilson's disease (too much copper stored in your body)"

[spectda]

Great news sophie, no hep c for him. Hi.  Now you need to find out what is causing the elevated enzymes. Everything that causes the liver enzymes to increase is not a serious health risk. Mononucleosis for instance among a long list of other things cold cause elevated enzymes.

Do you know if the enzymes have been elevated for a long time or is that a recent occurrence? Has he been tested for hep b?  Is he seeing the liver specialist or was that the doctor he saw previously.

There are many canadians that may be able to help you find the right doctor to help diagnose his problem on the forum. Trish77 or wilbb might be able to help you.

-Dave

[Trish77]

Fantastic - congratulations to you and your boyfriend.  Possible the first antibody test was a false positive but regardless, the PCR detects no virus and that's great.  The ALT and AST are elevated to be sure so your doctor will be wanting to determine what's causing that but looking to other factors besides HCV.  Wish you and your boyfriend all the best.  Great news!

Trish

[Diane12855]

PCR negative means that they didn't find any virus in his blood, which is also why they couldn't define a genotype. Apparently he has been exposed to the virus in the past and his body was able to fight it off on it's own. He will always have the antibodies in his blood in this case. This happens to around 20% of people who get HCV. What a blessing!!!

The alt ans ast numbers mean that there is still some kind of thing going on with the liver though. Is he a heavy drinker? Is he exposed to lots of chemicals like pesticides? Remember that the liver processes everything we take into our bodies via the mouth, lungs, and skin.

At least you don't have to worry about HCV though.

Diane

[sophie345]

Hi every one,

He just got his results back! PCR negative and genotype not defined. What does it mean? He also has ALT and AST 156 and 97.  If you need more information let me know please. Don't think of any thing else to put here.

Thanks,
Sophie

[sophie345]

Hi dear Diane,

Not really, the problem is that we are still waiting for the test results, we just got to know about it last Friday, we only know about his blood test so far, so he has ALT and AST 156 and 97, which is high. His Dr who is a specialist in hepatitis said that he has chronic hcv. They found antibodies in his blood. Then they ran some more tests, honestly I don know what exactly those tests were, and we need to wait till Friday for test results and donnu how much more for the Dr.. I appreciate every one's comment here very much, and thanks for your concern.

Bests,
sophie

[Diane12855]

You seem to be slightly on the defensive by all the questions we ask you. Please don't be. The answers to the questions will help us be a help to you and your boyfriend. We all had to get the answers for ourselves, and sharing them on this forum helped us understand what was going on in our bodies and how to deal with it.

Tell your boyfriend to ask the doctor for copies of all of his test results. Then you can share them with us and we can answer more of your questions

Diane

[sophie345]

Oh, my bad, I'll keep it in mind, thanx Trish

[Trish77]

Sophie, just a wee note that HPV is Human Papillomavirus.  HCV is Hepatitis C.

[copyman]

The comment that your bf will die in 20-30 yrs is exactly what you would expect from most med students. Or even some old time doctors for that matter.

All I can add to what the others said is to treat with a hepatologist. One that has experience with the new drugs.

Best of luck

[sophie345]

Hi there,

About his operation as a source of his hpv c, well honestly I don't remember what he explained to me! I just remember him saying he was worried about this problem at the time he wanted to do this operation! When he told me about hpv c I was SO SHOCKED, it's only maybe 3 days that we know about this. I will ask him again and post it here (but not earlier than Sat.), I decided to stop talking about hpv c, and reading about this until Friday, that we get the test results. I see that we are all the time reading books and forums and all our conversations focus on hpv c. I made him so tired and sad today by some questions( Now, I feel very bad, I better stop for a while.
He is meeting a specialist and they found antibody in his blood but the specialist also told him that he has chronic hpv c. I don't know really based on what.

Thanks everyone for your responses, they were great help.

Sophie

[Trish77]

To add to the good information you're already getting - if those symptoms you described came shortly after what you think was his exposure, then it's possible he was in the acute phase at that time.  Echo on what Spectda/Dave said that if it's an antibody test only, not until results of that PCR come back will you know if your b/f actually has Hep C.  It's cleared by about 15% or a bit more in the acute phase.  Not great odds but somebody has to be in that 15% so you won't know for sure until that PCR comes back.  Once you have that, you can take next steps based on that.  The other comments contain good information on those steps.

Sterilization practices 4-5 years ago should have been sufficient to prevent this from happening.  You seem to be certain your b/f got this from an operation - just wondering how you know that.  

Good luck to you and your b/f, Sophie.  

Trish

[spectda]

How did his doctor diagnose hep c? If he only had an antibody test he may have cleared the virus on his own. Only a pcr (Polymerase chain reaction) can determine if he has virus in his blood.  

Does your boyfriend have health insurance? If he does have hcv for certain It would be best if he could see a liver specialist (hepatologist) or a gastroenterologist who has a lot of experience with treating and diagnosing hepatitis c. Many health professionals and general practitioners know little about hcv and will often give the patient misinformation.

After 5 years it is very unlikely that your boyfriend has any significant to his liver nor that he will anytime in the near future from hep c. Maintaining a liver friendly lifestyle will also help to reduce the chance of the disease progression (no alcohol, healthy diet, exercise, and weight)

Treatment for hepatitis c has made some huge strides recently and new medications are being developed at a rapid pace. He will very likely be able to treat and eradicate the disease before it ever really marks him.

Most people (not all) do not have symptoms unless their disease has advanced after many many years. Many of us never knew we had it until 20-40 years after being infected.

Best of luck to you both. Maybe your boyfriend would like to join the forum,
Dave

[willbb]

the one thing for modt ..it is very slow moving    

       meant to say  " one thing for most"

[willbb]

Hi there.....for the studying physician to make a blanket statement to you that your b/f will will die in 20- 30 years is totally irresponsible and in a likely hood a absolute false statement. I have had HCV for 35 years and have led a normal life and still have minimal liver damage and very few symptoms from the disease.

If he truly contracted HCV only 4 or 5 years ago ..in all likely hood he would have very minimal liver damage if any at all..

However this is not to say things cannot move faster .however the one thing for modt ..it is very slow moving .taking many years and often decades to do significant damage towars cirrhosis.

He need to find out his genotype and have a biopsy  to ascertain the amount of damage  and then discuss treatment options with his doctor.

New meds today  are having very good success rates and they will be avail .imminently.

It certainly is a shocking diagnosis to receive,however  you should spend some time reasearching HCV and that usually will help to relieve your fears some.

There are many folks on this forum that have been cured or currently doing treatment or waiting to treat.  So there is a wealth of info. here if you need it.

Good luck

Will

[sophie345]

spectda and Diane,

Thanks for your respond. Unfortunately, it's about my bf, who got it 4-5 years ago through an operation. He had some problems like severe head ache, stomach problem, fatigue, depression for almost a year and Doctors were saying that it is because of change in climate!!! We were so exhausted by that, until last week that a doctor diagnosed hpv c, and now we are both so shocked, he did some tests last week to figure out what is his genotype, and number of virus in his blood. we don't know the results. One of his relatives died some months ago of hp C. He is very young, and now both of us are reading about this.  We are both so scared of this illness. I don't know how to cheer him up, he is so shocked!
One of my friends who is studying physician and worked with some hp c patients told me if it is chronic, he will die in 20-30 years, but it seems that she is not right.  

[Diane12855]

Ditto to what Dave says.

Based on your question, you haven't done a whole lot of research yet. I know it is scary to get this diagnosis... we've all been there. Google Hep C, and try to only read what the reputable sites have to say. Unfortunately there are lots of people out there trying to make a dollar on our fear, so if they are trying to sell you something, go to another site. The HCV Advocate has lots of good info. Also the archives here have a lot of great info.

Read, Read, Read,
Diane

[spectda]

About 70-80% of people are now able to be treated successfully for HCV. Your odds of successful treatment depend on the specifics of your condition, including general health, genetics, ethnicity, lifestyle, age and a number of other factors.

Even for those who do not treat successfully or who never treat, the disease often does not progress to to liver failure.

If you tell us more about your situation we may be able to answer more specifically.

Welcome to the forum,
Dave