Hepatitis C question.?

Question

During routine blood work last week my Hepatitis C test came back positive. The doctor showed me that a 1 or less is negative and mine came back 1.1 which is wierd. He said that all of my liver tests came back totally normal and since I have no tatoos, never used drugs, etc... he wants me to re-test. He said errors happen and my test is very low. All other tests like my white blood count, etc.... were fine. I don't know what to make of all of this.
Anybody have an idea?

Thank you.

Answer 1

I would have you doctor run a Hepatitis C viral RNA test. It can be either quantitative or qualitative - doesn't really matter. This will test for the actual presence of the virus. I suspect that he ran the Hepatitis C antibody test. This just tests your blood for antibodies to the virus and can turn up false positives especially if you have no risk factors. If you have any doubt, ask to be referred to either a Gastroenterologist or Hepatologist.

Answer 2

40% of people with chronic, active hep c have liver enzymes in the normal range, which is why so many people don't find out they're HCV positive. Also, white blood cell counts are not affected. So those are unreliable indications of whether or not someone may be infected.
I would retest, then if the retest comes back reactive or positive, I would then suggest a HCV PCR RNA (viral load test). If that comes back showing any number of viral particles (shown in IU's ), then that means you have hep c. If that's the case, then you will need to be vaccinated to protect yourself against Hep A or B (only if you don't already have the antibodies). You don't want a double attack on your liver.
There is antiviral treatment that has a 50-80% chance of clearing the virus, depending on your genotype (another type of blood test), but we're getting ahead of ourselves here.
One last thing, while the medical community is only just beginning to use the "cure" word, there are many people who have cleared this disease through the interferon treatment. If someone has maintained an undetectable viral load for more than one year post treatment, the chances of the virus returning are less than 2% UNLESS they are re-exposed to risk factors. Best wishes to you.

Answer 3

Your liver panel can look fine and you can still have hepatitis c.

This is why so many folks out there with symptoms go un-diagnosed because with the natural occurance of HCV, your ALT and AST levels can appear normal, leaving the doctor not to test further.

I suffered most of my life with a myraid of symptoms and it wasn't until I was 34 that they found the problem.

My alt and ast levels almost always appeared normal. There were a few times where they may have been elevated and a bad tooth was to blame (infetion), however, I probably wouldn't of had bad teeth had I not had the HCV.

(HCV only needs the liver to produce) but the virus is found in all tissues, including the bones, joints, brain, skin and other internal organs.

There are many symptoms of HCV.

Now, what confuses me is that the doctor said that you were a 1.1. This is a term mostly used to describe liver damages (stages and grades) of liver damage.

Now, if your talking about a "log", then your viral "log" is 1.1 million copies per m/l of blood tested.

I do hope and pray your NEGATIVE. HCV sucks- however, there is hope! Antiviral chemotherapy does not always work and your genotype will indicate how long treatment is, but the treatment has cured many such as myself. There is no virons detectable. I am post 5 years treatment and on the go all the time, verses that of my 18 hour "sleep days", prior to treatment.

On another note, I'm not totally 100% correct, but other virons can cause a false positive-usually diseases that are under the same viral family as HCV, such as Epstein Barr, Mono or Chronic Mono, Chicken Pox, Yellow and Dengue fevers, herpe's and shingles. (all are Flaviforadae *not sure of spelling)

Last, but not least-do not worry about HCV and spreading it to others via sexual intercourse, (you should always respect your body and wear protection) but if your married or in a long term relationship and are not sexually active with anyone else-HCV corpuscles that are found in body fluids (semen and vaginal fluids) are NOT transmittalbe! Please do not let anyone else tell you otherwise, infact, I know my HCV that well, you can ask the doctor (if the worst has been found you have HCV). HCV is only a blood to blood infection.

Good luck!

Answer 4

You can have a normal white blood cell count and still be infected. This disease is transferred blood to blood.And yes it is true that if you have had a steady sexual partner and are monogamous the chances of contracting hep c are minimal.
However do not be fooled by other responses the risk is still there especially if you are careless and unsafe i.e. ( having intercourse while the female is menstruating , engaging in rough intercourse , etc. ).It is also suggested that people with hep c don't share toothbrushes or razors with others in the same household as there may be traces of blood on these items.Just some FYI for you from a hep c positive person!

Answer 5

well if he said that it could have been an error then just retest and don;t worry until you are given reason to. and besides worse case hepatitis is controlable and liveable. My mom contracted hepatitis c when she was young and had a histerectemy done (she got a blood transfusion before they were testing for hepatitis) and she underwent treatment and now her hepatitis is there but it is not progressing and she is doing just fine. But really since the test was so low and the doctor even told you it could be a mistake i wouldn;t worry too much about it just yet- just make sure you do the retest

Answer 6

giggling.willow hit it pretty good, with one area I want to correct. She is not "cured" - her disease is in remission. She would not be able to donate blood just due to the fact that her HCV (Hep C Virus) was once chronic. Remission is when less than fifty copies of HCV are found in a ml of blood, mostly because that is as low as they can test for reliable results. Her HCV may never become active again (I hope.), but it could. She's given you the basics, there are support sites, and former Surgeon General Koop has a site which will give you lots more info on this disease.

Answer 7

Your result is so close to normal that I wouldn't worry about it. If you had an infection like Hep. C, your white blood count would be high, you'd have symptoms, and your liver values would be out of whack. It's either an error or 1.1 is normal for you. It's just like some people have natural temps of 99.6 and every time they go to the Dr., the Dr. says they have a fever.

Answer 8

Pray about it and place it in the Lord's hands. My cousin has Hepatitis C and had to go through treatments, but she's doing just fine. She has regular check ups and her white count is within normal range. It can be scary, but just trust in the Lord.

Answer 9

Hepatitis C can be treated with antiviral medicines designed to stop the virus from multiplying inside the body and prevent liver damage.
Two widely used antiviral medications are interferon and ribavirin.
There are six different strains of hepatitis C, known as genotypes, and some genotypes respond better to treatment than others.

You can know more other ways to treat liver diseases, such as suitable diet, natural measures .you can refer to here to understand more:http://adola.net/go/fattyliver-bible/

Hope this useful!