has that showed up in my tests. I went to the Doctor last Friday, I had a liver blood test done, because my liver has been hurting.. Today my Doctor called me and informed me, i have Hepatitis C.. What do i expect. I have not had sex in 10 years.. Not used intervienous drugs since 1967. I'm 60. Please help. Explain to me what will happen next. I must go to my Doctor again on Tuesday. Could I have liver cancer or cirrhosis instead? Or is the Blood test accurate?
What causes Hepatitis C? Please give serious answers.. I've had many blood test ran, for many years.. Never
Your 'liver blood test' is called a liver panel.
You only need to inject ONE time to contract HCV...1967? yes that could be it..
Hepatitis C is a 3-5% transmission sexually so unless you are into very rough sex that is not likely.
The blood transfusion was after 1992 so that is an unlikely way to get it BUT the blood could have been infected..not likely though.
Could you have liver cancer or cirrhosis instead? I sure hope not. The blood tests only shows that you have HCV it doesn't tell you if you have cancer or cirrhosis.
Cancer is detected with an ultrasound and cirrhosis is detected with a biopsy.
Good luck with your upcoming lab tests.
They should suggest a biopsy,
genotype,
Viral Load to determine IF you need treatment (that would be the biopsy)
Geotype tells you how long the treatment would be.
Genotypes 1a,1b are 48 weeks
Genotypes 2 and 3 are easier to treat and only require 48 weeks of treatment.
The viral load will tell you how much of the virus you are carrring.
No one test tells it all..you need all of them along with your liver panel tests for the doctor to make a correct evaluation.
Reply:Hepatitis C is a blood-borne infectious disease that is caused by Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infecting the liver. The infection can cause liver inflammation (hepatitis) that is often asymptomatic, but ensuing chronic hepatitis can result later in cirrhosis (fibrotic scarring of the liver) and liver cancer.
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. No vaccine against hepatitis C is available. The symptoms of infection can be medically managed, and a proportion of patients can be cleared of the virus by a long course of anti-viral medicines. Although early medical intervention is helpful, people with HCV infection often experience mild symptoms, and consequently do not seek treatment. An estimated 150-200 million people worldwide are infected with hepatitis C.
The hepatitis C virus is one of six known hepatitis viruses: A, B, C, D, E, G.
Acute Hepatitis C
Acute hepatitis C refers to the first 6 months after infection with HCV. Between 60% to 70% of people infected develop no symptoms during the acute phase. In the minority of patients who experience acute phase symptoms, they are generally mild and nonspecific, and rarely lead to a specific diagnosis of hepatitis C. Symptoms of acute hepatitis C infection include decreased appetite, fatigue, abdominal pain, jaundice, itching, and flu-like symptoms.
The hepatitis C virus is usually detectable in the blood within one to three weeks after infection, and antibodies to the virus are generally detectable within 3 to 12 weeks. Approximately 15-40% of persons infected with HCV clear the virus from their bodies during the acute phase as shown by normalization in liver function tests (LFTs) such as alanine transaminase (ALT) %26amp; aspartate transaminase (AST) normalization, as well as plasma HCV-RNA clearance (this is known as spontaneous viral clearance). The remaining 60-85% of patients infected with HCV develop chronic hepatitis C, i.e., infection lasting more than 6 months.
Previous practice was to not treat acute infections to see if the person would spontaneously clear; recent studies have shown that treatment during the acute phase of genotype 1 infections has a greater than 90% success rate with half the treatment time required for chronic infections, but that the majority of acute hepatitis C is cleared.
Chronic Hepatitis C
Chronic hepatitis C is defined as infection with the hepatitis C virus persisting for more than six months. Clinically, it is often asymptomatic (without symptoms) and it is mostly discovered accidentally.
The natural course of chronic hepatitis C varies considerably from one person to another. Virtually all people infected with HCV have evidence of inflammation on liver biopsy, however, the rate of progression of liver scarring (fibrosis) shows significant variability among individuals. Recent data suggests that among untreated patients, roughly one-third progress to liver cirrhosis in less than 20 years. Another third progress to cirrhosis within 30 years. The remainder of patients appear to progress so slowly that they are unlikely to develop cirrhosis within their lifetimes. Factors that have been reported to influence the rate of HCV disease progression include age (increasing age associated with more rapid progression), gender (males have more rapid disease progression than females), alcohol consumption (associated with an increased rate of disease progression), HIV coinfection (associated with a markedly increased rate of disease progression), and fatty liver (the presence of fat in liver cells has been associated with an increased rate of disease progression).
Symptoms specifically suggestive of liver disease are typically absent until substantial scarring of the liver has occurred. However, hepatitis C is a systemic disease and patients may experience a wide spectrum of clinical manifestations ranging from an absence of symptoms to a more symptomatic illness prior to the development of advanced liver disease. Generalized signs and symptoms associated with chronic hepatitis C include fatigue, marked weight loss, flu-like symptoms, muscle pain, joint pain, intermittent low-grade fevers, itching, sleep disturbances, abdominal pain (especially in the right upper quadrant), appetite changes, nausea, diarrhea, dyspepsia, cognitive changes, depression, headaches, and mood swings.
Once chronic hepatitis C has progressed to cirrhosis, signs and symptoms may appear that are generally caused by either decreased liver function or increased pressure in the liver circulation, a condition known as portal hypertension. Possible signs and symptoms of liver cirrhosis include ascites (accumulation of fluid in the abdomen), bruising and bleeding tendency, bone pain, varices (enlarged veins, especially in the stomach and esophagus), fatty stools (steatorrhea), jaundice, and a syndrome of cognitive impairment known as hepatic encephalopathy.
Liver function tests show variable elevation of ALAT, AST and GGTP and periodically they might show normal results. Usually prothrombin and albumin results are normal. The level of elevation of liver tests do not correlate well with the amount of liver injury on biopsy. Viral genotype and viral load also do not correlate with the amount of liver injury. Liver biopsy is the best test to determine the amount of scarring and inflammation. Radiographic studies such as ultrasound or CT scan do not show liver injury until it is fairly advanced.
Chronic hepatitis C, more than other forms of hepatitis, is diagnosed because of extrahepatic manifestations associated with the presence of HCV such as thyroiditis (inflammation of the thyroid) with hyperthyreosis or hypothyreosis, porphyria cutanea tarda, cryoglobulinemia (a form of vasculitis)[13] and glomerulonephritis (inflammation of the kidney), specifically membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN). Hepatitis C is also associated with sicca syndrome, thrombocytopenia, lichen planus, diabetes mellitus and with B-cell lymphoproliferative disorders.
The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is transmitted by blood-to-blood contact. In developed countries, it is estimated that 90% of persons with chronic HCV infection were infected through transfusion of unscreened blood or blood products or via injecting drug use or by inhalational drug use. In developing countries, the primary sources of HCV infection are unsterilized injection equipment and infusion of inadequately screened blood and blood products.
Although injection drug use and receipt of infected blood/blood products are the most common routes of HCV infection, any practice, activity, or situation that involves blood-to-blood exposure can potentially be a source of HCV infection. The virus may be sexually transmitted, although this is rare, and usually only occurs when an STD (like HIV) is also present and makes blood contact more likely.
Methods of transmission
Several activities and practices have been identified as potential sources of exposure to the hepatitis C virus. Anyone who may have been exposed to HCV through one or more of these routes should be screened for hepatitis C.
Injection drug use
Those who currently use or have used drug injection as their delivery route for illicit drugs are at increased risk for getting hepatitis C because they may be sharing needles or other drug paraphernalia (includes cookers, cotton, spoons, water, etc.), which may be contaminated with HCV-infected blood. An estimated 60% to 80% of all IV drug users in the United States have been infected with HCV. Harm reduction strategies are encouraged in many countries to reduce the spread of hepatitis C, through education, provision of clean needles and syringes, and safer injecting techniques.
Drug use by nasal inhalation (Drugs which are "snorted")
Researchers have suggested that the transmission of HCV may be possible through the nasal inhalation (insuffulation) of illegal drugs such as cocaine and crystal methamphetamine when straws (containing even trace amounts of mucus and blood) are shared among users.
Blood products
Blood transfusion, blood products, or organ transplantation prior to implementation of HCV screening (in the U.S., this would refer to procedures prior to 1992) is a decreasing risk factor for hepatitis C.
The virus was first isolated in 1989 and reliable tests to screen for the virus were not available until 1992. Therefore, those who received blood or blood products prior to the implementation of screening the blood supply for HCV may have been exposed to the virus. Blood products include clotting factors (taken by hemophiliacs), immunoglobulin, Rhogam, platelets, and plasma. In 2001, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that the risk of HCV infection from a unit of transfused blood in the United States is less than one per million transfused units.
Iatrogenic medical or dental exposure
People can be exposed to HCV via inadequately or improperly sterilized medical or dental equipment. Equipment that may harbor contaminated blood if improperly sterilized includes needles or syringes, hemodialysis equipment, oral hygiene instruments, and jet air guns, etc. Scrupulous use of appropriate sterilization techniques and proper disposal of used equipment can reduce the risk of iatrogenic exposure to HCV to virtually zero.
Occupational exposure to blood
Medical and dental personnel, first responders (e.g., firefighters, paramedics, emergency medical technicians, law enforcement officers), and military combat personnel can be exposed to HCV through accidental exposure to blood through accidental needlesticks or blood spatter to the eyes or open wounds. Universal precautions to protect against such accidental exposures significantly reduce the risk of exposure to HCV.
Recreational exposure to blood
Contact sports and other activities, such as "slam dancing" that may r
Reply:You could have had hcv since the very first time you ever shared drugs. A blood transfusion also is a risk factor for hcv.
A person does not acquire HCV through sexual intercourse UNLESS there was an exchange in blood.
HCV corpuscles found in all bodily fluids except blood are NOT contagious!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
BLOOD TO BLOOD TO BLOOD TO BLOOD TO BLOOD ONLY!!!!!
You might find after thinking about your medical health you have had many symptoms of HCV!!! HCV is NEVER without symptoms- EVER. HCV has been misdiagnosed in almost all who have the disease. HCV has over 150 extrahepatic or bi-directional diseases and symptoms.
The test is most likely correct. If he tested your AFP markers and they are normal you do not have cancer, although some who's markers are high also do not have cancer.
ALT and AST levels can remain in normal limits and a person can still have chronic hcv infection.
As always, the degree of liver damage is not always concurrent with symptoms and vice versa. You can have minimal scarring with a few symptoms and you can have little fibrosis with extreme symptoms.
Many heppers have no clue how they got HCV infection. It can be something as minimal as going to the dentist or as extreme as drug use and blood tranfusions. The blood supply has been relatively safe since 1995. So no telling how you got it, whats important is getting rid of it! (antiviral chemotherapy is your only option, other than doing nothing).
Reply:You will need to connect with a medical authority on this one. I have fought against getting hep shots, not only for myself, but my wife and my 3 sons. Every health department I have asked (Plus the Army and the VA) state that it is a liver disease, spread by "body fluids" (as in having sex, being spit upon, getting shots, blood tests, dental work, etc.)
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/hepatit...
States that:
In general, you get hepatitis C by coming in contact with blood contaminated with the virus. Most people with hepatitis C became infected through blood transfusions received before 1992, the year improved blood-screening tests became available.
You can also get the virus by injecting drugs with contaminated needles and, less commonly, from contaminated needles used in tattooing and body piercing. Needle exchange programs, which increase the availability of sterile needles, are helping to reduce the risk of hepatitis C, HIV and other blood-borne diseases.
A small number of babies born to mothers with hepatitis C acquire the infection during childbirth. Mother-to-infant transmission rates are higher among women infected with both hepatitis C and HIV. Talk with your doctor about these risks before becoming pregnant.
In rare cases, hepatitis C may be transmitted sexually. And in many people infected with hepatitis C, no risk factor can be identified.
From this website:
http://familydoctor.org/online/famdocen/...
What is hepatitis?
Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. Inflammation causes soreness and swelling. Hepatitis can be caused by many things. Lack of blood supply to the liver, poison, autoimmune disorders, an injury to the liver, and taking some medicines can cause hepatitis. However, hepatitis is most commonly caused by a virus.
There are 2 main kinds of hepatitis, acute hepatitis and chronic hepatitis. When a person has hepatitis, the liver may become inflamed very suddenly. This is called acute hepatitis. If you have acute hepatitis, you might have nausea, vomiting, fever and body aches. Or you may not have any symptoms. Most people get over the acute inflammation in a few days or a few weeks. Sometimes, however, the inflammation doesn't go away. When the inflammation doesn't go away, the person has chronic hepatitis.
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How does hepatitis affect the liver?
The liver breaks down waste products in your blood. When the liver is inflamed, it doesn't do a good job of getting rid of waste products. One waste product in the blood, called bilirubin (say "billy-roo-bin"), begins to build up in the blood and tissues when the liver isn't working right. The bilirubin makes the skin of a person with hepatitis turn a yellow-orange color. This is called jaundice (say "john-dis"). Bilirubin and other waste products may also cause itching, nausea, fever and body aches.
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What is hepatitis C?
There are 3 viruses that cause hepatitis. Each hepatitis virus is named with a letter of the alphabet: hepatitis A, hepatitis B and hepatitis C. Hepatitis C is usually spread through contact with blood products, like accidentally being stuck with a dirty (used) needle, using IV drugs and sharing needles, or getting a blood transfusion before 1992. Most people don't feel sick when they are first infected with hepatitis C. Instead, the virus stays in their liver and causes chronic liver inflammation.
Most people who are infected with hepatitis C don't have any symptoms for years. However, hepatitis C is a chronic illness (it doesn't go away). If you have hepatitis C, you need to be watched carefully by a doctor because it can lead to cirrhosis (a liver disease) and liver cancer.
Reply:The only method of transmission that I know of is intravenous needles, sex and tattoos. Unless you donate blood, it is unlikely that you would have ever been tested for hepatitis until you start showing symptoms. Even testing blood for Hep C has not been going on that long (5-8 years?).
Reply:The test for the Hep C virus is pretty accurate, and the lab should have run an additional test for confirmation of that. Hep C is spread through blood contact with the infected person, primarily. It's possible you have had the infection for some time without any symptoms at all- even as far back as your old drug days. If you had blood transfused prior to 1992, you may have recieved it then, because they couldn't rest blood or blood products reliably prior to that. Depending on exactly what tests were run, your doctor may order more to determine if you have a new infection, a chronic infection, or simply have the antibodies and not the infection. Hepatitis C can infect you for some time before you notice a problem, usually with the liver. What happens next will depend on what the tests reveal, really. If you do actually have a current infection, it is treatable. The treatment is expensive, but there are agencies that can help. One place I recommend you go to read all you need to know is
http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hepat...
That site will provide all the latest info on Hep C you will want or need to know. In the meantime, make a list of the questions you want to ask your doctor, so you are prepared when you see him next. Then you can make the informed decisions you will need to make.
Reply:the test is likely correct, unfortunately. hep C is caused by IV drug use (sharing needles with someone who has it) or it can be transmitted sexually. hep C is very unpredictable... it can progress to cirrhosis or liver cancer, but some people never have any symptoms. cirrhosis or liver cancer could cause elevated liver enzymes, but would not lead to a positive hep c result. don't drink, be careful of meds (as many, like tylenol, can have liver side effects), and use protection with intercourse (as you could pas it on). good luck, hope this helped.
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