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Posted 6/12/2010 4:46 PM (GMT 0)
Hi everyone! I found this website looking up hepatitis and reading about it and this seems like the best place to hang out. In 2007 i tested posititive for hepatitis C but the doctor done other tests and said not to worry about it. Then in July 2009 i was 33 weeks pregnant and got pacreatitis and so so sick. The doctors at hospital said oh you have hepatitisC. I said yea but my doctor said not to worry about it and that my husband didnt need to be test etc. So they do another test and come tell my that I have the antibody that they cant grow the virus. So my thought is from what i read is I have been exposed but my body fought it off and i have the antibody but not the desease. Am i correct in that asumtion? and should i get another PCR test done? My other question is should i have my children tested for the antibody especially the 2 that i had after being exposed to the desease?  My last question is this: someone exposed to desease how long does it take to fight it off naturally. like if you are exposed get it and then fight it off without even knowing you ever had it.   And one other thing if exposed how long before you have symptoms if you do not fight it off naturally?

I know thats alot of questions but sometimes things get so confusing when you read so much. it seems for every question there are 10 answers and they are all differnet.  Any help you guys would give me is so so appreciated.  Thanks alot.

Posted 6/12/2010 6:31 PM (GMT 0)

Hi, LostinSpace, and welcome to the forum!  It appears that you are one of the lucky ones whose immune system fought off your acute hep C infection.  I believes that happens within 6 mos. of the exposure.  Since you've had quite a bit of testing and have the antibody for hep C, you really have nothing to worry about.  You cannot get it again nor can you pass it on.  This happened with me with hep B but not C.  I developed chronic active hep C (CAHC.)

If you are able to pinpoint when you contracted the virus, and if your children were not born during that infectious 6-month period, I believe they are okay, too.  If you want to give yourself reassurance, you could have them tested, too.  It's very rare for HCV to be transmitted sexually.  This is a blood-borne disease.

It takes decades for symptoms to first appear in one who has chronic active hep C.  The most common symptom is fatigue and elevated liver enzymes.  If left untreated (or if unresponsive to treatment), it can progress to cirrhosis and liver cancer.

I hope this answers your questions.

Posted 6/12/2010 9:34 PM (GMT 0)
Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions.  I worked in a nursing home and the nurses were giving a woman iv fluids because she was dehydrated. She was combative and pulled her iv out. I got stuck with it.  Secondly, I know its hard to catch sexually but i know my partner from 11 years ago had hep C. His wife died from it. Both of these things happened so close together i am not sure which gave me the hep C.  The nursing home didnt do any testing as i see is done now (looking on websites about needle sticks).  My 10 year old was of course born 10 years later. I guess he's the one i should worry about. the 10 month old of course couldnt have it.  One more question... can the kids get the antibody from me. Could the test postive with no viral load?   I have dr appt tuesday, and want to know before hand what i want to ask him. He is my whole family's dr. and is the one who found it originally in 2007. Again i apprecite all your time and trouble.

 

Posted 6/12/2010 9:46 PM (GMT 0)
I'm sorry for this i reread your reply and some things came to my memory(which is bad). My enzymes in my liver were elevated in2007 that was the reason for all the testing. Also in 2009 my liver enzymes were elevated and my liver enlarged. but i read that livers can be enlarged during pregancy anyway. But with those two times my liver enzymes not being right shoud i not have more testing to find out why? In 2009 while pregnant cant even describe how sick had ng tube central line catherter cant even tell how many diff iv lines going in. They said they tested my for everything cause they could not find the cause of my sickness. They had one dr who was a hepatologist come in to talk to me about the hep also had a dr who deals with pregnant women sickness not obgyn this was differnt kind of dr. They also tested me for lupis and hiv. nothing came back. Me being busy after baby born didnt do any other testing they wanted me to do after babys birth. Now i begin to worry because i occasonally throw up bright yellow especially if i take tylenol. so back to liver enzymes being elevated. what causes that? other than hep?
Posted 6/13/2010 1:06 AM (GMT 0)

Elevated liver enzymes can be elevated from medications, cirrhosis, autoimmune hepatitis and viral hepatitis, and from alcohol ingestion.  I'm sure there are other causes, too.  Vomiting yellow I don't know.  Gall bladder, maybe?  I really don't think you have anything to worry about, but if you do then make of list of your questions and go to your doctor and get them answered.

Good luck!

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