Hello, Just got a call from my primary care doctor; I have Acute Hepatitis B; possibly chronic. I need to go for more tests, scans, etc.
Anyone else have this? From what I read it can be pretty serious if it's chronic. Considering my only risk factor is a 1989 blood transfusion; I'm kind of concerned it may be chronic, which, according to my research, means a 25% death rate of cirrohsis or liver cancer.
Any insight is much appreciated.
Posted by h8lyme (Member # 11765) on :
There are lots of ways of getting hep b:
# You could get Hepatitis B if you:
* Have sex with someone who has the virus. * Share needles or drugs. * Share earrings, razors, nail clippers, or toothbrushes. * Pierce your body or get a tattoo when infected tools are used. * Touch infected blood or bodily fluids.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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It could go back to the transfusion in '89 - it can take decades for some of the hepatitis strains to show on tests. (Although that may be more for "C" than "B" - you might also see about getting tested for the "D" strain just to be sure your treatment will be right on target. "B" and "D' sometimes go together.
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It does not need to be very intimate contact. As mentioned above, clippers, etc. It is possible to get it from a manicure if the tools have not been properly sterilized.
There is an MD who has made treating hepatitis his life's work, but then he expanded to treat lyme when he saw many patients getting that.
He focuses on treating while keeping the liver safe.
I saw him in a lecture years ago and all his hepatitis patients were doing VERY well on combination interferon (in a very specific manner) and Chinese herbs.
If you want contact information, PM me and I will send that to you. You may already know of his work as he has one of the complementary protocols often mentioned here.
This is a terrible blow, but now more specific plans might help you feel better. Also, some researchers speculate that the various strains of hepatitis are far more widespread then we think.
We are learning more and more about the liver, protection, and recovery - or at least relief and hope along the way.
Rife might also be something to consider.
Best of luck whatever path you select.
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Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
Oh yeah, I'm also anemic. My iron level is 7 and it's supposed to be at least 25.
Posted by Keebler (Member # 12673) on :
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Years ago I had similar results. I could not take the regular iron as it really made me very nauseated. However, if I took it with orange juice it really helped.
Orange juice is not great for us, but if you take it with a meal, the sugars may be better balanced.
I also found that just with the herb, stinging nettle, alone, my iron levels went up beautifully within a couple months.
The low iron can also be from babesia or from various liver conditions, too. So, your doctor can help you sort this out.
good luck.
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Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
I know this is a duh questions, but could it be possible that you were immunized against Hep. B.?
I was immunized against one of the Heps, and the test always and will always come back screaming positive.
I have Hepatitis C, was diagnosed in 1992, probably had it since 80's, maybe even before
when i first got dx, I was scared and read all the stuff about dying of liver cancer and cirrhosis.
i really dont worry about it anymore. my biopsies have been good, and liver functions. i no longer look at it as a death sentence. a lot of people have chronic hep and live long lives
i know its scary now, but you might be just fine.
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
My theory has always been we are getting exposed to Hepatitis through ticks. Too many Lyme patients have it.. especially compared to general populations.
They have shown ticks and hepatitis do go together. But of course we aren't looking for it here in the USA. But the association has been known for years.
A case of concurrent Lyme meningitis with ehrlichiosis.
Ahkee S, Ramirez J. Division of Infectious Diseases, University of Louisville School of Medicine, KY, USA.
We report on a case of concurrent Lyme meningitis and ehrlichiosis in a patient with occupational exposure to ticks as a logger. The patient had a febrile Illness with a reticulate erythematous rash on his upper torso, meningoencephalitis, thrombocytopenia, and hepatitis. Acute and convalescent serologies were consistent with a dual infection with Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis.
Ixodes scapularis is the tick that is associated with Lyme disease in our area and this tick has also been reported to harbor the species of Ehrlichia that causes human granulocytic ehrlichiosis.
Empiric therapy for both Lyme disease and ehrlichiosis should be considered in any patient suspected of having a tick-borne illness and presenting with signs and symptoms compatible with both infections.
PMID: 8953687 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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: S Afr Med J. 1991 Mar 16;79(6):320-2.Links Attempts to transmit hepatitis B virus to chimpanzees by arthropods.
Jupp PG, Purcell RH, Phillips JM, Shapiro M, Gerin JL.
Department of Virology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg.
Bedbugs (Cimex lectularius L.) were fed on an infective blood-hepatitis B virus (HBV) mixture. Further bedbugs and tampan ticks (Ornithodoros moubata [Murray]) were fed on HBV-carrier chimpanzees.
After a 10-13 day interval for oviposition, tests done on samples of individual arthropods showed that 53-85% of the bugs were HBsAg-positive and none HBeAg-positive, while 100% of the ticks were HBsAg-positive and 88% HBeAg-positive.
The remaining arthropods were fed on 3 susceptible chimpanzees, which had failed to develop HBV infection after 11 months, indicating no transmission had occurred.
Subsequently the presence of viable virus in the original infective meals was confirmed by inoculation of the relevant donor sera directly into the 3 still susceptible chimpanzees. HBV infections quickly followed in each animal.
It is concluded that, while mechanical transmission of HBV is most unlikely after a 10-13-day interval between feedings in bedbugs and tampans, it is still possible that mechanical transmission between humans might occur during interrupted feeds.
PMID: 2017742 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Lancet. 1990 Nov 3;336(8723):1107-9.Links Erratum in: Lancet 1990 Dec 22-29;336(8730):1596.
Comment in: Lancet. 1991 Jan 26;337(8735):247-8.
Risk factors for transmission of hepatitis B virus to Gambian children.
Vall Mayans M, Hall AJ, Inskip HM, Chotard J, Lindsay SW, Coromina E, Mendy M, Alonso PL, Whittle H.
International Agency for Research on Cancer (WHO), Banjul, The Gambia.
Risk factors for hepatitis B virus transmission were examined in 973 Gambian children aged 6 months to 5 years. 33% had evidence of infection with hepatitis B virus and a third of these were carriers.
A significant association was found between infection and tropical ulcer scars, and between e antigenaemia and the presence of bedbugs in each child's bed.
There was no association between infection and traditional scarring, circumcision, or injections. Skin disease and arthropods are the two most likely modes of transmission of hepatitis B virus between children in West Africa.
PMID: 1977989 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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1: Med Vet Entomol. 1987 Oct;1(4):361-8.Links
An experimental assessment of the tampan tick Ornithodoros moubata as vector of hepatitis B virus.Jupp PG, Joubert JJ, Cornel AJ, Swanevelder C, Prozesky OW.
Department of Virology, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa.
Wild-caught and colonized tampan ticks, Ornithodoros moubata (Murray), were fed on hepatitis B virus (HBV)-positive blood-means in a series of four experiments.
Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) persisted in nymphal and adult ticks for up to 779 days, while the epsmark antigen (HBeAg) persisted in mature nymphs up to 13 days, in adult males up to 11 days and in adult females up to 16 days.
HBsAg was transmitted trans-stadially through two moults during the life cycle but transovarial transmission did not occur. The surface antigen was transmitted by two out of fifteen single ticks into 0.4 ml aliquots of HBV-negative blood, although six groups of ticks failed to transmit into 5.5 ml aliquots of blood: this antigen was not transmitted to hamsters.
HBsAg was detected in samples of the ticks' coxal and rectal fluid secretions always at the infecting feed and usually at the second feed.
HBeAg was only detected in one of two samples of coxal fluid collected at the infecting feed. The results as a whole indicate that no biological multiplication of virus occurs in O.moubata but that mechanical transmission from ticks to man could occur by: (i) contamination of a person when crushing infected ticks; (ii) infection by bite; (iii) contamination with coxal fluid, especially by scratching bites.
This is thought to take place among the Kavango tribe in their village huts in north-eastern Namibia where infestations of infected O.moubata occur.
Generalized exanthema, acute hepatitis with porphyrinuria and eosinophilia. Another clinical feature of Lyme disease?
Prinz A, Weiss P, Stanek G.
PMID: 3591092 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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Medicine (Baltimore). 1985 Jul;64(4):251-69.Links Tularemia: a 30-year experience with 88 cases.
Evans ME, Gregory DW, Schaffner W, McGee ZA.
Drawing upon our experience with 88 cases and a survey of the English literature, we reviewed the clinical, pathophysiological, and epidemiological aspects of tularemia.
Tularemia can be thought of as two syndromes--ulceroglandular and typhoidal. This dichotomy simplifies earlier nomenclature and emphasizes the obscure typhoidal presentation. Clinical manifestations suggest that the two syndromes reflect differences in host response.
In ulceroglandular tularemia the pathogen appears to be well contained by a vigorous inflammatory reaction. Pneumonia is less common and the patient's prognosis is good.
In typhoidal disease there are few localizing signs; pneumonia is more common; and the mortality without therapy is much higher, suggesting that the host response is somehow deficient.
Francisella tularensis is an extremely virulent pathogen capable of initiating infection with as few as 10 organisms inoculated subcutaneously. During an incubation period of 3 to 6 days the host responds first with polymorphonuclear leukocytes and then macrophages.
Granulocytes are unable to kill the pathogen without opsonizing antibody leaving cellular immunity to play the major role in host defense.
One to 2 weeks after infection, a vigorous T-lymphocyte response can be detected in vitro with lymphocyte blast transformation assays and in vivo with an intradermal skin test, which, unfortunately, is not commercially available. Humoral immunity, often used as a diagnostic modality, appears 2 to 3 weeks into the illness.
Cellular immunity is long-lasting, accounting for the common reoccurrence of localized disease upon repeated exposures to the pathogen. There are no symptoms that distinguish the ulceroglandular from the typhoidal syndrome.
A pulse-temperature dissociation is seen in less than half of the patients. The location of ulcers and enlarged lymph nodes give a clue to the likely vector since lesions located on the upper extremities are more commonly associated with mammalian, and those of the head and neck and lower extremities with arthropod, vectors.
Pharyngitis, pericarditis, and pneumonia can complicate both syndromes, although the latter is much more common in typhoidal disease.
Hepatitis, usually of a mild degree, is common and occasionally erythema nodosum is seen.
No specific laboratory tests characterize tularemia, and cultures of the pathogen are often difficult to obtain because of the special growth requirements of Francisella tularesis and the inability of many clinical laboratories to handle the dangerous pathogen.
(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
PMID: 3892222 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Posted by Michelle M (Member # 7200) on :
Sorry to hear that, Tracy. Just wanted to add, my mom has Hep B. She seems unfazed by it, and she's in her 70's and has had it for decades.
She also has cirrhosis; however, that was due to a lifelong dependency on hard alcohol. At one point she was actually on a transplant list. However, stopping drinking allowed her liver to repair itself, albeit not perfectly.
Be as educated as possible about medications that affect the liver. Abstaining from alcohol is a good idea too -- though lyme people usually aren't the over-indulging kind!!
Sending good thoughts your way...
Michelle
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
Thank you so much everyone.
Yes, I was vaccinated when I worked in a large hospital, but my doctor was quick to tell me this test ruled out that as a cause for the positive results.
Which makes me wonder if I got it from my 1989 blood transfusion; since I have been vaccinated for about 15 years????
I don't know; I know I have had negative tests in the past, so who knows. Both PCP and LLMD named the transfusion as the likely culprit, however.
More testing to be done tomorrow.
Posted by bettyg (Member # 6147) on :
tracy, so sorry to read this.
everyone, melanie reber compiled the list of CO-INFECTIONS for memorial site,
was it hep B or C that is also a LYME CO-INFECTION? one of them is on that list; my mind won't let me remember! Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
quote:Originally posted by Tracy9: Yes, I was vaccinated when I worked in a large hospital, but my doctor was quick to tell me this test ruled out that as a cause for the positive results.
This is not adding up for me. I don't mean to get your hopes up, but I bet it's some error. The vaccine is supposed to last 20 years for Hep. B.
Please let us know what the next round of tests produce, or whether the doctor / vaccine manufacturer can provide some answers as to why the previous tests were negative, in addition to having been vaccinated 15 years ago.
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
I'm sorry to hear this, Tracy. That news really sucks.
I am curious, not knowing much about liver stuff, how come it was never picked up if you have a regular liver panel done? Doesn't it cause an abnormal liver function (test)?
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
You know, I have the same questions...I know my liver functions have always been normal until now, but from the internet research I've done it looks like it can lay dormant for a long time. That is why I was wondering if I got it initially from the blood transfusion, which was before I had the vaccines.
However I remember asking to be tested because for a few years there was a big media campaign about being tested if you'd had a "pre 1991" blood transfusion.
So maybe I did get it from a tick? I had the vaccine just about the end of 1992; I guess that is about fifteen years ago.
Anyway, today my new primary care doctor's office called, the receptionist, and left a message saying there was a problem with my insurance, they couldn't put his name on as my primary care doctor until March 1st, as it is the first of every month. I did not call prior to my first visit with him and have him identified as my primary care doctor.
So she leaves me this message saying that I will be billed for my first two visits with him since he won't be my primary care doctor of record until March first, and that I should wait until after March first to get my blood work done.
HELLO???? I really, really like this new doctor but I kind of doubt he knows his receptionist left me that message. I mean, if I just tested positive for acute hepatitis B, should I be waiting a freaking month to get the follow up bloodwork done???
OK, needless to say I tried several times to call HIM today but the line was busy then the office closed at noon. So I did NOT get the bloodwork done today.
But, yesterday when I was talking with him on the phone he asked if I'd gotten the message about the insurance issue, which I had, and I had already called my insurance company. They said it was NO PROBLEM, it is an "open access" plan and I can see any provider on the plan without a referral, so even though he was not listed as my primary care he would still get paid.
Now I told him all this yesterday, then got this ridiculous message today. I may be jumping to conclusions, but is this receptionist deciding on her own what people should do for their medical care?
Besides that, even if he wasn't my PCP of record, and even if he wasn't going to get paid, THEY WOULD STILL PAY FOR MY BLOOD WORK~!!!! I still HAVE the insurance!
ARGH; isn't this the kind of thing that makes you just want to go back to bed and pull the covers up over your head?
I'm off to do that now. Needless to say, I did not get any bloodwork done today.
Posted by Tincup (Member # 5829) on :
Someone put flies in your corn flakes I see. So sorry.
May I suggest?
Call and immediately ask for the "billing dept" and ONLY speak to them. Avoid the one who called you who seems like a nit wit.
I get so many STUPID messages from offices that are no where NEAR right... and have learned that is the best way to go.
I've actually had one woman LIE to me cause she wanted her way. Told me the doctor said this.. and they already did that.. and when questioned a second time... as I knew it wasn't right... she lied again ON PURPOSE!
I FINALLY got the other office person.. and of course she said "WHAT?"
And she checked with doctor... and I HAD been lied to.
I hope they fried her in mushroom gravy.
Posted by hcconn22 (Member # 5263) on :
well,I must say the pain of the perforated eardrum I suffered later on after a fall down the stairs made this seem like a distant memory.
Posted by Tracy9 (Member # 7521) on :
OOPS, that didn't make much sense; didn't realize my husband was logged in, but that was me who wrote that above.
My husband called the insurance company today and they wigged out about this; put him on hold and called the doctor's office and put them right in their place, then demanded the doctor's office call me back to apologize, which they did.
Guess i"m going for my bloodwork now.
Posted by dontlikeliver (Member # 4749) on :
LOL Tracy, I wondered what the comment about the ear-drum was all about.
Let us know what bloods turn up.
DLL
Posted by canbravelyme (Member # 9785) on :
Oh yes; Please do! We are thinking of you. xoxo
And congrats on getting those flies removed.
Posted by Visual Afterimage Man (Member # 10435) on :
Tracy,
The following is from the Mayoclinic.com.
Diagnosis based on tests Because many people with hepatitis B don't have signs and symptoms, doctors diagnose the disease on the basis of one or more blood tests. These tests include:
Hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). Hepatitis B surface antigen is the outer surface of the virus. Testing positive for this antigen means you can easily pass the virus to others. A negative test means you're probably not currently infected.
Antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs). A positive result on this test means you have antibodies to HBV. This may be due to a prior HBV infection from which you've recovered. Or, you may already have been vaccinated. In either case, you can't infect others or become infected yourself because you're protected by the vaccine or your own natural immunity.
Antibody to hepatitis B core antigen (anti-HBc). Although this test identifies people who have a chronic infection, the results can sometimes be ambiguous. If you test positive for hepatitis B core antibodies, you may have a chronic infection that you can transmit to others. But you also may be recovering from an acute infection or have a slight immunity to HBV that can't otherwise be detected. How this test is interpreted often depends on the results of the other two tests. When the results are uncertain, you may need to repeat all three tests.
Additional tests If you receive a diagnosis of hepatitis B, your doctor may perform tests to check the severity of the HBV infection as well as the health of your liver. These tests include:
E-antigen test. This blood test looks for the presence of a protein secreted by HBV-infected cells. A positive result means you have high levels of the virus in your blood and can easily infect others. If the test is negative, you have lower blood levels of HBV and are less likely to spread the infection.
Liver enzymes. These blood tests check for elevated levels of liver enzymes which leak into the bloodstream when liver cells are injured. Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) test. High blood levels of this protein may sometimes be a sign of liver cancer.
Hepatitis B DNA test. This test detects HBV DNA in the blood, indicating how much virus is present in your blood.
Liver ultrasound or computerized tomography (CT) scan. These tests look at the liver for complications such as liver scarring (cirrhosis) or liver cancer.
Liver biopsy. In this procedure, a small sample of liver tissue is removed for microscopic analysis. A biopsy can accurately show the extent of any liver damage and may help determine the best treatment for you.
Posted by pingpong (Member # 13706) on :
consider as one consult fro treatment: ______sinopmedresearch.com : Dr. Z.
andrograhis paniculata to shed hep b antigen(s) from cell surface? is anyone else hear/read of this?
best i recall, i heard an nyc, pharmacist, w/ his own radio show, say this, but vaguely recall that this herb might have this propery of causing hep b antigen(s) to shed from either tissue, and/or, cell surfaces?
if this is the case, then, this herb might also do this for other hepatic viruses; i.e., if their respective genomes don't differ greatly? what if their respective genomes, DO differe greatly? same hebal property?
Posted by DoctorLuddite (Member # 13853) on :
If you have Hep B as an acute or chronic infection, the lab should be able to demonstrate that the hep b virus is circulating.
If you do not have demonstrable virus or antiGEN (not antiBODY, that's different) then the diagnosis of acute or chronic hep B is suspect.
Insist on knowing if the hep b antigen test was positive or not. If not, an immune stress such as lyme could induce a cytokine imbalance that would activate the anti hep B plasma cells to induce hep B antibodies and make tha antibody test appear positive, and that coupled with liver enzyme elevations might be interpreted as positive for hepatitis B acute or chronic infection.
All hinges on the antigen test.
In any event, if you have liver enzyme elevations, you need to avoid anything that can reasonably be avoided that is detoxed through the liver. alcohol, many meds, caffeine etc.
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