Hepatitis C help?

I had blood work done and my hepatitis c antibodies test came back positive. My doctor said a 0 is normal and mine came back 0.1, not 1 but 0.1
He said my liver function was normal and I should not freak out. I tested again and it was the same.
What does this low testing mean? If I am positive, is the low level a good thing?
My white blood count was normal, all other hepatitis(A,B) were negative, HIV was negative.
I have never had any symptoms, which I know most people don't.
Thank you for your help..

You need to have a PCR (viral load) test to tell you whether or not you have chronic, active hepatitis C. 80% of those exposed to hep c go on to have it on a chronic, lifelong basis. Only 20% clear it on their own. A PCR test will tell you if they find any viral particles. If the test shows any number, such as 500,000 or 4 million, then you have the disease. 40% of people with hepatitis C have liver enzymes (ALT & AST's ) in the normal range, yet there is no correlation between liver enzyme levels or viral load and the amount of damage to the liver. The liver is a tough, non-complaining organ, so it will take a lot of damage before you might have any symptoms. Most symptoms are so subtle that we attribute them to other things. I complained of being tired for 10 years and each time I had a physical my doctor would blame it on our hectic lifestyle, or being a single parent of two young kids, or the fact that I worked & went to school. I eventually told myself it was because I was getting close to 40, and that's what 40 must feel like. Boy was I wrong! When my enzymes crept up only 3 points above normal, my doctor did further testing and found out I had hepatitis C. At least at that point I knew I wasn't a hypochondriac. Long story short, I did the treatment even though a biopsy only showed minimal damage. I cleared the virus over 6 years ago and now feel great. I encourage people to at least try the treatment; it may free you from hep c so you can live the rest of your life and not have to worry about progressive liver damage, and decreased quality of life.
By the way, if you find out you do have chronic hep c, you should have yourself vaccinated against hep A & B so your liver is protected against a double attack. Best wishes to you.

milk thistle supplement

Many people infected with hepatitis C have no symptoms. When symptoms are present, they can range from mild to severe. The most common early symptoms are mild fever, headache, muscle aches, fatigue, loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting and diarrhea. Later symptoms may include dark coffee-colored rather than dark yellow urine, clay-colored stools, abdominal pain, and yellowing of the skin and/or whites of the eyes (jaundice).

You should have a medical evaluation to help determine that the HCV test result is not a false positive. Your physician may repeat the test or may see you regularly for a few months to test blood samples for liver enzymes and do a follow-up test again in six months.

Get this book: 'Triumph over Hepatitis C'. It covers what to eat and what herbs and supplements to take to stay healthy with Hepatitis C. Here is the link and it is worth clicking on those links on that page for information on the various herbals:
http://www.hepcsolutions.com/alternative...

As said above, Milk Thistle (active ingredient Silymarin) is now being used in some countries such as Germany, alongside conventional medicine for Hepatitis. It is known to protect the liver from damage by the virus. It has even been shown to help with regeneration in studies. There is alot of scientific interest in this herb. This is an interesting article:
http://www.liversupport.com/milkthistle....

Here is another link that looks worth reading - the one that talks about Milk Thistles use in Germany alongside conventional meds:
http://www.healingwell.com/library/hepat...

If you are interested in the science of Milk thistle in terms of medical or scientific studies then go to this PubMed link:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query...

Try to stay positive and focused and follow a healthy diet with herbal supplements and nutrients that you think will help to keep you healthy. Do some Internet research. I also agree with the answerer above in perhaps getting confirmation from your doctor that it is definitely not a false positive. Find a Hep C support group.

Best wishes.

hi mike,
I have it too but have never really been sick.I dont know what to do either and i found out about it 10 years ago,so far i have done nothing but last week i started taking milk thistle,i dont know if it does anything or not but i thought i should do something.If you find out anything drop me a line ok? Thanks

actually everyone has a symptom of HCV-its just that doctors dismiss the symptom as other ailments like the flu or mono or a cold or arthritis or this rash or that rash.

by telling one that your liver function is normal doesn't mean that the virus is not doing anything.

the alt and ast levels in some of us heppers are normal, however, liver damage still occurs, so it is rather ridiculous for a doctor to say your liver is working normally.

i would treat NOW. the earlier, the easier the treatment can be and the more success for a sustained viral response.

HCV doesn't just reside in the liver either-HCV only needs the liver to reproduce. HCV is found in all tissues/organs and is responsible for many bidirectional diseases associated with having HCV.

It seems to me your doctor does not know much about HCV.
I would have a referral done to a gastrointerologist and get another opinion.

The kind of attitude your doctor has makes many of us heppers angry because it just shows that not all doctors really care to know that much about HCV.

I spent 10 years complaining something was wrong. The doctor just blamed it on depression. My alt and ast levels were mainly always within normal limits. This is why my HCV status went undiagnosed. Meanwhile, my symptoms got worse (again, this proves the theory of having no symptoms as null and void), i had skin rashes, lethargy, brain fog, depression, achey bones, heart palpitations, gallbladder problems (removed-usually first sign of liver disease-another thing docs fail to tell a person), hair loss, short term memory problems..low grade fever on almost a constant basis, low blood pressure 85/52 (chronic), gastrointeritis/ibs...lot's more. they were all treated seperately without finding the cause of all of it which was HCV.

You can have CNS issues besides depression as well.

I think you should do some reading and then decide.
Although milk thislte helps the inflamation of the liver, ask your doctor first. It is not a cure for hcv and it does not keep hcv from replicating and doing its damage.

Avoid red meat, foods/vitamins with iron in it, no alcohol AT ALL. Cut down on sodium, sugars (fake and sweet). a good alternative to sugar is "stevia".

As for others that tell you not to worry: HCV leads to cirrhosis of the liver which can weaken the organ, cause other organs to overload and cause cancer-mainly liver but others can arise too due to the toxins the liver cannot filter. Everyone should at least TRY treatment and not be so afraid...I was more afraid of other issues from my HCV as to why I treated. Im glad I did!

Good luck!

Actually yall, the poster above me is most correct. You should never allow HCV to keep on keepn on.

As for someone to tell another that they are "never really sick?" You ARE sick-You have liver disease!

Along with HCV you can also have NASH or Type 2 diabetes as well as other diseases.

I"m sorry, but I will go with the above poster!

Stephanie has it to a "T".

I so whole heartedly agree with the milk thistle statement. I did try milk thistle, but it didn't prevent further damage to my liver.

HCV is chronically damaging in 85% of those who have it, the rest are "carriers".