Hi all~~
I have been computer-less for so long, that it's been a while since I've been on here, I hope you are all doing well! I was reading through some posts on here, and I am still confused about some testing questions, and wondered if anyone might be able to help. I feel in some ways that I've had this HepC thing hanging over my head for a long time now, and don't know whether to be happy that I'm negative, or not. I had a first test, supposedely a HCV RNA by PCR test, that came out positive. This test was taken due to some mildly increased liver function tests. So, I was sent to a specialist, and he took his own qual and quan tests at a different lab, both of which came out negative. I also, during this time, had a quan taken at another doctors office, which came out negative. So, when we went back to the specialist, he said that he didn't think I had Hep C, and that maybe my liver enzymes were elevated due to a fatty liver. A sonogram showed that I have fatty infiltration of the liver. Well, just to make sure, he took another test on me, the Heptimax, which he said is the most sensitive, and that also came out negative. He just kind of told me that I was HepC negative, and so I pretty much thought that, but when I read some of the other posts, I get confused with the thing about how you can test positive for antibodies and still test negative for the virus. Is it possible that I carry antibodies and don't have the virus? Is it like the AIDS testing, where you are HIV positive, but don't actually have full-blown AIDS? I hate to open this can of worms again because I was feeling pretty good that I was negative, but I'm not sure what the antibody test is. So, the first test that came out positive for me was listed on the sheet as being an HCV RNA by PCR test, and then I had a neg quan, another neg qual and a neg quan, and a neg Heptimax (just to sum up!) Thanks so much for any help!! Val

Hi all~~
I have been computer-less for so long, that it's been a while since I've been on here, I hope you are all doing well! I was reading through some posts on here, and I am still confused about some testing questions, and wondered if anyone might be able to help. I feel in some ways that I've had this HepC thing hanging over my head for a long time now, and don't know whether to be happy that I'm negative, or not. I had a first test, supposedely a HCV RNA by PCR test, that came out positive. This test was taken due to some mildly increased liver function tests. So, I was sent to a specialist, and he took his own qual and quan tests at a different lab, both of which came out negative. I also, during this time, had a quan taken at another doctors office, which came out negative. So, when we went back to the specialist, he said that he didn't think I had Hep C, and that maybe my liver enzymes were elevated due to a fatty liver. A sonogram showed that I have fatty infiltration of the liver. Well, just to make sure, he took another test on me, the Heptimax, which he said is the most sensitive, and that also came out negative. He just kind of told me that I was HepC negative, and so I pretty much thought that, but when I read some of the other posts, I get confused with the thing about how you can test positive for antibodies and still test negative for the virus. Is it possible that I carry antibodies and don't have the virus? Is it like the AIDS testing, where you are HIV positive, but don't actually have full-blown AIDS? I hate to open this can of worms again because I was feeling pretty good that I was negative, but I'm not sure what the antibody test is. So, the first test that came out positive for me was listed on the sheet as being an HCV RNA by PCR test, and then I had a neg quan, another neg qual and a neg quan, and a neg Heptimax (just to sum up!) Thanks so much for any help!! Val


Hi Val,

You have no hep c. none. you are the most thoroughly tested non-positive person I've heard of.

Just for the record, the test you had a pos. on is NOT an antibody test, it is the same test that you got all the negatives on. The pos result was obviously a mistake.

You are cool with this. Really.


sean

Hi Sean!
As usual, you are always there to help! How have you been? I hope you're doing well. Thanks for the information, it's just that I recently went back to my GI for a follow-up (they sent me a card in the mail to do so) and the guy that I had dealt with from the beginning quit this practice and went to Houston. Anyway, this new doctor was kind of mumbling alot, and acted like it was good that I had those other negatives, and that I should be Hep C negative, but that first test, he said, reacted to somthing, and that maybe I had antibodies, but really, he was kind of mumbling and walking out of the office at the time. Don't you hate that? I was thinking maybe that first lab put down on the paper that it was HCV RNA by PCR, but maybe they ran it as an antibody test or somthing. Which, I don't know what that means, does that mean I could still give it to my children, or that I still have to be vaccinated against the other Hep's, if I am carrying antibodies. But, if I was carrying antibodies, wouldn't that second qualitative test have come out positive? I know the quan might not, because that just checks amounts, but anyway, this just gets very confusing.
One more thing, Sean, if I remember right, aren't you from the New York area? I don't even remember the last time I was on here, it kind of ended abrubtly when my life changed so much. My Dad passed away in October of 2002, and then the kids and I moved out to Reno to be with my Mom, and spent six months there, hoping my husband would be able to find a job there, and we could permanantly relocate. He was working for an energy company in Houston that happened to be going down at this same time, it was just really weird. Anyway, he was never able to find something in Reno that was his type of work, but he did get a new job in Stamford, Connecticut. So, he is working there now, commuting back and forth to here about every other weekend. The kids and I are supposed to get our act together, and move up there this summer, after school is out, and I'm trying to find out information about the surrounding towns and areas, but I guess I'm dragging my feet a little. It sounds really neat to live in or near NY, and especially my older kids are very excited about it, but it's so expensive, and different than here. We are in a planned community here, and enjoy alot of ammenities. My youngest daughter, who just turned ten, has a really wonderful ballet here, in which she is in two shows each year. So, these are the choices we have to make now. Life has just been so crazy and up in the air since my Dad died, and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel lately. And, kind of that is what I mean about opening the new can of worms about the HepC, I really don't want to go through that again. In fact, I was going through that when my Dad was becoming ill, and it really made everything so terrible, I couldn't even go and visit him, since I was afraid at the time about all I didn't know about HepC. It's just such a frustrating feeling to remember how it felt. Anyway, sorry to go on and on here, I just wanted to let you know what's been going on, and thank you again for all you helped me with then, if it hadn't been for you, I would have relly been a case! Thanks again for the reply, take care! Val

Hi again,
Sorry to bug you all to death, but I just talked with my oringinal doc today, and wanted to add to my last post. He's now at the Med Center downtown, so I just spoke to him on the phone, and since it's been a couple of years, I think he remembered me, but not all the details. So, he wants me to send him my paperwork from all the tests, and then he says he'll call me back with what he thinks. I guess he reassured me some, but he still acted unsure of why that first HCV RNA by PCR test would come out positive, so he's going to call the doctor I went to for that, and find out if the lab then was having a high level of false positives, as he had said before. They actually did change labs since then. The thing is, he said something about maybe they ran an antibody test, which came out positive, and then did the RNA test, but none of us are sure. Wouldn't I know if they did they antibody test, or maybe they just sent on the results of the RNA test, since that would be the last one they did. He said that any test can have false positives, but with that one, it's very low, like 1%. He said it's like winning the lottery. (chances). So, now I'm worried that I actually have two positives, and didn't know it. But, regardless, I have the negatives (qual and quan) from the specialist's office, and then the negative Heptimax. He did say that I shouldn't lose any sleep over it, but that is easier said than done. He also said that if I have a fatty liver, that in itself can have serious consequences, so I need to address that, which I haven't been doing much of. I don't drink, or smoke, but I am overweight, and don't exercise much right now. Anyway, thanks again for listening, I'm going to send him the paperwork, and hope for the best, I guess! Thanks to all of you, Love, Val

This is my firs post on this board and like you I'm confused about testing. My son had all the signs and symptoms of Hepatitis B or C from his lab tests but then on retesting specifically for Hepatitis the results came back negaive. I did some searching on the web and found that there's a liver fluke 'Opisthorchis Viverina' that is picked up from eating uncooked or lightly cooked fish whilst in Asia. My son had made a few trips to Thailand and had gone pretty 'native' eating some raw fish. I see that the end results of infestation with this liver fluke are very serious - similar to untreated Hepatitis B and C . Has anyone else encountered this condition as at the moment I'm not sure what he has.
Muffins

Hi all~~
I have been computer-less for so long, that it's been a while since I've been on here, I hope you are all doing well! I was reading through some posts on here, and I am still confused about some testing questions, and wondered if anyone might be able to help. I feel in some ways that I've had this HepC thing hanging over my head for a long time now, and don't know whether to be happy that I'm negative, or not. I had a first test, supposedely a HCV RNA by PCR test, that came out positive. This test was taken due to some mildly increased liver function tests. So, I was sent to a specialist, and he took his own qual and quan tests at a different lab, both of which came out negative. I also, during this time, had a quan taken at another doctors office, which came out negative. So, when we went back to the specialist, he said that he didn't think I had Hep C, and that maybe my liver enzymes were elevated due to a fatty liver. A sonogram showed that I have fatty infiltration of the liver. Well, just to make sure, he took another test on me, the Heptimax, which he said is the most sensitive, and that also came out negative. He just kind of told me that I was HepC negative, and so I pretty much thought that, but when I read some of the other posts, I get confused with the thing about how you can test positive for antibodies and still test negative for the virus. Is it possible that I carry antibodies and don't have the virus? Is it like the AIDS testing, where you are HIV positive, but don't actually have full-blown AIDS? I hate to open this can of worms again because I was feeling pretty good that I was negative, but I'm not sure what the antibody test is. So, the first test that came out positive for me was listed on the sheet as being an HCV RNA by PCR test, and then I had a neg quan, another neg qual and a neg quan, and a neg Heptimax (just to sum up!) Thanks so much for any help!! Val