Hi Jordan, well if you`re happy to start treatment as soon as possible then it`s not so important to have a fibroscan or biopsy, although it would be useful information to have, especially if you were wondering whether to wait for newer and easier drug treatments to become available. As others have said though, at your age you aren`t likely to have much liver damage, and you have an excellent chance of clearing the virus with minimal side effects whatever treatment you do.
Best of luck, keep us posted!
jtthatsme55 said
Nov 4, 2013
Ik that I have had some kind of ultra sound on my liver a couple days before they tested me for hcv days so they sent that to my doctor. My doc said with the blood test and ultrasound results that I wouldn't have to get a liver biopsy.
mallani said
Nov 4, 2013
Hi Jordan,
Fibroscan is now approved in the USA. It has been used in Europe and Australia since 2007. It uses an Ultrasound beam to measure the liver stiffness (Transient Elasticity). It's painless, easy to do , cheap and reliable especially where there is little, or severe fibrosis. At your age you are unlikely to have much liver damage, but it would be useful to ask your doctor's opinion. Cheers.
jtthatsme55 said
Nov 4, 2013
I'm not really sure what a fibroscan is but I do appreciate you helping understand this better
mallani said
Nov 4, 2013
Hi Jordan,
Don't be concerned about slight elevation in iron levels. This is common in chronic HepC. Also, total protein may be elevated, and this is usually due to elevation of the globulins rather than albumin.
The ALT is high, but this is also common, particularly when there is acute inflammation. Note that this is higher than the AST as the liver cells are ALT specific.
I have often posted about my misgivings for FibroTest (FibroSure). It uses 6 highly variable blood markers in it's algorithm (particularly GGT, ALT and Alpha-2 macroglobulin). Could you ask your doctor if Fibroscan is available in your area? I think it's more reliable and it would be good to have a baseline. It seems that in the USA, FibroSure now routinely includes the old ActiTest ( used to measure necro-inflammation Stage). As this uses the ALT level in it's algorithm, obviously this will be high when the ALT is raised. Any necroinflammatory activity score above 0.62 is routinely called A3-severe activity, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.
Good luck and keep us posted.
jtthatsme55 said
Nov 3, 2013
Yea ill read and been told my doctor is one of the best in the country. I lucked out he's only 15 mins away from my house too. He also told me when i achieve remission my liver will heal itself.
Tig said
Nov 3, 2013
Yep, your numbers indicate an unhappy liver! But one positive note is that your fibrosis score is on the low end. That is great news really because the damage is still minimal. At your age and with the treatments available now, your chance for SVR (cure) is quite high! Your doctor sounds like a concerned individual that really has your best interests at heart. When you find a good one, feel blessed and thankful for good fortune!
jtthatsme55 said
Nov 3, 2013
I have my paper work her it tells me what number I have that are high right now
Iron 159 reference 35-150 so just a little high
This number are label as hep panel I have 3 high numbers in this category
Total protein 8.5 reference 6.4-8.2
Alt 232 reference 30-65 this is the one the doc is most concerned about
AST 53 reference 15-37
Genotype 1a
On my hcv fibroSURE test
Fibrosis score .31 reference .0-.21
Fibrosis stage f1-f2
necroinflammat activity score .82 reference.0-.17
necroinflammat activitygrade a-3 severe activity
Analysis
Ggt 92 reference 0-65
alt (sgpt) p5p 209 reference 0-55
All these numbers I just posted are only the high numbers by doctor explained all this too me but I just don't understand the paperwork yet
Hi Jordan, well if you`re happy to start treatment as soon as possible then it`s not so important to have a fibroscan or biopsy, although it would be useful information to have, especially if you were wondering whether to wait for newer and easier drug treatments to become available. As others have said though, at your age you aren`t likely to have much liver damage, and you have an excellent chance of clearing the virus with minimal side effects whatever treatment you do.
Best of luck, keep us posted!
Ik that I have had some kind of ultra sound on my liver a couple days before they tested me for hcv days so they sent that to my doctor. My doc said with the blood test and ultrasound results that I wouldn't have to get a liver biopsy.
Hi Jordan,
Fibroscan is now approved in the USA. It has been used in Europe and Australia since 2007. It uses an Ultrasound beam to measure the liver stiffness (Transient Elasticity). It's painless, easy to do , cheap and reliable especially where there is little, or severe fibrosis. At your age you are unlikely to have much liver damage, but it would be useful to ask your doctor's opinion. Cheers.
I'm not really sure what a fibroscan is but I do appreciate you helping understand this better
Hi Jordan,
Don't be concerned about slight elevation in iron levels. This is common in chronic HepC. Also, total protein may be elevated, and this is usually due to elevation of the globulins rather than albumin.
The ALT is high, but this is also common, particularly when there is acute inflammation. Note that this is higher than the AST as the liver cells are ALT specific.
I have often posted about my misgivings for FibroTest (FibroSure). It uses 6 highly variable blood markers in it's algorithm (particularly GGT, ALT and Alpha-2 macroglobulin). Could you ask your doctor if Fibroscan is available in your area? I think it's more reliable and it would be good to have a baseline. It seems that in the USA, FibroSure now routinely includes the old ActiTest ( used to measure necro-inflammation Stage). As this uses the ALT level in it's algorithm, obviously this will be high when the ALT is raised. Any necroinflammatory activity score above 0.62 is routinely called A3-severe activity, so I wouldn't be too concerned about that.
Good luck and keep us posted.
Yea ill read and been told my doctor is one of the best in the country. I lucked out he's only 15 mins away from my house too. He also told me when i achieve remission my liver will heal itself.
Yep, your numbers indicate an unhappy liver! But one positive note is that your fibrosis score is on the low end. That is great news really because the damage is still minimal. At your age and with the treatments available now, your chance for SVR (cure) is quite high! Your doctor sounds like a concerned individual that really has your best interests at heart. When you find a good one, feel blessed and thankful for good fortune!
I have my paper work her it tells me what number I have that are high right now
Iron 159 reference 35-150 so just a little high
This number are label as hep panel I have 3 high numbers in this category
Total protein 8.5 reference 6.4-8.2
Alt 232 reference 30-65 this is the one the doc is most concerned about
AST 53 reference 15-37
Genotype 1a
On my hcv fibroSURE test
Fibrosis score .31 reference .0-.21
Fibrosis stage f1-f2
necroinflammat activity score .82 reference.0-.17
necroinflammat activitygrade a-3 severe activity
Analysis
Ggt 92 reference 0-65
alt (sgpt) p5p 209 reference 0-55
All these numbers I just posted are only the high numbers by doctor explained all this too me but I just don't understand the paperwork yet