posted Thu, 04/23/2015 - 14:42
2686
Hepatitis B Core Antigen
ad
I donated blood for the first time recently and just received a letter from the blood bank stating the antibody against Hepatitis B core antigen was positive. It says I may not be ill at this time but sometime in the past I was exposed to the virus.
Is this common? I know I sound naive, but is it something I should worry about?
- Bookmark
- 0
- 0
Unless I'm mistaken, hep B is sexually transmitted too. You might have gotten some bad trim in the past. Why stop the cycle?
Just the for the liver aspect of it. I don't know know much about Hep B so I was just curious. I'll talk to my dr's office tomorrow to see what route he wants to go.
I guess it's possible that it was from someone previously but it would've had to have been a very long time ago. I've only been with one person in the past 20 years...lol
I hope its a false positive for you bro, my uncle has hep c and has for a long time and will forever he takes medicine to manage it. When was the last time you've gave blood before this. Your wife needs to be checked to. If you do really have hep b you could pass it to who you've slept with the last 20 years. Hopefully further testing shows your clear. If you've been giving blood for awhile there is a good chance I believe it can be a false positive. Its treatable. I don't think you'll be able to donate blood again. Maybe after so long completely gone. I'm saying a prayer for you bud and hope the test was false.
It was the first time I've donated, so it caught me by surprise. I've never really heard much about Hepatitis, but I guess the lesser of the evils are A and B (which it showed my blood had the antibodies for B). She's had blood work with her pregnancies and has never been told anything about testing positive for Hep B so I think she's fine.
As luck would have it, my doctor is on vacation for two weeks. He getting close to retirement so I may have to find a new one soon.
Well at least you know about it now and can treat it if it is there. Some good info below, hopefully its run its course and just the immunes response to it. I was given shots for it in the military. And it saved my ass I believe, the vaccine does work if you can still get it. I slept with a girl a few times who ended up getting very sick a couple months later from a dirty tattoo needle and she had the tattoo on her when I slept with her. I've never had a issue or tested positive ever for it. When she told me I freaked out and got pissed off. But multiple military blood work. Std blood screens and dozens of donating blood visits never tested positive. But its easier to get it from a needle then sex. She had thought they used a clean needle. I'm thinking to if someone was trying to save money and reused some ink it could be passed on. Like pouring anything left over back into the bottle. So even with a clean needle it could still be passed on from the trace amounts of blood
Thanks again fellas for all the feedback. Should I stop my cycle of test cyp, Tren E, and Mast E until I talk to my dr? I'm due to pin again tomorrow (Sunday) but I won't talk to my dr until Monday?
Some good info below. Go see the doc. Be honest, don't worry about the lecture. As far as worrying about the Hep, dont. I don't want to minimize it, but my wife and uncle both have Hep C and it affects their lives basically none. My wife and I both get bloods done quarterly, and after several years, I'm still negative. You'll be fine.
Thanks bro. It's just something that came out of the blue and I have no idea how it would've happened. I have tats but I know they use sterile tools, so it's just puzzling.
I'll call my dr tomorrow and go from there. I'm probably stressing more than I should, but the unknown tends to cause that to happen.
The posts below are not exactly correct. Viral hepatitis is caused by different viruses with each strain capable of varying ability to cause acute sickness and/or chronic liver injury. Hep A is most often acute which resolves on its own, and rarely leads to liver failure. Types B and C are less likely to cause acute illness but have a higher chance of leading to chronic hepatitis and cirrhosis and sometimes cancer. There are vaccines to types A and B but not to type C. There are also types D and G which are not common.
A person who has been vaccinated for Hep B should NOT test positive for core antigen, and will only be positive for the viral surface antibody or anti-HBs. Regarding your tests- a positive test for core antigen implies previous exposure to the virus not the vaccine- if it is IgM it is recent, if it is IgG you could have been exposed months ago to years ago. Your results need to be interpreted in context with whether you are ill, and with additional further testing. A positive core can mean you have active infection, chronic infection with ongoing liver injury, it could mean you were exposed to virus but your body is now immune, or for some reasons the test can be a false positive.
Please see the following links for an explanation of the tests for viral hepatitis and especially the tables that outline the interpretation of positive tests for the different markers. PM me with any questions.
http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/HBV/PDFs/SerologicChartv8.pdf
http://www.natap.org/2005/HBV/102405_01.htm
I appreciate the info. Since the blood alliance didn't give me details, my best option at this point is to inform my dr.
I guess I'll have to inform him of the AAS I'm running. That will bring on a lecture from him.
Yes you need a full liver panel to see whats going on. Its important at this point to be honest with the doctor so they can accurately assess you and know what if anything should be doe next.
A and B are both treatable and you should get vaccinated for them if you haven't already.
I've been vaccinated for A and B but when I donated blood nothing was mentioned about it.
They did mention that I had tested positive for hep C. Then further explained that their testing was so sensitive that it most likely was a false positive.
That being said...
I did have the "treatable" form of hep C. Interferon/Ribavirin treatments got rid of the hep C to the point where it is undetectable during normal testing (and no longer causing damage to my liver).
Thanks for the response Greg. Are you still able to donate blood or atleast have them draw it and dispose of it?
Unfortunately my dr's office is closed on Fridays but I going to call him first thing Mobday just as a precautionary. I'll ask him if I can get scripts for the blood tests and go ahead and get vaccinated.
I am unable to donate blood anymore, at least in my state, and they will not bleed me to get my RBC count down. My provider will bleed me though if needed.
Gotcha. I think I may be in the same boat in my state.
Thanks again bro
P2i2tif you have ever been vaccinated, which most people have, for hepatitis B, it will always state they are positive for the antibodies on the result sheets. Because the entire point of a vaccination is to create the antibodies against the virus. so vaccination = antibodies...also means that yes, you have been exposed to the virus through the vaccination. Considering the vaccination really is the virus itself
hope this eases your mind a little
Thanks bro. This crap had my head spinning
P2i2tno problem bro. That's why I wanted to chime in as quickly as possible. Because I know this can be a stressful subject.also if it's any consolation my results say I am positive for the antibodies as well.I was vaccinated back in 2005
I'm thinking I may run it by my primary care dr just to be safe. I appreciate your response brother. It has ease my mind some for sure.
Awesome choice! I was going to say go to your pcp.