Hepatitis C Support Group

Hepatitis C is a blood-borne viral disease which can cause liver inflammation, fibrosis, cirrhosis and liver cancer. The hepatitis C virus (HCV) is spread by blood-to-blood contact with an infected person's blood. Many people with HCV infection have no symptoms and are unaware of the need to seek treatment. Hepatitis C infects an estimated 150-200 million people worldwide.

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Viral Load Question

deleted_user
deleted_user
Just got back from the perinatologist and my viral load went from 80,000 to 2,870,000 in the span of 3 months, but all of my liver function tests came back within range (ALT and AST)

I am not able to call my doctors office until Monday, so can anyone tell me what the significance of this is?
deleted_user
deleted_user
Hi,

The first thing you need to know is that the relationship between the severity of liver cell damage and the viral count is weak at best. What's more important is how your body responds to the presence of the virus in your liver than how much virus is in your liver.

Also keep in mind that viral counts can also change within a day, and in a week, ranges varying several million copies per millitliter of serum in common. These ups and downs might not be caught at a single point of time, which is why following viral counts alone doesn't paint a full picture.

So, breathe, be ready to ask your doctor lots of questions, and remember that when the viral load elevates it doesn't mean the liver has taken more damage.
Hugs,
deleted_user
deleted_user
A liver biopsy is can help determine the damage. I had a load of 3 million, down from 6 and a few days later it was under a million and a month later in was 2 million. My perception is Dr's push treatment. I have had HCV for almost 20 years.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Hi,I echo "jbkoskine:s" opinion the numbers are worrying at first glance but mean very little, bestwishes
deleted_user
deleted_user
Thanks for responding.

I had a biopsy done about 2 years ago and I had almost no damage, especially considering I was born with Hep C and am now 27 years old.
deleted_user
deleted_user
Hey, that's one of the wierd things about this virus. Two people could get the virus at the exact same time, the same way, and twenty years later, one could be in end-stage and the other hardly any fibrosis at all.

It's really very strange, indeed.
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