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Hepatitis B Borderline
I recently got an anitbody titer test for Hepatitis B....it came back "Borderline" and I'm not sure what this really means for me. I viewed how one can contract Hep B and can rule out that I don't have sex with men. I'm not that sexually active and don't believe any past woman partner would be a risk.
My doctor told me this was borderline low...but I'm concerned about what I should do next. I certainly don't want to give what little exposure I evidently have incurred to someone else....but is there anything that would cure this?
I'm just very confused at this point and could use some guidance. My doctor did give me a prescription to get so he could administer a vaccine (3 times), but is this really going to help me.
Again, I've not practiced any risky behaviors or alternative lifestyles. I do work in a healthcare environment as I'm in different hospitals each week.
My doctor told me this was borderline low...but I'm concerned about what I should do next. I certainly don't want to give what little exposure I evidently have incurred to someone else....but is there anything that would cure this?
I'm just very confused at this point and could use some guidance. My doctor did give me a prescription to get so he could administer a vaccine (3 times), but is this really going to help me.
Again, I've not practiced any risky behaviors or alternative lifestyles. I do work in a healthcare environment as I'm in different hospitals each week.
The antibody appears during convalescence or following successful immunization. It is usually long-lived, but titers decrease with time and may eventually become undetectable. This antibody is protective against hepatitis B infection. A positive result indicates immunity. A borderline result indicates inadequate immunity and will be reported as "IDET" = Indeterminate. If clinically indicated, please resubmit in 4 weeks).
I was tested for Hep B and my surfaced antibody results showed borderline. I was freaking out because I had no idea what this meant and every doctor I had talked to about it had never seen "borderline" printed on Hep B results. One doctor told me I was exposed to and it and I cried my eyes out thinking I had it. He wanted to send me to the center for infectious disease and told me to wait three weeks for the referral so I went nuts for 3 weeks waiting. I had to call the doctors office because I hadn't heard anything back from them. The lady in charge of referrals told me that the infectious disease center would not take me because I was not infected with the actual virus. Then she said the doctor wanted me to see a liver specialist, which I would have to wait another 3 weeks for the referral. I got strep throat during the time i was waiting for the liver specialist referral and went in to see another doctor who then told me that I could have had some vaccines as a child, but didn't receive the full series and that i may have been exposed and have a 50/50 chance of getting the virus. As you can imagine I was going crazy not having enough info on what was going on with my body or what the best thing to do next was. I spent all my waiting time praying harder than I ever did in my entire life. 3 more weeks had gone by and still i heard nothing about the referral for the liver specialist, so i called and asked to speak to the head doctor in charge. I was super frustrated, depressed, anxious and neded some answers. The doctor explained to me what the surfaced antibody meant and assured me that the results did not, at that time indicate that i was infected with the virus
he asked if i could come back in for confirmation testing in 2 weeks so that way it has been sometime already. Well i went in, got tested and he said the results came back the exact same which only indicated that my immunity was very low and he said In order to keep myself safe that he reccomends getting the Hep B vaccination series again which will be given over the next six months. He called them Booster shots. so i recieved my first shot of the series that same day i got my results and now i have to get one next month and the last one in Feb 2017 then they will run a pannel to check the immunity once again. hope my big long bible of a story helps someone going thru the same thing I went thru.
I was tested for Hep B and my surfaced antibody results showed borderline. I was freaking out because I had no idea what this meant and every doctor I had talked to about it had never seen "borderline" printed on Hep B results. One doctor told me I was exposed to and it and I cried my eyes out thinking I had it. He wanted to send me to the center for infectious disease and told me to wait three weeks for the referral so I went nuts for 3 weeks waiting. I had to call the doctors office because I hadn't heard anything back from them. The lady in charge of referrals told me that the infectious disease center would not take me because I was not infected with the actual virus. Then she said the doctor wanted me to see a liver specialist, which I would have to wait another 3 weeks for the referral. I got strep throat during the time i was waiting for the liver specialist referral and went in to see another doctor who then told me that I could have had some vaccines as a child, but didn't receive the full series and that i may have been exposed and have a 50/50 chance of getting the virus. As you can imagine I was going crazy not having enough info on what was going on with my body or what the best thing to do next was. I spent all my waiting time praying harder than I ever did in my entire life. 3 more weeks had gone by and still i heard nothing about the referral for the liver specialist, so i called and asked to speak to the head doctor in charge. I was super frustrated, depressed, anxious and neded some answers. The doctor explained to me what the surfaced antibody meant and assured me that the results did not, at that time indicate that i was infected with the virus
he asked if i could come back in for confirmation testing in 2 weeks so that way it has been sometime already. Well i went in, got tested and he said the results came back the exact same which only indicated that my immunity was very low and he said In order to keep myself safe that he reccomends getting the Hep B vaccination series again which will be given over the next six months. He called them Booster shots. so i recieved my first shot of the series that same day i got my results and now i have to get one next month and the last one in Feb 2017 then they will run a pannel to check the immunity once again. hope my big long bible of a story helps someone going thru the same thing I went thru.
bberry (or anyone else),
Have you ever heard of any claims of the Engerix vaccine being unsafe?
Have you ever heard of any claims of the Engerix vaccine being unsafe?
border line , never been vaccinated..you are not positive to HBSAG i assume
OFCOURSE go for the vaccine
you'll be set for life at your age
good luck
OFCOURSE go for the vaccine
you'll be set for life at your age
good luck
I'm 42 and never had any vaccination for Hep B.
The only paperwork I got back from Quest Diagnostics showed the test name (Hepatitis B Surface) then there were two columns. One was "In Range" the other "Out of Range". The word "Borderline" was in the "Out of Range" column and next to that column was "Reference Range" which below said "Non-Reactive".
Reason I'm getting this test is it's now become mandatory for my profession as I am in medical sales and am in hospitals a lot. They want to know about those from the outside that come in are not infected.
I don't participate in any of the "risk categories" (IV drug use, sharing needles, homosexual sex, etc). I don't have any of the symptoms so am now left with do I get these vaccinations of Engrix over a few months.
What the doctor said is base upon what was in this vague report, I was on the low to no with these readings. But I don't know what this really means based upon the test that was performed.
The only paperwork I got back from Quest Diagnostics showed the test name (Hepatitis B Surface) then there were two columns. One was "In Range" the other "Out of Range". The word "Borderline" was in the "Out of Range" column and next to that column was "Reference Range" which below said "Non-Reactive".
Reason I'm getting this test is it's now become mandatory for my profession as I am in medical sales and am in hospitals a lot. They want to know about those from the outside that come in are not infected.
I don't participate in any of the "risk categories" (IV drug use, sharing needles, homosexual sex, etc). I don't have any of the symptoms so am now left with do I get these vaccinations of Engrix over a few months.
What the doctor said is base upon what was in this vague report, I was on the low to no with these readings. But I don't know what this really means based upon the test that was performed.
what are the rest of your hepB readings ? have you ever been vaccinated before ? if so when ? why made you test for it now? any symptoms of anything ?
i assume your doctor is suggesting another vaccine is a telling that you were NEVER exposed to hepB and he knows that.
a vaccine wouldnt help if you were exposed to hepB it does look like you might have gotten the vaccine early on in your life and nevert took them again
i assume your doctor is suggesting another vaccine is a telling that you were NEVER exposed to hepB and he knows that.
a vaccine wouldnt help if you were exposed to hepB it does look like you might have gotten the vaccine early on in your life and nevert took them again
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