I'm HBV carrier medical student

[hurri87]

Hi i'm an internship doctor in Burma, recently passed medical school.
i'm very much confused about my career coz my dream is going abroad like US after taking USMLE. actually i'm depressed and don't know what to do. i found out about months ago that hospitals in Australia don't employ doctors with HBV or so,whatever, i felt like i'm inferior to others. so can anyone tell me can i be a doctor in US hospitals?? actually i'm great at my studies,i was one of the top 10 students in my medical school.
i can't tell my friends about my virus ,even my girlfriend, it's horrible, i'm depressed now.
i'll be really glad if anyone just reply me, i need moral support from people like me.

my lab results were
HBsAg - reactive
HBeAg - nonreactive
Anti HBe - reactive
Anti HBs - nonreactive
ALT,AST - within normal range
alpha fetoprotein - very low (about 0.03)
Ultrasound - normal
viral count - <500IU/ml (real time PCR)

[cajim]

You are an inactive carrier, you are not too infective at all and you may stay like this all your life.  For security and safety, your girlfriend needs to be tested for HBsAB, if positive then she is safe, if negative she needs to be vaccinated if she is HBsAg negative.

For your career, it depends on what kind of doctor you will be, if one with invasive procedures as part of your practice, the hospital has a reason for concern because of the HBV in you.

Maybe you can consider careers like health care administration that uses your speciality but does not put your patients at any risk.

Best.

[zellyf]

You don't have time to be depressed because you need to get busy exploring your options for a medical career.  You have been presented with a challenge and its time to test your mettle.  I do not think anyone here can provide you with specifics on where or what you can practice.  That will take research.  Time to see what you're made of.

Remember, you could live a very long life with HBV.  HBV patients like myself could certainly use brilliant medical minds like yours to help me make good choices about treatment options.

[hurri]

hello cajim, thanks for ur advises , i appreciate that.

about my girlfriend, she's vaccinated about 3yrs ago, only worry for me is what if she didn't develop antibodies , as i was teached , there are about 5% of people who do not develp antibodies although they had vaccine. but i think she'll be ok.

i wanna be a physician oneday , with great knowledge and with great sympathy, actually i'm thinking i wanna be hepatologist, so i can help people like me needing help and sympathy. is there any chance?? i don't know , hey where r u living? in US? do they give visa to HBcarriers?  what about hospitals? do u know? actually, i'm not interested in Surgery at all, so no invasive operations.

hey can u tell me about urself? what about ur lab results? are u consulting specialist? i think ur one of the most active person at this support group :)

Thanks a lot for ur reply,
take care
hurri

[hurri]

hello zellyf, thanks for ur reply,

hey ur words give me strength, also points the way to continue my career, actually i don't have many acquaintances oversea,most importantly i don't know people like me (carriers), so that's my problem i think ,

hey can u also tell me about urself? what about ur test? when did u know u got this? do u have family? where do u live?

With regrets,
hurri

[cajim]

1.  Your girlfriend's immunity state can only be confirmed by blood test HBsAB+.
2.  We look forward to your becoming a hepatologist so that you can help many like us!
3.  My history here: http://www.medhelp.org/posts/show/458687?post_id=post_2613318

Best.

[hurri]

hello cajim, i read ur history, it takes me hours to read that, u guys are no ordinary guys, u did a lot of research , and know almost everything, that's great, at least we know what our enemy is and how to fight it, how to live with it.

it's really great to know u guys, i wish i visited this site years ago, i've lost many years to be friends with u all.

Hey guys, have u read research about HBV and iron intake? i've read about it (i don't remember details now), it was told by former head of hepatology department(professor of hepatology) of Burma, he's a MRCP(UK).
The essence of that research said that reduced iron intake can make improvements in prognosis, i don't remember much.
So he suggest that we should not take iron supplements, should not take vitC supplements(it faciliate iron absorption).
Meat and some other vegetables are rich in iron , so we should not take these much.

[Sir_Osis]

B6 and lots of ascorbic acid (vit C - in megadoses) arent adviasable for anyone with hemachromomatosis. Maybe thats what the head of hepatology was driving at

Best of luck to you! sounds like your on the road to a brilliant career!

Cheers

Jack

[cajim]

Please join us in our efforts at helping each other.

[zellyf]

Dietary sources of iron are not too worrisome though one should be aware of how much iron fortified foods they might be eating (cereals, breads etc).  Red meat should be eaten minimally but more b/c of the fat than the iron.  Iron supplements are a bigger issue.  Have to make sure you are taking vitamins that are iron-free which are easy to find.

[hurri]

hi everyone, thanks for ur replies,

i'll try to help others like u guys, thanks for inviting me cajim.

About iron, of course, we shouldn't take iron supplements as many multivitamin tablets contain iron.

hey cajim, about chinese stuff u described, it's really good, as it consists of many vegetables and all they do is enhance our immune system, but about beef soup, i'm a little worried about u, as it contains a lot of iron. Occasionally taking that is no matter, but for everyday um.. i'm not sure, i think u should discuss with other people ,

with best wishes,
hurri

[ChuChu21]

Hello,

I joined the member when my husband was diagnosed with Hep. B but it seems like my Hep. also is on active stage now.  I'm not sure how it's active because I was born with the virus by my mom.

My DNA count is 1,110,000,000 and since I have HMO I have been waiting for an appointment for a month now.  They've keep adding more test after test and now a referal letter to another doctor.  I'm scared without much answers.  and so far, I haven't seen anyone on this forum with this kind of count.

Could you give me some answer if you are studying in Hep. B?

[ohboyohboy]

Hi Hurri,

I was in your position when i was first diagnosed, not quite sure what career path to take after grad school. Things will work itself out. It did for me and now im doing something that i never dreamt of doing and enjoying it so much.

I really hope things work out of you. And ofcourse people on this site are really really great!

xxx

[lizbobo]

hello,i noe it is late to join this conversation but i went thru on9 searching n eventually came across this.just being curious,how are you doing nw,hurri???bcz im going thru wat you were going thru in 2 years ago.i nid some advices.looking for ur news.

[Tun85]

Hello everyone,
       I was diagnosed with hepB when i was young and that made me scary a lot. Now i graduated with medicine and i am wandering about my future career. as i am so eager to work in australia and i heard that australia hospitals do not employ the hepb doctors. What should i do? Is there anyone who knows about the situation in australia and then pls let me know.
Tun85

[StephenCastlecrag]

I don't have a ready answer for you as I am not a doctor. In Australia, the rights of the Hepatitis B person are protected by legislation. However certain professions do exclude Hepatitis B, for example, dentistry and defence forces. I am not sure about doctors. You will have to make more enquiries. You may like to write to Paul Harvey of Hepatitis NSW to seek his help. Don't take no for an answer.

Paul Harvey  |  Coordinator - Information & Resources   |   Hepatitis NSW
PO Box 432   |   Darlinghurst  NSW  1300   |   Phone [phone]   |   Fax [phone]  |  ***@****   |    www.hep.org.au

[chizikot]

I am an Engineer and wish to relocate to Australia, does the law there allow me to work there?

[StephenCastlecrag]

If you want to migrate, I think you have to have a medical test. As I say before, each case is considered on its own merit. There are Hepatitis B persons who have successfully migrated to Australia. If you just want to work, I am not sure that you need a medical.

These are my understandings, check with the Australian immigration department/website.

[chizikot]

Thanks for the quick response. Pls can I take Vitamin C and B Complex? I have started making plans to try to quantity the level of my disease just that it is not done in Nigeria.

[StephenCastlecrag]

Vitamins are essential but they are plentiful in natural food. From what I have read, if you are deficient, you may consider taking Vitamin D and selenium. If you like coffee, keep drinking it. Avoid putting on weight and exercise regularly. These are for everyone, not just hbvers.

[chizikot]

Thanks. How about Iron, I read it is not good for Hbv.

[StephenCastlecrag]

You are right.  HBV viruses love iron, so I was told. Iron in our body is a complex issue. I think Vitamin C helps the absorption of iron. So everything in moderation. Oh I forgot to mention fish oil is very good, so make sure you have oily fish in your diet.

[stef2011]

Vitamins are essential but they are plentiful in natural food.

only natural food just picked up, an italian researcher show on tv his small research, vegetables in the city market, even if fresh, were useless as vitamin and antioxidant content.
he said to eat fresh local vegetables or frozen or to take supplements

vitamin C and glutathione are very good taken together because they balance each other, glutathione is very good as chelator.high normal vit d in serum also increases our own glutathioen production

[stef2011]

by the way i planted berries plants in my garden about 1 month ago, first berries are born these days....
this is the best way to reach maximum antioxidant/vitamins when possible planting them in our own gardens

[StephenCastlecrag]

Wish I have your green fingers - I hope your berries are tasty.

I myself take Vitamins as I am retired and I don't eat a variety of food.