Treatment or not?

[Leanne62499]

Hello!
My brother was dgs. with Hep B 10 years ago, at the age of 20, after having his 3 shots done...He had a biopsy(showed cirrhosis) at that time, his viral load was high and he was started on Interferon. Time went by, he was in denial, lived his life and now he is not feeling that good at times...so he finally decided to go to the Dr. His viral load is 140,000, he has HBeAg,but not antibodies.His ALT,AST slightly higher than norm...His Dr.(a GI) wants him to consider Viread for 1 year???
My advice was for him to go see a hepatologist...but I am afraid that if he waits too long...he might be in worse shape later...Should he start the treatment? Any side effects that we should be aware off? Should we ask about a different treatment option?
Thank you!

[Leanne62499]

Well...I understand more than he does, like I said he was in denial for many years...we think he got it as a child, long time ago, never showed any signs...it was dgs because he had appendicitis...and since he did not have clear signs for his abd pain at the time thay did the Hep B testing. He did finaly go to Dr. and it looks like it he will start the treatment with the Viread...I am praying that he will get better, and that the treatment will work to keep his virus in check. He is also going on a strict diet,but I do not know how long he will be able to stay on it...he likes "tasty" food , he does not drink(never really did more than 1-2 beers) and his life style changed in better.I am just hopeful that he will stay "healthy" for many years to come.

[stevenNYer]

So biopsy shows cirrhosis 10 years ago with active hepatitis and your brother is not taking this seriously?

Read up on this link:

http://www.medhelp.org/health_pages/Hepatitis/HepB-Introduction--Welcome-Page/show/34?cid=153


Don't start any treatment until you understand the reason and end goal of treatment.

[Leanne62499]

Well...he was diagnosed with Hep B after he finished his vaccination...so I meant he did take his 3 shot series...but it was too late...we have no clue when he got this, or how.He was on Interferon for 6months, if I remember correctly,but his MD at the time(he was in a trial or something like that) told him after he finished the treatment that he did not really benefited from it...at that time his tests were good...so he just felt he did not need to do anything any longer....plus he was young and in denial. I am going to advise him, and convince him to give Viread a try, but he really needs to take his problem very serious, since his virus is so active.

[bram44]

Once a person is HBsAg+ve (diagnosed with hep-B), vaccination is useless. Do not understand what you meant by '3 shots'.

Also there are few things not clear, He started on interferon, but did he get checked every 6 months ? Or he discontinued medication and did nothing for 10 years ?

He should see a hepatologist and evaluated. Viread is a first-line recommended drug. If  your brother has kidney issues (creatinine < 50)
dosage will need to be adjusted.

I think the best option is to see a hepatologist and get appropriate tests. He should not delay.