Hello! Welcome to the forum, there are many knowledgeable helpful people here. Idyllic and Mac have given you excellent information.
HCV is not transmitted sexually unless you both are bleeding. Then there is a small risk.
Drinking or drugs would not affect the HCV test.
Good luck :)
Dee
Hello, I second Idyllic's sentiments, with the following notes: Only you know if you have engaged in any activities that could transmit the HCV to you. Blood commingling is the one and only method of transmission. This virus is a very unpredictable and pernicious miscreant. Some people can get a mouthful of HCV tainted blood and their immune system wards it off. Others can be sharing a rolled up note of paper currency or straw to inhale intoxicants, and although the blood could not be easily seen unless you were looking for it, get infected. I would bet the farm that alcohol and antibiotics did not alter your test results.If you were infected, it will take your body 1-3 months to develop antibodies to the virus. The antibody test is useful, but not if you were only very recently exposed. The most positive way to know is a "HCV RNA Quantitation by PCR", aka "viral load" test. There will lie your answer. Differnt labs have varying numbers for the virus to be declared "undetectable". The numbers in the US are 15 IU/ml, 25 IU/ml and 43 IU/ml. Those numbers refer to actual number of copies of the virus found in your blood. Repeat that test, have your MD do the antibody test in a few months.If you start feeling achy, extremely lethargic, feverish and eventually showing signs of jaundice, then there is no question you have been exposed. The good news is that if you have been, you caught it at the right time in medical technological progress. There will be at least 6 brand new Interferon free therapies available to the public over the next 2 years, most will be 1 pill per day for 12 weeks tx. The Sustained Viral Response, in the short term is already in the 97%+ area, in a very few years I feel it will reach 100%. These drugs are so new the data is not yet compiled to see how many people who are ND @ 6 months post txt remain virus free indefinately. Merck, whose drugs I am using, considers a viral load of undetectable @ 6 months post EOT a permanent eradication of the virus. Only after a year of ND viral load tests I think is wise before I hoist the victory flag. As previously mentioned, this is a very sneaky, miserable SOB of a virus. mac790
Not sure why exactly your result for HCV Antibody was Indeterminate but your doctor did the next right thing which means
1. Test for HCV RNA
or
2. Repeat anti-HCV testing
She tested you for HCV RNA and there was no presence of the virus.
For future reference HCV is not really an STD but for convenience it is often lumped in with the STDs, I guess so people will test for and learn about it.
If you want or need to you could test again sometime to see if there is presence of the Antibody in your system but you don't have the virus.
There is a handy dandy chart from the CDC on this page that shows the various possibilities and the appropriate course of action.
http://www.medhelp.org/user_photos/show/508092?personal_page_id=1282072