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Avatar universal

previous history of hep c

so i had hep c when i was a sophomore in high school (around 2000)... it was acute and i fully recovered in about 7-10 days... i was just curious... even if i completely recovered, does the hep c still show up on my blood test? im curious b/c i took a blood test for life insurance and i was declined... do insurance companies usually decline ppl who had history of hep c? even if it was acute and recovered fully?
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Avatar universal
I agree, you bring out some good points.
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Avatar universal
Any diabetic on TX should be suspicious of their HbA1c result. The test looks at RBCs and if you have hemolytic anemia from Ribavirin it destroys RBCs. When the RBCs are examined it is assumed that they are normal mature red blood cells and I believe the lifespan is 120 days or around there. With hemolytic anemia they don't generally live nearly that long and thus the test results may be unrealistically and inaccurately low. I had an HbA1c of 2.8 and no one could figure out how the hell I was that low. I figured it out but back then (2001) I couldn't find any information on it and, though today there is some information out there, I wouldn't be surprised at all if your PCP or hepatologist or even endocrinologist doesn't know about it. Mike
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Avatar universal
This is interesting about the vegan diet,
I am confused, my son tried it, probably did not
do it correctly and wound up in the hospital on several
occasions, but again, I don't know if he had the dicipline
to follow it correctly.
I always thought you could eat anything, just in moderation,
and the smaller the meals, the more often would help in many ways with many illness.
But I don't do so well myself, and nothing to back this up with.
Helpful - 0
86075 tn?1238115091
sorry to hijack, I just had to post this for the Rocker Man..ha ha!....

People who ate a low-fat vegan diet, cutting out all meat and dairy, lowered their blood sugar more and lost more weight than people on a standard American Diabetes Association diet, researchers said on Thursday.


They lowered their cholesterol more and ended up with better kidney function, according to the report published in Diabetes Care, a journal published by the American Diabetes Association.

Participants said the vegan diet was easier to follow than most because they did not measure portions or count calories. Three of the vegan dieters dropped out of the study, compared to eight on the standard diet.

"I hope this study will rekindle interest in using diet changes first, rather than prescription drugs," Dr. Neal Barnard, president of the Physician's Committee for Responsible Medicine, which helped conduct the study, told a news conference.

An estimated 18 million Americans have type-2 diabetes, which results from a combination of genetics and poor eating and exercise habits. They run a high risk of heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, blindness and limb loss.

Barnard's team and colleagues at George Washington University, the University of Toronto and the University of North Carolina tested 99 people with type-2 diabetes, assigning them randomly to either a low-fat, low-sugar vegan diet or the standard American Diabetes Association diet.

After 22 weeks on the diet, 43 percent of those on the vegan diet and 26 percent of those on the standard diet were either able to stop taking some of their drugs such as insulin or glucose-control medications, or lowered the doses.

The vegan dieters lost 14 pounds (6.5 kg) on average while the diabetes association dieters lost 6.8 pounds (3.1 kg).

An important level of glucose control called a1c fell by 1.23 points in the vegan group and by 0.38 in the group on the standard diet.

DROPPING DRUGS

A1c gives a measure of how well-controlled blood sugar has been over the preceding three months.

In the dieters who did not change whatever cholesterol drugs they were on during the study, LDL or "bad" cholesterol fell by 21 percent in the vegan group and 10 percent in the standard diet group.

The vegan diet removed all animal products, including meat, fish and dairy. It was also low in added fat and in sugar.

The American Diabetes Association diet is more tailored, taking into account the patient's weight and cholesterol. Most patients on this diet cut calories significantly, and were told to eat sugary and starchy foods in moderation.

All 99 participants met weekly with advisers, who advised them on recipes, gave them tips for sticking to their respective diets, and offered encouragement.

"We have got a combination here that works successfully," said Dr. David Jenkins of the University of Toronto, who worked on the study. "The message that we so often get with diet is that it is no good because nobody follows it for very long."

Dr. Joshua Cohen, George Washington University associate professor of medicine, said everyone diagnosed with diabetes is told to start eating more carefully.

"That may be among the hardest things that any of us can do," Cohen told the news conference.

The vegan diet "is at least as good, if not better than traditional approaches," Cohen said
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Avatar universal
i just spoke with my dad and he told me that after i was asymptomatic... a nurse came to my house to do a follow-up (blood test)... he said the results showed that i recovered fully... so i'm thinking i got rejected for the insurance just on the fact that i had the hep c before... i should get tested just to make sure.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
You are right, it is SO SNEAKY. Even though I had acute symptoms at the time the doctor(s) didn't realize it was Hep C. It was only later after seeing yet another doctor that it was diagnosed correctly. The treating doctor felt bad he missed it but it is easy to miss and I had had lots of steroids injected and the symptoms which was why he thought it was a drug allergy, they can be the same. bad drug reactions can cause raised LFT's too I guess.
So many people are like you and have no symptoms at all, that is why they are so shocked to find out they hve damage I think because they still FEEL great. It makes no bloomin' sense. You are right when you say we are "lucky" we even know we have it many out there have no idea.
In  my case, I was having injections directly into my spinal column and I think that is why I had a severe initial response.
But even though I had symptoms, they still missed it. It is notoriously hard to diagnose.
I just got a call from the doc and he said the results of my CT scan "looked good and plump no nodules and a small amount of scarring" he said the scarring was caused by the geno. I am asking for a copy of the scan results but I was pleased with what he said on the phone. He does not want to do a biopsy, says it isn't necessary. Ugh! He did say he wil "consider" it when I finish treating. He says " I don't biopsy for curiosity's sake" guess he has MY number. LOL
Have a good weekend and a lazy day off!
Helpful - 0
85135 tn?1227289772
I had acute Hep in 1967. It was called non a, non b back in those days. I found out it was cronic in 2004. I treated for it and no longer have active hep c virus in my bloodstream.
Please get tested and let us know what the results are. You have a 20% chance of being fully cleared by your own immune system.
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Avatar universal
I think the comparison was simply to the normal american diet, so really no big deal here IMO.  BTW, as you probably know,  they are pretty strict here regarding posting complete articles and entire threads have been zapped whether or not a copywright mark appears at the bottom.  Much better to post the link or a VERY short exerpt.

-- Jim
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86075 tn?1238115091
Hi, think it was compared to a diet specifically for diebetes, but too hot to think, just came from outside....didn't know that about articles, thought if I didnt post the source or copywrite...
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Avatar universal
Kalio said:
You "fully recovered" form the acute symptoms but that does not mean you don't still have Hep C


I never even had the acute stage...I had no symptoms whatsoever that I know about and I am positive.  It's a very sneaky disease.

I would advise having the test right away - ruling it out would be such a huge relief wouldn't it?
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Avatar universal
You "fully recovered" form the acute symptoms but that does not mean you don't still have Hep C. You have to have a PCR DNA test to determine what your viral load is. If you have not had a PCR test after you had acute hepatitis c that shows you had cleared the virus, you still have the Hep C virus. You should visit your doctor and have a qualitative test for hepatitis c done and have a ful hepatic panel done. Yes, insurance companies do decline people who test positive for Hep C. They also decline people for having raised liver function tests. You need to see your doctor to determine if you do stil ahve the virus, have your liver evaluated and to decide what you will do about it. Good luck I know it is difficult to understand all of this. I too had acute hep c but those initial symptoms cleared up but I still have the virus so now I am on treatment Interferon/Ribivirin to try to get rid of the virus.
FInd out if you are still positive for hep , and ask the doctor what genotype you have and also what your viral load is.
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Avatar universal
In most cases, you will always have the hep c antibody for life whether you are cured from the disease or not. BTW did you ever have a PCR (viral load test)? If you didn't, it might be a good idea to ask for one. I mention this because it's unclear from your post whether you were asymptomatic after 10 days or if your blood was actually tested for the virus. Best person to follow through with would be either a liver specialist (hepatologist) or a good GI. Good luck and maybe someone will come along with some more info regarding the insurance issue, speaking of which did you ask them why you were turned down. Maybe you'll get some info that way.

-- Jim
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