Hepatitis C Blog

Greg Jefferys Hepatitis C blog deals with all the issues associated with hepatitis C

Dormant Hepatitis C

can you have dormant Hep C

There is no such thing as dormant hepatitis C. The Hep C virus is always active and always causing damage

What is Dormant Hepatitis C?

One of the phrases that comes up a lot in discussions about Hep C is “dormant Hepatitis C.” Or the idea that Hep C can lay dormant, like a seed in the soil, until something triggers it or wakes it up.

So let’s be clear, there is no such thing as dormant Hepatitis C. If you have Hepatitis C its active, its replicating every minute and doing damage.
Hepatitis C can either be in the acute phase, which means you caught it within the previous six months, or the chronic phase, which means you have had Hep C for more than six months.

Hep C never sleeps

The Hepatitis C virus replicates about one billion times every few days. It replicates inside your liver cells. Every time it goes through a replication cycle it destroys the liver cell it has replicated in. So if you have a Hep C infection its actively replicating all the time. If you have Hep C then you can be certain the virus will have destroyed at least one million of your liver cells every few days. Hep C is  never “dormant”, if you have a Hep C viral load then you have Hep C and its active.
So what does actually happen, and where the very incorrect idea of “dormant” Hep C comes from, is that in a healthy body the liver cells can replicate as fast as the Hep C virus destroys them. Also a healthy body’s immune system can supress the Hepatitis C virus, keeping the numbers of virus (viral load) down to levels where the liver damage and other symptoms are minor.
In such a case the patient is asymptomatic, that is to say there are no obvious symptoms of Hep C.
This does not mean that the virus is not doing damage, it means the body is repairing the damage effectively… but there is always residual scar tissue (called fibrosis) forming and after a longish time the body begins to weaken and is not able to repair the damage fast enough, this when the symptoms of Hep C start to become obvious.
Sometimes a viral infection such as the flu or COVID may weaken the body’s immune system and tip the balance in favour of the Hep C virus. In such a case the viral load will increase, the liver will not repair itself as fast and the patient will go down quite fast… that’s what happened to me. I went from having asymptomatic chronic Hep C to being as sick as a dog after getting a bad dose of the flu.
I hope that helps you understand the processes of the advance of Hep C from asymptomatic Hep C, what is mistakenly called dormant Hep C, to symptomatic Hep C.

 

Can you have dormant Hepatitis C ?

No, there is no such thing as “dormant Hepatitis C”. When people refer to “dormant Hep C” they actually mean that there are no obvious symptoms of Hep C. The HCV virus is always replicating and always doing damage.

How long can Hep C lay dormant?

A patient can have Hepatitis C for many years without displaying obvious symptoms of Hep C. However the absence of Hep C symptoms does not mean that the virus is dormant, it simply means that the damage is not obvious. Its like saying that termites are not doing any damage to your house because you can not see the damage. The reality is that once the damage is obvious its almost too late.

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Greg Jefferys

Greg Jefferys

6 Comments

  •    Reply
    Esther November 27, 2022 at 9:18 pm

    So….. i was very sick with herniated discs in my neck. I went through many shots of steroids that ran four months of shots until my recent blood test showed Hep C. I had major kidney surgery re my kidney (stones) the second surgery I lost my kidney, 1983. So many other invasive surgeries followed from 1983-now 2022 and now Hep C – I don’t understand any of this. I was not promiscuous but my husbands were ; 14 years – 3 kids in the 70’s. (marriage 1970-1985) My second husband 23 years 1 child (1989-2011.) WTF 😳 I just can’t wrap my head around as where the Hep C came from.

    •    Reply
      Greg Jefferys November 30, 2022 at 1:58 am

      Hi Esther
      Generally Hep C is not considered to be a sexually transmitted disease as it requires blood to blood contact. Because Hep C was not discovered until 1989 there are many, many ways you could have caught it. Blood transfusions are a common vector as is dental work, tattoos and body piercing. Many people from our age group never figure out how they caught Hep C

  •    Reply
    Chuck Wilson November 28, 2022 at 3:26 pm

    Hey Greg this is Chuck Wilson and I haven’t seen any of your comments for a while I guess that’s because you’re only different site now. I decided that I really shouldn’t be on your site because you know I got a cure for hepatitis c on my own and luckily that was covered by insurance i.e. Medicare. I remember when I was looking for a cure I heard people saying that insurance will cover it but you have to be almost gone before they will kick in. They did kick in with the medication but my liver is cirrhosis. They discovered this by ultrasound and blood work. You know just before I got the antivirals i.e. MAVYRET® I was breaking out with something on my buttocks and my thighs. I tried lotions and everything and it would not go away. It eventually went away I think that was because I was cured of the hep c. I was right at the verge of going down I think. My question still is will the liver repair itself now. On that issue I have heard that a scar can never really be healed. A scar does heal somewhat but never all the way. So naturally I’m just wondering how long my liver will work now. I have heard like 10 years. Again thank you for this information I need to share this to my girlfriend because she seems to think she has plenty of time although I told her over and over again she needs to do something about her hep C. At first I was being fooled but what I read on the internet…. that a person can have it for decades and be okay. They should not indicate that a person will be okay because like you said the liver is continually being damaged. Okay Greg I hope you’re doing well and I hope you continue to do well. Later… Chuck Wilson

    •    Reply
      Greg Jefferys November 30, 2022 at 2:01 am

      Hi Chuck
      Liver healing depends on many things. But with a good diet and a healthy lifestyle the liver will definitely heal after treatment. Though healing will always be better if a patient is pro-active. Research shows that the biggest barrier to the liver recovering from Hep C is being overweight.
      Please read this post and watch the youtube video I caught Hep C when I was 21 and am 68 now, cleared the Hep C when I was 61, in 2015.
      I had liver cirrhosis (F4) and liver enzyme levels that were ten to twenty times higher than normal. Now am 100% healthy, with a fibrosis level of F1.
      Recovery from chronic Hep C involves more than just getting rid of the virus.
      It requires significant effort and lifestyle changes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iWrP2mXOK1A

  •    Reply
    Elvira Sorohan November 30, 2022 at 9:16 pm

    Buna Greg.Oarecum si eu sunt in aceasi situatie ca dv,insa problema cu excesul de greutate chiar mi se pare imposibil .
    Cred si sunt sigura ca as înlătura multe probleme de sanatate daca as avea sansa aceasta sa slăbesc .
    Sunt insa sigura ca la multe persoane problema greutății este genetică si este mult mai greu de stăpânit mai ales in condiții de vârstă ,alte boli, etc .

    •    Reply
      Greg Jefferys December 1, 2022 at 12:52 am

      Buna Elvira
      Vă mulțumim pentru e-mail și pentru explicarea situației dvs. Cu tot respectul pentru tine, trebuie să spun că problema excesului de greutate corporală este întotdeauna legată de raportul dintre alimente și exerciții fizice.
      Unele caracteristici care afectează creșterea în greutate pot fi genetice sau din comportamentul învățat. Deci pentru unii oameni este mai dificil să slăbească. Dar întotdeauna este relația dintre cantitatea de alimente pe care o mâncăm și cantitatea de exerciții pe care o facem.
      Deci soluția este simplă, dar și dificilă.
      Dacă urmați deja o dietă sănătoasă, vă sugerez să încercați să postați o zi întreagă în fiecare săptămână. Adică să nu consum nimic decât apă timp de 24 de ore. (post și rugăciune). Dacă faci asta, corpul tău va învăța un nou mod.
      Deci este simplu, dar dificil
      Hi Elvira
      Thanks for your email and for explaining your situation. With all respect to you I must say that the problem of excess body weight is always related to the ratio of food to exercise.
      Some features effecting weight gain may be genetic or from learned behaviour. So for some people it is more difficult to lose weight. But always it is the relationship of amount of food we eat to the amount of exercise we do.
      So the solution is simple but also difficult.
      If you are already eating a healthy diet then I would suggest that you try to fast for one full day every week. I mean to not consume anything but water for 24 hours. (post și rugăciune). If you do this it will cause your body to learn a new way.
      So it is simple but difficult

      Hello Greg. I am in the same situation as you, but the problem with excess weight really seems impossible to me.
      I believe and I am sure that I would eliminate many health problems if I had this chance to lose weight.
      However, I am sure that for many people the problem of weight is genetic and it is much more difficult to control, especially in conditions of age, other diseases,

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