[Question #8877] Follow up to a Hep B question from a month ago

38 months ago

Dr. Handsfiled has asked me not to ask any more questions on the forum because of my OCD, which I respect and understand – but I am in a terrible place the last two months as I fear I have Hep B, and am hoping that you all will make an exception for me and answer one more question and I will never bother any of you again – please I am begging you:

Here is my situation in 1999 I had a routine screen for Hep B and I had the following results:

HBsAG (surface antigen) (-)

HBsAB (surface antibody) (-)

HBcAB (core antigen) (+)

My doctor at the time said it was a false positive. Then in 2013 I read an article that told me that the results above were inconclusive, so I got another test with the following results:

HBsAG (surface antigen) (-)

HBsAB (surface antibody) (-)

HBcAB (core antigen) (-) This test was a total HBcAB test

My question is, I am 90% certain that in 2013 I called the Hospital where in 1999 I got the first test and got those results – but I cannot remember for sure and the hospital is now closed, so I can’t get the records. If for some reason something else was positive like the surface antigen (I can’t imagine the Dr at the time would have been so irresponsible to tell me that the HBsAG was a false positive) but if that marker or another one was the positive:

(1) would it change your diagnoses from our last thread that I am hep B free and that my 2013 test is conclusive evidence that I am negative.

(2) Is my 2013 test 100% valid that I don’t need any further testing as I am truly negative.

If you don’t want to answer this because its probably my OCD I understand – but I am hoping like anything you will answer this question one last time as I respect you and Dr. Hook so much and I am suffering terribly if you will help me I will be forever grateful and will never bother you again.

H. Hunter Handsfield, MD

38 months ago

I'm sorry, but there's nothing more we can do. You're just going to have to suck it up and believe that you do not have hepatitis B, regardless of whatever transient false positive results you had. It is indeed your OCD speaking, nothing more.

There will be no further discussion here. Anxiety driven repeat questions are not permitted and typically are deleted without even this much reply, and without refund of the posting fee. Repeated answers tend to prolong anxiety rather than relieving it, especially when OCD is involved, because there always are "yes but" and "could I be the exception" sort of questions, which are unanswerable; we do not play that game. And such questions have little educational value for other users, one of the forum's main goals. Thanks for your understanding. Keep working with your OCD counselor or other responsible health care providers. That's where relief lies, not in yet another opinion from us (or any other expert) that you don't have it. (However, I will ask the forum administrator to refund one of your two identical questions today.)

HHH, MD

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