I am a Hepatitis B carrier. Have been for all of my life. I Am now 46 years old.?

My doctor recently prescribed Truvada to lower the viral load of the Hep B virus in my body. However, Truvada is a HIV drug, not yet approved for Hep B treatment. Can a medical professional out there who may know something about this chime in with some suggestions or insights?

Sometimes some physicians use drugs that are OFF-LABEL, which means they are used without prior FDA approval. We have been doing this for years. Because if we wait for FDA approval, patients will die before our eyes. Sad but true.

Anyways, Lamivudine (Epivir) which was originally intended for HIV was also used in Hep B. We started using epivir for Hep B even before it was FDA approved. Other drugs available includes Tenofovir, adefovir and recently released entecavir.

Maybe it seems to work great on other patients. If it works for antiviral of HIV it will also work on Hep B. However, if you have concerns about being a test subject, you may want to discuss this with your doc. There are tons of meds not approved for a certain treatment but that work very well. If you are not comfortable, discuss this with your doc b/c he/she may have several good outcomes with this technique.

Truvada is not for the treatment of chronic hepatitis b infection. It is used for HIV. It could be that your doctor has given you the medication for a study trial utilizing Truvada against HBV.

Here is a website where the ongoing trials are listed:
http://www.hepb.org/patients/hepatitis_b...

I do not see Truvada listed, but maybe another name for it?

Good luck and ask your doctor!!!! You are in charge of YOUR treatment, not the doctor!