TOPIC:

I have dark urine and stool is often pale with some Brown.
I have no pain, no fever, no itch, no flu like symptoms, just a serious panic attack 24/7 it's mentally killing me as I am a hypochondriac.
Are my symptoms that of hepatitis. My last sexual episode was in March and was an oral encounter with a female whom I don't know well

Hi Don Joe, Hepatitis C is transmitted through blood to blood contact with an infected person. To know for sure if you have Hepatitis C or not, you can take the 'HCV RNA BY PCR,QT' test www.link2labs.com/home/product/search/HCV%20RNA%20BY%20PCR

I'm waiting for my blood work at the moment. 2 weeks is quite along time to wait. The only information I have at the moment, was a in house dipstick test at the clinic. It read negative for everything on the strip. Including bilirubin and urobilinogen was negative as well. Should I relax with pre results? Please reply I can't sleep or function!!

I had a slight burning sensation and some urinary dribble a little while after I had unprotected oral sex in March 2018. No sex since.
I noticed my urine is a bit dark and stool changes like yellowing to brown. I had treatment for gonorrhea ·(rocephin IM )chlamydia ·(azithromycin 1gram) but before that I had already self medicated with azithromycin at 1gram thinking I'd take care of chlamydia.
Then I took the weeks worth prescription given to me by the doctor for 500 mg of Azithromycin per day for 5 days. All to find out after my urinalysis came back positive for trichomonas. Doctor then prescribe me metronidazole at 2 grams single dose.

(So that's 4 1/2 grams of azithromycin. 250mg rocephin, and 2grams of metronidazole)

I'm hoping the antibiotics tore up my urinary tract and digestive system. And hopefully that's the cause of my urine and stool issues.

Dr. Can you please help me with some insight please????
I'm going nuts can't sleep

Hi Don-Joe,

Take a chill pill and relax, it is virtually impossible to catch Hep C from sex. Full stop.

In terms of things you can catch from unprotected sex you've been treated for pretty much all of them with those antibiotics.

In terms of being a hypochondriac and participating in activities that cause you worry... it's probably a case of less is more for you. Have protected sex and don't worry. Get a nice girlfriend/boyfriend and have lots of unprotected sex, but if you're going to do it with a random take some precautions.

Thank you for your time Dr. James. Your a gift from god. I'm very sorry for the way I'm acting. It's certainly not an act. I'm losing my mind waiting.

I know you guys are here to address Hep C. But I worry about possibly be infected with hep B from that oral encounter in March.

My question is, Hep B easily transmitted through oral sex?

What are the earliest symptoms? Are they mild?
Would dark urine and light colored stools be the 1st symptom? I have no other symptoms. But my urine and stool scares me because of the resemblance. I apologize for my behavior.

Also, like I mentioned before, I had a dipstick test done at the health center on 5/17/18 as part of the urinalysis.

My urine was pretty dark
The Urobilinogen - neg
The Bilirubin - neg
As well as everything else.
It's a month later urine is still darker than normal. Dr doing my blood work to establish a cause.
Me showing negative on the dipstick, is that a sign there's no hepatitis? Do ppl with hepatitis usually show positive on dipstick test?
That's all I have to work with till the end of the month. Thanks again Dr. James. A Listening Dr. is hard to find.

Hi Don-Joe,

Your urine was not dark because of liver problems - these cause elevated Urobilinogen and Bilirubin.

It would have been dark from being a bit dehydrated is all.

Hepatitis B is much more infectious than HIV or Hep C, however, it's pretty difficult (but not completely impossible) to get from oral sex.

The best protection is vaccination. If you are not vaccinated for Hep B just do it.

It's good to know that 95% of all adults infected with Hep B will get rid of it themselves without any assistance.

Then it's good to know that, even in the most endemic areas in Asia the carriage rate is only 10% (<1% in most Western Countries).

And of those people with it, most (90%+) will be in immune control with no viral load (so not infectious)

So in numbers

Maybe a 5% chance of coming across it
Maybe a 0.5% of coming across somebody viremic
Maybe a 0.005% of getting it
Maybe a 0.00025% of keeping it

Call that 2.5 chances in 1 million. You are much more likely to die in a car crash this year.... If you live in the USA you are 10 times more likely to be murdered...

Do get vaccinated though, it will put your mind permanently at rest, and remember.....

If you can't be good, be careful!

Please watch this video, it's funny as hell and it contains a couple of relevant lines about worry...

Dr. James, I assure you I'm not gay. Had to say that because I love you man. Your a great guy. You responded with such detail just the right touch of humor & what you and your team does is out of this world.

I'm a nervous wreck over here having different urine and bowel movements is quite alarming, constant stomach bubbling right after I eat, gas. For me that says something is going on I'm still very afraid.

I want to say all those antibiotics must be the cause for my symptoms but I'm no doctor. I literally have to re read your response a million times to keep myself calm a small bit. I can say you're literally a godsend.

If I didn't have this periodical gurgling stomach and bowel movements on the brown yellow side along with dark urine I'd be at ease.

Hi don-joe,

Anxiety upsets the stomach. The "butterflies in the stomach" feeling when we are anxious is totally real and relates to your body diverting blood from your guts to your muscles ready for fight or flight.

Antibiotics upset the stomach and guts killing off a lot of good bacteria. Some probiotics for a few days while taking and after finishing are a good idea. Yoghurt and fermented foods are natural sources of probiotics and taste better than the pills full of "good bacteria" (which are basically rubbish).

You don't need probiotics for life. They are like lawn seed - you seed the lawn and it grows, and it does not need more seed unless you spray the lawn with Roundup. This is the same with antibiotics on the gut.

One of the best cures for anxiety is some strenuous exercise. This burns off the adrenaline and nervous energy and gives you a nice endorphin high after - give it a go...

Thanks Dr James.

I'm trying to cope. But ibfear for the worse. Everything I read points to bile blockage/ liver damage/ hepatitis.

I'm scared to death. But thanks Dr.James

Are there any legitimate stool samples so I could do a visual comparison from a official website? My stool scares me. It's pointing to liver damage imo. I'd really like a solid idea of what the stool looks like? Freaking out everytime I use the BR.

Anything from light tan to dark brown is normal, as is anything from soft and mushy to pellets. It depends on your diet and your rate of gut transit.

Thanks for your help. The pics online via Google search (yellow stool,clay colored stool) looks close enough to my own. Thats whst scares me so much. Also my urine gets pretty dark daily. And all I've been drinking period is Poland springs for the past 1.5 weeks possibly 2. I'm hoping for the best but seeing the worse out of myself. Hbv vaccines should be mandatory for everyone. No one should have to be this frightened.