Why am I facing bloating and indigestion after recovering from Hepatitis B?
Q: I overcame the acute hepatitis B infection. Its been 4 months since I was in the icteric phase, but I got over without even knowing I had it because, I never had jaundice. I noticed that I had dark urine and later on I was diagnosed that I recovered from Acute Hepatitis B. My liver ALT and AST tests are a little bit raised but they are peaking down to normal values slowly. My symptoms are mostly gone. There is just the one, indigestion and bloating, especially after strenuous activities. My doctors are suggesting a gastroscopy but I am not quite sure that I need it. I have no family history of gastric-related problems. I never had gastronomical problems before Hepatitis B. Should I be concerned?
A:I am sure that you are going to have a good recovery from hepatitis B. In fact majority of adults would clear this acute infection completely. It is not uncommon to have symptoms related to indigestion in the recovery phase of acute viral hepatitis. But these are of transient nature and almost always disappear once the recovery from hepatitis is complete. If the symptoms persist, some doctors would recommend Gastroscopy as in your case. But I think that you can wait for some more time and see whether your symptoms improve on medications alone.