Damage from chronic hepatitis occurs relatively slowly, so there is no harm in waiting for the viral load. You need to have the viral load measured before treatment is started, to verify that you do actually have the virus and to be sure it comes down with the treatment. There are medicines to treat hepatitis B. Presumably your doctor is just gathering the right information about your condition before he starts the treatment. This is standard. The delay in starting treatment while waiting for tests to come back will not have any serious consequence. Hope this helps.