How long does it take to feel better after hep C treatment?
Most hep C patients report seeing treatment side effects subsiding within a few months or longer. Often it takes six months to a year to regain full energy and feel well. Some patients have reported side effects lingering for longer periods of time.Aug 28, 2014
How long does it take for liver to heal after hep C treatment?
If someone's liver has mild to moderate damage (fibrosis) and the hepatitis C virus is eliminated and no other liver damage effects are occurring, the liver can regenerate and heal within a few days up to 3-6 months, approximately.May 28, 2021
Do people feel better after hep C treatment?
You may not feel any different If you experience symptoms of hepatitis C (and many people don't), it may take a few weeks or months after you finish your treatment to feel better — if you notice any changes at all.Sep 16, 2019
What happens after being cured of hep C?
After you clear your hep C (being cured) you won't have any immunity to protect you from catching it again. You can lower your risk of catching hep C again by avoiding blood-to-blood contact with other people.Aug 1, 2018
Does hep C stay in your body forever?
Acute hepatitis C occurs within the first 6 months after someone is exposed to the hepatitis C virus. Hepatitis C can be a short-term illness, but for most people, acute infection leads to chronic infection. Chronic hepatitis C can be a lifelong infection if left untreated.Jul 28, 2020
What happens if hep C treatment doesn't work?
Without treatment of a chronic infection, about 75% to 85% of people who have it get a long-term infection called chronic hepatitis C. If the condition goes untreated, it can lead to: Cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver. Liver cancer.Oct 25, 2021
Is hep C treatment like chemo?
The chemotherapy that you'd get for cancer isn't used to treat hepatitis C. But Bacon says hepatitis C treatment can have side effects "that are akin to what patients experience when they receive cancer chemotherapy." That includes temporary hair loss.Sep 10, 2008
Can I donate blood after being cured of hep C?
Can I donate blood after I have been successfully cured of hepatitis C or have spontaneously cleared the virus after being infected at some point? No, you cannot donate blood if you ever had hepatitis C, even if you spontaneously cleared the virus or if you were successfully cured with medication.
Can hep C cause you to gain weight?
Substantial weight gain is common after hepatitis C cure, an analysis of a large cohort shows, and around one in five people with normal body weight became overweight within two years, US Veterans Affairs researchers report in the Journal of General Internal Medicine.May 19, 2020
Do hep C antibodies ever go away?
After a successful course of treatment for hepatitis C, the hepatitis C antibody remains detectable, but the hepatitis C RNA will be undetectable. If you plan to donate blood, you will be tested for the hepatitis C antibody and will be turned away even if you do not have an active infection.
Can you get reinfected with hep C after treatment?
Research, including a study published in March 2018 in the Journal of Viral Hepatitis, suggests that 1 percent of all people who are cured of hepatitis C are eventually reinfected. Your odds are based largely on whether you engage in behaviors that increase the odds of reinfection, such as injecting drugs.Dec 3, 2020
How long does it take for hep C to cause liver damage?
On average it takes about twenty years for significant liver scarring to develop. The symptoms experienced and the damage done to the liver vary dramatically from person to person. Some people will have few, if any, symptoms for many years.
Immediately After Treatment
- Some think that their last treatment means they are done dealing with hepatitis C. This is not so. Even after the doctor has run all of the tests to indicate no further viral load, the body will still need time to heal. For some, this healing process is based solely on the effects of the medication(s). This may simply mean continuing to nourish the body with healthy food and strength-building ex…
Considerations For Women
- For women of child-bearing years, this means using two forms of birth control for six full months after treatment if/when she has used ribavirinor some other hepatitis C medications. It may even mean using non-hormonal contraceptives if she used a protease inhibitor, as these may interfere with hormonal birth control. Before returning to typical birth control methods or attempting to be…
Recovery from Hep C Treatment
- Some people find that they struggle unexpectedly after hepatitis C treatment ends. This may be because they expected to feel instantly better, whereas some drugs take days or weeks to leave the body and may still cause some side effects. Others expected to resume life as it was before they were ever exposed to the virus, without expecting to need more time to heal and regain stre…
Long-Term Treatment Effects
- The first thing that some want to do is to toast the end of their battle with the hepatitis C virus. Doctors recommend not drinking any alcohol while the virus is present, both because it can cause the virus to replicate much more quickly and because alcohol can lower the efficacy of the medication. However, even after the virus is gone, doctors do not recommend consuming any al…