Why would anyone choose not to treat their hepatitis C?
The antiviral drugs used to treat hepatitis C are very powerful and can cause significant side effects, so each person should weigh the pros and cons of treatment carefully before moving forward. Side effects can include fatigue, suppressed appetite, difficulty sleeping, suppressed thyroid function, anemia, depression and anxiety. If your liver has been infected with hepatitis C for decades and your biopsy shows that it hasn’t been harmed by the virus yet, then it’s probably safe to assume that it won’t be. In this case, the cons of the treatment may outweigh any potential pros. Most people with hepatitis C fall into this group, experiencing few if any liver problems and living normal lives without treatment. Others opt out of treatment because of other medical or psychological disorders, such as rheumatologic disease or depression, that could be made worse by the drugs used to treat hepatitis C. All told, only about 25 percent of the patients we see complete medical treatment for thei
Related Questions
- Are there any conditions for when one peginterferon is safer or more effective than another, when given with ribavirin to treat chronic hepatitis C?
- What therapeutic approaches are being used to treat people who are chronic carriers of hepatitis C?
- Is it safe to use natural health products to treat hepatitis C?
