What to Expect

Before starting treatment, your doctor will analyze the extent of liver damage. This will determine your recommended course of treatment. Treatment takes anywhere from six months up to one year to complete. During treatment, your doctor will regularly perform tests to find out if your liver is getting better. After about six months of treatment, your doctor may know if you are improving. At that point, he or she may recommend you discontinue treatment or alter your treatment.

Timing Each Injection

Along with recommendations from your doctor, you decide the day and time of each injection. Injections need to be taken consistently on the same day each week and should be taken around the same time of day.

Give some thought to your injection schedule before beginning treatment. You may want to schedule injections around your work week. If you work Monday through Friday, for example, and you receive an injection once a week, arrange to inject yourself on Friday night. This should mean you experience the most immediate side effects over the weekend as opposed to during your work week.

Bedtime injection can also help with side effects. If you inject around your bedtime, you may be able to sleep through the worst part of side effects. However, if you experience side effects more quickly or slowly, you may want to adjust the timing of your injections accordingly.

What to Take with Each Injection

You will need to drink plenty of fluids (without caffeine or alcohol) to help relieve side effects. It is especially important to drink water or clear fruit juices right before and right after receiving your injection.

It may help to take an over-the-counter pain reliever one hour before your injection to relieve side effects. Some people have found that taking one tablet of pain reliever two or three hours after the injection works better in relieving side effects. Ask your doctor which over-the-counter medication is best for you. Talk to your doctor about any medications you take.

Common Side Effects

Almost everyone who undergoes treatment experiences some side effects. There's no way to predict how you'll react to treatment, as side effects can vary from person to person. Your doctor can explain the risks and benefits of hepatitis C treatment and ways of managing side effects.

Physical Effects of Treatment:

The most common physical effects of treatment are flu-like symptoms. You may experience fatigue, fever, muscle pains, general body aches, chills, and nausea. Other physical effects are:

• A metallic taste in your mouth. Food may taste different.
• Mild hair thinning and dry, itchy skin.
• Loss of appetite and weight loss.
• A slowing of bone marrow production, used to help your body fight infection. If your doctor notices this, he or she may reduce your interferon dose, or give you a brief break from it.
• Serious birth defects, or even death to an unborn child. You should not begin treatment if you are pregnant, and you should not become pregnant during treatment and for six months after treatment ends.
• Serious liver damage if you drink alcohol during treatment.

Emotional Effects of Treatment:

Your emotional well-being is important to getting through treatment and regaining your health. If you experience any of the emotional side effects listed below, seek the help of a professional or counselor. If you're emotionally unstable, you might not do what you have to do to get better, and your body will be less able to fight your disease.

Depression

Depression is the most serious emotional side effect. People suffering from depression eat or sleep much more or much less than usual, or gain or lose a lot of weight. Some people feel overwhelmingly tired. Some find themselves thinking about death. If these symptoms stretch beyond a couple of weeks, or if they get more severe and interfere with daily life, it may be more than just sadness. You may need to be treated for clinical depression. You may want to watch other patients talk about their experiences with treatment.

Other possible emotional side effects are:

• Impatience
• Restlessness
• Inability to relax
• Difficulty concentrating
• Trouble sleeping
• No longer enjoying favorite things or activities

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