Side Effects During Hepatitis C Treatment

While peginterferon and ribavirin are the drugs of choice for treating hepatitis C, most people experience at least a few side effects during hepatitis C treatment. Some of these include fatigue, nausea, depression, and thinning hair. Though many of these effects are mild or moderate in nature, others can be problematic. Be sure to talk with your doctor about how to deal with side effects during hepatitis C treatment -- there are ways to minimize both the peginterferon side effects and the ribavirin side effects.

Hepatitis C Treatments

Common Side Effects During Hepatitis C Treatment

No medicine is completely free of risks or side effects.

However, combination therapy (peginterferon injections and ribavirin pills) for treating hepatitis C has been given for many years with good results and few serious complications or problems.

While most people do experience one or more side effects during hepatitis C treatment, in the majority of people the effects are mild or moderate. This means that either you or your healthcare provider can easily treat them.

Some of the more common side effects of combination therapy include:

Flu-like symptoms (see Flu-like Symptoms With Hepatitis C Combination Therapy)
Fatigue (see Fatigue With Hepatitis C Combination Therapy)
Depression, mood swings, and irritability (see Depression, Mood Swings, and Irritability With Combination Therapy)
Nausea, vomiting, and loss of appetite (see Nausea and Loss of Appetite With Combination Therapy)
Weight loss (see Weight Loss With Combination Therapy for Hepatitis C)
Thyroid problems
Dry skin or rashes (see Dry Skin or Rashes With Hepatitis C Combination Therapy)
Thinning hair (see Thinning Hair With Combination Therapy for Hepatitis C)
Decreased blood counts (see Decreased Blood Cell Counts With Hepatitis C Combination Therapy).

(Click on each link for more detailed information about each side effect.)

It is difficult for your healthcare provider to know ahead of time whether you will have one, or several, of these side effects during hepatitis C treatment. But by following the links above, you can learn more about these side effects and the things you can do to treat them, make them less severe, or even reduce the chances of having them.

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