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.

 

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:
 
(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.
 
(Side Effects During Hepatitis C Treatment Continued: Page 2)
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Written by/reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD; Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Kristi Monson, PharmD;