Ribavirin is a pill that you take in the morning and in the evening every day for as long as you are on combination therapy. It may actually help strengthen your immune system, which is your body's natural defense against infection. With a stronger immune system, your body can be more effective in getting rid of the
hepatitis C virus.
Since ribavirin does not treat
hepatitis C by itself, it must be used with either alpha interferon or peginterferon. Together, these
hepatitis C medications can slow down the rate at which the virus multiplies.
When Do These Medications for Hepatitis C Take Effect?
Within hours of taking them, peginterferon and ribavirin can start to make the amount of viruses in your blood go down.
The problem is that the hepatitis C virus can make trillions of copies of itself every day. So although medicines for hepatitis C may be helping your body destroy a lot of the viruses right away, it can take some time to really see a difference. That is why it is so important to follow your treatment program exactly how your healthcare provider explains it.
Within a few months of beginning combination therapy, your healthcare provider will be able to tell whether the treatment is working for you. This is done by testing your blood for hepatitis C virus RNA
(see Hepatitis C Viral Load). You may remember that this same test was used earlier to tell whether you had the virus in your body and how much of it was there.
This test is generally done about three to six months after beginning combination therapy. If the
hepatitis C treatment is working, no RNA will be detected during the test given at six months. But if it is not working, viral RNA will still be found in your blood.
Your healthcare provider will let you know whether your levels of virus RNA have gone down enough. It is important to know that even if no viral RNA is found in your blood, you may still need to finish the treatment program. If you stop the medicine early, before the end of your treatment, it is possible that the hepatitis C virus will return.
In some people, combination therapy destroys nearly all of the virus during treatment, but once the therapy stops, the virus begins to spread again. If this happens, your healthcare provider will discuss your treatment options with you.
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