Hepatitis C is a virus that affects the liver and can go undiagnosed for years for some people in Westchester County, New Rochelle, Bronxville, Yonkers, White Plains, NY, and the surrounding areas. Because many symptoms mirror those of the flu or other illnesses, sometimes people think they have something other than hepatitis C. When you have been diagnosed with the virus, it is important to get the proper hep C treatment from a knowledgeable team like that of Gastroenterology of Hudson Valley. Fortunately, there are several options when it comes to successfully treating hep C, and it doesn’t have to be something that you just have to live with. Contact us today to get started with your hep C treatment.
Challenges To Hep C Treatment
When caught early, treating Hep C is pretty straight-forward. There are several different treatments that are all direct-acting antiviral medications, often referred to as DAA medications, and these are usually received with little issue by the patient. However, patients may experience some side effects of using these DAA medications, such as fatigue, headache, abdominal pain, diarrhea, or even nausea or vomiting. Our team will work with you and monitor your progress during the duration of taking the medication.
Things can become more complicated if a patient has had the virus in their system for a while before getting diagnosed. Issues with the liver can be challenging the longer that a patient has had the virus. Narrowing down which genotype a patient has can help with a treatment approach, as will a liver function test to see the overall health of a patient’s liver.
There Is Good News
While it might seem that there is very little good news, that isn’t true. Catching the virus early will often result in little to no permanent damage to the liver or the patient as a whole. There are things that people can do to help ensure that they minimize the exposure that they may have to getting the virus. And while there is no vaccine thus far, the treatment options that we do have are effective, and much more preferrable than just hoping that a liver will heal on its own.
Hepatitis C is unnerving enough, so with that, many people will put off testing for it when they hear it. However, it isn’t contagious like a cold is, so people you know in Westchester County, New Rochelle, Bronxville, Yonkers, White Plains, NY, and the surrounding areas will not be at risk of contracting it from patients. Our team at Gastroenterology of Hudson Valley will help to provide you with all of the information you need to successfully recover from the diagnosis. Contact us today to learn more.