Life after DAA Hepatitis C treatment: Have you fully recovered yet?
Hepatitis C is a wide spread and deadly disease affecting an estimated of 3.5 million Americans.
Treatment for hepatitis C has evolved over the years, going from highly toxic drugs involving injections with horrible side effects, to medications with minimal side effects. Success rate of treatment options has also improved greatly Although the high price tag of the new DAA treatment is controversial, it has undoubtedly helped to cure many hepatitis C patients.
How is life after hepatitis C was cured?
Unfortunately, it might not be as ideal as it seems. Patients found that symptoms of hepatitis C remained even after successful treatment, and many are struggling to achieve full recovery. The ongoing symptoms even after successful treatment are likely due to low liver function. Despite the elimination of the cause of liver injury - HCV, having been infected with the virus for decades, the liver could still be seriously injured and it is likely that recovery would be slow and require a long time.
To help the body and liver to fully recover from the long term damage, extra support is needed to boost the recovery ability. The situation resembles a scar on your skin, if you leave it untreated (without any external support), on its own, it will take years to disappear or become less noticeable.
After treatment, the liver still has a lot to do to rebuild itself. Without additional help, this is often difficult, especially for the elderly or people with fibrosis or cirrhosis, as their recovery ability is low due to ageing and reduced liver function.
Risk of liver cancer remains
The road to recovery does not end with successful treatment. In fact, these patients still face an increased risk of liver cancer after hepatitis C is cured. Recent research shows that patients might develop fast growing liver cancer after DAA treatment, which might be related to the malfunctioning of the immune system. Therefore, liver protection and prevention against liver cancer is an ongoing task that must not be stopped.
Read more on this topic here: Huge liver cancer found just weeks after successful Hep C treatment
Extra support for better recovery
If you have successfully cured hepatitis C but still do not feel like you have fully recovered, or if you would like to prevent liver cancer, extra support for your liver is what you need. By providing support with anti-inflammation and anti-oxidative properties to your liver, liver cells will be able to recover faster and better, reducing the risk of liver cancer.
To fully recover from hepatitis C, patients must recover full liver function. Ultimately, healthy and normal liver function is the key to a healthy life.
- * All research and clinical data should be used as reference purposes only, results may vary.