Symptoms

Symptoms of hepatitis C

Sometimes people will have these symptoms when they are first infected (acute hepatitis C infection, within the first six months):

• feeling flu-like
• mild fever
• muscle aches and pains
• feeling very tired (fatigue)
• loss of appetite
• nausea

People living with chronic hepatitis C (have the virus longer than six months after infection) can feel these symptoms too.

If a person is  diagnosed with chronic hep C infection they might have:

• no symptoms (especially if younger)
• few symptoms and no liver disease that can be found by tests
• some symptoms and some liver disease
• severe symptoms and illness and a lot of liver disease

Very often, people who have been living with hep C for a long time (and sometimes even a short time) feel:

• profound fatigue – sleeping a lot and still feeling very tired.  This affects work, family, school and social life.
• ‘brain fog’ – trouble remembering things, lack of clarity, trouble thinking things through
• Lack of motivation, find it hard to follow through with tasks, depression

Sometimes these symptoms can ‘creep up’ and may not be obviously caused by the virus.

People who have had these symptoms and who have successfully completed treatment often have much more energy and clarity.  They become very aware of how much of their fatigue was, in fact, due to the virus.

Symptoms and ‘liver disease’

Liver function tests may or may not show elevated liver enzymes (a sign of liver irritation or disease).  The symptoms people have are still real and are caused by the virus.  Learning about living well with hepatitis C can help a person feel better in their body, emotions and mind.

Advance liver disease and symptoms

The symptoms of someone with advanced hepatitis C disease can include:

• dark coffee-coloured urine (rather than pale or dark yellow)
• clay-coloured stools
• stomach pain
• yellowing of the skin and/or whites of the eyes (jaundice)
• depression
• ‘brain fog’
• dry skin
• ascites (build-up of fluid in the abdomen)

Someone in the acute phase of hepatitis C (up to six months after exposure).may experience these symptoms as well