TOPIC: Is itching common with hep c?

Hi. I am new to this forum. Grateful for it too! I began hep c treatment yesterday with epclusa. I've had the virus for 16 years. I itch terribly. Is this a common symptom with hep c? Does it resolve with treatment, if so? Thank you!

Hello Apogal,

Welcome to the forum.

Itch certainly troubles some patients with Hep C. It becomes increasingly common as liver disease progresses and happens with all the liver diseases.

While there are no guarantees, yes, itch often resolves with treatment.

Best of luck with your treatment!

I had lots of itchy patches and responses to clothing, shampoo, food and sea etc for the 30 + years I had Hep C.

I had ecxema, psoriasis, dandruff etc- not charming.... I had no idea they were HepC connected- specialist never said a word- the psoriasis made me ineligible for a pegylated interferon trial at one point.

I also had cirrhosis- they sound the same and people often swap the words around! Mine got bad, decompensating, and yes skin itchier at that point.

Then- tah dah! # FixhepC, got meds, survived, cured, no hep C, now have none of the above, I can wear what I want, use hotel shampoos, now there are tubes of cream gathering dust in the cabinet..

And even the cirrhosis, has melted away against all expectations to a normal liver.
So, imho, the best treatment for the skin, not 'just' liver is DAA's, and my advice is to everyone- don't wait, get fixed. Best $ I ever borrowed and repaid.

I took my 5th dose this morning. I am praying this will take that away. Thank you for your helpful response. Did it get better before treatment was through or did it take longer? I only have mild scarring and a fatty liver. Fibro was a 1. I've had this 16 years now. Itching began about 14 years ago. My liver was much worse but began an extreme lifestyle change. Hoping this works and I find relief. It's pretty intense. I too am aggravated by certain foods and soaps as well as other things.

Hi Apogal,

I have to say, I did 24 weeks treatment- I wasn't undetected until 18 weeks- had failed 2x before so the skin improvements were not my focus, I didn't track when/ how much it improved on treatment. Everything I noticed about feeling better was so marvellous- I emerged realising skin was better too.
Pretty sure it took a while but I had bad cirrhosis so you would expect it to sill be an issue until that was cleared up. I didn't have fatty liver surprisingly, as I am a fatty!

Drinking lots of water is the key, especially for you at the moment, with so much dying virus to be flushed out of your system, it could well be the itching will be worse before it is better while your body adjusts to all that change happening. It is going to be cool hearing how it is going for you, let us know every week or so?

Thank you so much for your answer. Yes I believe it may get worst before it gets better. I've been trying to drink plenty of water. Sometimes forget tho. Looking forward to healing.

Hello Apogal,

Itch is very common with Hep C and while there is no 100% guarantee most patients troubled by itch before treatment find it goes away on/after treatment.

Please keep us updated about what you notice.

Hey. Thanks everyone for the replies! Today is day 11 of epclusa. The itch, which is my main symptom, does seem some better. Not real sure yet. It's kinda on and off now. I thought it was getting better then had a bad day yesterday. Today is some better. I'll try and keep everyone up to date.

Hello Apogal,

Fingers crossed it becomes less and less.

I also have itching. It was occasional before treatment. Now it starts 30-60 min after taking Mavyret with my last late evening meal. The itching is fairly intense for aprox 8 hrs then tapers off.

I started treatment 9-19'19, GT 3a, 40 years ago I had numerous transfusions, diagnosed approx 2006. Age 70. Fibroscan was inconclusive due to inflamation; showed stage 4 but it is suspected stage 3. A 1 cm lesion was detected via C T.

Over the past 5 years I have developed type 2 diabetes, psoriasis slight murmur and hypertension. I have familial ITP diagnosed 40 years ago with occurence in my daughter and granddaughter - they do not have HCV. My platelets have gone down gradually over the years and it is thought they may improve slightly, - I have no bleeding problems.

I am hopeful the increased itching is a sign the virus is being killed off quickly and will become less intense. Has anyone else had similar issues and experience with Mayvret and or treatment progression and or results of treatment? What may I possibly expect?

Hello Pacific,

The itching is almost certainly a mild drug allergy. You may find some over the counter antihistamine, probably taken 1 hour before the Maviret helps a bit. Short of changing the medication this is likely to continue through the entire treatment, but stop the day after your last tablet.

How long are you scheduled for? Ideally we would like 16 weeks Maviret for someone F4 with GT3.

Trestment scheduled for 12 weeks.

CT was unremarkable except liver 8mm hypodensity in hepatic segment 2, too small to characterize. Alt 170, AST 124, alpha fetoprotein serum 20, 9, bilirubin .6, IGG serum 1,437, creatinine .72, hemoglobin 16.5, hematocrit 50.1, MPV 13.1, platletes 32, mutation S62T/Y93H, HCV realtime 3,820,000, HCV log 6.58

Trestment scheduled for 12 weeks.

CT was unremarkable except liver 8mm hypodensity in hepatic segment 2, too small to characterize. Alt 170, AST 124, alpha fetoprotein serum 20, 9, bilirubin .6, IGG serum 1,437, creatinine .72, hemoglobin 16.5, hematocrit 50.1, MPV 13.1, platletes 32, mutation S62T/Y93H, HCV realtime 3,820,000, HCV log 6.58

Hi Pacific,

Hmm, Maviret is good but 12 weeks with your profile is sub-optimal. I know you mentioned ITP but 32 platelets is pretty low and suggest more cirrhosis rather than less. I've treated patients with as low as 13 platelets and they now have ... tada ... 2x at 26 and SVR 24 and are back on the road driving trucks from Texas to Florida so I've seen worse.

GT3 + F4 + Y93H is as bad as it gets. If I was you, and of course I'm not, I would be throwing the kitchen sink at it. If this treatment fails you are in a world of pain. I will send you a PM.

PS: The hypodensity in the liver is most likely a cyst, particularly with the AFP of 20 which, although it is > 11 is completely normal for cirrhosis. 200-2000 is normal for HCC so you are much closer 2x to normal on the AFP than cancer 10x +

With cirrhosis, there is a 3% per year risk of HCC (aka liver cancer) so you will need several years of follow up with AFP and Ultrasound once you are cured, but at the moment it looks normal and unworrying.