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Hello hope all is doing well and someone can help me. I was diagnosed with hep c last year and haven’t started treatment as of yet due some personal circumstances. About three weeks ago I woke up with a crazy headache like I have never experienced before, this lasted for about three hours but I am still getting random pains in certain different parts of my head to this day but not as bad as my initial one. On top of that my concentration levels feel totally different , I find I am focusing intensely on one object all throughout the day and often find myself extreamly tired and short breathed. With all these symptoms it’s making me extreamly anxious when talking to people because I feel spaced out with this foggy feeling on my head. I have booked an appointment this Friday with the doctor but not really sure what to say and I’m a little worried he may just think I’m going crazy, I am starting to get worried the feeling won’t subside ever.....does anyone know if this is hep c related or experienced something like this too? If so is there anything I can do in the meantime to help reduce the symptoms?

Although we call the virus Hepatitis C it is known to infect many other organs including the brain.

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4840160/

My first bit of advice would be to tell your doctor exactly what you are feeling so they can arrange any tests they think you should have.

My second bit of advice would be to treat the Hepatitis C. There is no useful purpose served by delaying treatment because

1. the drug pipeline has finished so there is nothing better in development meaning
2. you will be treated with drugs that are currently available and
3. it is quite likely that some, perhaps all, or your current medical issues will disappear with treatment.

Hello Dr James,

Thank you for your response. I am going to have a talk with my doctor on Friday and hopefully arrange to get on treatment ASAP. Is there many others on this forum or from what you know of experienced symptoms like this too? Thanks for the link too great info

Brain fog is one of, if not the most common extrahepatic manifestation of Hep C

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4735500/

If you like Google search for “cognitive impairment hepatitis c ncbi”

Brain fog is very real and the changes show up on MRI scans

nn.neurology.org/content/2/1/e59

Hi Caravan1990, welcome to the forum and best of luck on your upcoming doctor's appointment. Here is an additional post by Dr James regarding the brain fog issue in Hep C patients fixhepc.com/forum/experts-corner/2144-hep-c-brain.html#27830 , it's very real. The good news is that all patients who were successfully treated and cured from the virus reported that the brain fog problem completely disappeared.

Hello DrJames

Thanks again for responding. Okay I never knew brain fog was so well associated with hep c symptoms. Thanks again for passing along the info. Hopefully will subside with treatment.

Hello Mar,

Thank you for responding to my question. That’s very inspiring to hear many other people’s brain fog lifted after treatment, I’m now really hoping to get started on treatment ASAP. Thanks everyone for responding.

Hi Caravan1990,

It's good to hear that you are on the pathway to seeking treatment. Keep pushing forward with the aim of getting the medication and curing yourself of Hep C.

Brain fog is very common for those of us that had/have Hep C. You will see from my profile that I had the virus for a long time and have been cured for a few years now, through Dr James and this site.

Caravan 1990 we know exactly how you are feeling. I have experienced all that you have with the brain fog. In the few years before I finally found the treatment through fixHepc my ability to focus decreased along with my confidence in my own abilities and intellect. I had quite a high level and demanding job and found that everything, especially decision making, was starting to take longer. The fog became heavier with fatigue and what I now recognise as some depression. I hid it all pretty well but it was certainly there and it was very frustrating and confusing.

I can guarantee that when you cure yourself of Hep C the fog will gradually start to lift and your clarity of thought will return. You can start to feel benefits as the medication kicks in but for me the improvements were gradual but continual until I finally felt like my "old self". Or rather a "new old self" with a greater appreciation for my good fortune and my health.

We're with you on this so let us know how you are travelling. Looking forward to reading that you are starting your treatment.

Coral

Hello Coral

Thank you for responding to my post and sharing your information along with me.

I’m sorry you too suffered from brain fog but I am very happy it cleared over time with treatment towards HepC. I was getting slightly worried it may never subsid but hearing your story has given me much more motivation to push forward with treatment as well as information passed on by others. It also gives me peace of mind that the fog should gradually subside once the Hep C has gone.

Hoping for the best.

I will sure to be keeping all updated if I have further questions in the future.