Yes, itchy skin can be a side effect, with or without a rash.
For people taking riba, sun exposure is not a good idea.

I got nightmare full body riba rash with the old interferon tx. With the DAAs it was not bad at all, just an odd spot here and there.
The rash can look like bites, for example on your arms. That kind looks like pinprick red spots, especially after sun exposure. Other places it can look like your skin got scalded, or sometimes like the veins just under your skin turned angry pink.

Actually, the “rash from hell” was my worst fear when I started this round of the DAA’s + riba but I am happy to say that without interferon it did not come to anything that had me worried.

dt

If I were you I’d look for a specialist within a hospital who is supportive of the generics and willing to monitor you. People here have been able to find such a person but perhaps have had to knock on quite a few doors before reaching the right person. When you attend a hospital live clinic they usually tell you that you can turn up there 24/7 if you are feeling unwell. There is usually a ward attached to the clinic. You need never go to ER in that case. You would go straight to the liver clinic where they would already be familiar with all the meds that you were on, and all the hospital facilities would be available to you should you need them. Even if you had to call the paramedics in the middle of the night you could explain the situation to them and tell them to take you straight to the liver department.

dt

I’ve been reading this book:

Why Do I Still Have Thyroid Symptoms? When My Lab Tests Are Normal
by Datis Kharrazian

The reason I quote it here is because he dwells a lot on gut issues and the immune system. One of the primary underlying causes he cites for kicking off a whole cascade of malfunction in multiple systems is chronic viral infection. This is the book that joins up the dots.

dt

Yes, it is moving fast. I have been thinking about how different this forum is to the old days on medhelp. People used to be on there for years while they were warehoused. At its core there was a long-term community, and SVR was a relatively rare event. By contrast, people here are moving through quickly. I guess a lot of them will make an appearance, get rid of the virus, and then move on to live their lives. That’s of course a good thing. Just different.

dt

oldie – I am sorry that you have found no answer so far to this health issue. All that I can say is that I’d lay bets you are not the first person ever to get it. Somebody somewhere has had it and may understand it, if not be able to cure it. So you need to find them. Whether or not this bleeding tongue issue is related to hepC may not be a helpful question to ask right now, though having a chronic infection does of course have background relevance. As the sympton is on your tongue it would seem to me that you need an oral specialist to start off with. The one you have already seen does not sound up to the job. I would also suggest at some point a naturopath (ND) as they tend to have a more whole-body approach.

Fortunately, there is now the technology to search for a specialist outside of your area and even outside of your country. More and more doctors are doing Skype interviews. You are in the fortunate position of already having all your test reports. Gather them all together and scan them. Take photos of your tongue showing the relevant details. You will now be ready to email all your information to doctors of your choosing, who have good track records and recommendations. Do not be discouraged. Do not stop searching. Be prepared to travel, at least to overnight away, to get to the right person. Every day new information is added to the body of knowledge that we can now access via the internet. Your answer is undoubtedly out there somewhere.

dt

Many with Hepatitis C Have Abnormal Thyroid

I have been looking into whether some HCV fatigue might be related to thyroid problems. Maybe temporary thyroid imbalance caused by the hcv virus, maybe undiagnosed thyroid problems that were there already but were exacerbated by the hcv, or by a tx with interferon. Wow, this thyroid thing seems to be one difficult ailment, both to diagnose and also to treat properly. I’m not an expert on this, it is just my most recent study in case the fatigue that I have does not completely lift if I am lucky enough to get rid of the virus. I am however quite sure that at the moment I have many of the symptoms associated with a hypothyroid condition. After my last tx with interferon I went to my GP and he did some test, I don’t know what (bad me) and said it was ok. Since then I have not been active on chasing the fatigue issue because I just put it down to hepC. AND THAT IS THE DANGER. You put it all down to hepC and it demotivates you from finding other solutions.

I get the argument for waiting to get rid of the hepc and then seeing what is cured and what ailments remain. But there are other things, like thyroid imbalance, which might be cured by early nutritional intervention but might need lifelong medication if let go too far. Hopefully these days people will not be waiting for years before getting to SVR, so all the other multiple ailments will also get addressed sooner.

dt

I agree with this in principle. I would just like to add that in a non-ideal world that partnership can look like 80% the patient and 20% the doc. In the UK, try going to the GP with vague symptoms of feeling unwell. In many cases his primary objective is to get you in and out of the surgery in 10 minutes. You might get a general blood panel done and if it comes back ok then that’s it for you. Try asking for a copy of your bloods, try asking which specific tests were done and you’ll find that you are entitled to get all this information in principle, but on the day the printer will not be working, or the doc can’t work it and the admin staff are too busy. In about 6 months down the road you may be able to extract said printout from them if you are lucky. Thus, every simple step you want to take becomes like walking through treacle.

However, if you can do your own initial research and get an idea of what is wrong with you, you may be able to get passed on to a specialist who is a good one and can deal with your complaint. Part of your research should be to locate said specialist and not end up with some ‘Mr Haughty’ as featured in the dire tales of LG. Now you may think that you don’t have the medical knowledge to get that far on your own. I didn’t even do biology at school, but what I do know better than any doctor is the nuances of my own body. The rest I am willing to work at acquiring.

I am not for going completely DIY on medical care. After a certain point in diagnosis there is no substitute for an experienced doc who is also sympathetic to your case and actually wants to heal you. These can be hard to find, but you need to find one. By heeding the stories of others who had to go the long way round to get there, we have a much better chance of going straight to the right person. Whole decades can be lost just going from pillar to post and getting nowhere. This has happened to me and I hear it time and again from others. Wasted years and wasted lives can be saved by taking a hold of the reins yourself.

dt