hep c and the nervous system

[jalj]

My dad has been diagnosed with hep c. We are wanting to no if hep c affects the nervous system.

[Trish77]

Hi there.  I'm sorry for your worry about your dad.  When you ask if Hep C affects the nervous system and then go on to say he's getting bad nerves and mention as a sign of this that he gets angry and sometimes breaks down and cries and your mother says he's getting bad nerves ...  if what you mean by Hep C affecting the nervous system is if you mean ... can it cause him to get bad moods and get anxious, etc rather than it affecting his actual physical nervous system which would be more of a physical impact than a mental one.

I'm thinking you're asking if this can have a mental impact and give him bad nerves and bad moods and cause him to become suicidal.

What I'm thinking is that potentially this diagnosis is recent?  And that it's hitting your Dad pretty hard, if so.  

On the offchance that this is the situation with your Dad, I want you to know that a diagnosis of Hepatitis C hits all of us pretty hard.  For myself, I locked myself away from everyone for the whole weekend and basically took residence in a corner of my couch and didn't move .. just thought and thought and thought for the whole weekend trying to come to terms with the news.  For most people, you feel like you've been handed a death sentence.  If that is how your Dad is also feeling then no wonder he gets angry sometimes and other times just sits down and cries.

What your Dad and you need to know is that you can live a long and often active life with Hep C and that there are treatments for it that can cure it.  There are difficult truths about Hep C also, to be sure.  If it's left too long and not treated in time, then yes, there are serious implications to having Hep C.

I assume your Dad has been diagnosed with Hep C because an antibody test came back positive.  That doesn't mean that he has the virus in his blood, it only means that he has had the virus in his blood and it means that he either still does or his body fought it off and only the permanent antibodies remain.  The only way to know which situation is true for your dad is to then go on to have a PCR test.  This will determine if he actually has virus in his blood.  If yes, then he is positive for Hep C.  This test will also tell your Dad what genotype, or "flavour" of Hep C he has.  This becomes important when considering treatment options as treatment approaches are different for different genotypes.

For your dad to determine if he will undergo treatment sooner than later, he should get a liver biopsy (which is not NEARLY as serious as it sounds..it takes all of 10 minutes to do the actual procedure and for the great majority of persons, you barely feel a thing.  It is not an operation, he doesn't get cut open, it's a needle drawing out a minute amount of liver cells.)

If your dad does have Hep C virus, it would be an extremely good idea for him to start shopping around for a Hepatologist, which is a doctor who specializes in treatment of Hepatitis C, not just liver problems in general.  The better hepatologists are generally found in larger teaching hospitals because they have the ability to do research and involve themselves in clinical trials and stay up on current therapies.

I wouldn't mind knowing when your Dad was diagnosed and if he knows his genotype and if he has already had a biopsy... or if this is still all so new to him that he's still just coming to terms with the news.

I will tell you that most of us here have had Hep C for 20 years more or less and didn't have much in the way of symptoms and after all these years, many of us have moderate liver damage.  I've just undergone treatment and have one more test to go and it looks like I've been cured of my Hep C.  So it can happen.

I hope this helps.  

Trish

[oneatenuff]

Hi Jalj - so sorry to hear about your dad.   Glad you're trying to learn what you can so you can understand more what he is going through or how he might feel  (how you might be able to help.)   It can in deed affect his nervous system.   It can do some weird things to people's cognition, thought processes, and it can even change their personalities.  The "symptoms" or changes in the overall health of someone with hep c can be insidious  (meaning it can all occur very gradually until one realizes that things are adding up to mean something is wrong.)   Some find out they have this virus because they begin to feel bad daily (not just occasionally)  and eventually they are diagnosed with hep C.    

He should definitely seek a psychiatric consult  (one who is familiar with hep C - not just some Joe Blow shrink who will nod their head and go through the motions of prescribing one psychotropic after the next - and some do just that.)   If you can, get his liver doc  (if he has one)  to make the referral IF that doc is willing to  (some aren't - they leave it up to the patient.)   His family doc might know a good psych.   Anti depressants may help  (but they might not - you need to know that.)   Some feel worse on them, they feel weird, they have weird dreams, they might get more depressed.)    If he's one to react that way to a prescribed antiD, he needs to understand that there are many he can try but that none may work.    

Good sleep will be important for him  (hep C can cause awful insomnia, and insomnia makes depression, anxiety, and fatigue worse.)   Hep C (or the diagnosis or both) can cause nightmares, too.   It can cause skin changes (such as rashes, hives, spider nevi, red palms)  it can cause night sweats  (soaking), tingling of extremities, numbness of extremities, vision changes, hearing changes, tremors, the inability to think clearly  (or slower thought processes and reaction time.)   It can cause weight loss, weight gain, it can mess a thyroid up.   In short - it can do a number on him, and it can be frightening and depressing.   It can change his quality of life to the point that he is unable to do what he once was able to, or if he is still able - it  might begin to feel like it's just one huge effort to get it done  (depressing.)    

Best of luck.  Get him to a doc - let them know what's up with his depression.  I hope things will begin to get better for him.  

[Marc1955]

That further information is very helpful. It sounds very much like your father is suffering from depression. This can be brought on by the Hepatitis C. If they has not done so, encourage your father to consult with a psychiatrist. They may want to prescribe an anti-depressant medication. That might help with the symptoms you describe. Certainly if there is a fear of suicide, it is time to seek professional medical assistance. Your mother and father should not just let this continue as it is.

[jalj]

Thank you for responding to me. My mom said that he is just starting to have bad nerves. She said he is getting angry, or he'll just sit down and cry. She is just really worried about him as we all are. I think that she might have a fear of him wanting to commit suicide. What all other problems does this disease consist of. I personally would like to know so I can more understand what my father is going through.

[Marc1955]

There is some research suggesting that the Hepatitis C virus can attack nerve sheaths and cause neurological problems such as neuropathies. More commonly nerve problems come about as a side effect of the Hepatitis C creating cryoglobulinemia, which is the release of cryoglobulins into the blood stream. These cause a number of problems including neurological problems.

Is your father having neurological problems?