Hepatitis C or hep C is an infection of the liver that can badly damage your liver if it is not treated on time. However, the real trouble begins when you dot treat it at all. In such a scenario, you can deal with liver failure, scarring of the liver or liver cancer. However, if you get treatment on time and cure the infection, you can get better in about a month.
The worst thing about this infection is that the symptoms of it are very common. You will feel under the weather, you will stomach aces, vomit or not want to eat, all of which are very similar to the symptoms of stomach flu.
The first thing that most people do is visit their general physician when they feel the symptoms. If they get tested for hep c and it comes back positive, that is when they are stumped. Most of the people are unaware of who should be the medical advisor. They have no idea which doctor would be the best to treat their infection.
The option for you would be to visit a specialist who deals with similar infections of a hep c specialist. Here is what you will need to do to get better soon.
Your Doctor of Choice
While it is may seem like a tough decision to make, you will only have to visit one doctor and that is a hepatologist. However, you can also get your treatment from an infectious disease specialist, a gastroenterologist or a nurse practitioner who has experience with treating liver diseases. If you get your initial assessment from your primary care doctor, he or she will refer a specialist in your area.
What Else Do You Need to Do?
Once you know which doctor to do to, you will have to start looking up if the specialist’s treatment would be covered by your health insurance or not. As long as you get treatment from a specialist in your coverage, the treatment would be less expensive for you. However, if your specialist is out of your network, the treatment may become expensive for you.
Even if the doctor is referred to you by your general physician, you will still need to do your basic research by yourself. You need to make sure that the doctor who is going to treat you for a very serious infection is capable to do so or not. Check their certification, their education and their license. These should not be hard to find as these are the things that a doctor usually displays in their clinic for their patients to see.
Remember that hep c is easily treated if the doctor is right. Medication like Epclusa is proven to be a great help for patients. It treats patients from various ages and has shown signs of great results. The treatment usually lasts for a couple of weeks to a month, depending upon the aggression of the infection in your liver. As long as your doctor is good, you can beat the infection in no time.
