Liver Cirrhosis Caused by Hepatitis C is Reversible

One piece of information that everyone who has, or has had, Hepatitis C should know is that the liver damage caused by Hepatitis C is reversible.

Chronic hepatitis C damages the liver over the years of infection, often progressing from inflammation to scarring. The level of liver scar tissue is called Fibrosis and is measured on a scale from F0 to F4.

An F4 fibrosis level means that the liver has cirrhosis.

“End-stage Hepatitis C” is a way of saying that your liver has been severely damaged by the hepatitis C virus and is nearing the point where the liver will cease to function, which is fatal.. This is almost always associated with liver cirrhosis and is expressed as F4 Fibrosis.

Until recently the general medical opinion was that liver cirrhosis caused by Hepatitis C was irreversible. This has proved to be untrue. Once the Hep C virus is removed the liver cirrhosis will heal and the life expectancy of the patient will increase significantly.

In the 7 years I have been dealing with people with Hepatitis C I have come across hundreds of people who had liver cirrhosis that healed completely once the Hep C was cured. I also had liver cirrhosis when I began my Hep C treatment, so I am talking from first hand experience.

What Factors Reduce the Chances of Liver Cirrhosis Healing?

There is one significant factor that reduces the chances of the Liver Cirrhosis healing once the Hepatitis C virus is removed from the body.

That factor is body weight.

Recent research shows that the single biggest factor affecting the liver healing itself is if a person is overweight or not.

The more overweight a person is after Hepatitis C treatment the less chance there is that there liver will heal and return to a normal functioning healthy liver.

So once Hep C treatment is completed the most important thing you can do is to have a healthy diet and a good lifestyle. Exercise and diet will help you get your body to its optimum weight and give your liver the best chance of healing.

Greg’s blog is reprinted with permission, and the views are entirely his.