auto immune desease

does hep c trigger auto immune deseases.

i have an autoimmune desease that deforms and shortens the tendons of hands and feat and forms hard tissue around tendons and joints. very painfull.
i have that since i have hep c.

is it common ? is there a treatment ?

[spectda]

Do you have hep c? What auto immune disease do you have? Some have links to hep c, but many don't. I am certainly no expert, but if you are more specific about your concerns there may be someone that can provide some suggestions. You never know.
welcome to the forum!
- Dave

[Trish77]

Do you have rheumatoid arthritis?  That's what your symptoms describe to me.  Not common but it happens.  Did you have treatment for your Hep C?  That can trigger autoimmune diseases also.

Here's an article that may help, if you scroll down you'll get to the section that mentions rheumatoid arthritis.  It may or may not be directly related to you having Hep C.  It's a good read as it makes you aware of what other issues Hep C can trigger and if you haven't started looking into treatment, you might want to do that.  Not rushing into it but at least put it on your radar and start educating yourself about treatment if you haven't already.

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hcsp/articles/Bonkovsky-2.html

[spectda]

sorry I didn't read your post very carefully.

[JennyPenny2009]

Hi there. It sounds like you might be describing scleroderma. The treatment of hep C can certainly exacerbate the symptoms of many autoimmune diseases. Most researchers also believe that there is definitely a connection between the virus itself and autoimmune issues. Your rheumatologist should work closely with your liver doc. As I'm sure you know the treatments for each disease can be counterproductive for the other disease. If you google scleroderma and hepatitis C you will find many interesting articles.

[Trish77]

Thanks JP.