I was told I had HCV in Feb. of this year. And I only found this out becuase I went to the ER and one reason I went the ER was because I was yellow. My eyes and skin were yellow. I was acute and cleared on my own. If you are acute they say those that go as far to show jaundice druing the acute phase have a better chance at clearing on their own.
One current protocol suggests acutes should be treated ASAP. On the other hand, some docs may decide to wait to see if spontaneous remission will occur which also seems reasonable depending on how long they wait.
In women, I believe newer figures suggest up to 40% will clear which IMO may be worth waiting longer. I believe the figure is only 15% with men which would be less motivation to wait. These figures are from memory so anyone wanting to use them should dig out the most recent studies.
From what I've seen, not as much studies on acutes as we'd like to see -- but then again, docs dont see them nearly as often as they do chronics.
Jim,
According to his profile MikeBlues was diagnosed 'a couple of months ago' is scheduled for treatment in 'another few'.
If acute why the delay?
Mike advice stands-get youself to the doctor-it doesn't mean the end is near,but you must report this development right away!
FWIW I had both jaundice and yellow eyes both shortly after exposure and on at least two separate instances a few years after exposure. While there was no viral load testing at that time, my guess is that my immune system was waging a vigorous fight which it finally lost until it was helped by SOC (interferon and ribavirin) a few years ago.
jmjm530 is correct.
The key question is how long have you had Hep C.
If you were recently infected then it is indeed a sypmtomatic acute phase.
If you have it for many years then it is jaundice caused by excessive bilirubin.and you require a full diagnostic investigation.
Either way put yourself in the hands of a specialist doctor without delay!
Look, none of us are doctors here, and you haven't given too many specifics. But no, "yellow eyes and skin" do not necessarily mean "the end is near". In fact, having a symptomatic acute stage -- I'm guessing that might be what is going on -- is actually good news as studies show that people with a symptomatic acute stage -- yellow eyes and skin for example -- actually have better results when they finally treat. My advice is to seek out a liver specialist (hepatologist) who can properly evaluate you and set you in the right direction. Your average doc and even many Gastro's simply arent up to the task.