hep c symptoms, cirrhosis?

[curious2013]

Hi everyone this is my first time posting on this site so forgive me if this question seems stupid.

I was wondering if anyone here has gotten cryoglobulinemia from hep c and if its strictly a sign of cirrhosis, or if its at all possible to get cirrhosis after only a year of contracting hep c? Thanks in advance for any feedback

[wyd2013]

I had cryuglobulinemia some six or seven years ago, before being diagnosed for HCV, but I suppose HCV may have contributed to it at the time. I used to get pain and swelling in smaller joints on colder days, but it went away after a while. But this definitely had nothing to do with cirrhosis, as my fibrosis was level 2-3. I finished tx undetectable last November. I think you need not worry about cirrhosis. If you contracted HCV recently, cirrhosis is extremely unlikely, unless you have some accompanying diseases like Hep B, autoimune problems, etc. If you can rule out these, you should not worry about cirrhosis.

[Dannyboi7]

I've had red blotches on my legs for years,also water retention in my feet and legs,the red blotches on legs is related to that,this all related to poor blood circulation also.I don't have cirrhosis either.It's more related to my quadriplegia in my case,nothing to do with Hep C,but these symptoms are also related to someone who as Hep C in advance stages.In my case i didn't know which was which until I found out at what stage my liver damage was.So your health condition relating to that might have nothing to do with your Hep C.In my case a low sodium diet helps tremendously for this condition.

[racky2012]

Oh and i dont think any question is stupid we r all going through the same thing and thats why we r all here for support and answers and if u ask chances r u will find an answer

Best of luck to you racky

[racky2012]

Hi Racky here yes i tested positive for cryoglobulinemia it is how i found out i had hep c i kept getting this really red blotchy red rash on my legs my ankles would swell up this was called vasculitis u may not have got the rash but my doc said the hep c is what caused the cryoglobulinemia and the cryogbulinemia caused the vasculitis red rash he said it should go away when i start treatment and he was right i am 13 weeks in with treatment and no more rash and to answer no i really dont have any liver damage so im thinking it dont mean u have cirrhosis

Keep in mind i am in no way a doctor just giving you my expierence but i have little to no liver damage as per my ultra sound did not get anymore testing on liver as my doc dont think i need it

Hope this helped racky

[pooh55811]

"I was wondering if anyone here has gotten cryoglobulinemia from hep c"
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Yes, several people on the forum have had  cryoglobulinemia. Hopefully some of them will respond to your question. Cryoglobulinemia is one of the extrahepatic manifestions of Hepatitis C. Not everyone gets it, but some do.


"and if its strictly a sign of cirrhosis"
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No, a person does not need to have cirrhosis to have cryoglobulinemia


"or if its at all possible to get cirrhosis after only a year of contracting hep c? "
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That would be very unlikely. Generally Hepatitis C is a progressive disease and it takes time before a person would reach Stage 4 fibrosis (Cirrhosis). However, the speed of progression differs from person to person. In addition, there are factors which can speed up the progression of fibrosis. Still, it would be unlikely for a person to progress to cirrhosis after only one year of being infected with Hepatitis C.


Here are some links to extrahepatic manifestations of Hep C:

http://www.ccjm.org/content/72/11/1005.full.pdf

http://www.hindawi.com/journals/cdi/2012/740138/

http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hepatitis/factsheets_pdf/Extrahepatic.pdf

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/1134161-overview

[rivll]

http://www.medhelp.org/user_journals/show/515833/-Other-Systemic-maladies

According to the information in the links provided you can have extra hepatic maladies like cryoglobulinemia without cirrhosis but it is more common to be asymptomatic until end stage.
Check out the resources this link provides as well as this link
http://www.hcvadvocate.org/hcsp/articles/Bonkovsky-2.html  to learn more.
Welcome to the forum.

[Dannyboi7]

Welcome to the forum ! :)

      I am not familiar with the health condition you have mentioned or if it is related to Hep C.One thing I do know is that it is in range of the impossible to have cirrhosis only one year after contracting the Hep C virus.