Medical Care for Hepatitis C Medical Care for Hepatitis C Working with a Doctor Find a doctor whom you feel comfortable with and trust. You want a doctor who will listen to your concerns, and take time answering your questions in language that you can understand. Ideally, a doctor will consider your physical health in the context of your mental and emotional well being and quality of life. If you have a history of drug use, look for a doctor who you can talk to openly about drugs and who understands drug use, addiction and recovery.
Some people look for a specialist such as a gastroenterologist or a hepatologist.
Discuss any symptoms you might experience and how to reduce or control them. Monitoring your health Talk to your doctor about getting regular tests to monitor the condition of your liver and the progress of the Hepatitis C virus. A quantitative viral load test indicates how many copies of the virus are circulating in the blood. Like ALT s, the viral load can rise and fall over time, and does not necessarily predict the severity of liver disease. The most reliable way to find out whether you have any liver damage is to get a liver biopsy.