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Preparing for your appointment
By Mayo Clinic staff
Who to see
If you think you may have a risk of hepatitis C, see your family doctor or a general practitioner. Once you've been diagnosed with hepatitis C infection, your doctor may recommend you see a specialist. Specialists who see people with hepatitis C infection include:
- Doctors who specialize in infectious diseases
- Doctors who specialize in liver diseases (hepatologists)
How to prepare
Because appointments can be brief and because there's often a lot of ground to cover, it's a good idea to be well prepared for your appointment. To prepare, try to:
- Be aware of any pre-appointment restrictions. At the time you make the appointment, be sure to ask if there's anything you need to do in advance, such as restrict your diet.
- Write down any symptoms you're experiencing, including any that may seem unrelated to the reason for which you scheduled the appointment.
- Write down key personal information, including any major stresses or recent life changes.
- Make a list of all medications, as well as any vitamins or supplements, that you're taking.
- Take a family member or friend along, if possible. Sometimes it can be difficult to absorb all the information provided during an appointment. Someone who accompanies you may remember something that you missed or forgot.
Questions to ask
Your time with your doctor is limited, so preparing a list of questions will help you make the most of your time together. List your questions from most important to least important in case time runs out. For hepatitis C infection, some basic questions to ask your doctor include:
- How much hepatitis C virus do I have in my body?
- Has the hepatitis C virus damaged my liver?
- Do I need treatment for hepatitis C infection?
- What are my treatment options?
- What are the benefits of each treatment option?
- What are the potential risks of each treatment option?
- Is there one treatment you think is best for me?
- I have other medical conditions. How will these affect my hepatitis C treatment?
- Should my family be tested for hepatitis C?
- Is it possible for me to spread hepatitis C to others?
- How can I protect the people around me from hepatitis C?
- Should I see a specialist? What will that cost, and will my insurance cover it?
- Are there any brochures or other printed material that I can take with me? What Web sites do you recommend?
- What will determine whether I should plan for a follow-up visit?
In addition to the questions that you've prepared to ask your doctor, don't hesitate to ask questions during your appointment at any time that you don't understand something.
- Ghany MG, et al. AASLD practice guidelines: Diagnosis, management and treatment of hepatitis C: An update. Hepatology. 2009;49:1335.
- FAQs for the public. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. http://www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/C/cFAQ.htm. Accessed July 24, 2009.
- Hepatitis C. American Liver Foundation. http://www.liverfoundation.org/education/info/hepatitisc. Accessed July 24, 2009.
- What I need to know about hepatitis C. National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/hepc_ez/index.htm. Accessed July 24, 2009.
- Viral hepatitis screening. American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases. http://www.aasld.org/yourliver/Pages/ViralHepatitisScreening.aspx. Accessed July 24, 2009.
- CAM and hepatitis C: A focus on herbal supplements. National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine. http://nccam.nih.gov/health/hepatitisc. Accessed July 24, 2009.
