Will hepatitis C cause problems with my HIV?

The good news is that just having HIV doesn't mean that hepatitis C is more of a problem, and vice versa. Many people do just fine with both viruses.

Because the hepatitis C virus lives in the liver and causes health problems mostly through liver damage, HIV+ patients with hepatitis C have more liver blood test abnormalities from their HIV medications than do HIV+ patients who do not have hepatitis C. So statistically you have a higher chance of having "liver toxicity" from your HIV medications. That being said, you and your HIV provider can discuss using a "liver-friendly" HIV regimen, which should lower your risk of liver problems. Most patients with both viruses never develop liver problems, and those who do can be diagnosed by simple blood tests.

In terms of having more problems from hepatitis C because you're also HIV+, remember that hepatitis C takes a long time to cause liver problems in most people. It takes 20-50 years to develop cirrhosis of the liver from hepatitis C. Although HIV may speed this up a little in some people, that timeline still holds.

Can you get treated for hepatitis C? Absolutely! Hepatitis C is different from HIV in that the goal of treatment is to have the hepatitis C virus removed from your body. About 25-40% of patients with HIV and hepatitis C who are treated for 11 months with hepatitis C medications can get rid of the hepatitis C virus from their body. But it's important that you and your doctor determine how long you may have had hepatitis C, because hepatitis C is much more successfully treated within the first 3-6 months after infection.