I Need Some Information on Cirrhosis. (Serious Replies Only and Please Read My Entire Post)?

Question by svegan13: I need some information on cirrhosis. (serious replies only and please read my entire post)?
My father was diagnosed with cirrhosis 3 months ago. After some testing, it was determined that the cause was Hepatitis C and that he was unknowingly suffering from the disease for a very long time. He is 59 years old.

So far the doctors have not been very helpful or informative. They seem to be dragging their feet, sending him for more and more testing but offering no sort of help or treatment. In fact they repeatedly keep telling him “we do not know if you are a candidate for treatment”. We are unsure of what that means. They also have not given him any type of special diet to follow. He was not a heavy drinker at all, but as soon as he was diagnosed he stopped drinking completely. Although the doctors have recommended nothing, we found tips for a diet for a cirrhosis online (a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables, no salt, limit sugar, limit caffeine, lean protein sources, no fried foods, whole grains, ext.) We also found some recommendations for herbal supplements, he is taking milk thistle, alfalfa, vitamin c, and alpha lipoic acid daily, along with drinking dandelion root tea. These are just things we are doing on our own, since it has been three months since the diagnosis with no help from any of the doctors.

His health seems to be deteriorating at a rapid rate. 6 months ago, he was perfectly healthy. Since then he has lost about 40 lbs of solid muscle. Although he eats a high calorie well balanced diet, He was very fit, and now all of his muscle is deteriorating and wasting away. He has chronic diarrhea with grey stool, along with chronic fatigue and constant itching. His abdomen is not very visibly swollen, but he complains of feeling very bloated and feeling a constance pressure. The doctors also informed he has an enlarged vein that runs from the liver into the esophagus.

He had a liver biopsy scheduled this week, however they were not able to perform the biopsy because his INR levels were too high, 11.9. To my knowledge this extremely high, but I’m not sure exactly sure of how dangerous this is.

I’m posting because I’m curious to know how sever the illness is. I would assume that if it was that serious, the doctors would be more helpful or give us more information. But, from my observations, it seems very serious and I am extremely worried. Any information you have on the disease, would be greatly appreciated.

Best answer:

Answer by * CeCe * ??* Future RDMS, RDCS
I’m sorry to hear about your father – he has a very tough road ahead. That being said, I’m sorry to say that Cirrhosis isn’t reversible. And by treatment the doctor’s mean to keep it from getting worse – there’s only so much that they can actually do; some people can do pretty well with it for a while and some people it hits pretty hard. It does eventually lead to liver failure. A few people can be candidates for liver transplant, but only under the “optimal” circumstances.

Cirrhosis has different causes, the most common being from drinking, but Hepatitis is probably one of the other ways for Cirrhosis to start. He probably had Hepatitis or was a carrier at some point and it never manifested until now with the cirrhosis.

The stool color is going to be light – that’s very common with cirrhosis.

The INR is a test for blood clotting. It’s high which means that if they did the biopsy he’s at greater risk for bleeding and they may or may not be able to stop it.

Answer by Baa Baa
I had cirrhosis of the liver plus I’m a nurse and had a liver transplant so maybe I can help you with some information. The biopsy would let the doctors know exactly how much damage your father has to his liver. Scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver which is called cirrhosis. In your fathers case, his cirrhosis was caused by the virus hepatitis C attacking his liver for many years and probably even decades now. It typically takes 30 years for physical symptoms of liver failure to show up with hep C. Drinking alcohol on top of having the virus only causes the disease to progress faster. There is no cure for cirrhosis other than a transplant so all the doctors really do for is is manage the symtpoms of the disease. There are things that a person can do to try to slow it down such as an alcoholic needs to stop drinking. They can give treatment with medications for hep C to try and help it. Not everyone responds well to treatment and the side effects of the meds can cause a person to be really ill for a long time. They may not want to go this route for your father simply because it would do no good at this point and his disease is far advanced. In other words, it’s just too late to try and stop it now.

I don’t know what type of doctor that is providing care for your father, but he needs to see a gastrentologist or hepatologist who specializes in this. Then the specialist can refer your dad to a transplant center for evaluation to find out if he can qualify for a liver transplant. Maybe they were planning on doing this once they see the results of the biopsy which just didn’t happen yet. They can still refer him even without one since your father is showing signs of serious liver failure right now. By the time these signs show up, the liver disease is usually already far advanced. It is very typical for nothing to show up until the liver is only left with maybe 10-15% function. Nothing showed up for me until I only had 10% function left and the tip off was fluid in my abdomen. I have an autoimmune disease that caused my cirrhosis.

In my opinion, it would be best for your father to get evaluated ASAP for a liver transplant at a liver transplant center. Talk to his doctor about this or even call the nearest transplant center and talk to them. They are the only ones that can determine whether or not he can get a transplant. None of his doctors can do it, only the transplant center can. They can only refer him to a center.

Your father should get checked for varices which can greatly lower his risk for internal bleeding problems. I used to get mine checked every 3-6 months. Varices are unwanted veins that grow inside due to his cirrhosis. They are not like the veins we are born with. They can grow large and be weak. They can leak and even burst which can cause a major bleeding crisis at anytime. I had lots of them, but never had any bleeding due to me getting my checked all the time. They check them with doing an endoscopy. When they find one, they tie what looks like a small rubber band around it which cuts off the blood supply to the varice which kills it. It will no longer be a risk once that is done. I probably had about a dozen of them done or so before my transplant. I’m guessing that might be the problem with this “enlarged vein.”

Fluid retention is expected. They usually prescribe Lasix and Spironolactone for this to control it. Over time it usually gets worse. When meds no longer work well, they can “tap” it which drains it off physically at a hospital. If your father ever has any breathing problems, this fluid could be squeezing his lungs and heart, so take him to a hospital if that happens.

This disease is quite serious since it is liver failure and you have to have a functioning liver to stay alive. Since the reason your father has it is hep C, it is not going to quit attacking his liver and as time goes on, the disease will only progress more and more until it reaches total liver failure. The only cure is a liver transplant even though everyone with cirrhosis will not need a transplant. In your fathers case, it’s my guess that he will need one eventually since he is showing signs of the disease being in the more advanced stage. Keep in mind that I am no doctor and this is only a guess based on my own experience and knowledge of the disease. Your father has this virus that is just not going to quit. It’s not like an alcoholic that is able to quit drinking which stops the onslaught of a toxin going to his liver which is slowly killing it. The hep C just keeps attacking. It was the same way for my autoimmune disease. I could do nothing to stop it.

Hep C and alcohol abuse are the top 2 reasons for needing a transplant in the U.S. today. I hope your father can get the help he needs.

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