help with liver disease

Hi Pink granma

thanks for your reply to my post, yes my husband does take lactalose, he takes 80 mils a day, 2 mils 4 times a day but he has had to have lactalose enamas every 4 hours while in hospital to help clear the infection. It always seems to be triggered with my husband when he catches an infection, or some kind of bug or cold but as I said in my first post he has never been this bad before. I asked a nurse at the hospital regards the protein in food and was told that avoiding protein will not help his situation, its a built up of a few factors that causes it and not protein alone. Which leaves me confused as you hear 1 thing then another. They said it is the fact his liver is getting worse that is causing the problem. Just hoping this is not going to get worse each time it happens and that it is not going to get more frequent. He is on the mend now after 6 days in hospital and hopefully he will be out soon but I will be watching very closley for the next one to come. Again any information on this subject is much appreciated.

Thanks again for your reply, my husband is under Freeman hospital which is one of the best in england for liver disease, my husband has hep c and cyrosis. To be honest it is very rare he eats red meat any way but from now on he wont be having any. Thanks for all the advise. He is prone to get encephalopathy when he has an infection, this time it was caused from catching a sickness bug from our grand daughter. But to be honest i dont think the lactulose works very well for him and it is due to the fact he doesnt clear his bowels propley. Even though he takes 20 mls 4 times a day. So he has to go into hospital to have enama's to clear his bowels and get rid of the infection. What concerns me is this time there was no warning signs like previously. He went to bed on the monday night and when he got up on the tuesday he was away with the fairies. He had'nt a clue what he was doing or what he was saying. I had to dress him and he has had to be spoon fed and he has been soiling himself, which he would be devastated at if he new what had been going on. He totally lost all his facalties and all his co-ordination.Also this time it was 100 times worse than previous and it has took longer to treat. The hospital say it is because his liver is getting worse. I dread to think what the next one will be like if this time is anything to go by. My thoughts and prayers go out to everyone who has someone who is suffering with this as it is a very distressing and heart breaking time for all concerned watching someone you love turn into a small child in a matter of hours. x x x

 

Jilly Girl,

 

I used to think the same thing about Lactulose.  It really didn’t make my husband’s bowels move.  In fact, he was constipated much of the time.  As you’ve seen stated here many times, every individual is different.

 

When my husband was hospitalized, I complained to the hepatologist that the Lactulose just didn’t work.  Of course, he increased the dosage and my husband ended up with diarrhea.  They would back off the Lactulose and he would get constipated again.  He was taking 30ml 3-4 times per day at the hospital.  When he was extremely confused, they would administer Lactulose enemas.  The whole bottle goes in!

 

Lactulose binds with ammonia and other toxins and draws them to the intestines.  The patient must evacuate the intestines in order to get the toxins out of the system.  Trust me, Lactulose works.  It’s just a matter of finding the right dosage.

 

You may have heard of Xifaxin.  It is an antibiotic that works within the intestines to control the bacteria that produce ammonia.  You may want to speak with his doctor about this.

 

Best wishes to you.  I’ve been there and done that.  It is a long and difficult road.

 

God bless,

 

Penny

 

Jill,

 

Ask the doctor about a mild over-the-counter laxative as well.  I had to give Harvey periodic doses of Dulcolax and/or prune juice to assist him.  Bottom line, the ammonia must be removed from the system.  If he sleeps all the time, wake him up and ensure he takes in some water.  This will help stave off dehydration especially if he is on diuretics.  It will help things move through his system and protect his kidneys as well.

 

Best of luck to you.

 

Penny