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Dad has decompensated liver disease. Please help me!!!

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Posted 5/25/2011 7:04 AM (GMT 0)
My dad has decompensated liver disease. This January he was in the hospital. The docs told he probably has a few months left. He somehow was sober for a few days. Then he started drinking again. They have done banding thrice for his bleeding varices. He also has portal hypertension and ascites ( his stomach and legs are thin now, so I am not sure the level of ascites). He has jaundice and itchy skin.

Now, from almost a week he is not at all eating. We are forcing him a lot and giving him little to eat. He is unable to sit up for even a few minutes. He says his back is hurting. He is complaining of lower abdomen pain. He is unable to pass urine easily. He complains of pain. He is going to the bathroom every few minutes. His urine is very dark in color. Almost brown in color. He is passing stools several times. He does not remember what he ate for breakfast. He has almost become a skeleton now. He is too tired to talk also.

We are not sure how long he will go on suffering like this? My mom is alone with him and she has to take care of all his needs. He is unable to use the bathroom also without her help. He is always in pain.

Somebody please tell me what is happening to my dad. Has anybody been through something similar? What will happen next and why the doctors are not admitting him to the hospital? Have they given up? Is he near?

We know he is not going to be around for long, but this tension and uncertainity that surrounds him is really hurting us a lot.

thanks for reading through my pains.

Posted 5/25/2011 7:46 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Deepz, Your father should not be drinking whatsoever under any circumstances.Your mother should take him to the ER straight away .There they can give him the meds he needs :ie : Lactulose , diuretics for ascites etc. He needs these things but they won't take him seriously if he's still drinking . I have been through all this ,the pain is unbearable ,misery in fact. The brown rusty urine is the norm for chronic liver disease .He has a long road ahead but must follow the doctors advise or prepare for the worst. There are many other people who will give you advise on HW .Stay with us you're not alone . A lot of people on here are going or have family going through the same as you.
Take care ,all the very best to you and your family.
Mick
Posted 5/25/2011 9:27 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Micheal,

Thanks for the reply. He is on lactulose and diuretics. He is having a very bad back pain. You said he has a long way to go. Could you please elaborate on that. If he stops drinking is there a chance of survival?

 

Posted 5/25/2011 9:27 AM (GMT 0)
hi deeps, my name is sue. my dad died of liver cancer if 92. it started in his colon, but he wasn't the type to complain, totally old school.but the cancer got him. well they were able to get the colon cancer, but it wasn't long after they found it in his liver. my dad was a socail drinker, if anyone had a problem it should've been my mom, she's the alcoholic. my dad was the best man i've ever know. yes only the good die young. my suggestion to you, is to try and make your father as comfortable as possible. i'm not sure where you live, but do they have hospice. it's a wonderful service for the family to prepare for they're loved one to pass over to the other side. We brought my dad home he was in such pain he took shots of morphine until the day he died. why make him suffer in pain. we new he was dying so there was no way my brothers and i could bare to allow that. no appetite. just layed there waiting to die. it was horrible. my mom was all messed up on prozac and ellavil. a zombie. just going through the motions. i was in the room with him when he took his last breathe. i layed on his body and squeezed him as hard as i could. telling him it was ok go dad all your relatives and buddies were waiting for him.still makes me cry he was my rock. life sucks. who said the golden years are golden??? i reccently came down with a muscle disease polymyostis. it's been a tuff year and 1/2. i'm getting better. although i'm stuck with my mom. so opposite of me. i miss my life,, my kids, my friends. and most of all my health. all i know i'm so grateful i found this forum. it's better than paying shrink. hang in, let go, and know you did as much as you could do to help your dad. take care and keep posting. it helps. peace and love, sue
Posted 5/25/2011 10:29 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Deepz,
He must stop drinking or he's got no hope . I've been sober for just over 12 months ,9 of which I suffered from either agonizing pain , misery, hell with the odd good day thrown in here and there. I too lost a lot of weight . My back pain was Kidneys ,which was related to my alcoholic hepatitis . I didn,t eat much for at least 4 months. Everything tasted bad due to the hepititis. Dr's had given up on me ,and didn't give me much longer to live ,we are talking days. One of the younger doctors new a daughter of mine .She asked him and he said you just have to be strong and don't get your hopes up. The survival rate isn't that good in your Dad's situation,but alcoholism is a slow and painful death . It depends on how much your father wants to live. He must have low salt,no beef, lots of green leafy salads and vegetables and lots of fruit. It doesn't happen overnight ,but it can happen .I'm living proof. What country are you from ?.I'm from Australia .I'ts in my profile as is my email address,. Feel free to use it .Just click on my name on the left of the page .Anything else you need to know just ask. Take care and all the best.
Mick
Posted 5/25/2011 11:07 AM (GMT 0)
He absolutely must stop drinking - I think you need to take him to the ER and perhaps they will admit him and give you the answers you seek. It may be that the disease has progressed to the stage where there is nothing to do but call in hospice and keep him comfortable. I'm so sorry you're going through this. My prayers are with you. Pam
Posted 5/25/2011 9:46 PM (GMT 0)

Hi Deepz,

Welcome to HW.  Listen to Mick, he knows.  Alcohol is the worst toxin to give your liver and the reason your dad is so sick.  Alcoholics in your dad's state can survive depending on exactly how badly damaged their liver is.  But continuing to drink, even a little bit will be lethal.  Some of the damaged liver can regenerate but not if it's already scarred.

He needs to see a specialist ASAP, a hepatologist to be specific.  The hospital can give him meds as Mick said (oh, I just saw that you said he's on lactulose and diuretics) to help with the symptoms he's having but they won't do very much for him if he keeps drinking.  How often is he seeing his doctor who put him on the lactulose?  How often are they doing blood work and have they checked is kidneys yet?

Posted 5/25/2011 9:58 PM (GMT 0)
If his urine is that dark, it's likely his kidney's are not functioning. Dark urine is a sign of blood mixed in with it. A visit to the ER might be a good thing to do, right now!
Posted 5/26/2011 5:22 AM (GMT 0)

Thanks for all your reply and support.

We took him to the hospital two days back. The doctor has done all the tests. Urine and blood tests. They said, we cant give too many medicines since there would be different side effects. We are already giving all that we can. Just have hopes and pray is what they finally told. I am really not sure how to handle this.

I called mom this morning and she said he has not slept a wink last night. He is been groaning in pain. I dont know what to do. :(

Posted 5/26/2011 6:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Deepz,
I don't know which country you live in ,but out here in Oz I think it's called Home Care ,In US it's hospice.
Your Dad's in a lot of pain ,you really should get him to the hospital ,have him admitted and they will give him morphine ,pethadine for the pain. That can only be done in hospital. They will do a confusion test on him ,nobody help him PLEASE. I spent 3 weeks in hospital and came home to my wife ,a personal nurse who looked after me around the clock. It seemed to me as if my wife Karen spent a 24 hour vigil on me all the time . Your Dad will get more sleep on the morphine and he SHOULD be admitted . If they won't because of shortage of beds ask them for some oxycolton for his pain or similar. He needs hospital,call an ambulance , that's what Karen did and you get help straight away then . If you need more info don't hesitate to email.
Take care Mick
Posted 5/26/2011 6:53 AM (GMT 0)
In the USA, hospice nurses do administer morphine. Sometimes it's in suppository form if the patient can no longer swallow. But at this point, I do agree with Mick that he probably needs to go through the ER and get admitted.

Hugs,
Connie
Posted 5/26/2011 7:20 AM (GMT 0)

Mick,

I live in India. I will ask mom to call the hospital immediately. 

Posted 5/26/2011 7:47 AM (GMT 0)
Hi Deepz , Please keep me informed about your Dad and anything else you need to know. I have some Indian friends here in Australia ,they all work for Optus my phone company .They're all good guys and gals . I don't know anything about your hospital system over there. Keep in touch ,you have plenty of friends here.
Mick
Posted 5/26/2011 12:45 PM (GMT 0)
Deepz hope u find some answers out... my prayers are with u.. Sandia
Posted 5/30/2011 9:44 AM (GMT 0)
Dad has stopped drinking for now. He is eating now. Whenever mom gives him some food, he is eating. He is very tired and always sleeping. He is unable to hold the phone and speak for even two mins at a stretch. He is basically sleeping all the time. He still seems confused at times. At times he is alright.

That was the latest update on dad.
Posted 5/30/2011 7:09 PM (GMT 0)
thanks for the update... and my thoughts and prayers are with u and ur family during this time... Sandia
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