Mitzi, don't you hate when that happens (with ComCast?) I don't have it for my Internet service, so at least I can still do that. Thanks for the very kind words...but please don't put me on a pedestal...I'm just as human as everyone else, flaws and all.
My urine is more of an amber color than brown...just like medium iced tea...sometimes lighter.
Yes, the rt. lobe was removed in 2007 because treatment to shrink and kill my tumor (12 x 11.5 cm which had metastasized to the inferior vena cava)) in that lobe also killed the lobe itself. That is why, with only the left lobe remaining, they do not want to do chemoembolization or other treatment on the new tumor: The treatment might kill or damage the remaining lobe. If they were to do this now, when I am not on the transplant list, I would die. If they do it after I'm listed and I crash...I would be eligible for transplant. This was initially difficult to understand until my Transplant SW explained it more clearly yesterday.
While I do not have ascites or much edema now, I did with the last tumor. My feet, ankles and legs blew up, as did my abdomen, and I was on large doses of diuretics for a couple of years. What exacerbated this was a hip revision in '06. In time (about a year or so after going on meds), I got back to near-normal.
In your case, I don't believe you are at end-stage, based on what you have told us. But I'm no doctor. And yes, you should be drinking lots of water. I never drank it prior to the '07 surgery. Afterwards, my palate changed and water is about all I drink...always have a bottle of it with me. I also went low-sodium, mainly to keep the ascites and edema at bay...but now most things taste too salty to me, now that I only use a few grains of sea salt when necessary. I use lemon a lot as a salt replacement, especially on fish and chicken.
You are already doing a lot of things right. Get yourself a specialist and I think you can avoid or delay some of the liver disease symptoms.
Hugs,
Connie