mom suffering from acute chronic liver disease

 Hello and Welcome . Please provide more details on what caused the Cirrhosis .

 Ziff 

How quickly was the onset? Was a biopsy done? Have they done an MRI with contrast?

My bilirubin was in the mid 30's back in January. I was informed by my doctors that levels that high usually mean there is some kind of obstruction. A regular MRI and CT scan did not see anything, however a MRCP (MRI w/ contrast) showed that my bile duct looked like it was kinked.

The more information you post now, the more input you can get from current members.

Everything else is normal fr my mother there's no internal bleeding and has no diabetes neither blood pressure ,she had jaundice last yr in Feb 2012 n nw it started on 4th Apr and she's still admitted since a month,I dunno y d doc is insisting suddenly on transplant tomorrow itself ,I've heard liver functions and can be treated even if its functionin bout 10% of its capacity n doc said my mother's liver can handle 50-60% of d body load is the transplant a necessity dat it has to b done nw????

I had all the tests and biopsy's done and the cause was unkown. The doctor just through NASH at me becuase it was unknown. I had an MRI with contrast done and a ERCP. The ERCP is what they use to check out your bile ducts.

I would really ask if they think there could be some type of obstruction causing an issue and maybe ask for a MRI with contrast and or ERCP for investigation.

It will not really hurt anything.

Sorry to hear your mom is so ill.  Have they tested her for autoimmune liver diseases?  Autoimmune Hepatitis, Primary Biliary Cirrhosis or Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis?  If she has one of these, there is treatment...With the last 2, I think with advanced cirrhosis, a transplant will likely be the only thing but with AIH, depending on how much function is left in the liver, the progression can be slowed with the proper treatment.  Even with PBC, they can give her Ursodiol to thin her bile so it flows better.

Reading by the reports in ICU I can c that she has hepatic encephalopathy and is on acute chronic hepatitis her ammonia levels r nw 193 kindly help wat should b d next step :-(

RSV, welcome to the forum. Your mom would have to be evaluated for transplant prior to being approved for listing. The eval. takes anywhere from a few days to weeks. Does she drink alcohol now or has she in the past? Is/was it a problem?

Where is she being seen? The info that MamaLama/Carol was referring to was the folder at the top of the forum page entitled Hepatitis Resources. There is info about all kinds of liver disease. Check it out.

Hugs,
Connie

Welcome to our forum... I think it's easier to get a transplant in India. I'm not sure. Liver disease however is liver disease. The information is under the blue tabs at the top. Click on the blue tab that says Diseases and Conditions. Then go to Hepatitis and click on that link. You will find lots of information there. But keep asking questions. We've had people from India here before. We are from all over not just the US but I would venture to say most of us are from the US. Welcome to our Forum.

Sandia

RSV, I'm sorry to say that your mom may be going into a coma. I don't know how long it takes to be evaluated and listed in India. I've heard that one can purchase a liver in that country. I don't know if that's true or not. There is something called a MELD score, which I think is international. Ask her hep doctor what her MELD score is right now. She may need to be given more Lactulose, as it sounds like her hepatic encephalopathy is bad right now. She will start sleeping more and then slip into a coma. She must be sick enough to be transplanted, but well enough to survive the surgery.

I am sorry to say that your mom may not make it to transplant. I hope this is not true, but I want you to be prepared for that possibility.

Hugs,
Connie

Thanks

Yes u r absolutely right. .....heard from the doctor her bilirubin levels hav decreased from 30 to 25 is that gd news or just a fluctuation ?? Haven't seen the official report but da ICU doc just said

Rev,

I have been participating in this forum for over 2 years...since my partner's liver disease became serious enough to consider transplant.

And I have noticed a bit of a trend....some of the women patients get very sick, often for no obvious reason...no Hep C, no alcoholism, no autoimmune disease. And those women get very sick, very fast.

And those who have prompt intervention with liver transplantation have a pretty good outcome. Those who are not transplanted and the testing goes on and on looking for what where when...well they seem NOT to make it.

Then afterwards we really don't hear what had gone wrong in those women.

There are poisons, toxins that can destroy a liver and some internal processes that can cause damage also. There is a condition called hemochromatosis where there is too much iron in the blood and this can cause internal bleeding and cirrhosis. There is amyloidosis that is made in the liver and can cause horrible problems in liver and other organs. Etc. Could you Mom have injested something toxic? Been in a toxic environment for work?

I am hoping you have better news for us today?

Transplant is not to bad...they do many in India, but I have heard that live transplantation, where a donor gives a part of a liver to the patient....are you a match? Maybe you or another relative could help her. I have also heard that cadaver donors may be hard to find in India because of cultural objection to cutting up the body before a funeral. Maybe I have that all wrong.

Best to you Mom and your family. It was Mother's Day yesterday in the US..and I thought so much about my own Mom... who died very young from the Amyloidosis I mentioned above....her liver made that amyloid and it was a bad end. There was no diagnosis then, and no treatment....though today they do liver transplantation for that condition. I have been tested for the genetic form and do not have it.

Carol