Advanced Cronic Liver Disease

Hi I'm Jan

My husband is 64 years old he was diognosed with cerosis of the liver 2 years ago when we took him to emergency vomiting blood and with blood in his stool. At that time he was trying to curb his drinking but he was still haveing an ocasional wine. He went into DT's and had to be restrained which made him so upset that they had to incubate him and put him in an induced coma. Next thing we new his kidneys were failing. However he did come out of this and he never drank again. He has had many problems since then he had schingles gets disorented needs to be on oxigen and is very tired all the time.( he also has heart problems, is diabetic.) Two days ago his liver doctor sent him for an ultra sound just as a rutine checkup. He does not move very well in the mornings but he had to fast for 12 hours for this proceedure so his appointment was at 8:30 in the am. When he got out of the shower he was not feeling well and out of breath but I just atributed that to the fact that he is not used to having such an early appointment. By the time we got to his appointment he was shivering had a fever and extreamly short of breath. He was admited to the hospital his stomach was swolllen and he had a yellow tinge to his face and eyes. After he had some fluids taken from his liver we were told that he had an infection. They are giving him albumem and antibiotics and are keeping him in the hospital till at least Monday. I am concerned that he may have this infection problem from time to time from now on has anyone else had these kind of simptons with a loved one and what stage of this disease is he in. He was a candate for a liver tranplant 2 years ago but turned it down.

Thanks for any input

Hello Jan and welcome to HealingWell. Liver patients imune systems are compromised so they tend to get infections easily. It really doesn't sound very good with the symptons that your husband is having. Was he approved for the transplant list and then turned it down or did he decide that he couldn't jump through all the hoops that they have for getting evaluated for it. If he jumped through all the hoops and got approved I can't understand him turning it down at that point. It took my husband 2 years to decide that he had a chance to make the list and to start jumping through their hoops. His only chance for survival at this point maybe be the transplant if infact he is still healthy enough to get listed. And I agree with Butterfly for them to even consider him for an evaluation for a transplant he had to be End Stage Liver patient or very close to it back 2 years ago. If you need any other questions answered or need support please come back . That is what we are here for. Thoughts and prayers.

Hello Jan, When I was going through this terrible ordeal with my husband it felt wonderful to find this site. I just wish that I had found it sooner. None of his family or mine knew all the terrible things that go on with the liver patient, they only saw that bad things that he did, like getting real grouchy or rude. I couldn't make them understand how sick my husband really was. They thought that he was faking it or that he could control himself all the time. Finally I could communicate with people who really knew what I was going through and knew just how terrible this disease is. It was a life saver for me.

Hepatitis is on the list of chat rooms scoll down with the arrow. I have never seen any of our hepatitis members there though. Are you interested in chatting? If we get others maybe we can set up a chat time on the calendar. Take care.

Muffin, Hi, Welcome to the forum. I am sorry to hear that your husband started drinking again. That is one thing he should absolutely not do. He won't be able to make the transplant list if he continues to drink. He will also be in need of a new liver a lot sooner if he continues to drink. Just a small amount of alcohol can be severe in people with cirrhosis. My husband continued to drink when he found out he had hep C, and I think that is why he has cirrhosis now. Although I know they both can lead to cirrhosis. I was constantly begging him to stop drinking until one day I just gave up. I let him live his life, and I lived mine. He finally stopped drinking when he got the diagnosis of cirrhosis. Looking back I wish that there was something that I could have said or did to change things, but I know there was nothing that I could do. I don't blame you for harping on him. If that's what you feel the need to do go right ahead. At least you won't be keeping it to yourself. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Hi im new to all this.I just recently found out my husband has cerosis to the liver.His belly is filled with fluid and feet were swollen badly.they doubled the meds for the drsinage.IM going crazy because i dont think the drs are telling us everything. I know he is at advance stage of cerosis. I found it myself on line.my husband Quit drinking a year ago.He just got over phnemonia(I hope i spelled that right) any way hes been on oxeygen. they just took him off. last night he keeped me up all night complaining of pain in his right side.So i call off work so I could take him in. he has appointment at 1:30 today.I know I havent been through what half of you had been through. But im exusted.What are the next stages anyone KNow?Thanks midwife

Hello Medwife, Welcome to HealingWell. So sorry about your husband. It's good that he stopped drinking already. That's one hurdle out of the way. There is a wealth of information online to be had. But do try to get his doctor to tell you about his condition and where he is at. Take notes and ask questions because they are not going to volunteer anything. Do you have anyone to help you out a little? I did it all myself ....work and take care of my husband. I was too stubborn to ask for help. If you have a close friend or relative you need to ask for help sometimes or you will be no good to your husband. You'll end up sick yourself. Don't assume that they know that you need help....ask for it. You're going to need all your whits about yourself that you have to get through this so it is very important that you take care of yourself too. There's posts on this forum about what may happen down the road with your husband . If you have time go through some of our previous posts . Good Luck My thoughts and prayers will be with you and your husband.

ThankYou Grandma, Iwas so happy to find this sight and only by the grace of god. Reading the post really helped me alot.And I will get help.I fell like it is already making me lose my wits.You are one Strong lady. Thankyou again, midwife

Hi Medwife, My husband also has cirrhosis. It was a year ago in July that he was diagnosed. I know how you feel when you say you feel like you are losing your wits. There are days that I think I don't no if I can do this any longer, and he is not as sick as a lot of the other people at this forum. I feel so weak and afraid at times. My husband seems fine at times and other times he is very fatigued, has fever, swelling of stomach and legs and episodes of encephalopathy. It seems when the swelling in his legs get bad an episode of encephalopathy will occur. Those always scare me but they aren't really severe yet. I can imagine how I will be when he has a severe one. This disease is so unpredictable that I think it makes it hard for the doctors to know what to tell you. My husbands doctor didn't really tell us anything. I learned a lot (and am still learning) by using the internet and this forum. Coming to this forum has helped me a lot. There are a lot of people here that understand what you are going through and always willing to listen. I check the sight everyday. If you need to get something off your mind I will be here. My thoughts and prayers are with you.

Butterflythree, prior to developing liver cancer and mild cirrhosis, I was just dealing with hep C. The main symptom I had was overwhelming fatigue. It got to the point where I could not work full time. Even working part-time, with every passing year I worked less hours (and was finally awarded SSD, due to another disease.) I absolutely had to get a nap in the afternoon--still do. The fatigue is hard to explain. Someone once posted on another forum that it is like walking through molasses. I think that's a very accurate description. It's not a matter of being sleepy, and it doesn't matter how much sleep I get at night...I still am totally unable to function by late afternoon. When I have a long day at the hospital, going through scans, blood work, consults, etc., I end up sleeping all day the next day. Nobody understands this facet of hepatitis, unless they are afflicted with it. I have a friend who used to laugh when I told her I had to get a nap before getting together with her in the evening. I finally told her that it was not funny...that this was a manifestation of hep C and it was absolutely necessary that I get a nap. After that, she didn't laugh about it. So don't give up on trying to get people to understand, particularly family.

Hugs,
Connie

Hello to all the new members. I'm so glad you found this site. It has helped me so much. Unlike some of the others, my husband still drinks. He has cirrhosis, ascites (abdominal fluid), swelling in his feet and legs, portal hypertension, and so many of the others symptoms described. I have point blank asked both his family Physician and his GI Doctor what stage he is in and cannot get an answer. I think that is a very hard question for them to answer because honestly they don't know. Everyone is different. I have been through the begging, pleading, threatening, fighting and everything else you can possibly do and like some of the others, I gave up. It is something he has to decide he wants to do and obviously mine has not reached that point. I stay with my husband because I love him no matter what. But I can tell you that it is hard to sit by and feel helpless because you cannot convince them to stop. It is physically and mentally exhausting so you HAVE to make time for yourself somehow. I work and have elderly parents that I see about too, but I'm lucky that my family is a very loving, giving, type of family and they are constantly there for me. For those of you that have stopped, I am so happy for you! It is truly a blessing and you have made a life changing decision! There are some wonderful people here and you will be amazed at how many people are at the same point in their life as you are. I am not a moderator nor an expert, but am happy to share my experiences if you just need to chat. Take care!