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dad w/ cirrohsis

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Posted 3/19/2009 1:29 PM (GMT 0)
 

  Hi,

     I am new to the fourm.  My dad has Hep C and cirrhosis.  He has had a lot of complications in the past year.  He had the bleeding in his throat and had bands placed on them.  He recently had an infection that went to his blood.  This infection came from the fluid build up in his abdo.   He breaks out in rashes. The dr said on a scale from 1-10(10 being the worst)my dad is at a 2.

 

  We are tring to find a good dr for him.  He goes to the VA hospital and we are not happy with them.

 

  How long can someone live with his condition.??   

Posted 3/19/2009 5:43 PM (GMT 0)

egradle, welcome to the forum.  I am very sorry that your dad is ill with liver disease.  You will find a lot of information and support here.  I suggest you read some of the educational topics.  I have also bumped "Death and Dying Comments" to the top of the page.  That is a good one for you to read, also.

What state are you in?  Someone might be able to recommend a good doctor or hospital if we know where your dad is. Has a transplant ever been mentioned?  Personally, I'm a big fan of Mayo as they saved my life after I was diagnosed with liver cancer.  However, there are other good ones, as well.

Posted 3/21/2009 5:36 AM (GMT 0)
  He is in VA.  Thanks!!

Posted 3/21/2009 11:17 AM (GMT 0)

 

Egradle,

 

Welcome to the forum.  Below is a list of transplant centers I pulled in the vicinity of Virginia.  For a complete list, see page 6 of my forum WE HAVE A LIVER. 

 

Region 11: Kentucky, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia

Name

location

Center Phone

VAMC - Medical College of Virginia Hospitals

Richmond, VA

(804) 828-2461

VAUV - University of Virginia Health Sciences Center

Charlottesville, VA

(800) 543-8814

NCDU - Duke University Medical Center

Durham, NC

(919) 684-6419

NCCM - Carolinas Medical Center

Charlotte, NC

(704) 355-6649

NCMH - University of North Carolina Hospitals

Chapel Hill, NC

(888) 263-5293

 

 

Region 2: Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Northern Virginia

Name

location

Center Phone

MDJH - Johns Hopkins Hospital

Baltimore, MD

(410) 955-5662

MDUM - University of Maryland Medical System

Baltimore, MD

(410) 328-5408

 

You will find a great deal of information and support on this forum regarding liver disease.  ESLD (End Stage Liver Disease) is not measured on a scale of 1-10.  It is measured on the MELD (Measure of End-stage Liver Disease).  This is a scale from 7-40.  When an individual’s MELD score is 15, they should be placed on the waiting list for transplant, provided they are a candidate.  It seems most patients are transplanted when their meld score is in the mid-20’s. By this time, they are very, very sick. 

 

The amount of time a person can live with the disease depends on the individual and the management of complications.  No one can predict the outcome.  I encourage you to learn as much as you can about your Father’s disease.  The whole family needs to be involved in his care. 

 

I have to go for now (gotta get some work done).  Read on.  Knowledge is power. 

 

Thanks,

 

Penny

Posted 3/21/2009 3:42 PM (GMT 0)
egradle,

Welcome to the forum. I am so sorry your dad and your family is dealing with this disease. One of the things you mentioned is that your dad keep breaking out in a rash. That caught my attention due to some issues my husband has, and I feel compelled to share with you. My husband has HepC and cirrhosis and a couple of years ago, started breaking out in a rash, and when it would flare up it was very painful. The did a biopsy of the rash and concluded that it is vasculitis, secondary to the HepC. They treated my husband w/ steroid medication at first. However, it caused some problems (psychois reaction) in my husband and they treated him after that with a chemo drug called rituxan. It was explained to me that the vasculitis was a side effect of the Hep C. I strongly urge you if you can to get a hepatoligist to look at him as they will be most knowledgable about all of this.

You hang in there. My prayers are with you

Mer
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