cirrhosis of liver/hepatitis C

Hi, Idelia, and welcome to the forum. I'm sorry about your friend and understand your curiosity.

When the liver decompensates, the blood has trouble clotting, thus the bleeds. Also, if there are bleeding esophageal varices in the esophagus, she could bleed out. She would be vomiting blood or coughing it up. This is a life threatening event. The varices can be banded before this happens. Has your friend been evaluated for transplant? Do you know the cause of her cirrhosis? I had cirrhosis prior to transplant, but never had a bleed and no decompensation of the liver, though it was in pretty bad shape. Does she have hepatic encephalopathy (HE) where she seems confused or loses memory. Maybe someone who went through it can give you more info. Is she seeing a hepatologist (liver specialist?) I've never heard of anyone with liver disease bleeding from their ears. Sometimes there is rectal bleeding.

I suggest you read the info in the folder at the top of the page entitled Hepatitis Resources. There is a lot of good info in there on liver disease, not just viral hepatitis. You can also read some of the posts here to get an idea of what is normal or not. Also, you could do a search using the search feature at the top, by putting in a keyword, such as bleeding. That will open up the posts with that topic.

No, doctors are not always right about how long a person has left. We have several members here who were given a death sentence but survived, including myself. How is your friend's appetite? Does she have a swollen abdomen? Red meat should be eliminated from her diet and fresh fruit and veggies increased. Also NO alcohol and she should not take any supplement (such as a multivitamin) which contains iron. If she has no appetite, she should be drinking Ensure, Boost, or instant breakfast.

As for the topsy turvy sleep patterns, it seems to be true in every liver disease. Days and nights get mixed up. If she has hep C, she would be fatigued all the time. If she starts sleeping 20 out of 24 hours, she is not doing well at all.

I hope this is of some help.

Hugs,

Connie

Idelia , To put it bluntly she is only gonna get sicker and die . Without completely stopping drinking she has no chance of recovery . The doctors won't waste there time on someone who will kill themselves potentially , For those of us here that are alcoholics we have seen first hand the volume of skepticism from the medical community regarding drinkers staying clean even after years of proven sobriety .
Your frustration with her situation is nothing unique to this forum . There are no easy answers and quick fixes . She has to want to live bad enough to change her lifestyle , Unfortunately some folks just wait to long to make that decision and then the medical options are useless . Has she waited too long ? Six months of sobriety is normally required , Then rigorous testing , Then the waiting list . The doctors gave me 3 months survivability a few years back , Even though the prognosis was death I still kept sober , Followed the transplant program rules and made it day by day .
You see she has to want to live and that means going through some very bad times and still there are no guarantee's that she will make it . Sorry you have to watch her go down like this but it's nothing YOU have control over .


A. Ziffle

My mom was just diagnosed with chirrosis and its due to drinking. After a week in the hospital for a bleeding ulcer she is home. She has been SO sick that stopping drinking wasn't even a problem. She has an amazing doctor and has all of the right medication, not to mention a healthy husband and 4 adult kids to help, but she has totally lost the will to improve her quality of life.

In a nutshell she sleeps all day and basically refuses to eat. She is either sleeping or we are begging her to eat. She is so weak we have to help her walk from room to room. She's only 67 and it feels like she is 100. The doctors say she is "doing well" but if this is well then I am terrified.

Any inspiring words or advice?

Tabitha...it's a difficult place that you come... try the nutritional shakes and advice others have give you... she could pull out of this nosedive.. no one never knows.. but it's gonna take mom fighting not you fighting for her... she has to be willing to be sober and then go the distance... it's not for the weak at heart ... either for the person with ESLD or the caretaker...
inspiration?? find it one moment at a time... walk in the moment... don't overthink the situation... and accept what you can not change... realize... where you are... what you can do to help... and what is mom's responsibility... you can not will her to live... she has to fight this battle ... yes, with help... but she ... has to make a choice... I'm a believer in never giving up... sobriety... and she has a chance... without it... not much... take care of yourself... step back and take a deep breath when it overwhelms you because it will get worse... whatever source replenishes you... use it... and use it often...
Sandia I will be prayin