Uncontrolled HE, need help

Hi everyone!!! I'm So thankful I found this site.
I am very stressed and don't know if I'm strong enough to do this any more. I will give you a little bit of info on what is going on.
My husband Dec 2010 started throwing up really bad. I called 911. He was in ICU for 10 days. That's when it all started. We were told he was bleeding from grade 3 Esophageal Varices. we also were told he has Hep C,cirrhosis, coagulopathy, Edema, Portal Vein Hypertenion hepatic encephalopathy, end stage liver disease,They said he has had Hep C for many years and he just didn't know it. They think he got Hep C from a tattoo he got at the age of 18 he is now 52.

At first my husband would go to the Doctor and take all his Med's. He has had his varices banded 4 times so far to stop the bleeding. When he first got sick we had health insurance. Now we don't have the money or Insurance for doctors. I can get him to take blood pressure med's and his nexium that's it. The hospital we went to to talk to about transplant will only talk to him if he has insurance. So that is why he has given up. Also he does not drink alcohol now and was never big drinker only for holidays sometimes.

Last week he called me to the bathroom to see blood in the toilet. He said it was the first time for straight blood but he thinks he has had blood in his urine for sometime now. I told him we need to go to the hospital but he won't go. He has not had straight blood since that first time only like trace blood in urine. He is always very moody, he don't sleep well at all.He has confusion, and if I try and help him remember something he says no your wrong. So he is still always right.LOL

A couple of months ago he really lost his mind. He started talking about crazy stuff and I knew he had to go to the hospital. As I was on the phone calling for help he said to me" if I wanted to kill you I could" So that scared me very much. I called 911 told them my husband is very sick I didn't know if his ammonia levels were up or not. I told them to bring the police with them because my husband was not going to go easy. Well they did get him to the hospital but it was very strange his ammonia levels were fine.

Is there something else that would make him CRAZY like that and not his ammonia level?

Thanks for this nice place to talk to others.


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Hi Hep93,
Yes I did read mamalamas reply. maybe I just don't understand what HE is. I edited my post and it tells no insurance, no money means no doctors right now. also we did go to see a transplant team. But that was when he had Insurance. Can you tell me what HE is ? I think I'm might be confused. Thanks

The resource folder is full of info and if you type encephalopathy into the search box ( Below Join Healingwell it will answer alot of your questions ) . Toxins build up in ones system who has a damaged liver , The livers function is to filter out the toxins . Damaged livers can't do that correctly and sometimes not at all .
The toxins build up like a dam holding water , Sometimes slowly and other times rapidly but the toxins will build up . When that happens the poisons have no place to go so they start backing up into the body and eventually cause the brain to malfunction . Lactulose is prescribed to assist in drawing the toxin into the stomach where it is eventually released in the form of diarrhea . This isn't probably what you would hear from a doctor but in short form thats how it works ( HE ) .

Lactulose is inexpensive if you can get a general practitioner to prescribe it you will start seeing the benefits pretty quickly . Type in Xifaxan in your search box and find the manufactures website ( Salix ) they have a patient assistance program that has been a life saver for me . You download the sheet and have your doctor prescribe it on the paperwork , You will get the meds for free if you meet the income criteria . Xifaxan works with Lactulose to combat the HE problem but without assistance it cost around 1200.00 a month typically .



A. Ziffle