My wife has severe alcoholic hepatitis...will she survive? I'm really scared.

Hi and firstly I would like to say what a great website this is, I have found a bit of comfort from some of the posts I have read on here.

Now to what has brought me to this site.

My wife was diagnosed with severe alcoholic hepatitis about 6 weeks ago, she is 43 years old. Before she was admitted to hospital she had developed severe jaundice and a swollen tummy(ascites) which was drained a couple of days after admission and showed no signs of SBP. On admission Bloods showed raised bilirubin >400, ALP 219 ALT 73 and raised inflammatory markers. She was reviewed by the doctors which showed an enlarged liver with no focal lesions and given a Maddrey score >32 and Glasgow liver score 9(very serious I know,from what I have researched)

My wife spent 11 days in hospital and had made good progression and her liver enzymes had continued to greatly improve, she was and is still eating very well, 3 meals a day. She is taking various medication....Prednisolone daily, then reducing to 5mg, Omeprazole and was taking the Lactulose solution for a while along with vitamin tablets which were prescribed.

Today, 5 weeks after being discharged she has developed very sore hands and feet, and also red spots on her back with a few on her arms. Is this a worrying sign? She has also had headaches the past couple of days. She has not touched a drop of alcohol for nearly 2 months now. Her stomach looks still swollen, although no bigger or smaller than when she was discharged as an outpatient. She is due for a review with the Gastro specialist and also to have an endoscopy in next couple of weeks.

I would just like to ask you guys, can you survive severe alcoholic hepatitis? A very serious bout from what I have researched. I'm really worried, we have 4 children.

Gary

Thank you very much for your reply,

Yes she is very sick, but has been coping well at home. She has been doing normal things daily, with no problems at all.

I do not have her MELD score but I can provide you with some information. Her creatinine on admission was 30 umol/l , bilirubin: 419 umol/l and INR 1.7.

She recovered well enough in hospital to be discharged and all I know is when she was discharged her bilirubin levels had dropped by about 300. She is also continuing to eat very well with no problems at the present time. She does not look jaundiced anymore, apart from a very slight glaze in her eyes. Today she developed very sore hands and feet, is this normal? Also a few red spots on her back(rash)

She is being treated as an outpatient at our local A&E hospital. No transplant has been discussed yet.

Regards

Gary

Gary,
Here is a calculator for MELD score using umol/L or mg/dl. As you see below, my husband is mid-teens for 1.5 years now. He is listed with Mayo Clinic in AZ. He has Hep C caused cirrhosis and we live with a lot of hope !! Hang in there. You are welcome here. Big Hugs

www.globalrph.com/meld_score.htm

Hi Gary,

I am glad that your wife is home and not drinking. I am forever grateful that my husband stood by me (and held me up!) through a similar situation. I was dx with cirrhosis the first time I went to the hospital. I was 36 years old. When I got home from the hospital, I didn't know how to deal with or function without alcohol, and it was killing me - literally. I continued to drink for a few more months before I seeked help from the outside.

Besides welcoming you to the forum, I wanted to comment on her foot pain. I have consistent numbness/pain/tenderness in both feet. My hep Dr says it's from the alcohol, and that it may go away in time. Yoga seems to be helping a bit. Oh - but I don't have any swelling in my legs,ankles/feet. When I did - they were 100 times worse!

Eyes

Gary I second the comments by ML, it is amazing how the body can try and readjust itself after being sober. Just shows how bad alcohol can damage the body, that the change is almost instant.

My father too after his AA wishes he had known what he does now and maybe things could be different health-wise for him.

I remember all of us being so oblivious to the symptoms (Extreme Fatigue, Juandice, no appetite, shaky hands) I saw them but didn't know what they meant. The fact he was functioning, the only advice was seeing a doctor for "medication". After all we have been through the past year and thinking back on his condition, there is NO doubt in my mind just like ML's partner, he was close to not making it. Sadly the damage is done but at least he stopped and is hanging in there and for now able to have taken the needed steps to get listed for a transplant.

Keep encouraging her staying sober and getting better. Knowing Alcohol caused it I feel at least in our case is a huge cloud of guilt that just hangs over my dad. So I try not to acknowledge the reason but rather learn from it.

ML, so glad he is feeling so good and playing golf! Maybe I can take some lessons. I participated in an annual fundraising golf outing...let's just say I won't be going on any PGA tours anytime soon!