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Stage 4 and Hep C
I am reading a lot of posts from people but not really understanding my brother-in-laws condition completely. He has Cirrhosis of the Liver. It is stage 4 and he has hep C. They said that his cirrhosis was not caused by his drinking but that his drinking has made it worse. This is what I know. He is in the hospital now, on a ventilator, he has pneumonia. His has vericose veins bad and one in his throat broke which may or may not have had blood go into his lungs. He was on blood pressure medication but last night they took him off that, his fever is now low grade, he is completely sedated or he will remove the ventilator, and he can not breathe without it on his own yet. They had told her that he probably will not make it out of the hospital, but they have hope. I have no idea what medications he is on other than whatever they are sedating him with. He has been in this hospital today will be 5 days and on the ventilator for 4 of them. She says he has this veri that I have seen posted on some posts. She says she wants to get him to the point where she can get him home so that he can die at home and not in the hospital. He has 3 different doctors, I dont know what kind. From what I am seeing about this new medication for the C i would say that he is not being treated with it since his condition is not good. He is in ICU. The doctors and nurses are saying they are keeping hope. With all this that is going on with him is his prognosis pretty much that he is not going to come out of the hospital?
Lou Reed’s New Liver Sparks Old Debate About Transplants
How do you feel about an aging rock icon, who spent his youth wrecking his liver with booze and drugs, being able to get a new liver at age 71? Is it right, considering that there are far more people on the organ-transplant list than there are donors?
How about if this same rocker has mended his ways and been a pillar of health since he was in his 40s? Does that change things?
The news that singer-songwriter-guitarist Lou Reed underwent a liver transplant about a month ago at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic brings up the touchy subject of whether age or past indiscretions should affect organ-transplant decisions.
The topic is being raised more often these days now that the number of older Americans receiving organ transplants is going up. In the past decade the number of organ-transplant patients who are 65 or older has jumped from 3 percent to more than 25 percent, the New York Times reported.
According to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, the number of kidney transplants between 1998 and 2011 tripled among those over 65. Between 2001 and 2011 the percentage of liver-transplant recipients nearly doubled, from 7.4 to 13 percent.
Medicare pays for the surgery, but patients are responsible for co-pays and out-of-pocket costs, including drugs and travel, according to the Times.
Reed’s wife, musician Laurie Anderson, said her husband “was dying” of liver failure before undergoing the operation several weeks ago, the Associated Press reported. She said Reed wasn’t yet back to full strength, but “he’s already working and doing tai chi,” the ancient, graceful Chinese exercise regimen he has practiced for 30 years.
On his website, Reed posted a message saying he’s”bigger and stronger” than ever, calling himself “a triumph of modern medicine” and crediting his health to his doing tai chi.
Reed, who was born and raised in New York, cofounded the influential 1960s rock group the Velvet Underground. The group’s song “Heroin,” which Reed wrote about addiction, is included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of top songs that shaped rock and roll.
Reed left the group in 1970 to start a solo career. His best-known solo works include “Walk on the Wild Side.”
Anderson said Reed and she chose the Cleveland Clinic, one of the country’s leading transplant centers, because hospitals in Reed’s home state of New York were “dysfunctional.” The Cleveland Clinic, unlike some other facilities, also has no age limit on transplant patients, according to the New York Times.
http://blog.aarp.org/2013/06/03/lou-reeds-new-liver-sparks-old-debate-about-transplants/
How do you feel about an aging rock icon, who spent his youth wrecking his liver with booze and drugs, being able to get a new liver at age 71? Is it right, considering that there are far more people on the organ-transplant list than there are donors?
How about if this same rocker has mended his ways and been a pillar of health since he was in his 40s? Does that change things?
The news that singer-songwriter-guitarist Lou Reed underwent a liver transplant about a month ago at Ohio’s Cleveland Clinic brings up the touchy subject of whether age or past indiscretions should affect organ-transplant decisions.
The topic is being raised more often these days now that the number of older Americans receiving organ transplants is going up. In the past decade the number of organ-transplant patients who are 65 or older has jumped from 3 percent to more than 25 percent, the New York Times reported.
According to the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients, the number of kidney transplants between 1998 and 2011 tripled among those over 65. Between 2001 and 2011 the percentage of liver-transplant recipients nearly doubled, from 7.4 to 13 percent.
Medicare pays for the surgery, but patients are responsible for co-pays and out-of-pocket costs, including drugs and travel, according to the Times.
Reed’s wife, musician Laurie Anderson, said her husband “was dying” of liver failure before undergoing the operation several weeks ago, the Associated Press reported. She said Reed wasn’t yet back to full strength, but “he’s already working and doing tai chi,” the ancient, graceful Chinese exercise regimen he has practiced for 30 years.
On his website, Reed posted a message saying he’s”bigger and stronger” than ever, calling himself “a triumph of modern medicine” and crediting his health to his doing tai chi.
Reed, who was born and raised in New York, cofounded the influential 1960s rock group the Velvet Underground. The group’s song “Heroin,” which Reed wrote about addiction, is included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s list of top songs that shaped rock and roll.
Reed left the group in 1970 to start a solo career. His best-known solo works include “Walk on the Wild Side.”
Anderson said Reed and she chose the Cleveland Clinic, one of the country’s leading transplant centers, because hospitals in Reed’s home state of New York were “dysfunctional.” The Cleveland Clinic, unlike some other facilities, also has no age limit on transplant patients, according to the New York Times.
http://blog.aarp.org/2013/06/03/lou-reeds-new-liver-sparks-old-debate-about-transplants/
Hi,
I'm sorry to read about your brother in law's condition as well. Randy has given you a lot of great information. How old is your brother in law? How is his general health aside from Cirrhosis and its symptoms? Is he an active alcoholic, or has he been sober for at least 6 mo? The reason I ask these questions is that there are many criteria for qualifying for a liver transplant, but if he is otherwise healthy, sober for 6 mo plus, 65 or under, not overweight, etc., he could try to get listed for a transplant. He has to survive this crisis first. Does he have fluid on his abdomen or edema? How was his mental state before this incident? (oriented and alert or disoriented and confused)? If you can find out his MELD score that would be helpful.
Advocate1955
I'm sorry to read about your brother in law's condition as well. Randy has given you a lot of great information. How old is your brother in law? How is his general health aside from Cirrhosis and its symptoms? Is he an active alcoholic, or has he been sober for at least 6 mo? The reason I ask these questions is that there are many criteria for qualifying for a liver transplant, but if he is otherwise healthy, sober for 6 mo plus, 65 or under, not overweight, etc., he could try to get listed for a transplant. He has to survive this crisis first. Does he have fluid on his abdomen or edema? How was his mental state before this incident? (oriented and alert or disoriented and confused)? If you can find out his MELD score that would be helpful.
Advocate1955
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hello and welcome to MedHelp. I am so very sorry to hear about your brother-in-laws condition.
I wish I could give you the answers you need but his doctors are your best source by far since they have his medical file. All I can tell you is what you already know that a variceal hemorrhage can often be life threatening and since his cirrhosis is so far advanced treatment for Hep C would be unadvisable. At this point Transplant might be his only option depending on whether he can meet the criteria necessary to be a recipient and of course if he can make a recovery from his current status.
How the whole thing works:
Everything ingested is processed by the liver. This process kills liver cells but this is okay since the liver is resilient and has an ability to heal and replace the dead cells. Alcohol abuse kills large amounts of cells faster than the liver can replace them, this over time causes scaring.. we call this fibrosis and in more sever cases cirrhosis. An illness such as Hepatitis C attacks the liver killing liver cells having the same outcome unless treatment is sought and effective.
The health of a cirrhotic liver is normally measured using MELD (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease). This score is calculated using blood labs. The scoring system works as follows:
MELD score > 40 : 71.3% mortality
MELD score 30–39 : 52.6% mortality
MELD score 20–29 : 19.6% mortality
MELD score 10–19 : 6.0% mortality
MELD score < 9 : 1.9% mortality
This is the most information I can give you based on the information you have provided. Please keep in mind that other serious complications are present and may be of equal or greater concern at this point than the immediate health of his liver. Although inquiring with his doctors what the MELD score measurement was might be a good place to start.
I wish you and you family the best possible through all of this. Take care,
Randy
I wish I could give you the answers you need but his doctors are your best source by far since they have his medical file. All I can tell you is what you already know that a variceal hemorrhage can often be life threatening and since his cirrhosis is so far advanced treatment for Hep C would be unadvisable. At this point Transplant might be his only option depending on whether he can meet the criteria necessary to be a recipient and of course if he can make a recovery from his current status.
How the whole thing works:
Everything ingested is processed by the liver. This process kills liver cells but this is okay since the liver is resilient and has an ability to heal and replace the dead cells. Alcohol abuse kills large amounts of cells faster than the liver can replace them, this over time causes scaring.. we call this fibrosis and in more sever cases cirrhosis. An illness such as Hepatitis C attacks the liver killing liver cells having the same outcome unless treatment is sought and effective.
The health of a cirrhotic liver is normally measured using MELD (Model for End-Stage Liver Disease). This score is calculated using blood labs. The scoring system works as follows:
MELD score > 40 : 71.3% mortality
MELD score 30–39 : 52.6% mortality
MELD score 20–29 : 19.6% mortality
MELD score 10–19 : 6.0% mortality
MELD score < 9 : 1.9% mortality
This is the most information I can give you based on the information you have provided. Please keep in mind that other serious complications are present and may be of equal or greater concern at this point than the immediate health of his liver. Although inquiring with his doctors what the MELD score measurement was might be a good place to start.
I wish you and you family the best possible through all of this. Take care,
Randy
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