Cirrhosis of the Liver

[bbtaximom2]

My 37 yr. old cousin was recently diagnosed with Cirrhosis of the liver.  His symtoms were jaundice, internal bleeding as well as vomiting up blood, severe swelling, anemic.  This stemmed from alcohol.  The doctors are saying nothing can be done for him and he will have to go into a rest home.  Is there not something or some type of treatment that can be done that they possibly are not aware of.  He does not have insurance, I hate to ask this, but could this effect the treatment that he is or is not getting?  Is there a medical faciality that specializes in this, who can I contact to give him some type of chance for recovery?  Isn't the liver the one organ that can repair itself?
The family is despirately seeking a miracle.  Would Baptist Hospital in Winston-Salem, NC or Duke Medical have any special treatments.  Please help if you can, I hate to see a 37 year old live the duration of his life in a resthome, not aware of what is going on.  Thank you for you help

[LISA WESLEY]

my husband also has cirrhosis of the liver.and my father has died from the same thing.my dad was also vomiting blood.and that is very close to the end of there life.my dad was cared for by me an my sister till the end.if you life near pittsburgh pa.they may be able to help but not to sure.if you need to talk please email me at lisa_wesley***@**** i will be glad to share what i know.my husband is still going threw this.

[snazzy]

I am a 29yr old female with actue cirrhosis of the liver i have been on predisone and imuran for six years and i also have a weight problem.right now my liver is doing alright so the doctors say but i really want to know what that means? am i going to need a transplant or what? what i really want is a baby and i want to know how this liver problem i have is going to effect my baby.Or could i die will trying to have one if you know anything about this disase or being pregnant with this liver problem e-mail me at ***@**** please please please

[imkindly]

LISA and bbtaximom2,
There is a messageboard that's all about cirrhosis at

http://forums.delphiforums.com/liverfailure/messages

There is alot of information there. (You scroll down a column on the left-side of your screen, and click on whatever (purple) topic that interests you. Then a list of sub-topics appear----click on what you need to know.)

It's all free. Hope this helps.

[imkindly]

There are three hospitals in North Carolina with advanced liver disease programs (including transplants):

NCMH University of North Carolina Hospitals, Chapel Hill NC
919-966-4131  www.unchealthcare.org

NCCM Carolinas Medical Center, Charlotte NC  704-355-2000

NCDU Duke University Medical Center and Durham VA Medical Center, Durham NC  919-684-8111

Treatment all depends on how advanced his cirrhosis is. (Cirrhosis = scar tissue in the liver).
Try to get a referral to one of the three hospitals listed above, and see what they have to say.

In the meanwhile, you can read more about cirrhosis and how it's treated at
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/health/digest/pubs/cirrhosi/cirrhosi.htm
or
http://www.ivillagehealth.com/conditions/liver/articles/0,11299,166118_124945,00.html
or
http://cpmcnet.columbia.edu/dept/gi/cirrhosis.html

Hope this helps.