Treating Cirrhosis

[Lovedad]

My father was diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver.  He was a drinker for years.  When diagnosis, he cut back drastically on his drinking but would still have a drink every once in awhile(every couple of months).  He then tripped and fell really hard this summer, hurting his back.  He rested for a few days which turned into a week, then two.  He was given pain medication for his lower back pain.  He awoke one morning this past August and was spitting up blood.  At the hospital, the doctor determined that the medication had eaten up his stomach lining because he was not eating while taking the medication.  He was then sent home and still had severe pain in his lower back.  He couldn't even get out of his chair.  He then had a CAT scan done and the doctor said he had bacterial pneumonia.  He was then put on a lot of medication and has since felt a lot better.  But, he still has pain on the side where his liver is.  The GI doctor was going to do a biopsy but said there is no point.  Not sure why he said it, but I thought a biopsy could show us the extent of the damage.  Wouldn't it?  Now, I know that cirrhosis, in the end stages of it, can be a very painful death.  If say, my father is near death, would he be in a lot more pain?  He is still really weak from the pneumonia, but says he feels good someday's, and someday's he feels weak.  Lastly, he takes tylenol, daily for the pain, could that do more damage?


This discussion is related to Cirrhosis treatment.