can some one please help me WITH ANSWERS I HAVE

[LISA WESLEY]

MY HUSBAND LIVER IS FAILING AN NOW DONE.ONE MORNING I AWAKE TO HIM FALLING ON THE FLOOR AN HE JUST LAYED THERE.HE SAT UP AGAIN AN DOWN HE WENT LIKE A RAG DOLL.HIS EYES ROLLED INTO THE BACK OF HIS HEAD.I JUMPED UP AN RAN FOR THE PHONE CALLED 911.HERE WHEN I WENT BACK UP THERE IN MY MOP BUCKET WAS BLOOD ALOT OF IT.HERE HE VOMITIED UP BLOOD.WELL AT THE HOSPITAL HE KEPT VOMITING UP BLOOD.WELL HE WAS AMITED TO THE CCU.THEY FOUND THE HISS CIRRHOIS HAD BUSTED A MAIN ARTERIE IN HIS THROAT.8 DIFFERANT PLACES.WELL I WANT TO KNOW DOES ANY ONE KNOW ANY THING THAT CAN HELP ME WITH ANY ANSWERS AT ALL.IS HE DIEING NOW THE LIVER IS NOW DONE HOW LONG DOES HE HAVE NOW?YOU CAN EMAIL ME AT LISA_WESLEY2000***@**** or leave message here.i scared do not know what is next

[imkindly]

I'm sorry to hear that your husband is having this trouble, Lisa.
The bleeding that you describe is from VARICES.
Varices can be caused by portal hypertension.
Portal Hypertension can be caused by Cirrhosis.

You mentioned in your other post that your husband drinks alcohol. It is very important that he quit drinking. I'm sure that you already know that. Drinking will make the cirrhosis worse...which will make the portal hypertension worse...which will make the Varices worse.

Varices are internal varicose veins that can burst and bleed. It can be life-threatening.
It's very good that you got him to a hospital.
Doctors can do several things to help with bleeding varices:
1. They can use sclerotherapy (coat the veins with a chemical that will cause a scab to form and the bleeding to stop)
2. They can do a "ligation" (sometimes called "banding"), which is to tie off the bleeding veins.
3. They can install a "shunt" to relieve some of the pressure from the portal hypertension (the pressure that is causing those little veins to want to burst).
4. They can prescribe drugs like beta-blockers (NOT safe for everyone---only safe for some people) to reduce the pressure of the portal hypertension.

To understand what is causing all of this to happen----
When the liver is injured (from alcohol or other things), scar tissue forms.  Scar Tissue in the liver is called "Cirrhosis".

Blood in the "portal vein" is trying to flow through the liver.
When there is too much cirrhosis (scar tissue) in the way, pressure builds up in the portal vein.
That pressure is called "portal hypertension".

Blood is trying to flow through the portal vein...but it is hitting that 'traffic jam'. So it tries to find an alternate route through smaller blood vessels everywhere.
Those smaller blood vessels can't handle all the extra blood, so they begin to swell up (they are called "Varices").

The more and more pressure that is put on these little blood vessels (varices), the more likely they are to burst.

If they burst, that makes a person vomit all that blood that you described.

This doesn't have to be the "end" for your husband. Doctors can sometimes get the bleeding to stop, and get things under control.

But the most important thing is---that your husband stop drinking (or this will happen again).
Other bad things can happen too---"ascites", "encephalopathy", etc.........if he doesn't get his drinking under control in the future.
Drinking or drugs will make all of this much much worse.

The good news is...sometimes if a person stops drinking, they can recover.
Good Luck to you.

PS---if you need anyone to talk to, you can visit our messageboard at
http://forums.delphiforums.com/liverfailure/messages

or email me at ***@****