many questions

[kat02008]

For several months, my dad would fall a sleep where ever he was sitting. He started to get confused at times and looked real yellow. Last Saturday, he woke up not knowing who he was or who we were.  The doctors said he was in the last stage of Cirrhosis. He has 90% liver damage.  With the medication they gave him to flush the toxicans, it seems to have  really helped.  We can hold a perfect conversation. He just doesn't seem to understand that he is terminal.  He still looks yellow and always  tired but he is not bed ridden.  

How long can someone live being in the last stage with 10% of liver function?
What will be our signs things are getting worse?
Do you think he really knows what's going on and should I push the issue this is terminal ?

[twobodes]

hi,,,i have a long time friend who is dying of end stage liver disease..could you tell me the name of the hospice booklet..i'd like to read it..

[Namastacie]

My mother also has end stage liver cirrhosis due to decades of alcoholism, but is still able to care for herself. She is not incapacitated and can handle things on her own for now, but doesn't eat healthy or exercise and sometimes I wonder if she still drinks, but I'm not certain. I am also trying to figure out what to do if things start to go downhill for her and she needs around the clock care. I have heard about checking into Health and Human Services in your area to find out what sort of help is available. You might want to look into Palliative Care or Hospice care if your brother has been given a timeline. I believe Hospice cannot deny you if your brother is not on a transplant list. I would look into that. Also, try for medicaid, medicare, and Social Security Disability to see if he qualifies. I will be keeping you in my thoughts and prayers. This is a terrible disease that kills slowly and mercilessly and it is so devastating to see your loved one deteriorate right before your eyes. I get so angry and have so many mixed emotions sometimes because I begged and pleaded with her to stop drinking for over a decade and she never did and here we are now. She is suffering the consequences of the choices she made and I am having to suffer along with her. I love my mother deeply and she is a kind and caring person, but all those years of pounding back beer after beer and choosing to drink over her family also have me with mixed feelings about it all.

[kellers01]

I don't know the answers, but I'm responding because I'm in the same position!  My mom was diagnosed 15 years ago but recovered and lived a normal life, despite still drinking.  I took her to the hospital in Jan because she was yellow and her belly swollen. I guess it finally caught up with her.  She's now under hospice care at my house.  My mom sleeps a lot as well.  I've read that's just a symptom of cirrhosis, as well as a loss of appetite.  My hospice booklet said that it's also a sign death is near.

[Mertz77]

Looking for some kinda of answers and help!! My mom was just diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver this past Thursday. While in the ER they have her 4 doses of morphine for the pain. As of today she does nothing but sleep. She will be sitting there and just past out. I don't understand why and I'm so very worried about her!! I asked her if she had eatin anything today and she couldn't remember. She does have fluid on the belly, but no yellowing of the skin or eyes. She hasn't taking in much water today because she does nothing but sleep. Can anyone please help?? Could the side effects from the morphine still be in her system? Or is this a sign of something else?

[Finley5]

Hi, My brother who is 49 has been an alcoholic and homeless for the last 8 years.  My parents have taken him in and tried to get him help several time and he always goes back to the lifestyle. He came home over Christmas and we noticed his belly was really swollen and he had lost weight.  My parents tried to get him to go to the clinic and he said he would and then ended up disappearing again. My parents checked all resources of where he may be and people who knew him or had seen him said he did not look well. He finally turned up last friday after a visit to the emergency room and called for my mom to come pick him up and told her she was right, after discharging him with water pills, they said blood tests showed his liver was "hash".  He is now at my parents house, his belly is swollen 4x what is was, he is jaundic, nauseous, and tired all the time.  My parents can not afford to get him treatment at this point and they cannot get anyone to help them anywhere(free clinics,ect..) Any ideas of where the should turn? I understand my brother did this to himself and it is a hard thing to ask tax payers to help him out, but at the very least I wish we could try and find someone who will help him to stay comfortable.  

[jjc546]

After reading the posts on this site, I feel compelled to write a few lines. My brother is only a few days away from the horrible death from alcoholism. He was told to stop drinking 10 years ago, but he did not want to. Gradually his liver detriorated and other systems started to fail. He continued drinking until a year ago and then started on so-called non-alcoholic beer. It is NOT not-alcoholic. He is in ICU today, knowing that he has very little time left. I cannot imagine how awful it must be for him to know that this is where it ends for him. He had such potential for a really good life. The drinking drove off 3 wives and 2 children. He became a convincing liar and lost a lot of good friends. His sweet nature sometimes shows through, but his addiction to alcohol destroyed him.

[rpooo]

hi kat. my name is Randy and i too have been digagnosed with being in the final stages of cirrhosis. the cause of my cirrhosis was alchol about 24 beers a day for several years.one thing ive read over and over is that alot of people with cirrhosis dont completley stop drinking and it is a must if you are going to survive this disease. no exceptions! im only 38, seems pretty dumb doing what i did but its to late now. the best i can do is deal with the disease the best i can. the very first thing i knew i had to do was stop drinking completely and i did. that alone has helped me alot. I also take milk thistle pill 3 times a day. i watch my diet closely. after 7 months since being diagosed the yellow is gone, i dont loose my balance much any more and im not nearly as forgetful. i have alot of joint pain but i can deal with that. what im trying to say is that i think your father can still lead a very normal life it all depends how well he takes care of himself and what gods plan is for him. im sure he very much knows about his disease so he probably wouldnt like being reminded, he might like it better to be reminded how much he means to you. maybe even how much you need him. those are the things that are important to me and give me the reason to keep trying so hard. the peolpe that loves me need me to be here for them. so... i will! because you have cirrhosis doesnt mean life is over :) god bless you and your family. i know ive mumbled on and on here, but maybe you will find something here to help.

[jml1986]

The one thing we learn when dealing with my uncles cirrhosis is that noone can tell you how long someone can live with this. According to my uncles doctors, he should have been dead fifteen years ago, and he just passed away this past April. I can tell you that when the day came, he was awake and still running errands like he always did and then that evening, the liver gave out spreading the poison though out his body. If you think your dad looks yellow now, just wait. I was shocked seeing my uncle after his liver stopped functioning. For him, it started at about seven pm, he was awake and talking until three am, by three thirty he had went into the coma and was gone by four am. So once it started, it wasn't long. However, the liver can sustain itself no matter how much function is left, so to get a better idea of what stage he is in, you need to ask his doctor.

[scaredtodeath1]

My mother just passed away from Cirrosis of the Liver.  Toward the end my mother started to again have trouble with water retention.  This was because he kidneys started to shut down as well.  The last two weeks she was with us, she spent them in the hospital with low sodium levels, increased toxin levels and a low blood count.  My mother also developed Cancer in the last 4 months of her disease.  It is not uncommon for that to happen in the liver., but this complicated things with her as well. As the other poster said only God knows your fathers fate, just try to be there for him and encourage him to see his doctors.

Also my uncle was diagnosed with Cirrosis of the Liver two years prior to my mother, he has been taking Milk Thistle and his liver has started to regenerate.  I did not find out about this until after my mother death, if so I would have encouraged her to take it.  

[suzi-q]

I am not familiar with your situation, and I am very sorry that you and your family are going through this difficult time.  However, my suggestion to you is to not push the issue.  Let your father live his life the way he wants to.  If he is feeling well, and able to do things on his own, hten let him enjoy his life.  I do not know how long he has, but let him make each moment count.  No one knows what God has in his plan.  Just savor every moment you have.  God Bless all of you.