End Stage Liver Disease - what the family should expect?

My father, age 57, has was diagnosed Hepatitis C and about 10 years ago developed cirrhosis, now at a severe stage.  He lives alone and about 350 miles from me, his only child.  He has been hospitalized many times and most recently due to variceal intestinal bleeding and encephalopathy due to high ammonia.  He symptoms are many and becoming much more severe including:

severe abdominal and feet/ankle/let swelling,
variceal bleeding,
bacterial infections,
frequent mental impairment including confusion, loss of memory, slurred speech and moody/difficult personality (I also think he doesn’t take his medicine as he should due to his memory, etc.)
Bruises easily
Tired, weak and doesn’t sleep well

To complicate his health problems depression has lead to him beginning to binge drink and, obviously, further deteriorating his health issues.  I am encouraging him to see treatment.  My question is, based on his symptoms and binge drinking, how can we expect his disease to progress?  How quickly will his health deteriorate at this stage?  

[Bill1954]

It’s difficult to say how quickly he’ll progress. It sounds as if he’s beginning to decompensate, meaning his liver is no longer performing all vital functions. Further deterioration can be expected though.

From your post, it sounds as though you are trying to get him to treat his HCV? He will probably not be allowed to undergo treatment at this time; the meds are not indicated for decompensating patients.

He will probably require a transplant to survive; but his drinking will prevent him from being listed at a transplant center. Has he been evaluated yet?

If he wants to survive, he will need to stoop drinking; and most likely will need to demonstrate a minimum of 6 months sobriety prior to being listed. Sorry to paint such a glum picture, but this is reality. Donor livers are in short supply, and they are not likely to provide on to a host that will not care for it.

Best to you both—

Bill