Esophageal Varices Bleeding

My wife had 2 bleedings (2007 and 2009) due to cirrhosis of the liver. In Feb this yesr her Platel count was 85 and last week it was 87. Her other troubles are, that her right ankle is swollen in the evening ( water) and from her foot up to the knee she has burning pain. She said it feels like it's on fire and she also has abdominal pain that comes and goes. What concerns should she/we have or what can be done about her condition? Saw the doc yesterday and he said he will look into her low platel count, but didn't seemed interested in her other problems. She also had 2 nose bleeds within the last 2 weeks, which came on just sudden.
Current medications she is taking are: Nadolol, Spirolactone, Furosemide, Folic Acid, B1, Multi-Vitamin and Prilosec. She also takes Glyburide for her Type 2 Diabetes.
Thanks for any info

[Bill1954]

Wow, sorry to hear about your wife’s problems. Is her cirrhosis secondary to HCV? If so, with platelets that low, it’s difficult to endure interferon/ribavirin, unfortunately. Has she been evaluated for eventual transplant yet? It sounds like the meds you listed are appropriate for her condition.

Please note that there are no physicians on this site; this is a patient to patient discussion group.

As you probably know, her low platelets are most likely responsible for her bleeds; are they monitoring her with frequent EGD so they can band the varices before the bleed again? Have they considered a TIPS procedure to reduce portal hypertension?

Welcome to the discussion group,

Bill

[benzin99]

Hi Bill, thanks for your quick response.
Her cirrhosis is due to Alcoholic cirrhosis. Since she went into the Hospital, the first time in '07., she hasn't touched a drop.
She hasn't been evaluated for a transplant yet.
Not sure about EGD? So probably not. Never discussed TIPS procedure. We just learned about its existance on this site.
She will be going in for a check-up, on 28 Jul 10. Then they will due an ultrsound, blood work and a consultation with a NP from the Gastrointology Dept..
Thanks, Ed

[Bill1954]

Okay, good you found the forum here; there are others with cirrhosis that will be better informed than I, and hopefully they will offer their experiences as well. I think you’ll find most of us in here have liver disease that is secondary to HCV, but many of the characteristics are similar.

The EGD is the tube they look down the throat with, to assess and manage bleeds; she’s obviously had this in the past, if she’s had bleeds before.

The TIPS can shunt some of the pressure off the portal tract to help prevent further bleeding, but comes with it’s own issues, I believe; it’s probably a good idea to discuss it with the doc, though.

If she’s stopped drinking, they might consider her for eventual transplant; she should see if she needs to somehow document her sobriety? Ask them about this as well; perhaps she can attend AA just for documentation purposes? I dunno…

Good luck to you both,

Bill