confused

Question

my boyfriend was diognoised stage 3 they really wont tell him anything also has cirrhosis
they dont know what stage its like they dont know anything he has been filling up with fluids 
had about 3 litters removed last week now hes retaining again is this normal and what is causing it 
liver or hepititis any info would really help we are not getting any thing from drs


 thanks bec676

HectorSF · Accepted Answer

"they really wont tell him anything" "i mean they really aren't saying to much" I'm not really sure what you mean by this. (?) They have put your boyfriend on the transplant list. A person doesn't get on a transplant list by chance. He had to be evaluated and approved by a large group of medical professionals to get on a transplant list. People get on a transplant list in order to get a donated organ. If they don't get a donated organ at some time in the future they will die because their current organ is not functioning properly and will in time fail to function enough for the patient to continue living.

"he has been filling up with fluids had about 3 litters removed last week now hes retaining again is this normal and what is causing it" 
They are draining his ascites (the fluid in his abdomen). His liver is not functioning properly. Is it normal? Yes it is normal for someone who liver is failing. To learn more Google "ascities" and you will learn all you want to know about it.
The doctor are doing what they can managing his illness until he is able to receive a donated liver. Unfortunately the only solution at this time because his liver is so damaged is for him to obtain a donated liver. His liver is in the process of becoming more and more diseased and he will get sicker and sicker until he has a transplant. I am sorry this is happening to the both of you. When he gets a transplant he will feel much better and won't be experiencing the problems he is having now. 

Your boyfriend has advanced liver disease. Stage 4, cirrhosis. Advanced (decompensated) cirrhosis is more accurate. He is retaining fluids in his abdomen. This is called "ascites".This is because his liver is so damaged it is unable to perform all of its usual functions. Symptoms of abdomen bloating in one of many symptoms that occur when someones liver is not able to function properly. He probably also has edema. Swelling of the feet and legs. These symptoms can be managed using diuretics. A combination of the diuretics spironolactone  (Aldactone) and furosemide can reduce or eliminate the edema and ascites in most patients. I would be very surprised if his doctor hasn't prescribed them since draining the abdomen is a much more evasive, risky and costly treatment. Unless your boyfriend is so ill that the diuretics don't work any more.

With cirrhosis comes high blood pressure in the vein that brings the blood from the intestines to the liver. This causes "esophageal varices", enlarged veins in the esophagus, which if the blood pressure gets too high, causes the veins to burst and will result in the vomiting of blood.  A life threatening condition. Beta blockers such as Nadolol is prescribed to reduce the blood pressure. 

Another common symptom is "Hepatic encephalopathy". When the toxic substances accumulate sufficiently in the blood, the function of the brain is impaired, a condition called hepatic encephalopathy. Sleeping during the day rather than at night (reversal of the normal sleep  pattern) is among the earliest symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy. Other symptoms include irritability, inability to concentrate or perform calculations, loss of memory,  confusion, or depressed levels of consciousness. Ultimately, severe hepatic encephalopathy causes coma  and death. Again there are medicine that provide relief for this condition.

There are other symptoms of decompensated cirrhosis also. Just Google "cirrhosis" or "decompensated cirrhosis" to learn more.

I hope your boyfriend gets a transplant soon.
Best of luck to you and your boyfriend.

Hectorsf

bec676 · Answer

he is seeing specialist thats what i mean they really aren't saying to much
and he got the hepc from dirty needles when younger was in jail got alot of tatoos
and he was a one time in his life a drinker but all he really knows is he is on transplant list
his blood work comes back ok which they say is good he has a lot of scaring but i guess i still would like to know whats putting him on list

Diane12855 · Answer

Definitely need a liver specialist. I had a doctor that didn't like to explain things to me so I found one that would. Now life is much better.

Trinity4 · Answer

Hope he's seeing a liver specialist.   For starters he should be taking diuretics to help control the fluid retention.  Doctors can't withhold information so you should demand to know what is going on or find a specialist who can tell you what his prognosis is. 

Cirrhosis is not only caused by hepc.  Alcohol and drug toxicity can cause cirrhosis just to name a few.  

Trinity

nygirl7 · Answer

Stage 3 is not cirrhosis - stage 4 would be cirrhosis and if he's having fluids removed I would assume he does have that.

There is a great website that helps beginners learn what is what -

www.janis7hepc.com/

That would be a great start for you and then if you have more questions you can always feel free to ask them here!

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