what stages are there for liver failure

[willy71]

based upon my wife who is incredibly secretive (perhaps not to worry me) about her HCV, she is 38 genotype 3a and has had chronic HCV for over 16 years, she refuses treatment of anykind and she drinks alcohol on a nightly basis, her decision making recently have been incredibly selfish and more so swayed away from the family and enjoying herself by going out during the week nights coming home at all hours (except when it suits her - if that makes sense).

So I was wondering and fearing the worst, what the stages are for liver failure and what symptoms it can have on a persons mind and body, and why she continues to drink, I tell her like a broken record not to.. but she ignores all the advice...

or can someone drink for years and be fine with HCV?

[GreatBird]

With hepatitis C, there are really no absolutes. Some people progress quickly, others don't. Some people are very symptomatic, others aren't. Still, one should not drink with this disease.

Coming here and posting a variation on the same question every few weeks/months isn't going to change what she's doing or replace your own research (you could start with Wikipedia--look up cirrhosis). You need to engage in discussion with her and her doctor to find out what's really going on. None of us can tell you how long your wife has, or what her stage is, or what is going on with her.

[willy71]

thank you for your honesty, as you can tell im at a loss as to what to do, but i will research it as much as i can.. the hard thing is, is that i dont know how it affects people, so i will be looking for any info i can get.

[Shehabi]

As GreatBird mentioned, there's no time-frame for this, you always try to prevent the worse from happening, you don't need to do research right now, you need to get lab results of your wife blood test including PCR viral load, liver functions test, CBC etc, then from there you can can have a better vision in what stage she is.

[merryBe]

sorry to hear of your plight Will.  It sounds to me like your wife is in need of more than reading up on liver disease. One can eat a pound of bacon a day with heart disease also, but we all know what we would call that behavior....crazy.

My suggestion would be to consider that your wife is in a form of denial and addiction both...and also is trying to push people away so she can die alone, or drink herself to death. This is not an uncommon response to the news of liver disease. Call it "leaving Las Vegas" syndrome if you like (my coinage)...call it irrational, call it anything you like, but try to learn yourself about the disease, and the psychological responses

, and I would also suggest you read up on Interventions.

Before someone can take their health seriously they first have to deal with the addictions. Most doctors will not even treat alcoholics until they have been through treatment and been sober for at least 6 months or more. So the first thing you need to do is GET her HELP with the addictive behavior.

Do not expect to be able to tell your loved one they have a problem and expect them to recieve it...the reason people get professional help is because this is one instance where having a neutral party in the room when the family confronts the addict can make all the difference.  My best  to you.

PS. I think going to the addiction forums might also help you get support and learn to cope as well. You are most welcome in here, but the people on the addition forum are very knowledgable about just what you are going through.

MB

[Duke3d]

I probably had HCv for 33 years before diagnosed. I drank 1 to 2 bottles of wine per week. I am not recommending this- just stating the facts. I stopped when diagnosed.I was in a panic thnking I would already have cirrosis but my biopsy showed  I am stge 1. There is some evidence to show that women younger than meopuase progress more slowly due to the effect of estrogen. Also this disease is diferent in everyone. You can read probabliites based on the group but may not be ture for the individual.

It is best for her to stop drinking , but you can't do that for her. It would be good if she had a biopsy to see where is is in terms of progression.

Gail

[Lord_Fate]

genotype 3a I have learned is easier to cure with interferon. I have 1a the hardest to treat.....thats all I know....