Aa
How do we know when the end is near?
My kids are at the ER tonight with their dad (my ex). He has been a severe alcoholic for 20+ years and was diagnosed 15 months ago with Alcoholic Hepatitis and Cirrosis of the liver. He was told then that if he quit drinking, he had approx 2 years to live. He continued to drink heavily until 3 days ago, when he became too sick to drink. He has lost 40+ pounds in the past 6 months, is vomiting blood and has bloody diarrhea now. His skin is bright red from his neck up, his legs are very pale and tonight his feet are actually black. He is having extreme abdominal pain and he is shaking badly. His BP is very high and his pulse is 125+. The ER doctors are running blood tests and a CT scan now. They suspect "alcoholic pancreatitis" but are not explaining anything. The kids called me from the hospital, asking me to do internet research. They need some definite answers. We all know he is dying, but we have no idea if he is looking at days, weeks or months left. Can you help?
COMMUNITY LEADER
So glad to see you here my dear Poohbear!Congrats on the sober days!Such a better life indeed!Thank U as usual for the stellar feedback!
Hello Bella and welcome to MedHelp.
I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis and I am glad to hear you are doing well.
Let me explain to you how cirrhosis works:
Everything we ingest damages and kills liver cells but that is okay because the liver has the ability to heal itself by reproducing healthy new cells. This is part of its every day function. The liver performs more than 500 critical functions daily. When we abuse alcohol massive amounts of liver cells are being destroyed and over time the liver is unable to keep up so scar tissue begins to form. This is called fibrosis and in more severe cases cirrhosis. It is critical to stop any further advancement to prevent this disease from becoming fatal.
It sounds like you have compensated cirrhosis which means enough of your liver is still healthy enough to perform its daily functions. This also means without further advancement it is possible for you to live your full life not being shortened due to liver disease though it does not take much for your liver to decompensate and symptoms to manifest. Once enough damage has been done the disease will progress until your liver fails.
Having one glass of alcohol is what got you here to begin with. You know the pattern of alcoholism and how it works. None of us here ever just stop after one. Allowing one will only lead to more or doing it more often. It’s been more than 3 ½ years since my diagnosis, many times I have often wished it would be okay to just have a night of “fun”. Really though, would you even be able to enjoy it knowing what it’s doing to your already damaged liver? Gambling with your survival and how would you feel about it the next day? Be stronger than this my friend. You have made a huge change in your life, your finally on top probably for the first time in years this drink does not control any aspect of your life. You have done what it takes to save your own life, be proud of yourself it has been a long hard road and if you start up drinking again with only having one then you throw away everything you have just accomplished. It does not take long for a cirrhotic person that continues to drink causing liver disease to advance to liver failure.
Just ask the lady that started this post. The man the mother and daughter speak about in the above posts is sadly no longer with us because he was unable to find the strength to maintain his sobriety until he reached a point where it was too late.
Sorry to go on such a rant over such a simple question but it is very important you understand the serious risk that you would be taking. If it were so easy to just stop after one. then why are we all here?
I wish you the best, take care!
Randy
I am sorry to hear of your diagnosis and I am glad to hear you are doing well.
Let me explain to you how cirrhosis works:
Everything we ingest damages and kills liver cells but that is okay because the liver has the ability to heal itself by reproducing healthy new cells. This is part of its every day function. The liver performs more than 500 critical functions daily. When we abuse alcohol massive amounts of liver cells are being destroyed and over time the liver is unable to keep up so scar tissue begins to form. This is called fibrosis and in more severe cases cirrhosis. It is critical to stop any further advancement to prevent this disease from becoming fatal.
It sounds like you have compensated cirrhosis which means enough of your liver is still healthy enough to perform its daily functions. This also means without further advancement it is possible for you to live your full life not being shortened due to liver disease though it does not take much for your liver to decompensate and symptoms to manifest. Once enough damage has been done the disease will progress until your liver fails.
Having one glass of alcohol is what got you here to begin with. You know the pattern of alcoholism and how it works. None of us here ever just stop after one. Allowing one will only lead to more or doing it more often. It’s been more than 3 ½ years since my diagnosis, many times I have often wished it would be okay to just have a night of “fun”. Really though, would you even be able to enjoy it knowing what it’s doing to your already damaged liver? Gambling with your survival and how would you feel about it the next day? Be stronger than this my friend. You have made a huge change in your life, your finally on top probably for the first time in years this drink does not control any aspect of your life. You have done what it takes to save your own life, be proud of yourself it has been a long hard road and if you start up drinking again with only having one then you throw away everything you have just accomplished. It does not take long for a cirrhotic person that continues to drink causing liver disease to advance to liver failure.
Just ask the lady that started this post. The man the mother and daughter speak about in the above posts is sadly no longer with us because he was unable to find the strength to maintain his sobriety until he reached a point where it was too late.
Sorry to go on such a rant over such a simple question but it is very important you understand the serious risk that you would be taking. If it were so easy to just stop after one. then why are we all here?
I wish you the best, take care!
Randy
Hi Randy....you seem to know quite a bit about this sub. I will share some things with you and ask one question. I was admitted to the hosp. on 6-9-13 with severe hydration, very low electrolyte levels, ascites and just plain sick. They ordered an ultrasound first and loads of blood work round the clock and diag me w- cirrhosis. I followed up with a Gastro guy, Rheum, and my MD, totally complied with their directions, have changed my diet, done the supplements, milk thistle, exercise and abstinence. It will be 4 mos in a few . I recently had a full body ct scan and the liver, pancreas, spleen, gall bladder showed normal and no evid of ascites.
My question is, other than the obvious, what could it possible hurt if I had just one glass of wine?
My question is, other than the obvious, what could it possible hurt if I had just one glass of wine?
Hey Everyone! I am extremely happy to report that my Dad is 41 days sober and still going strong. He is still eating healthy and learning to how to treat himself naturally without the use of medicines. He has figured out that certain foods will cause pain in his pancreas and knows what to eat and drink to make the pain not be there. He is still having problems sleeping but he says they are not as bad as they were. He also is not shaking near as much! He also told me that he is gaining weight which is a good thing because he has lost so much from all the throwing up that the alcohol made him do. I am becoming more positive about this situation and I feel like maybe this really is something that he is going to keep up. I was a little cautious at first, and still am a little, but he is proving me wrong everyday! He is delivering pizzas under the table and is in school for motorcycle mechanics. He has told me that he has friends that have drank around him. This does worry me a little. He said that he smelled it and it smelled like horse pee and he never understood how in the world he drank that stuff. He also said that when his friends get drunk, and he is just sitting there sober, he finally gets to see how much of an idiot he was...lol.
Yes, I have been having some problems and have gone to my doctor who sent me to get some tests. The tests did come back that I have endometriosis in my ovaries and my uterus. It's extremely painful. I am no longer ovulating. (Sorry for the men on here) I am now faced with the decision of having kids a lot sooner than I expected or to not have any at all of my own. In order to have children now, I will have to take a series of shots to make me ovulate and then the possibilty of multiples has come up....and that scares me. I am completely stuck. I have no idea what to do, so I have made another doctors appointment to talk to her to get an opinion and learn what my options are. My boyfriend and I wil be getting married!!! We have been together for about 3 years so I think that we are prepared to make such a big commitment. He is my best friend and I'm ready. Like Mom said, we are going to have a wedding on the beach probably around September of next year. My dad will be walking me down the aisle. I was always scared that my little brother would have to do it because my Dad wouldn't be here when it was time. I'm not scared anymore. I think Dad will be here. And if not, it won't be the alcohol that took him away from this special time in my life. Dad and I have talked about me getting married and he said that if we toasted at the wedding to Champagne or wine, we will get him some sparkling grape juice and nobody will ever no the difference and he can still be a part of it...lol. I will be going to school on August 23rd for nursing. I have 2 semesters left of pre-nursing and then it's applying to get into the program. I am shooting to be in the nursing program in the Fall of 2012. Wish me luck! :-)
To Brad: I have no way of knowing how long your dad has left to live. I can tell you that I don't know what happened in that hospital that made my dad want to quit drinking but whatever it was, it worked. I have cried, begged, pleaded, screamed, cussed....I have done everything I could to try to get Dad to quit and he never would. Some people will tell you differently but I don't think you make an alcoholic quit before they are ready. And even them, some are never ready. When I took Dad to the hospital he was bleeding out his nose, mouth, penis, and rectum. It was horrible. His skin color was yellow. He had lost probably 30-40 pounds. He couldn't eat or sleep. All he did was throw up this nasty green thick stuff which I later found out was liver bile. And he was in SO much pain! He hurt right at the top part of his stomach. I stayed with him the whole time to make sure that he was ok and it was not a pretty sight. I wanted him to know that no matter what I forgave him, and I wanted him to get better. I was told that it was extremely important to make sure that he knows that he has a lot of support so I would not leave his side. Your Dad needs some support. I know it seems hard, especially with him still drinking, to be supportive because then you feel like you are supporting his addiction. That's how I felt. When I was mad at Dad for drinking I would make up excuses not to go to house because I didn't want to see him drunk or to allow him to think that I thought it was ok. Dad actually showed up at my little brother's high school graduation at 10 am drunk. It was embarassing for him! Instead, when I would go to his house, I would try to go as early as possible so he wasn't too bad yet or hadn't passed out. I told him over and over that the drinking was going to kill him. I even asked him one time how he wanted things done in the end because that is where he was heading and I wanted to be prepared. I told him over and over....I love you Dad, I just don't love the things that you do to yourself and your family. I seriously believe that Dad is one of those people that hit "rock bottom" and was able to bounce back. I think you should visit your Dad often. Not only for him, but for you. If something happened to him would you regret not going as much? Make sure he is not lonely. Only God knows when it is someone's time to go, but make sure that in the meantime you get to spend as much time as you can with him. That will be important later. When we were in the hospital I thought he might would die....and I began to think of all the times I let him down by not being there. Please keep me posted on how he is doing and I will try to get on here more to keep with the updates. The people in this group Brad, are amazing. I wish I could meet everyone of them in person because when I was so down and upset and scared they seemed to make me feel so much better. For a whole week of my life, the one thing I looked forward to was for someone to write me on here! If it weren't for this group, I might have gone crazy! lol
Thank you guys! You are awesome!
Misty
Yes, I have been having some problems and have gone to my doctor who sent me to get some tests. The tests did come back that I have endometriosis in my ovaries and my uterus. It's extremely painful. I am no longer ovulating. (Sorry for the men on here) I am now faced with the decision of having kids a lot sooner than I expected or to not have any at all of my own. In order to have children now, I will have to take a series of shots to make me ovulate and then the possibilty of multiples has come up....and that scares me. I am completely stuck. I have no idea what to do, so I have made another doctors appointment to talk to her to get an opinion and learn what my options are. My boyfriend and I wil be getting married!!! We have been together for about 3 years so I think that we are prepared to make such a big commitment. He is my best friend and I'm ready. Like Mom said, we are going to have a wedding on the beach probably around September of next year. My dad will be walking me down the aisle. I was always scared that my little brother would have to do it because my Dad wouldn't be here when it was time. I'm not scared anymore. I think Dad will be here. And if not, it won't be the alcohol that took him away from this special time in my life. Dad and I have talked about me getting married and he said that if we toasted at the wedding to Champagne or wine, we will get him some sparkling grape juice and nobody will ever no the difference and he can still be a part of it...lol. I will be going to school on August 23rd for nursing. I have 2 semesters left of pre-nursing and then it's applying to get into the program. I am shooting to be in the nursing program in the Fall of 2012. Wish me luck! :-)
To Brad: I have no way of knowing how long your dad has left to live. I can tell you that I don't know what happened in that hospital that made my dad want to quit drinking but whatever it was, it worked. I have cried, begged, pleaded, screamed, cussed....I have done everything I could to try to get Dad to quit and he never would. Some people will tell you differently but I don't think you make an alcoholic quit before they are ready. And even them, some are never ready. When I took Dad to the hospital he was bleeding out his nose, mouth, penis, and rectum. It was horrible. His skin color was yellow. He had lost probably 30-40 pounds. He couldn't eat or sleep. All he did was throw up this nasty green thick stuff which I later found out was liver bile. And he was in SO much pain! He hurt right at the top part of his stomach. I stayed with him the whole time to make sure that he was ok and it was not a pretty sight. I wanted him to know that no matter what I forgave him, and I wanted him to get better. I was told that it was extremely important to make sure that he knows that he has a lot of support so I would not leave his side. Your Dad needs some support. I know it seems hard, especially with him still drinking, to be supportive because then you feel like you are supporting his addiction. That's how I felt. When I was mad at Dad for drinking I would make up excuses not to go to house because I didn't want to see him drunk or to allow him to think that I thought it was ok. Dad actually showed up at my little brother's high school graduation at 10 am drunk. It was embarassing for him! Instead, when I would go to his house, I would try to go as early as possible so he wasn't too bad yet or hadn't passed out. I told him over and over that the drinking was going to kill him. I even asked him one time how he wanted things done in the end because that is where he was heading and I wanted to be prepared. I told him over and over....I love you Dad, I just don't love the things that you do to yourself and your family. I seriously believe that Dad is one of those people that hit "rock bottom" and was able to bounce back. I think you should visit your Dad often. Not only for him, but for you. If something happened to him would you regret not going as much? Make sure he is not lonely. Only God knows when it is someone's time to go, but make sure that in the meantime you get to spend as much time as you can with him. That will be important later. When we were in the hospital I thought he might would die....and I began to think of all the times I let him down by not being there. Please keep me posted on how he is doing and I will try to get on here more to keep with the updates. The people in this group Brad, are amazing. I wish I could meet everyone of them in person because when I was so down and upset and scared they seemed to make me feel so much better. For a whole week of my life, the one thing I looked forward to was for someone to write me on here! If it weren't for this group, I might have gone crazy! lol
Thank you guys! You are awesome!
Misty
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