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hep c and cirrhosis
my husband has hep c and cirrhosis. the grade is the worst it can be. he has encepathology and ascites. tried the interferon treatment and it didnt work. they gave my husband 3 to 5 yrs and he is in his 5th year. his meds have been controlling it. now his stomach is swollen and with extreme pain around his lower belly around his belly button and above. could this be caused from the hep c and cirrhosis? any idea what it could be ? he just urned 51 yrs old. he is on the transplat list.
hector, he has done all that n is doing it. got the ultrasound done n it didnt show anything. no more fluid than hes always had. they dont think its that. he gets a cat scan tomorrow. htey r thinking a hernia that went back in but nothing ever stood out. the pain is around belly button area n now has gone down lower to the pelvic bone. his ammonia level ok at moment n liver counts r good right now. his albumin is low n his bilirubin is up at 2.2. he gets bloodwork incl ammonia level n hep count every 3 mons. n goes to boston every 6 mons for mri to check for liver cancer. it drives me nuts not knowing since ive studied n learned so much over 5 yrs n know i dont even have a remote clue.
Since your husband is on a transplant list he should be being monitored all the time by the transplant center. Also transplant centers should have a 24/7 nurse phone line to call in the event of any changes to a patients condition. They will tell him what to do. IE Go to an ER etc.
Yes he is experiencing the complications of his cirrhosis. His liver is in the final stage before liver failure. Hepatitis C is a virus that replicated within the liver and slowly destroys the liver. That is what has happened to him. In time he will need a new liver to continue living. Before that he will be hospitalized and his symptoms will get worse and become life threatening. The transplant center will keep him alive until he receives a donated liver.
3-5 years. No one can say how long a patient will live until their liver fails. So it is only a guess. To know how close he is to transplant you need to know your husband's MELD score. What is his MELD score? Your husband must be getting blood tests done at regular intervals. 60 days, 90 days etc. His MELD score which can vary is determined after each of these blood tests.
If his ascites is causing him pain then he should let his hepatologist (liver doctor at the transplant center) know ASAP. They can either drain the fluid or increase his diuretics. Both will relieve his suffering. He should also be on a no/very low sodium/salt diet. No processed foods. No salt added to any food. Stay away from restaurant food etc. He need to stay away from red meat such as beef. It causes encephalopathy. If he has too much sodium in his diet the meds won't work. Anyone who is "listed" for a transplant has been educated about how they must adjust their lifestyle to minimize his symptoms of cirrhosis.
For his hepatic encephalopathy he needs to increase his lactulose if he is having a flare up and should be taking Xifaxan 2x per day. Again he would be educated about this when he went though the process of getting listed for a transplant.
Good luck
Hectorsf
Yes he is experiencing the complications of his cirrhosis. His liver is in the final stage before liver failure. Hepatitis C is a virus that replicated within the liver and slowly destroys the liver. That is what has happened to him. In time he will need a new liver to continue living. Before that he will be hospitalized and his symptoms will get worse and become life threatening. The transplant center will keep him alive until he receives a donated liver.
3-5 years. No one can say how long a patient will live until their liver fails. So it is only a guess. To know how close he is to transplant you need to know your husband's MELD score. What is his MELD score? Your husband must be getting blood tests done at regular intervals. 60 days, 90 days etc. His MELD score which can vary is determined after each of these blood tests.
If his ascites is causing him pain then he should let his hepatologist (liver doctor at the transplant center) know ASAP. They can either drain the fluid or increase his diuretics. Both will relieve his suffering. He should also be on a no/very low sodium/salt diet. No processed foods. No salt added to any food. Stay away from restaurant food etc. He need to stay away from red meat such as beef. It causes encephalopathy. If he has too much sodium in his diet the meds won't work. Anyone who is "listed" for a transplant has been educated about how they must adjust their lifestyle to minimize his symptoms of cirrhosis.
For his hepatic encephalopathy he needs to increase his lactulose if he is having a flare up and should be taking Xifaxan 2x per day. Again he would be educated about this when he went though the process of getting listed for a transplant.
Good luck
Hectorsf
Ascites is caused by the cirrhosis. Your hubby should not wait to see the doctor at his regular appointment. The fluid sometimes becomes infected and that can be extremely serious. If he has an infection when he gets a call that they have a liver for him, he could lose his chance at that particular liver. His primary care physician should be able to recommend a gastroenterologist who can drain and test the fluid if his transplant team is too far away to help. Please don't wait.
He needs to see the liver doc. They can drain fluid and check for infection. Low sodium diets can prevent the fluid retention. Just about all packaged foods are high sodium. Salad dressing, pasta sauce, salsa, microwaveable meals, cheese are all high sodium.
Good luck.
Good luck.
thats what i want to do. wanted to go to hospital but he wants to wait to c his doctor. we see our primary care dr and go to the specialist 2x a yr. we live bout 5 hrs from boston which makes it hard. ty for ur advice. no family around. im the one and only support system. ty for ur comment.
I'm sorry I dont know much about cirrhosis but can't they do that procedure that drains the fluid out of his belly to bring him some comfort at least? I too think you should speak to his doctor.
More knowledgable folks will come on but we didn't want you to think you were being ignored. I was a stage less so I luckily dont have that much experience with cirrhosis - unfortunately others in here do.
More knowledgable folks will come on but we didn't want you to think you were being ignored. I was a stage less so I luckily dont have that much experience with cirrhosis - unfortunately others in here do.
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