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Liver Failure

My sister is hiv-positive, she has been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis.  She was a drug addict for 21 years of her life.  But it seems the cirrhosis was caused by the hiv, not the drugs.  Whatever the case, I need some answers please.  We were told in February this year that her liver is no longer functioning.  Her cd4 count has improved from 112 to 508 and her viral load has dropped from something like 13000 to 1500.  They did a liver biopsy about 2 years ago, and that just confirmed that she had severe cirrhosis.  More recently she has had a gastroscopy and mri done.  They also did some other biopsy, which we  are not sure what it was from.  But they said they could not actual find her pancreas on the ultra sounds or mri, they said her glucose was something like 30, her bile ducts were blocked and they then did some procedure to "brush" and clean the bile ducts?  Also said that her kidneys have now been affected.  They keep on telling her to come back in two to three weeks time, it's as if they are hoping she'll die before they have to actually start any kind of treatment.  She is only on ARV's for the hiv, they are not giving her any type of treatment for the cirrhosis.  She has been swelling in the abdomen a lot and then battles to breathe.  But now she is complaining that all her limbs are sore.  She has pain in her neck, shoulders, arms and legs and are extremely tired and suffers shortness of breath.  Is this at all any indication that she is actually nearing the end?  I know that her condition is very serious, and being HIV positive is also aggrevating it.  Please if anybody can help me with any kind of indication of what to expect from here.  Is the limb pains caused by the liver failure?
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Avatar universal
Thank you for your response.  She hasn't got Hepatitis C.  Well not according to the tests that has been done.  But she is always very yellow.  Thank you I will join the other communities.
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Avatar universal
So sorry to hear about your sister's condition.  Does she also have Hepatitis C? Cirrhosis of the liver has several possible causes including Hep C.
She should be seeing an experienced  hepatologist (liver specialist) who will know how to deal with the complications she is experiencing.  If she does have Hep C, there  are new treatments that will help her.

There are tow other communities you may want to join:  Cirrhosis of the Liver Community and Hepatitis C Community. You will get a lot of support and information from the members.

I wish you both the best.
Nan
Helpful - 0
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