Zinc 220mg.

[rpooo]

Hello Doctor.
I am a 39 year old male diagnosed with Cirrhosis 11 months ago. At the time of Diagnosis I was at the begining of end stage (C) Now I am in the middle of stage (B). How do you feel about this rate of recovery and can I still expect to keep getting better?

Also a couple of days ago due to my ammonia level being high (68) I took a zinc sulfate 220mg prescibed by my specialist to help with the ammonia. In less than a hour I was experiencing the worst pain I ever had. It was in my entire abdominal area and all the way across my lower back. Finally I tried a warm bath and it took the pain away. My specialist even called in some pain pills for me called Dicyclomine 20mg. which also helped relieve the pain. I did take the zinc pill on an empty stomach. Any Ideas what might have went wrong? I will not take them again and I surely hope the incident didnt affect my liver any. Thank you so very much for your valuble time Doctor.
Randy

[Thomas D Schiano, MD]

Randy, it seems that yopu probably have an element of peripheral neuropathy--make sure that you are taking adequate vitamins.  if you have diabetes it should be well controlled.  You should definitely see a neurologists if you haven't done so already.

[Thomas D Schiano, MD]

it depends upon what the cause of the cirrhosis is.  if it is from drinking alcohol then there can indeed be dramatic regression in the severity of the liver disease and even reversal of cirrhosis with ongoing sobriety.  Zinc is well known to cause gastric upset so must always be taken with food.  Unless the person has symptoms of encephalopathy we do not treat an elevated ammonia level.

[rpooo]

Hi Jim,
Just wanted to let you know my thougths and prayers are with all of you there today.
Randy

[jimg44]

Hi Randy, Thank you so much for writing back so soon and being so informative. I'm headed over to Scott's house first thing this AM. I will do my best and see if I can convince them to go to the hospital by showing them what you wrote(if you don't mind), I think it will be my best chance.  Thanks again Randy! I'll let you know how I make out.  
Oh before I forget, Scott is his middle name. His first name is Randy.  Wow, what a trip!?

Take care and God Bless, Jim

[jimg44]

Hi Randy,
Hey I meant to ask you how is your condition is these days? Sorry! Didn't mean to be so self-centered. Seems like I've heard in AA meetings (I'm a recovering alcoholic/addict) that a person can live a long happy life on just a small, unscarred piece of Liver. Is that true? I would hate to see what mine looks like. YIKES! God bless you and I pray also for you to recover and remain stable and be comfortable. I also have another neighbor that just moved in behind me (Don) who also has Cirrhosis. Guess it's more common than I thought. Anyways, he is in the latter stages also, but is stable because he sought medical help and continues to take better care of himself,I guess? He is 53 yrs old, hasn't had a drink in 20 years. Says he has Hep-C and didn't know for years. So between Don, Scott and yourself I'm learning a lot. I really appreciate your help.
Scott still hasn't gone to the hospital yet. He says he hates hospitals. Crazy! I'm so frustrated with him and his wife. Spoke w/her this am. She told me he also has been peeing orange for quite some time also. I don't mean to keep beating a dead horse, but it blows me away so see this. Don told me he peed orange once and it was due to the poison backing up into the kidneys. Do the Kidneys have to work extra hard becuse the Liver is not doing it's job? I've been sober this time, now for about 2 &1/2 years and hearing all this stuff is really helping me in such a way that I can't explain. Again I thank you.
Hope you are having a good day and God bless you.
Take it easy,  JimG  

[rpooo]

Hi Jim, Thank you for writing. I hope you understand just how ill your friend is. The very first thing he should have done was stop drinking immediately! In an attempt to get feeling better (I hope its not to late) Your friend needs someone to take charge for him and pick him up if you have to and get him to the hospittal. He will not recover just staying at home. There are several medications and vitamins he needs to be taking. A gastroligist will help him get set up with all the he needs. When the ammonia level in the blood stream increase as it does in cirrhotic patients it affect the brain. It is the same type of ammonia that you find in cleaners. Ever cleaned out the litter box, it smells like ammonia. This is because the body produces it and its is the job of the liver to filtter this from the blood stream and eject it out of the body. A liver not functioning correctly expecially in the final stage is unable to perform this task so therefore the ammonia remains in the blood stream and reaches the brain cause what we refer to as HE (Hepatic Ecephalopathy)

Jim I could keep going on and on and i'll be very glad to explain as much of this to you as you like but rather than me using time to write it and you using the time to read it, I strongly feel your time would be much better spent with a strong attempt to get Scott to go to a hospital. He needs to go right now! Not later on, but right now. Good luck to you Jim and Scott! Scotts wife really needs to stop the drugs and stand up to him and help you in this attempt. He really is going to need her to be strong and help him. God Bless you all. Please keep in touch if you would like further explanation of what I know about cirrhosis. Randy

[jimg44]

Hi Randy My name is Jim, and my friend Scott, who is 38yrs old and was diagnosed about 6 mos ago to be in the final stages of Cirorsis and has Hep C also. They told him how serious it was but, he continued to drink for a while, finally Quit a month ago.  His condition is awful, because he keeps putting off going to the hospital. Currently his eyes are slightly yellow, his stomach area is HUGE and is calfs are red and really swollen. Yesterday I noticed he was walking strange, like he was bow legged. I asked him what was wrong and he said his Scrotum swelled up like a grapefruit. He said, "I think I have a Urinary tract infection". His intellegence level was never real high to begin with, but I've heard it can start to mess with your brain? I'm so scared for him. I'm sure severe pain isn't far away, otherwise he may get help it he had some bad pain. His wife stays numb on drugs, because she can't get him to seek help.  I hope your condition keeps improving and I'll keep you in my prayers. Any thoughts on Scotts condition?
Take care, Jim    

[rpooo]

Thank you very much Dr. Schiano,
I do have Alcoholic Cirrhosis and Heptic Encephalopathy seems to have a big effect on me. Daily I have complications with loss of balance, confusion, memory loss, sleep disorder, and joint pain. Also I get shooting pains through out my legs for just no reason at all. I undestand that some of these things are caused from permanant nerve damage but as my ammonia level returns back to normal will the memory loss and confusion go away? Those are my biggest concerns and at times it makes me feel embarrased and dumb. Any chance they are caused from nerve damage or are they only related to HE? Currently My ammonia level is being treated with Lacaluose and xifaxin.
Randy