RE: Traci

[Guest guest]

Thankyou for all your advice. He is under the care of a liver specialist, in

fact he's one of the best here in Australia.

I will find his last blood test results and maybe you can help explain them to

me.

To: livercirrhosissupport@...: no_reply@...:

Sun, 20 Jan 2008 00:02:41 +0000Subject: Traci

I hope that you have an advanced directive or have durable power ofattorney so

that you can handle all his affairs and also speak forhim when he isn't able to

do so. The privacy laws are getting harderto get past whether you are a spouse

or not.He may have difficulty remembering things and become easily

confusedbecause of a condition known as encephalopathy. This is caused because

the liver can no longer handle ammonia and break it down intourea to be disposed

of by the body. Instead it is in the blood andgoes pass the blood brain barrier

into the brain.He will become extremely tired and may be only able to sleep

duringodd times all day long. He should rest, whenever he feels this way,cause

his body needs sleep in order to recuperate.If he doesn't feel like eatting,

especially when the Ascites(fluid on the stomach occurs)...ask the doctor what

kind of supplement he can use. The doctor can tell, by his blood work,if there

is anything that he may not be able to handle. He may need a larger shoe and

slipper to get around in as theirfeet and legs tend to become swollen by fluids

caused by thebuild of up sodium, that tends to be in people with

cirrhosis.Sodium holds onto fluids inside the body. The doctor may placehim on a

low sodium diet and tell you how much sodium he isallowed to have according to

what his blood work shows.He should be evaluated for transplantation. They may

haveto do both the kidney and the liver at once....however, ifthis kidney

problem is caused because of the cirrhosis, liverproblem, then they may place

him on dialysis to help thekidneys to recover. When the liver tends to shut down

slowly,the kidneys become overloaded with work trying to rid the bodyof toxins

that build up and can start to fail themselve. Beingput on dialysis helps to

remove some of these toxins andhelp the kidneys along...with a good chance after

a liver transplantthey may start to fucntion much better again. If he doesn't

want a transplant, then I would look into seeingif they would provide Hospice

for him to be able to stay athome and not have to be transported back and forth

places.If you do decide that he is to have the transplant, then tryto choose a

Transplant Center very close home so you don't haveto travel so much. He should

be with a Hepatologist or gastroenterologist that maybe associated with the

transplant center or one who knows howto contact the transplant center so he can

be evaluated.Don't be afraid to ask the doctors or us any questions you

mayhave...we are here to help you and to explain some of theunknowns, if we can.

If your husband is 55 or older, or is considered disabled at all,I would contact

the Area of the Aging, in your area) and tell them your situation. They provide

a number of services for the Aging and will at times also help the disabled.No

one but the doctor can give you an educated guess on how long your husband may

live. It depends on how much of the liver isdamage, how well he does on the

medication given, whether he iscompliant in taking the medication, his other

health problems,what his tests results show and many other things. Age is

afactor and family history is also. Ascites is not a very good sign...once that

starts to build upinside the body, it means that the liver isn't able to

producea protein...known as Albumin...sufficiently anymore and isone of the

signs of deteriation. His bilirubin, which is whatcauses the yellowing of the

whites of the eyes and skin andalso pale colored stools and darker urine is also

a sign thethat liver can no longer convert bilirubin into a soluble formto go

out with the bile to the intestines to help in the digestionof fats that are

eatten. His INR level is important also...asthis will tell the doctors if his

liver is making the factors tohelp the blood to clot well. These are the three

liver functions tests they use to decide his MELD score when he isplaced on the

transplant list. Following his blood work isn't hard to do if you have a copy of

his lab results. They areeasily looked up on the net and we can help you

understand moreabout them. I hope this has been of some help. Best wishes to you

and I hopeyour children have decided to help you out as much as possible.

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