Guest guest Posted January 23, 2012 Report Share Posted January 23, 2012 Was wondering if anyone can tell me anything about Stage 4 Liver Failure- Cirrhosis. My husband was admitted to hospital on the 4th of Jan. At the time he had horrible pitting edema and was swollen up beyond imagination. They have been giving him 80mg of Lasix day and night to keep the swelling down...and he looks better. His stomach was severely distended from Ascites, but they did an ultrasound and he has barely any fluid in his abdomen. It is softer and more pliable now, and doesn't quite look ready to explode. He spent 2 weeks in ICU (Was on a ventilator for several days). He had out of control ammonia levels (98 when he first came in). They have to keep giving him lactulose to try and keep the number down. Think it is at 40ish about now. He also has been having complications from pneumonia and they say his kidneys are trying to fail...and they are giving him albumin to try and " kickstart " them. Right now they say that his liver is " decompensated " and that they are crossing their fingers that they can get it to compensate again. Has anyone experienced anything similar? He is still in the hospital, but currently in the DOU (One step down from ICU). He has a lot of trouble speaking, failed his swallow evaluation, has a feeding tube in his nose, and is often confused and disoriented when I go to see him. They say this is from the ammonia level. He will have been in the hospital 3 days on Wednesday. I just want to know what this means, what might happen, find some information. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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