Hubby has cirrhosis stage4/4,grade4/4 ,and hepc?!
Question: his legs give out and he falls down to the floor,.how much time does he have. liver is working 15% only
Answers: his legs give out and he falls down to the floor,.how much time does he have. liver is working 15% only
Actually, there are two stages to cirrhosis; cirrhosis , and then cirrhosis with decompensation.How much time he has left depends on whether he is decompensating or not. Decompensation usually occurs when the liver functions at 10% or less. With decompensation, he will probably have symptoms such as high ammonia levels in the blood which causes confusion (called hepatic encephalopathy), or fluid can accumulate in the legs and abdomen which can cause one to look as though they are 9 mos. pregnant. This is called ascites (uh-sigh-tees) and can cause difficulty breathing when too much fluid accumulates. This can be managed with a diuretic (lasix), and then if that fails to help, the fluid can be drained in the hospital. Another sign of decompensation is vomiting blood (varices), which is caused by the blood not being able to flow through the liver because the liver is so scarred from the virus. If that happens, he should go to the emergency room asap. The doctors can "band" the broken blood vessels if it is taken care of quickly.
There is no way to definitely answer your question. I have seen people in decompensation who make MAJOR lifestyle changes (strict diet, almost no sodium, low protein, etc) and manage their illness. Some people get TIPS ( a shunt which bypasses the damaged liver), and with a strict lifestyle change continue to live well for years. There is no doubt that with only 15% liver function, he has sustained a lot of damage. The best case scenario would be to arrest any further damage to the liver. Is he under the care of a specialist, like a good gastroenterologist or hepatologist? Has he been considered for a transplant evaluation? Probably the first thing I should have asked is : Is he abstaining from alcohol? Over the counter, as well as prescription drugs should be strictly monitored by the doctor, as everything you take (inhale, eat, drink, or absorb through the skin ) is filtered by your liver.
There is also maintenance doses of the treatment drug (interferon with ribavirin) that can arrest damage to the liver and buy some time.
I hope this helps you somewhat. It's really hard to say as I'm not a doctor, and the medical information is limited. I will keep you both in my prayers.
Best wishes.
That is very, very bad! It sounds like he has full blown Cirrhosis (permanent liver tissue damage) and may only have a short time to live. That is a human tragedy and I feel very sad to have read your question. My best and deepest sympathies go out to him.
Hi sadly he is in the last stages of life and only a matter of short time BUT Doctors will be best to ask this advice we can only speculate god bless ?
My heart goes out to you. Hopefully the doctors will keep him out of pain.
HCV Advocate