How does someone with hepetitus c virus die? painfull?!
Question: I have hepetitus c (type 1-a) and the treatment didnt work for me and I was wondering how I would eventually die from this? I know my liver gives out, but is it painfull? My doctor doesnt like to talk about it and changes the subject when I ask. Give it to me straight if you can.
Answers: I have hepetitus c (type 1-a) and the treatment didnt work for me and I was wondering how I would eventually die from this? I know my liver gives out, but is it painfull? My doctor doesnt like to talk about it and changes the subject when I ask. Give it to me straight if you can.
I'm sorry to hear that. But let me be frank and just answer your question. First, not everybody dies. But if you are unlucky and do pass away from this illness, there are two ways: either through the development of liver failure if most of the liver is damaged, or through conversion to liver cancer with metastasis.
Liver failure, usually with diffuse scarring of the liver from chronic inflammation, so called cirrhosis, is usually pretty painless unless there is a lot of abdominal discomfort from swelling (ascites). The end is usually either massive hemorrhage, either from distended esophageal veins called varices, or from loss of clotting factors normally made by the liver, in which case bleeding can be from anywhere. Also, there is usually confusion, somnolence or coma in this state.
Death from liver cancer (hepatocellular carcinoma) is like other cancer deaths. Everything depends on what tissues it metastasizes to and invades, and what is being compressed. If the brain, for example, there will be headaches and possibly visual disturbances, etc. But if this is your fate, hopefully you will be a hospice patient and get good symptom relief.
Sorry to be so gruesome, but I didn't invent this. I just learned it.
Maybe you won't die from this. The infection would need to cause catastrophic damage to your liver first and this could come about as a result of :
1.cirrhosis with death due to gradual total body and abdominal swelling, muscle wasting, yellow jaundice, lethargy disorientation and eventually hepatic coma. Little to no pain.
2.smaller chance of liver cancer with abdominal swelling and eventual liver failure, dementia and coma. More chance for abdominal pain here but nowadays cancer pain can be totally controlled with appropriate meds.
Nathan, you'll end up dying of something but more than likely it won't be from hepatitis C. Hep C is similar to diabetes in that it's a serious illness but it's manageable long-term as long as you look after yourself.
Only a tiny percentage of people die from complications of hep C - e.g. liver cancer, hepatocellular carcinoma - and if you look after yourself by eating a simple and healthy diet, exercising, getting enough rest and keeping alcohol intake to a minimum (or better still, giving up alcohol altogether), you'll be fine.
I don't know where you live but search the Internet for support groups or health organisations that can give you info on hep C. Otherwise look at www.hepqld.asn.au and read the factsheets.