He’s 2 (nearly 3). Had a seizure and some small fits. We’ve now been told he is not to eat protein. We have got some hepatic dog food off the vets. They are aiming for him to do 3 soft poos a day to flush toxins out.
He’s also been put on:
lactulose 1 mil 3 x a day
Diazepam 3 x a day (2mg but we have been trying 1mg)
(Antibiotic) Kesium 50g 3 x a day
This is all very new to us so just wondering if anyone has experience with it?
If any of you have it or have had it, how did you begin to notice it in yourself or did someone notice it because you felt normal?
My dad was diagnosed with cirrhosis 10 years back and now it has progressed to severe hepatic encephalopathy and ascites. I am trying to figure out a living donor but it is not working out.
He is 70 and last 8 months his quality of life has deteriorated drastically.
Now they suspect hepatocellular carcinoma and CT and MRI scans show a small lesion.
Surgery, TACE is ruled out.
He had a good life and was a happy go lucky guy through out his life and we want to ensure minimal pain and discomfort during his last days.
If we don't get transplant in time , what are the palliative care options..?
Any care givers who walked down this path , please give some sense of what I should be doing for my dad.
Thanks !
Can anyone around here share success stories keeping Hepatic Encephalopathy at bay by eating a certain way? More fiber? Less protein? BCAA's? Any specific foods?
My Dad has been having an on/off battle with an unknown liver issue since the mid 1970's. Five years ago he was surprised to learn he had cirrhosis while doing laparoscopic gall bladder surgery. Surgery was aborted the moment of discovery due to the risk of bleeding out. Here we are today, after a few bouts of esophageal varices ruptures and finally a proto-systemic shunt. He was hit with a bad case of HE in the last few days. BTW, he's not a drinker.
Hello everyone, I was browsing for a subreddit to fit my needs and it seems that this is the closest fit. My grandmother has non alcoholic liver disease and around 9 months ago she went into a state of delirium. She wasn’t cognitively aware of what was going on and she was hospitalized for high ammonia levels in her blood. She went home and since then has been fine until a week ago. She went back into this state of delirium and was found to have sepsis of the right leg. She is now in the hospital without infection, but still has delirium that goes in and out day by day. Has anyone experienced anything similar to this? I just want answers. Thank you!
We live in SE Asia where veterinary medicine is behind the standards of the US or the EU. Our 6-year-old spayed female Jack (6.5kg) was diagnosed with idiopathic chronic hepatitis about 18 months ago. She is from a top breeder of competitive field JRTs in Texas. We have two other JRTS (her "husband" and their son, that are both in very good health). Since her first diagnosis, she has had 3-4 episodes where she became nauseated and weak, often vomiting in the morning. These episodes were treated with a one-week course of oral prednisone and she improved each time. In early January this year, we noticed she was becoming restless at night. She would not settle down and sleep for more than a few minutes and would wander around the room aimlessly. She was not vomiting at that point. We could not explain her nighttime behavior. During the day she was normal and active with a good appetite. Then about 4 days ago, she started to have tremors and fasciculations, then started to breath faster, then over the course of 24 hours started to behave erratically during the daytime. We went back to the vet where we eventually discovered her ammonia level was 179. She was diagnosed with hepatic encephalopathy, given an IV and lactulose by mouth. Over 24 hours and several watery stools, her ammonia dropped to 29. She is tired now but her behavior is normal again. An ultrasound suggests that she now has cirrhosis and possibly a veinous shunt (to be confirmed by CT scan next week). She was discharged with Science Diet Hepatic Formula food, which she hates. Now we know that nighttime agitation was the first manifestation of encephalopathy. As is often the case in this country, we received almost no information on how to properly care for her going forward, especially any advice on foods we can prepare for her. If anyone on this subreddit could offer some guidance and perhaps some resources, it would be sincerely appreciated. Thank you.
So my hubby who has Cirrhosis read he needs to consume around 160 grams of protein a day to heal from a minor surgical procedure that had some infection. He's had this wound for months now. Is this a safe level to consume for a 190 lb man if it's all chicken, dairy, and plant-based proteins? Prior to this he was averaging around 70-80.
He's probably stage 2 or 3, but no formal confirmation, just going on the symptoms such as portal hypertension with gastric bleeding treated by meds. No history of encephalopathy yet though.
Any guidance whatsoever is appreciated!
Uworld (Qid:102) says GABA increases while FA20 (pg82) says GABA decreases
My father [50M] had been diagnosed with liver failure around Christmas. He passed about a week ago and I've been reading up a little on some aspects of his medical situation. One thing I haven't been able to find online is how early can HE develop in a person. He drank an astounding amount of alcohol for years, starting at a fair amount to nearly a handle a day before jaundice started to show. Smoked in equal measure, not sure how much since he started rolling his own cigarettes. His mental decline towards the end was severe, but I'm wondering how long before that there might have been minor symptoms.
P.S. This is coming from a place of curiosity, not guilt. He's always been somewhat of a challenging man to interact with but I'm curious if HE might have attributed to some of the abrasiveness.
Is it because the increased blood in the GI tract feeds bacteria to produce more ammonia from proteins?
My brother is in and out of the hospital, he keeps leaving AMA (against medical advice) and now the hospital doesn't want him to go to ER unless it's an emergency.
Since he has always been so secretive and a compulsive liar, we are not really sure what is wrong with him. As far as I know, he has hepatic encephalopathy, jaundice, cirrhosis, some type of kidney problems and bloating of the stomach. He has severe muscle weakness, cannot walk, or care for himself, eats extremely little, needs diapers because he can't control his bowels and is also HIV+ although I believe he could have AIDS at this point
According to the hospital he left AMA at 8 PM Friday night. He is complaining of pain in his stomach, claiming that his stomach feels bloated and causing him to have shortness of breath.
We are not really sure what to do at this point. He has his medication as prescribed by doctors, but we cannot keep up with his constant need. My parents are 70 and he begs for their attention.
Would hospice be recommended? Is there anyone we can contact for any advice on how to go about this?
I apologize in advance for how all over the place my description is.
Any help or advice would be amazing, thank you
Dad was diagnosed Fall 2017 and has recently gotten much worse ( Stage IV pancreatic with mets to liver, failed whipple but had pancreatic bypass). On Friday, he started to be slightly confused but by Friday evening he was just repeating himself and mixing words up. Called Doctor and said to take him in that night or next morning since it was likely due to dehydration. Took him in first thing Saturday morning (now kicking myself wondering if we should have taken him the previous night though not sure if that would have changed it) and had very high ammonia levels from low liver function and was admitted and taking Lactulose.
I'm wondering if anyone has had acute episodes of this where they were able to get better? Did it recur? Was it a sign of very end stages? Anything a close family member can do to make him feel better when he can't communicate? He is getting very frustrated and agitated and was 100% fine mentally (though a bit sleepy) only 3 days ago. It's very scary to see him not able to communicate and being so confused and doctors say we have to wait to see if the Lactulose starts working after a couple days.
This is a card from the Lightyear Deck.
No explanation is really given for the card.
I keep getting it wrong :(
Has anyone else been diagnosed with this, or think they have this. I was recently diagnosed with this and I found that it was a relief to have my symptoms described in such perfect words. Basically, having regular bowel movements helps to clear the toxins out of the blood, and prevent brain damage. A bacterial infection in my gut that has caused the increase in toxins in my blood. Anti-biotics have caused great relief in symptoms. I have found that the following is helpful for me:
miralax- adds water to your stools
konsyl fiber supplement- increases regularity
organic oatmeal- adds bulk and increases regularity
carlson's cod liver oil- omega 3 fatty acids, and vitamin d
dissapramine- anti depressants, helps regular sleep patterns
lexapro- antianxiety medication
water- regularity, cleansing blood and liver
fruits and vegetables- fiber and vitamins and nutrients
Father-in-Law has reached End Stage Liver Disease and has developed Hepatic Encephalopathy (HE) (stage 2 from what I can determine). He had checked himself into University Hospitals of Cleveland due to various complications with both. When we found out, we made the drive up there to see him and find out what was going on (estranged relationship). FIL was more or less unresponsive and severely impaired in speech and motor function due to the HE (stage 3/4). After talking with the doctors and nurses on staff, we were told they would be holding him until the paperwork for Medicare was complete and they could relocate him to a Hospice facility. After a weeks' stay at the hospital, he became more aware and gained some mobility, but is still unable to walk unassisted and is confused easily and has mood swings, along with slurred speech. We found out a short while ago that the hospital has allowed him to release himself in this state. Does this constitute medical negligence of some sort? I don't feel that his mental state would allow for him to make a fully formed decision about his medical condition. Thanks for any advice you can provide.
Age: 63, Male Height : 1.70 m Weight: 70 kg Race: Asian, Vietnamese Ailments: cirrhosis and hepatic encephalopathy and hepatitic B So, my father was having hepatitis B and lighr cirrhosis years ago, he was taking tenofovir daily; But due to some ill advices, he stopped taking them over 2 months ago. He was hospitalized for hepatic encephalopathy when he already has jaundice, reduced motor and mental functions. The doctors gave him 4 blood plasma transfusion to reduce the toxins, and it's working but his awareness seems worse What can i expect here? The doctors said prognosis is bad, but please give me a number here, in your experience
