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Liver Failure - Feeding Tubes

Hi all,

My mother has end stage liver failure and is going through all the testing to be put on the transplant list.
She's currently in hospital for chronic nausea and is unable to eat anything. She's been given medication to try and remove the nausea but none have proven to work. She's been hospitalised three times due to the nausea and deals with it every day at home.
My question is, would a feeding tube via the nose or stomach be something worth looking into? She's lost a lot of weight and I'd like for her to remain as healthy as possible while waiting for news about a transplant.

Thank you!
3 Responses
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9197017 tn?1429016816
Emily, how is your mother these days? Was she approved for a transplant list? If so, where is she listed?
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
It's very bizarre as I've been doing a bit of research on the nausea side of things and it always tells me that it's not directly related to the cirrhosis. Her specialist and gastroenterologist have told her that it is because of the cirrhosis which I'm not sure they're right anymore.

As far as medication for the nausea she has tried Maxalon and Ondansetron, but they're trying to be as weary as possible with her medications because of the liver as you would know. I can see that she's trying to eat but he lot she gets back her appetite the more she seems to be getting nauseous. I guess I'm trying to make sure she's getting as many nutrients as possible.

I'm praying that that doesn't happen (I'm only 20, not ready to lose her yet) and I just want to do anything j can to make sure she's healthy.
Is there anything you could suggest to add to her diet perhaps? Fruit and soups seem to be the only thing she can keep down lately so I've been making soups from scratch and trying to add as much to them as I possibly can.

Thank you so much for your help :)
And sorry if I sent this through twice, I'm not sure if I did it right the first time!
Helpful - 0
446474 tn?1446347682
COMMUNITY LEADER
Hello and thanks for your question.

Of course  they should first trying to figure out exactly what is the underlying cause of her nausea. Nausea is not a typical symptoms of cirrhosis per se, so they should be looking for a related or unrelated condition that is causing the nausea.

Different people respond differently to all meds including anti-nausea meds. For most people Zofran can be given by IV in the hospital or orally anytime and it works very effectively. For myself, Zofran has no effect on my nausea. Oral Compazine does work for my nausea so I take it every six hours to help me manage my nausea. There are a number of other drug also options available for nausea which I am sure they are trying.

A feeding tub won't necessarily make a difference with the nausea. It all depends on what is trigger the nausea. Many of us have had feeding tubes and still had nausea.

If her weight becomes too low she may not be eligible for transplant as there is a BMI minimum for transplant. People that are under weight do poorly undergoing major surgeries. If that were to happen they could give her an NG tube, for example, to give her addition calories and protein to help her to maintain her weight so she could stay eligible for transplant.

I hope this answers your questions.
Best of luck to you and your mother.
Hector
Helpful - 1
1 Comments
It's very bizarre as I've been doing a bit of research on the nausea side of things and it always tells me that it's not directly related to the cirrhosis. Her specialist and gastroenterologist have told her that it is because of the cirrhosis which I'm not sure they're right anymore.  

As far as medication for the nausea she has tried Maxalon and ondansetron, but they're trying to be as weary as possible with her medications as they're trying to watch her liver as much as they can. I can see that she's trying to eat but the more she gets back her appetite the more she seems to be getting nauseous.
I guess I'm trying to make sure she's getting as many nutrients as possible.

I'm praying that that doesn't happen (I'm only 20, not ready to lose her yet) and I just want to do anything I can to make sure she's healthy.
Is there anything you could suggest to add to her diet perhaps? Fruit and soups seem to be the only thing she can keep down lately so I've been making soups from scratch and trying to add as much to them as I possibly can.

Thank you so much for your help :)
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