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Liver cirrohsis

My dad having liver cirrohsis this year diagnosed and with treatment of liver on his chest gynecomastia occuring . So is this can go away in time or it will harmfull please tell me I am scared with that
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683231 tn?1467323017
There is no test to determine the cause of his liver cirrhosis unless testing reveals a condition which is a likely suspect as in my case I had hepatitis c for probably 37 years with no other risk factors.

Really what would it change things knowing the cause he still has liver cirrhosis. No matter the original cause he must never drink any alcohol and if he is overweight he must lose weight.

Common causes of cirrhosis of the liver include:

Alcohol
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease
Cryptogenic causes
Chronic viral hepatitis (A, B, and C)
Autoimmune hepatitis
Inhereited (genetic) disorders
Primary biliary cirrhosis (PCB)
Primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC)
Infants born without bile ducts

Less common causes of cirrhosis include:

Unusual reactions to some drugs
Prolonged exposure to toxins
Chronic heart failure (cardiac cirrhosis).
In certain parts of the world (particularly Northern Africa), infection of the liver with a parasite (schistosomiasis) is the most common cause of liver disease and cirrhosis.

https://www.medicinenet.com/cirrhosis/article.htm#treatment_for_edema_acites_and_hypersplenism_complications
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Okay , thanks alot mam
683231 tn?1467323017
Hi if he can stop the cause for his cirrhosis he may be able to survive for many years. If his cirrhosis is very advanced and the cause of his liver damage cannot be stopped he will likely need a liver transplant at some time in the future in order to survive.

Sending my best hopes for your dad and your family
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28 Comments
Thank you so much for your reply.
I want to know , how to know cirrohsis cause, is it alocohol base? Because my dad is heavy drinker in 90s but after 2000 he give up alcohol only occasionaly he use it.
Yes drinking too much alcohol can cause liver damage and cirrhosis. Drinking 15 drinks or more per week is heavy drinking for men and can lead to liver cirrhosis. As your dad has cirrhosis he needs to stop all drinking. Being very overweight can also cause liver disease. If he is very overweight he should try to lose weight.

Liver cirrhosis is considered irreversible once symptoms develop. The only think he can do is stop causing any more liver damage. If he does he may with time have some amount of recovery of his liver. Has he been checked to see if he has very large veins inside his throat? This test is done with a camera that looks down inside his swallowing tube. If there are these large veins called esophageal varicies there is a risk these veins can burst and he could have a very serious life threatening bleeding event.

Is his stomach swollen retaining fluid up to maybe looking like he is pregnant? That is called ascities. This fluid can become infected and also be life threatening. If he has ascities he should try to reduce salt in his diet.

Another serious complication of cirrhosis is called hepatic encephalopathy. About half of patients with cirrhosis may have at least mild hepatic encephalopathy. Symptoms are difficulty thinking. personality changes. poor concentration. problems with handwriting or loss of other small hand movements. confusion. forgetfulness. poor judgment. a musty or sweet breath odor. Severe hepatic encephalopathy can result in coma.

Do you know if he has a low platelet count? People with cirrhosis are at increased risk of bleeding and often have unexplained or easy  bruising. People with cirrhosis should avoid pain medicines like Aleve, Advil and aspirin as those can increase bleeding risk.
Yes he is having fluid in stomach I consult with doctor he told fluid not that much so it can be pass through urine and reduce salt intake.

And that gynocomastia is occuring in nipple may go in time or it will increase day by day???
Gynecomastia is really the least of his concerns. It is primarily a cosmetic issue. It is caused by the ratio of male hormones being changed because of his liver disease.

If he completely stops drinking alcohol and if his liver is able to improve with time he may have an improvement with his Gynecomastia.

If his ascities does not improve with refusing salt he may need to start taking a diuretic a medicine to reduce fluid. I used to take a diuretic called spironolactone. I was diagnosed in January 2008 with cirrhosis.

Does he have lower leg swelling? That is called edema and another symptom of cirrhosis.

Really the things to worry about with cirrhosis are accumulations of large amounts of fluid in the abdomen. This fluid can make it hard for the person to get enough nutrients because the feel full. It can also make breathing difficult. This fluid can also become infected and that is life threatening. The treatment for this fluid called ascities is to have periodic draining of the excess fluid.

Hepatic encephalopathy is another cause of death for people with cirrhosis if it gets severe. It can interfere with normal daily functions like knowing where you are, driving a car, being awake all night and sleeping in the day. Being able to carry on a conversation.

Has he been checked for esophageal varicies the large blood vessels in the throat. The test involves putting the person under sedation and using a fiber optic camera looking inside his swallowing tube does to inside his stomach. If he has these large blood vessels and not treated they could burst open and he would start bleeding g internally. The symptom that has occurred is if he starts throwing up large amounts of blood. The blood could look like coffee grounds if it was partly digested. If this occurs it is a medical emergency.

Gynecomastia maybe embarrassing and uncomfortable but it is not a dangerous symptom of cirrhosis.
Yes , thank you for your valuable information.

He is leg is fine and not swolling but doctor said some fluid are stored in leg , as he also suffering from diabetic so his leg suffer from some fungus infection as doctor told .... he suggest lulimac cream to treat fungus infection.

And yes before admitting dad to the hospital blood was came out through mouth and nose then we immediately  admitted in ICU and doctor treat it again doctor has checked with camera i.e endoscopy and colonoscopy from mouth and from toilet area down part.doctor told the blood was came from veins and now that area is now covered there is no blood.

And one more things how to know fluid in stomach need to drain.
When I asked the doctor he told ...fluid is less now....when it will be high then we will remove.
So my question how to know the fluid is high in stomach? And need to drain it.

Other thing dad does not like vegetables any is there any related to cirrhosis earlier before diagnosed he loved it

He eats other things like little rice , daaal , roti and milk.

Kindly forgive me for my silly questions.


If the stomach fluid (ascities) looks like he is pregnant. If he has several liters of fluid. If he has difficulty breathing because of so much fluid or he has no desire to eat because the excess fluid makes him feel like he is full those could all be indications he should be drained.

I doubt his change in desire to eat vegetables is related to cirrhosis.

When he had his esophageal bleed how is he being treated to prevent a future bleeding event?

Did they band the enlarged blood vessels or is he taking a medicine called a beta blocker? Beta blockers are normally used to treat high blood pressure. They do this by lowering the heart rate to less than 60 BPM. I could not take a beta blocker because my heart rate is already lower than 60 BPM. So when they found I had esophageal varicies I had four upper endoscopies done one a month for four months to band the varicies.
I do not know how doctor treated to stop blood...I have to take the case paper from hospital actualy my dad was admit in march 2020.

But doctor has given instruction to look out any bleeding through stool and anywhere after discharge.


At that time I was happy to see dad normal so I did not focus to ask how doctor treat.

But last month when I did blood test of my dad for CBC n Diabetic test

In CBC report Haemoglobin was 10.7 (after discharge HB was 11)  and platlets was 77 around so I shown to doctor he told HB can be up n down because of disease.
Yes platelets are often low in liver cirrhosis as I previously mentioned. This is why patients with cirrhosis are at increased bleeding risk and why we bruise easily. Normal platelet count is 150. Mine was around 85 before my hepatitis c was curen now they have risen to about 125 but still below normal. Doctors generally don’t get too concerned until platelets fall below 50 and I think around 30 they may start giving the patient tabloid or platelet transfusions to try to keep platelet levels high enough.

Yes another esophageal bleed or bowel bleed could be very dangerous for your father and could cause his death. If he is vomiting blood or what looks like coffee grounds or is having stool that is black and looks like tar those are signs of gastrointestinal bleeding and a medical emergency.

Is your dad on any medicines? Does he see a liver doctor at least once a year if not more often and does he have abdominal ultrasounds and blood testing done every six months to monitor his condition? Do you know either his MELD or Child/Pugh score? These scores determine severity of liver disease and determine eligibility for liver transplant. Had the topic of liver transplant come up with his doctor? Is that something your dad would want to do if his liver begins to fail?
Yes dad is taking medicine as doctor prescribed are as below

Urocol 300
Ciplar la 40
Lasilactone
Amlopine 5
Gluconorm sr 500
CN CAL

And water to be take 1.5 a day
Ursocol 300 Tablet is a medicine used to dissolve certain types of gallstones, to prevent them from forming and to treat a type of liver disease called primary biliary cirrhosis. It is a bile acid which helps break down cholesterol which has formed into stones in your gallbladder.
Ciplar-LA 40 Tablet belongs to a group of medicines called beta-blockers.  So he is taking a beta blocker to reduce the blood pressure in his portal vein to hopefully prevent another esophageal varicies bleed from occurring
Lasilactone contains a short-acting diuretic and a long-acting aldosterone antagonist. It is indicated in the treatment of resistant oedema where this is associated with secondary hyperaldosteronism; conditions include chronic congestive cardiac failure and hepatic cirrhosis.

This is to treat the abdominal fluid and any lower leg swelling
Amlodipine is a calcium channel blocker that dilates (widens) blood vessels and improves blood flow. Amlodipine is used to treat chest pain (angina) and other conditions caused by coronary artery disease. Amlodipine is also used to treat high blood pressure
Gluconorm 500 MG Tablet SR is an effective first choice medicine used to control high blood glucose levels in patients with type II diabetes.
CNCAL
This medication is used to prevent or treat low blood calcium levels in people who do not get enough calcium from their diets. It may be used to treat conditions caused by low calcium levels such as bone loss (osteoporosis), weak bones (osteomalacia/rickets), decreased activity of the parathyroid gland (hypoparathyroidism), and a certain muscle disease (latent tetany). It may also be used in certain patients to make sure they are getting enough calcium (e.g., women who are pregnant, nursing, or postmenopausal, people taking certain medications such as phenytoin, phenobarbital, or prednisone).
Yes thank you for information of medicines. I used to see doctor in 1 and 2 months with CBC and diabetic report.

So these medicine can heal my dad disease.

And what will be diet I should follow for my dad
These medicines will help your dad live the diseases he has they will not heal his medical conditions they only treat symptoms. He will continue to have liver disease and diabetes. The only thing that may improve these medical conditions is to get some exercise as tolerated and lose some weight. If he does not lose weight and stop all alcohol his liver damage will likely progress with time. Same for his diabetes.

He should have no alcohol. He should follow a low sodium diet. Some suggestions are if you look up a heart smart diet that is also a liver friendly diet.

Basically though, eat a healthy well balanced diet low in salt. Get some exercise as allowed by his doctor and as tolerated. Reduce body fat and get down to a healthy BMI. Avoid NSAID pain relievers like Advil, Aleve also Aspirin as they increase bleeding risk. Only Tylenol for pain reliever but do not exceed maximum daily allowances and only for minimum duration needed.

Yes , actualy I am trying to give diet for liver and diabetes are as , let me know any improvement.

Morning : 1 cup sugar free tea + 2 eggs + buffalo milk 1 galss + sprouts ( bewteen 9 to 10 am)

Then ,

Between (11 30 AM to 12 30 PM )
1 cup white rice + daal +wheat roti+ cooked vegetables ( spinach )

Then ,
At the time evening
4 PM  : 1 pomegranate fruit
5 PM : 1 cup sugar free tea

After that in dinner time
1 glass buffalo milk + cooked vegetables + wheat roti + some time 1 cup white rice

If this diet is okay for liver and diabetes , ,kindly suggest me
I’m not a medical person I’m a patient with liver cirrhosis for 12 years now.

Here are a couple of links

https://www.medicinenet.com/diabetic_diet_for_type_2_diabetes/article.htm

https://liverfoundation.org/for-patients/about-the-liver/health-wellness/nutrition/

I suggest you should ask his doctor for dietary recommendations or see if he can get an appointment with a dietician who is familiar with liver disease and diabetes management
Thanking you for all your information and explained very well
As dad feel whenever he walk at certain distance he feel breathing issue and weakness , is it due to liver disease
As far as being weak after walking that could be many things including just aging. If his doctor says it’s ok or him to exercise the best thing he can do is walk. The more exercise he can do the stronger he will get and the easier it will become for him. If he doesn’t exercise the weaker he will become.
Yes , he is now 58 years old and he also lose some weight now a days
Ok so 58 isn’t that old. Losing weight if he is over weight will greatly help his health. Also, with less excess weight to carry he will have less trouble moving and less tiredness.
Yes, thanks alot to you.
Hi, as we have started medicines for dad liver cirrhosis disease, so with this can we stop further liver damage or other symptoms which is not occured yet.
The medicines only treat symptoms. They cannot stop liver damage. There is no medicine that can stop liver disease and heal a scarred liver.

The only thing that may help his liver is to lose excess weight, adopt a healthy diet, stop all alcohol consumption and getting some exercise if he can tolerate exercise and as permitted by his doctor. There is no cure for liver cirrhosis but maybe with life style changes he maybe able to stop further progression of liver damage and maybe with time see some improvements in the condition of his liver.
Okay, thank you
Liver cirrhosis disease cause only for alcoholism or it can be any happen in other condition also.

As my dad was bad drinker in 90s but after 2000 around he give up alcohol and he used occasionaly.

I know the main reason is alcohol but,

how can we exactly  know the cause of disease , is there any test to know about it.
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