Cirrhosis Support Group

Cirrhosis is a consequence of chronic liver disease, most commonly caused by alcoholism and hepatitis C. Ascites is the most common complication of cirrhosis and is associated with a poor quality of life, increased risk of infections, and a poor long term outcome. Liver damage from cirrhosis cannot be reversed, but treatment can stop or delay further progression and...

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Symptoms

gkringler
gkringler
My Dr is pretty vague about things to look for early in the liver failure process. He gives me the usual yellow eyes, swelled belly etc but that's about it. Any suggestions on where to look for info or have any yourself?

Thanks
pugdaddy
pugdaddy
Here are some other early signs for us guys;
thinning of body hair, esp on legs, chest and under arms.
diminishing libido.
loss of appetite - and resulting loss of weight (the weight loss apparently not organic, but rather simply from not being hungry...if you force yourself to eat, as I have, weight will return/remain stable).
fingernails may start to turn paler.
Have you observed any of these yet?
gkringler
gkringler
Nothing on your list yet. Sex drive isn't what it was but I am 58 so that's no surprise. Not dead yet, just moving slower. And my head hair is thinning but that's more genetics than liver. I'm the only one in my family that still has hair.

Thanks for your imput. It's nice to have a clue what to be watching for.
pugdaddy
pugdaddy
GKR, I hope that you can soon be successfully treated....the younger we are, the easier it is on us, relatively speaking of course! Please don't live your life in fear, though, since many w/HCV will never develop active liver disease. I would respectfully suggest (and you may already be doing this) that you not drink alcohol, don't smoke - and just keep yourself in the best possible health and physical condition. By having been tested, knowing your status, etc, you are ahead of the game already. Far too many of our (baby boomer) generation are blissfully ignorant.
pugdaddy
pugdaddy
PS - I do see now that you're apparently presently on a 3-drug treatment course....so hopefully this will be successful. The symptoms your doc mentioned are the more acute and obvious ones (jaundice, etc), but you can Google 'COMPENSATED liver disease' and get a complete list of the more subtle and typically earlier symptoms.