I'm so sorry rummi. I hope you find answers soon. Good luck!!

Just curious how old your husband is? What does he drink? Has his short-term memory started to concern you? My husband drinks daily. 5-6 beers/day Mon-Thur then probably 1 1/2 cases on the weekend. His memory is starting to go. He has had pneumonia twice. He refuses to admit he has a problem and won't go to the doctor until 'he has 6 months left to live.' Well if that were the case - I wish he'd see the doctor soon! Ha ha! He wouldn't know how much time he had left until he saw a doctor - but that is the metality of an alcoholic. He also had some skin condition in which the doctor needed to check his liver before perscribing medication. His liver wasn't up to par for the medicine so rather than stop drinking, he just decided to live with the skin condition. And he doesn't think he has a problem?

rummi........so sorry to hear that you are having such problems and fears. First, in my opinion, the reason they told him there is nothing they can do for him is that it was the ER doctor and he was right.........once a patient is stabilized, the ER has done their part. Now, it is up to your husband to take the findings of the ER visit and find a good Gastrointerologist who can direct you as to a plan of treatment and make the determination as to just what is going on with the liver. It could be cirrhosis, fatty liver, HepC, inherited traits, and other reasons why the liver is causing the problems he is experiencing.

One thing is a must..........the patient has to want to help themselves because there is only so much someone else can do to remedy the situation.

You are in my prayers.......I do hope that if you give your husband a bit of "hope" that he will take the reigns and do what he needs to do to "help himself". There is a point when most of us, once hearing bad news from a doctor, want to just give up. Sometimes it all seems so hopeless and it would be easier to drink and forget it as opposed to doing the dastardly deed of changing our lifestyles to facilitate optimal health.

I hope this helps even a little bit. You may need to be the "strong" one for now........you can do much to help your husband to see that his life is vital and that he is "not alone".......and above all, there is ALWAYS hope. Prayer works wonders. Faith works miracles.......God will never leave either of you "alone in your struggles"...........Hugs and prayers...............CarolLentz

Any suggestions for a Hepatologist in the Housto/Austin/San Antonio Texas area? The doctor said that he wouldnt get an appt until he was 6 months sober. Is this true? Also, my husband has record of going to AA for the last two years. He still isnt completely sober but is set on stopping now his last beer was last Sunday. I can see he is scared now. He is only 41 years old and I am not ready to be a widow. Please help me help him. Also, he is still very tired today. In fact he slept all day. I am feeding him fruits, nuts, crackers and poweraid with pedialyte. How do I get him to eat more? He says he is afraid to eat in fear of throwing up. Lastly, Carol I am doing my best to remain strong but to be honest I am haunted inside with fear of the unknown. My husband is the love of my life and I am not ready to lose him without a damn good fight. Knowledge is power therefore I am doing all the research I can to save my husbands life. Of course I do understand that my Lord is the ultimate decider of my husbands fate. I must resign myself to my faith or I will fail. Please send prayers for my love!

Rummi,

I will continue to pray for you. One thing I notice is your faith in the Lord, does your husband share this faith. The reason I ask is AA did not work for me, it took Jesus Christ to pick me up and break the chains that bound me to alcohol. Judging by the results, nausea and the seizure alone, not sure why they didn't admit him. I would ask that question, if you don't get the answers ask for another ER doctor. Is his Gastro involved if so, I would personally look for another Gastro. I had a doctor that I felt wasn't giving enough time to my medical needs. His concerns were that I was not drinking? This is important and should be first addressed but did not look at my blood levels to adjust my medicines. He left that up to my general doctor. He would run tests on schedule but my symptoms got worse. I changed doctors, and he monitors everything from tests to blood work took some time but through adjusting my medicines I am improving some each visit. Praise the Lord. I still get nausea periodically but no bleeding. Have you seen any signs of blood loss. That led to my seizure and cardiac arrest.

Now, it sounds like and I am not a doctor the cirrhosis is bad. I hate to use bad, but I don't want to give a diagnosis. Have they calculated the MELD, to determine transplant? While he would not be a candidate because he is still drinking. It would give you an idea how bad.

I wish I could help more on the medical end. I would start by addressing the doctors. I believe strongly in prayer in faith, it is still not too late, do not give up hope. Him being scared is a good thing. I know that may sound mean but maybe that will push him to put the bottle down. I will be praying earnestly for you and your husband. Don't give up hope!

God Bless you Rummi,

Steven

rummi, I don't know how far you are from Houston, but my hepatologist is Dr. Joseph Galati in Houston. He is also part of the liver transplant team at Methodist Hosp. in Houston. I'm very thankful for him and confident in him.

I'm so sorry you are so afraid and I'm new to this board with my Dad being diagnosed with Cirrhosis. I wish I had answers for you but I'm learning everything about Cirrhosis now. I will put you in my prayers for some peace of mind. Hugs and Prayers to you.

You asked about the 6 month period sober. There is no reason why you cannot take husband to a gastrointerologist. The 6 months sobriety is necessary before anything can be done about getting him on a transplant list (IF transplant is ruled as his only option). Then, he has to prove that he has been totally sober for that 6 month period. That means NO alcohol in any form. There is no such thing at this point as your husband being able to have an occasional drink. One drink is TOO MANY for someone with liver disease.

In the meantime, much, much, much can be done to improve his overall health as well as stabilize his liver condition. Number one and foremost is the testing to make sure of the diagnosis and to find out where he is in the disease. Many people have symptoms related to poor liver function but that does not necessarily mean that the liver is so far gone as to require transplant. That is where the diligence in care, both self and supportive. comes in. Don't waste even one day getting this started.

The thing you will have to understand is that the ER dioctors are NOT versed in care for an ongoing disease and only there to tell you what their findings are as to why the emergency visit was necessary in the first place. It is then up to you to go to a gastrointerologist or hepatologist to get the diagnosis and stage. Your family doctor will be able to direct you to a good hepatologist or gastrointerologist. Then, that doctor can oversee the testing for his status as well as follow him closely for the 6 month wait.

Unfortunately, the ER docs don't usually explain all of this to the patient. They usually just say to "follow up within so many days with your family physician." If he is like me, I was diagnosed at a time when I had no insurance and we lived on my husband's disability from polio income. Not a lot of $$$ in those days. I also have a type of muscular dystrophy for many years so I had my hands full financially speaking. My ability to work full time was non-existent yet, I could not get disability from cirrhosis nor muscular dystrophy for many years. I was one of the patients who had it really tough for a long time. Now, I am on medicare (took retirement at age 62 and now at 65 I have medicare) so things are a little easier for me financially.

Your husband needs to find out what stage he is in with the disease so he can, if warranted, apply for disability or partial disability IF the doctor rules he cannot or should not work until he is treated and brought to his optimal health. That is a whole other story. Many have easy time getting on disability due to cirrhosis (if that is the diagnosis and to this point, there has been no specific testing to determine that) and some have a difficult time. It varies.

I do wish you well and agree that you should do all you can to educate yourself as well as your husband. Again, a good family type physician (or whomever he sees for colds and minor illnesses) is vital. He/she can rely on the family physician to monitor regular visits/testings such as on going blood work and blood pressure checks. The patient has to assume responsibility for his/her own care (or the care giver has to follow up to make sure his care is optimal.) Hugs and prayers............CarolLentz