Liver Cirrhosis

I’ve made a number of postings related to Hepatic Encephalopathy. Now I’d like to delve a little deeper into the cause of HE where the term Hepatic refers to the liver, in particular cirrhosis of the liver. I originally thought I could do some research and post my findings, but, as I have discovered, the pathology of the liver and its relationship to other organs is a very complex subject. Thus, instead, I’m going to list a few links to research that others have done and then a little about how this relates to my own case.

Here are three good links which have a lot of information (don’t try to follow all the details in them unless you have a good science background):

·        https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15572-cirrhosis-of-the-liver

·        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=junNUlypCwU

·        https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHB5e-4q7l8

So, how am I doing at managing my liver issues? Back in early January when I was going through my last bout of HE, my bilirubin peaked out at 2.8 (normal range is .2-1.4). That’s when I started on the appropriate medications (which manage the issues but cannot reverse them). My primary care physician commented at the time that I had brought that level down to 2.3. I had some additional bloodwork in early February and my bilirubin was down to just 1.6, only slightly elevated from the upper end of “normal”. So that’s a really good sign.

The other factor that I was watching was my ammonia level, something that I had only recently been tested for after my HE began. At the end of December I peaked at 191, where the “normal” range is 18-72. I was down slightly in early January to 181, and then in mid-February by nearly 10% more to just 164. I still have a long way to go in this measure, but a drop of 15% cannot be ignored.

Thus, while my overall MELD score is still a 14, I’ve made quite a bit of progress in the right direction. I remain a long way from having a high enough MELD score to qualify for a liver transplant, but as long as I can arrest the symptoms like the above ones (and thanks to my loving wife who is focusing a lot of her time on getting me on the appropriate diet), I’ll have a reasonable chance of living for several more years. But this is not a fun journey and not something that I would wish on anyone.