Process of Dying of Liver Cirrhosis

Liver cirrhosis is a disease characterized by liver inflammation, which can have lethal effects on a person’s health. We all know that liver plays a great role in several bodily functions. Victims may have a hard time keeping up with their health as liver functions are brought to a standstill. As such, there are different factors that can lead to this condition. Alcohol abuse is cited as the main culprit over here followed by Hepatitis C and Hepatitis B.

Fortunately, our body is gifted with amazing healing abilities, and our liver has limited capabilities to repair the damage done to it. However, if the damage caused to the liver is intense, then one may have to suffer a lot.

There are plenty of symptoms associated with this condition that can raise alarm bells for early treatment. A victim may experience one or combination of symptoms such as improper digestion, vomiting, pain in the abdominal area, fatigue, dizziness, lack of appetite, drop in body weight and swelling in both the legs. The irony lies in the fact that health complications increase as the ailment progresses, thereby inviting more troublesome symptoms in one’s life. Below is a list of some major symptoms associated with this ailment.

-Blood clotting is an apparent feature as the ailment progresses, and the infected person may bleed very easily.

-Portal hypertension is another potential symptom associated with this condition.

-Low platelet count will be witnessed amongst the patients.

-Yellowing of the skin.

-Dark urine.

-Increase in heart beat.

-Large tummy due to fluid piling in the abdominal area.

-Change in personality as the toxins can affect the brain as well.

-Bleeding gums.

-Some victims may omit blood while vomiting.

-Memory issues may also develop over a period of time.

-Bleeding in the nose.

-Muscle cramps and shooting pain in the right shoulder can also be experienced by some victims.

Apart from the above mentioned symptoms, the body will showcase a decline in the overall health. Once considered as an act of comfort will no longer appear trouble-free because of deteriorating health. For instance, a person may be seen staggering while performing a basic act such as walking. Also, the body may have a hard time processing alcohol and drugs, despite your liking towards these substances. Goes without saying, one should eradicate or curb the intake of these substances from their lives to be able to experience a quick recovery.

The major issue involved with this ailment is that a person may not realize that he/she is suffering from the problem, until the condition worsens. More than often, the ailment is detected when is patient is being tested for some other disease. If you are amongst the lucky ones to be able to detect the ailment early, then your chances of speedy recovery is very bright. That being said, irrespective of the stage at which the disease is diagnosed, proper health care should be ascertained.

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  1. I agree with the previous comments, you only explain the disease, you do NOT explain the process of deteriorating in the latter stages!

  2. You state all the symptoms of late stage cirrhosis, but don't really go into explaining what actually happens when a person IS dying of the disease; my sister has had those symptoms for years and is still "hanging" on… how bad does the disease have to get and how severe & how long is the "end stage" before death happens?

  3. Nowhere does it state how the dying will be. Is it painful for the patient? How to know when cirrhosis is at fatal stage? What to expect as patient deteriorates. The article should not be represented as an article about dying from cirrhosis.

  4. This is not useful for those of us who love and care for someone with cirrhosis. So much information is confusing, and vague. We just need to know how the unfortunate process of actually dying from all of this is – it's hurtful to watch them suffer, and wonder about hoping for a better day tomorrow? Please do people like us the service of honesty.

    1. I have ‘skimmed’ a few of the comments and I have to say, I agree. The information provided, requested, was helpful and informative, but did not actually address the main question those of us who do have cirrhosis are actually asking, will there be suffering? How much time to say goodbye? Will I be conscious? P.S. Good luck Comrades.

  5. As others have said, this article doesn't live up to its title and provides no information on how long the "last stage" is or how friends and family will know the end has come.

  6. My brother is in the hospital now he has all the symptoms you described. I would just like to know how long he will live as he has complete failure of his liver. His skin is yellow, his legs are swollen and red, he is retaining fluids in his stomach. I don't think he will be with us very much longer. I went to see him today but I live away from him I would like to have time to be with him when the end is near. I love him and I am so very very sad. Is there a time limit on how long he must suffer and when I should pack my bags again and be there for him and for me? I guess I will regret sending this but right now I am devastated.

  7. I have been caring for my partner for approximately 5 years now with alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. I have read many articles and have a full understanding of his condition and treatment. As he was told 18 months ago he has a decompensated liver and diagnosed with less the 12 months to live. As I see the symptoms creeping up and monitor all his medication and am aware of when to get him to hospital. This article does not explain anything new. It does not tell me if the stomach pains will get worse (I presume they will) how much discomfort he will end up with. He gets nausea if he has to stand up for more then 20 minutes, I can see him struggling with lack of strength in his legs, he has a childs-pugh C and a Meld score 38. I know he doesn't have much longer, and this article doesn't give me any new information to help me as his care-er how to look after him over the next few months he has left!

  8. This did not explain the death process of end stage liver disease. It's agony watching someone you love die so slowly. My husband, now my EX-husband because of his extreme drinking, is dying at the age of 58. He was picked up at a job site, unable to get off of a porta potty because of his extreme edema and underlying infection and subsequent kidney failure, and having blown a .15. He was taken to ICU in critical condition, and remained in the hospital for a month. There is nothing more they can do so he is now, today (4/7/2016) in Hospice, waiting out his end of days. Months? No. He was given less than 3 months. It's been a month since he left the hospital. He is deteriorating slowly. His ascites has progressed, his legs are swollen, he has the liver rash on both legs. His feet are blue, swollen, cold, and peeling. His abdomen is huge, itchy, covered in sores, and bleeding. He's sleepy and irrational. He's yellow. If he wasn't swollen, he'd be skin and bones, he's been malnourished for years since he received all his sugars through vodka. I'd like to have a time frame to plan on his future, his funds are limited and I can't pay for his Hospice care beyond the next month, so I'd like to know if I need to apply for assistance now.

  9. This didn't answer my question at all. My husband went into the hospital 3 separate times for verices bleeding out. He got banded 2 times. The 3rd time he died. I guess when I came on here I wanted to know if he was in pain. By the time that I got to the hospital they already put a Trach tube down his throat to assist with breathing. They had him on Dilaudid as well as Vercid. I never got to say goodbye to my husband. And that kills me to this date (he died 10/10/15). With all the drugs that he was getting was my husband in pain? I know he would squeeze my hand when I asked him a question. He even sat up and tried to pull the trache out (they got it back in before and gave him more med to pass out.) I'm just so scared that he was in pain. He was the love of my life and I need to know if he was in pain.

    Thanks,

    Aimee

  10. I, too, agree with the others' comments. The article title is very misleading and did not, at all, provide the information suggested by its title. Very disappointed as I hoped to gain some insight as to what our family could expect as my step-father's condition worsens and it failed to deliver.

  11. I agree with most others. My niece is dying after years of cirrhosis and now diabetes. Nobody is telling us what to expect in the last stages. My first experience as a nurse was horrifying. People were admitted back in the day with gastritis to get insurance to pay. When my patient died, he bleed out of the bowels esp and we had to pack the rectum. Glad the family was not there to witness his very disturbing end. I hope this truth will at least help one person be prepared. Carol Dean, RN

  12. My sister has hep C. This information was very helpful, it helps me understand the stages of her illness, she has been in denial for last ten years, I don't dare ask her.

  13. I would like to know how much time my mother in law has of life she’s in Between stage 4 and 5 of cancer she has it in her lungs and large intestine and in her liver is 60 to 70 percent and she’s retaining a lot of fluids in her stomach and her legs are very swollen and hands and her eyes are yellow colored and suck in and very weak please can you let us now cuz my husband would like to spend all the time she has left.

  14. Cirrhosis can be FAST! My SO was diagnosed and within 3 weeks he was dead! He never knew he was sick… didn’t seem sick. He turned yellow seemingly overnight and declined so quickly that we didn’t even have time to process what was going on. The worst 3 weeks of my life! At least he is out of pain now…

  15. My husband is dying of non-alcoholic liver disease! I asked the doctors if they could tell me what to expect but they said no one knows. I have been dealing with this for over two years. As of today they have diagnosed him with stage four. He was never a heavy drinker but suffer from gerd most of his life. Married for 44 years and no hepatitis b or c. I feel so helpless not knowing what’s ahead. He is the love of my life, can someone help me cope with this disease? Just want to hear the truth from anyone out there.

  16. My husband has been sleeping for 24 hours. He has cirrhosis and has problems with high ammonia levels. What are possible prognosis?

  17. This article says nothing. HE (hepatic encephalopathy) is a huge problem. Look for video about “living with HE” the “monster” if you can find it. It’s the closest I’ve seen to anything showing real-life examples with real people who are dying and what the survivors and caregivers go through. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a group that prepares and supports those living with loved ones with the disease. I have only found transplant survivor support groups and they just hi-five each other. Does nothing for those going through the hell, since you find out that the patient needs to be almost dead, in a coma, or completely unrecognizable before being placed on a transplant list but that doesn’t mean they will get a transplant. By then their chances of survival have really plummeted and as a caregiver, your work has increased 10 fold… maybe you get your loved one back, maybe not. I’m alone, aging, and working my ass off for someone who barely knows anything going on. The patient is no longer the person you interacted with, did things with, loved, hugged, wanted to have around. They are just an empty shell, unable to drive, make change, do small chores or hobbies. They don’t know it, so they are protected from the heartache. The last year of their lives are pretty much nothing to them. They don’t remember conversations, instructions, or even the tears and love you try to show them. They have already checked out……. It’s tough, especially since they usually are the ones that brought it on themselves and in my case, after 20 years of begging to stop the alcohol abuse. I remember saying “your pool little liver is going to become rock hard” the response was “good, I hope it does”. Guess my spouse got his wish and I get to deal with a “drunk” that isn’t drunk but is wacked out by the ammonia build up in the brain. Oh the joys of the physical altercations with a grown man’s body but a 12 year old’s disobedient attitude. It’s too much to handle… especially alone… but I guess I was alone throughout the entire marriage since he was in a bottle the whole time.

    1. I happened to come across your post today and wonder how you are doing? I’m experiencing the same right now with my husband. Is your husband still with us, but I was mainly wondering how you are.

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