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Original poster

MIL has cirrhosis, please tell me things about it

39 replies

FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:28

if you would be so kind

OP posts:
foxinsocks · 04/04/2007 19:29

what do you want to know?

do they know why she has it? (drinking, virus etc.)

harpsichordcarrier · 04/04/2007 19:30

it's not good is it franny

Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:31

Drink.

Oh I don't know really:

does it get better?

will it kill her?

what can and can't she do?

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Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:31

HC I don't know. I am feeling fairly removed from it all in a way. I just feel sorry for dp.

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harpsichordcarrier · 04/04/2007 19:32

no, it doesn't get better. the damage can't be reversed. the symptoms can be treated. she can stop it getting worse. she must stop drinking

harpsichordcarrier · 04/04/2007 19:33

how far on is it?
how did she find out?
what symptoms does she have?
has she been prescribed anything (betablockers)?

foxinsocks · 04/04/2007 19:33

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

foxinsocks · 04/04/2007 19:36

here's the netdoctor blurb

Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:37

"to give you a glimmer of hope, my mum has been hospitalised a few times with liver issues - the first time they told us they didn't think she had long to go if she carried on drinking. That was 20 years ago and she's never curtailed her drinking at all in that time"

sorry to be blunt but that is what I am worried about tbh - the above scenario is my worst nightmare

and I am sorry about your mum Fox

I am sorry I don't know the answers to any of the questions. She has just got out of rehab. I guess they discovered it while she was in there. This is all 3rd hand via dp who never asks a single question which is why I am asking you lot

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lionheart · 04/04/2007 19:37

Anita Roddick has been talking/campaigning about this recently. Here

Don't know if that helps.

harpsichordcarrier · 04/04/2007 19:39

cross posts with fis there.
the liver is actually a pretty adept organ at renewing itself. and will take a fair pounding. BUT much depends on how far things have progressed and if she has followed any medical advice so far.
my family plot is full of chumps who drank themselves to death. but they are surprisingly long lived all the same/

Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:40

Thanks for webpage fox, very useful

"Cirrhosis is a serious condition. Only 30 per cent of patients with this problem will survive five years after diagnosis and the outlook is worse if the cause is alcohol and the patient continues to drink."

so she is going to die, most likely?

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Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:40

HC nope but thanks

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Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:41

lionheart thanks I am off to read that next

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foxinsocks · 04/04/2007 19:41

sorry franny - didn't mean to sound flippant or anything.

I think it is serious - but if it is early stage, she has a good chance if she can stop drinking.

But I know how hard that can be - if she has just come out of rehab this is probably her most vulnerable time (wrt starting drinking again).

oxocube · 04/04/2007 19:41

Franny This is an issue close to my own heart.

Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:47

Oh fox no, you didn't sound flippant at all

I hope I am not going to offend anyone with my rather hard hearted attitude to this

I am just very sad for dp (not so much this but the whole drinking thing has been a nightmare and she has been so unpleasant to him)

and I am very sorry to hear of all people affected by this

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Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:48

Fox I have no idea whether she can / will stop drinking for good

Dp reported back today "Oh apparently she is much improved and being quite reasonable"

I was thinking "well yes but I didn't like her even before she became an alcoholic"

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foxinsocks · 04/04/2007 19:50

poor dp - does he know about Al-Anon (support for those whose lives have been affected by someone else's drinking) - I imagine if he's not one to ask questions though, he's not one to ask for help .

How long has she been an alcoholic?

Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 19:56

LOL fox me and dp are both recovered alcoholics too

not he would not call Al Anon, he is not a talker (but thank you for very kind advice)

I think dp started his mother off drinking if we are being completely honest

I think she probably has drunk too much for about 10 years but she only really lost the plot a couple of years ago

I just feel sorry his mother has been such a shit mother to him, both when he was a child / young man when he needed her, and now when he no longer needs her, she is a ruddy embarrassment and nuisance to be harsh about it

I am sorry I think some of this is rather cruel

sorry

OP posts:
lionheart · 04/04/2007 19:57

You're just being honest, Franny.

Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 20:00

Yes, but I am aware that other people with cirrhosis and alcohol problems, and those who have loved ones with the same problems are likely to be reading this thread

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foxinsocks · 04/04/2007 20:01

aah can see why my long term scenario situation is your worst nightmare

annoyingly, all the alcoholics in my family seem to have incredible staying power - or as one doctor put it, an immense ability to tolerate pickled internal organs.

perhaps try and get info about how long her parents lived to see what her chances are - tbh, it sounds like they've probably picked it up quite early.

you are right though, alcoholics are a complete nuisance to look after and worry about - has he got siblings to share the load with?

lionheart · 04/04/2007 20:26

It must be hard on your DP already.

Original poster
FrannyandZooey · 04/04/2007 21:18

Yes, we are miles away and her dd lives near her so she is actually getting all the flak while we sit down here whinging and not doing anything

but yes it is hard for dp

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