they are not a transplant canidate. he has a hard time doing any pysical things without having a hard time breathing. he wont let me ask the doctor questions.
2006-08-31 03:25:52 · 9 answers · asked by williams53us 1 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Other - Diseases
There is no way to tell how long; everyone is different. There are four stages to fibrosis, or scarring of the liver, with stage one being the least damage and four being the most. Stage four is considered cirrhosis, and basically there are two parts to cirrhosis: cirrhosis with compensation (the liver is still working enough to do it's jobs but it's badly scarred) and cirrhosis with decompensation (the liver is not able to perform the most basic functions without causing a lot of symptoms, such as the difficulty breathing, confusion [hepatic encephalopathy], ascites [fluid retention in the stomach- looks pregnant], spider angiomas , etc.). Im afraid it sounds like he is in decompensation. A transplant is the only way to improve, as far as I know, but I"m not a doctor. As the previous anwerer said, call the doctor and ask for information or seek a liver transplant support group or a hep c support group for more information.
Best wishes.
2006-08-31 12:24:31 · answer #1 · answered by cindy1323 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
That depends on a lot of factors that are a part of their underlying health and lifestyle, but generally, not very long. If they are not a transplant candidate, that is a bad sign, maybe they are not compliant with meds or advice, like they have continued abusing alcohol?
If you DO decide to phone the doc and ask questions, you will have to couch those questions in hypotheticals. Such as: if you have a patient who is (blank) years old, who has been diagnosed with stage IV cirrhosis, and who (fill in the blank here with particulars about your patient), what would be the life expectancy? That way, the doctor can ethically get around the issue. On the other hand, if the doctor feels like you really should not be involved in this at all, they have the option of not answering.
You don't indicate your relationship to the patient, but if you are family, I would think the doctor would be grateful and relieved to have this opportinity to impart this information to you.
2006-08-31 10:54:04 · answer #2 · answered by finaldx 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It sounds awful for you and him both.
My suggestion: call his doctor and tell him that even though the patient won't let you ask questions directly ( and that due to patient confidentiality you know the dr. can't give you specifics), you need to know general info about Stage 4 cirrhosis.
This gives the doctor a chance to impart some info for you, and most will tell you in a roundabout way some specifics about your particular patient. You may have to read between the lines, though.
This website may help: http://www.medhelp.org/forums/Hepatitis/archive/1407.html
Google in "cirrhosis + Stage 4" and you may get additional info.
Best of luck to you.
2006-08-31 10:44:33 · answer #3 · answered by Phronsie 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You need to see a specialist. My best guess would be 4-5 yrs max. It is not my area of specialty though.
2006-08-31 10:28:33 · answer #4 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
jet psirrhosis of the liver is not always caused by alcohol your answer was not very nice
2006-08-31 11:09:26 · answer #5 · answered by kmbl 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
im afraid that is not very long....i say maybe 2-3
2006-08-31 10:35:42 · answer #6 · answered by Questionman 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
near the end, Sorry
2006-08-31 10:29:02 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Get him one last cocktail and book the funeral home.
2006-08-31 10:28:15 · answer #8 · answered by Jet 6 · 0⤊ 2⤋
not long i am afraid,
2006-08-31 10:32:22 · answer #9 · answered by dumplingmuffin 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋