my 70 year old mother in law was diagnosed with cirrhosis all her brothers and sisters died with same.How long does she have to live? doctors say the liver has stopped working and she's losing alot of weight. they had her abdomen fluid removed and ended up in her lungs and she had respitory infection and her urine is a dark color. sometimes its blood in the urine. which I think is her kidneys.
how long can she live because doctors say there is no cure and they're simply treating her to comfort her. She never had symtoms only few moths ago swollen ankles,confusion and forgeting things,swollen abdomen(she looked like she was 5 months pregnant) also right side pain and loss of appetitte,unble to urinate,hard time breathing. How did this come so suddenly??
2006-09-30 23:31:26 · 4 answers · asked by livita 2 in Health ➔ Diseases & Conditions ➔ Other - Diseases
Unfortunately, you've just described all of the symptoms of end stage cirrhosis.
It doesn't sound like there is too much time left for her. The doctors are doing the right thing as of now by making her comfortable because this is all that there is to do at this stage.
The swollen abdomen is called ascites. It is inevitable for this to occur with her condition. I'm not sure of which state you live in but if you have a thing called "Hospice" in your area you may want to contact them. Hospice nurses and doctors deal with all terminal cases such as this and provide support; mental, emotional and spiritual, to the patient and the patient's family.
Once the liver shuts down it is sort of like a snow ball effect. The liver is one of the largest organs of the body and when functioning is a major role player in cleaning the blood, digestion of food, and all electrolyte balance of the body. In order for the liver to even show symptoms of a terminal illness such as this, 90% of it is damaged and the damage is not reversible at this stage. That is why it happens so fast. Once the liver stops working, then it doesn't take long for everything else to stop working after that. Hope this helps to inform you and I wish you and your family well.
2006-10-01 00:22:28 · answer #1 · answered by Doodlebug 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
You have my deepest condolences. It did not come on suddenly, but has been developing in her body for years. The body's internal mechanisms to compensate for those things that are not working (the term is homeostasis) have been overcome and her body is suffering what doctors would call decompensation.
Predicting how much longer she has to live would be risky, in that one could be wrong by several hundreds of percentages, but in general, you are talking in terms of weeks, probably just a few.
Everyone who needs to speak with her about something they, or she feels like is important needs to do so NOW, because she will fall into coma before she dies and will not be able to deal with her affairs for some days before she actually dies. She may have an opinion regarding her estate or her funeral arrangements.
It is frightening to see someone you love in such a vulnerable and fragile state of health. Do not let this change in her appearance keep you from properly caring for her. Most especially do not let it deter you from touching her, as touch and connection are what she will need most at this time in her life.
2006-10-01 07:01:27 · answer #2 · answered by finaldx 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I'm so sorry to hear this. :(
She only has about a week or two, maybe three at most. My daddy died of this at 47. He was a heavy drinker for years. Though this also happens to people infected with hepatitis and them being unaware of it for years.
Kidneys usually begin to fail due to high blood toxicity, which the liver is not taking care of.
Good luck, and don't despair.
2006-10-01 06:41:57 · answer #3 · answered by BlueChimera 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
My Dad lost his life due to this problem. 12 days .... But I just read they have come out with some drug to cure this... You can ask the docs.
2006-10-01 06:47:44 · answer #4 · answered by toughie 1 · 0⤊ 0⤋