doing nothing

[theloue]

is it good or bad to just lay in bed and do nothing all day when you have cirrhosis of the liver

[AyrshireK]

I'd say it's bad, will do nothing for mood or mental health, best to get up and about a little and do little bits of exercise otherwise other physical health will suffer too. By all means listen to your body and rest when needed but exercise is necessary even if it is only a wander round shops or round the block.

Pre-transplant patients are urged to do little bits of walking and exercise when they can to keep lungs & heart healthy too.

Lying in bed doing nothing will not help with bone strength, muscles wastage, circulation, might lead to fluid build up etc. Definitely get up and about as much as possible.

Katie

[theloue in reply to AyrshireK]

I could not agree more, among other things blood clots,how can you prepare yourself for possible surgery when you are causing more health problems by doing nothing?

[theloue in reply to AyrshireK]

I agree with you, last year I was off for the hole year with pinch nerves in my neck, you can't imagine the pain I was in, I sat around for 2 months DOING NOTHING and paid for it, I lost 20 pounds and a lot of muscle mass,I couldn't walk as far as my parking lot, and could hardly eat half a sandwich. I decided to fight back and got off the couch and do a little something every day,I did have surgery this past January,though the thought of surgery that weak was very scary. I have since went back to work as a care giver and gained back some weight and am getting some muscles back in my arms and legs.

[Bolly]

I agree with Katie, it's a bad idea! Just out of curiosity, if you are currently lying in bed all day, who is doing your shopping, cooking , cleaning etc and earning the money to enable you to lie in bed doing nothing! Assume you don't have a job if you are able to lie in bed, so I recommend doing some part time voluntary work for a charity. It will give you a reason to get out of bed each day and give you a purpose in life.

[H1ghtower in reply to Bolly]

"Not a good idea"? Youd think was an idea rather than an illness the way you word it. If i was suspicious i,d say you where using this forum to get the answer you wanted for someones elses benefit?

[theloue in reply to H1ghtower]

Good thinking! your right I am trying to get as much feed back as I can for my boy friend, he is using this a a perfect excuse to do nothing except what he wants, the body breaks down very fast,I'm a care giver most of the folks I take care of are in there 80's they all agree and insist on doing as much as they still can on there own, so yes I am trying to benefit some one,him, maybe he will listen to perfect strangers and what they have to say.

[theloue in reply to Bolly]

I do every thing, his sister has him convinced he should do nothing,the body needs movement, I think he's making him self worse, by the way I'm his girl friend.

[Hidden]

I can only speak from my experience 😉 it is not good or bad to lie in bed all day BUT if you had cirrhosis/liver failure/hep c and were waiting for a life saving liver transplant then you don't really feel like doing much else 😥😥 My husband was so fatigued/nauseous and suffering with HE before transplant he had no choice !!!! It is not a 'good' thing to lie in bed all the time but if your body won't let you do anything else and you are very unwell it is not a decision you consciously make - therefore it is not a bad thing either !!!! If you are physically able to get out of bed and carry on with normal daily activities then that is the best course of action - unfortunately there are differing stages of cirrhosis - so at the beginning you are able to carry on 'as normal' but when it progresses - you are unable to carry out usual routines - so sleeping is a normal part of the illness (reversed sleeping pattern - asleep all day awake at night) is a symptom of the progressing illness - it is definitely not a choice 😔😔😔 x

[scotty40]

Hi there just a thought but I'd say if he is laying in bed doing nothing he might be alot sicker than you think. I know that I couldn't hardly do much when I was sick.

[Bolly]

Is he lying in bed sleeping (in which case Scotty may be right) or is he lying in bed playing on his Playstation (or similar) or chatting to friends on social media. In other words, what he is actually 'doing' 24 hours a day might give you a hint as to his abilities. For example, is he able to get up to go to the bathroom, wash himself, change his clothes - or does your sister have to do all that for him too? Is he able to have a normal conversation or is he so unwell that he has HE hepatic encephalopathy and sounds muddled and confused. Is he eating normally, or is he not eating and wasting away.

If he is actively occupied with something while still lying on/in his bed, if he is eating and drinking and talking normally, then I would stick my head above the parapet and say he is being lazy and enjoying the attention.

If he is pale and sickly and not eating and weak and listless, then I would say he is genuinely very sick and needs medical attention.

[theloue in reply to Bolly]

Hi Bolly I work all day,so I can't say for sure what he does all day, probably sleeps since he's up all night watching t.v., at this point I'm on the couch but when I get up to go to the bathroom I see the light on and when I get up at 4:30 suddenly the light go's off. He doesn't play games or get on the computer,his hobby is car models,and yes he eats very well,although his sister brings him all kinds of food for him to cook for him self he eats the food I make which I think is fairly healthy except for maybe the Rice-A-Roni and Noodle Roni, let me give you an example!! I'll bake boneless skinless chicken breast,I put spice on it for myself and none on his maybe some rice-a-roni (high in sodium) and a veggie, I tell him dinner is ready all he has to do is pop a uncle ben's brown rice no sodium in the microwave for one minute, he chooses to eat the rice-a-roni, then he tells me he's not eating healthy enough , and the Doc says his sodium is up. If he's so lazy that he can't pop that no sodium rice in the microwave he must not be very concerned about his health, I mean I can do it, but my though is get him to do SOMETHING that involves more then doing nothing. He even went as far last night as to tell his sister that I make him do the dinner dishes,not true!!!! I clean as I cook and every one does their plates forks after dinner, some times I may leave a pan or two,but that's it.He can get up and dress and bath himself and carry on normal conversation when he thinks I don't here him on the phone in bedroom,but he can't in front of me or his sister, by the way!!! is HIS twin sister, it's not my sister. At first he was really sick but now with the meds I've seen only improvement,although he will (so they say) need a transplant, but if his sister keeps convincing him that he can't even take out the garbage or pee in the toilet at night instead of a bottle( which I will add) is still full at this moment and he's gone to his sisters for the weekend, so unless I empty it I will have to smell it every time I go in the bedroom. I REALLY think that at this point if he keeps it up this way he wont survive a transplant surgery.His sister thinks I'm this really bad person because I disagree with her convincing him that he should do Nothing, she says that what the doc said, but if any one can show me one doctor that says don't do ANYTHING I'll kiss the ground he walks on.I told her if she really cares about her brother she will start taking small walks with him instead of renting a wheel chair for him at the county fair, there are plenty of places to rest at the fair.

[Bolly]

It sounds like you think he should be up and about and his sister thinks he should not. I don't think we can resolve that one for you! Ultimately, if he has a mind of his own and is an intelligent adult he should be able to work it out for himself. Are you able to tell us what caused the cirrhosis and how long he has been lying in bed like this.

[theloue in reply to Bolly]

Drinking caused the cirrhosis and he's been doing this since I have known him, but even more since last November, he used to help out some but I know him very well I no an excuse when I see and hear one.Hopefully your right

[Bolly]

If he is still drinking and already has cirrhosis he is going to get sicker. Maybe it's time to review whether this is a life you want to share or not, as it seems it will only get worse.

[theloue in reply to Bolly]

Hi Bolly no he had to stop when he found out he has cirrhosis, he was really sick and yes I have already been making planes for that day.

[acjb007]

Although I fall asleep in the day and find it extremely hard to get out of bed it's very important to get on with life. When I lay in or nap I feel very low and anxious. I've stupidly shortened my life by damaging my liver so I feel it's an insult to waste any time I've got left by sleeping.