hi i am new my hubby was diagnosed with e s l d 2 half yrs ago now due to alchol and is still have varicies banding done he goes every 6 weeks and as 2 to 3 bandings done each time he was on 4 week aggressive treatment for 6 monthes last yr he as just had kidney cancer succsesfully removed january of this yr which is great news but yesterdays treatment as really freaked me out as he needed 5 banding done the consultant now want to see if stents will work we are waiting on a scan then oppiontments we dont go back to consultant till september im scared he wont make it till then last yr they would not do stents because of the cancer so im hoping they will do it this time has any one else had varicies to this extent and what do i expect when stents are done he as not touched a drop of drink since 29th january 2013 that is when we found out and i am so proud of him for that can anyone advice me on what to expect next pls x
varicies : hi i am new my hubby was... - British Liver Trust
varicies
Hi i had varices done myself every month for over a year. Consultant was doing a number at a time. Mine were just not improving though, it wasn't till i threw up blood and ended up in a coma that they fitted the stent, usually they dont fit if they are treating them with banding so your husband is lucky, it takes pressure away from veins and he will be less likely to have a bleed, i have not had one since mine was fitted in jan 2014.
how do you feel with the stents done ive heard they go abit mad and i think they would have done it sooner but they would not touch him till they removed the kidney cancer i am now nagging the docs to hurry things along
This page gives you a good explanation of the TIPS procedure :- radiologyinfo.org/en/info.c...
It is used when other methods of controlling portal hypertension have failed, basically creating a canal which diverts some of the blood which would normally go through the liver past it instead, this reduces the pressure in the portal vein and thereby reduces the risk of bleeding. Some people with chronic recurring ascites also received tipps as a means of reducing their symptoms.
If you mean by going a "bit mad" that the symptoms of Hepatic Encephalopathy can increase then that CAN be the case. The liver filters blood reducing the toxins which go into the body and into the brain. Because of the TIPS procedure not all blood goes through or is processed by the liver so there is a risk of toxin build up within the blood stream and therefore symptoms of Hepatic Encephalopathy can develop and/or increase. Although this isn't 'going mad' it definitely has an effect :- sleep disruption, confusion, memory issues, personality changes, tremors, black outs etc.
If banding hasn't worked then this might be an option in reducing the risk of future bleeding but it is not without its drawbacks.
I know that the previous cancer might have an implication but has transplant been discussed with you and your husband? TIPS might only be a short term option as it can actually worsen the liver condition in the long run. Where is your husband being treated? Does he see an actual liver specialist?
Wishing you both all the best,
Katie 
hi katie thanks for your info he also has heart conditions with a double bypass in 2008 one artory is blocked and cant be touched so a liver transplant might not be an option its just a waiting game now
hi Katie we are in Halifax and he got to go to leeds for tipps liver specialist in Halifax has just brought his appointment forwards 1 month as he went yesterday and had 4 massive ones banded was only there 4 weeks ago when 5 was banded the docs have been brilliant feels like we are running out of time xx
hi thanks for your reply they have put him back on aggressive banding now every 4 weeks just went yesterday and 4 massive varices banded 4 weeks ago he had 5 done feels like im running out of time rung up liver specialist today to change his appointment from sept and they had all ready done it brought it forward how did you feel after the tipps where fitted
After a massive upper GI Bleed in April 2012 (7 varices had burst), my hubby has had 42 varices banded over a two year period. His consultant went 'aggressive' on them - banding every 4-6 weeks and his are now eradicated and he's been all clear since June of last year. He had his latest endoscopy last week and has been told he doesn't need another endoscopy check up until next July.
No one ever mentioned stents to us, he just had repeated banding. His portal hypertension also caused aneurysms in the artery feeding his spleen and after that was embolised his spleen died so this has ended up reducing the portal pressure. Hubby was never on any beta-blockers.
If varices are unresponsive to banding then a TIPS procedure is something which they try and I guess this is the stent that is being talked about and which Jojo has had done.
Best wishes to you both.
Katie
thank you for your responce im nagging docs to hurry things on my hubby as had 4 major bleeds 3 they broke when going down with scope and one at home that was very scary he was in intencive care for 3 days and was given a blood tranfushion it is tipps they are planning to do next he as been on aggrecive banding every 4 weeks he takes 2 propropol a day beta blockers hope they settle down for us
I feel better without worry of a bleed now, but I do now suffer with HE and it also caused me to swell more, but if HE occurs they will prescribe meds to control it as much as they can.
thanks jojokarak the worry of bleeds is very scary he as HE now and its hard at times as ya carnt argue back with him as it raises the blood pressure that causes hypertention so I have to bite my tongue a lot lol im just worried it will make him worse and I won t be able to cope I have good days and bad days xx
Have you heard anything about the stent? and it is a hard condition it effects everyone I say some awful things to my husband and strangers i really don't mean it I am just frustrated, and we don't listen to advice unless its from someone who is going through the same thing so please don't take things personal.
Maybe they have brought forward to discuss stent, you never know. But it will be the 24th before you know it and you will find out, fingers crossed for you both xxx
well been to cosultant and been turned down for tipps heart not strong enough they are doing an up to date scan go back 14th sep for results so fingers crossed they are also running out of places to band and they wont settle down so god knows what next
its been a while since I wrote well what a roller coaster ride we have had while waiting for tipps back in sept my hubby got a virus back end of sept on the sun night he had a small bit of blood he puked so of to a e they went down and scoped on the mon could not find bleed put him on antibiotics and kept him in scoped again on the fri no varices said he could home on the mon when finished antibiotics satuarday morn all hell broke loose he had a massive g I bleed ended up in I c u for 7 days on life support they scoped 5 times in 4 days to find the bleed tried the balloon I think they pined it in the end all family came to say good bye was told they were nothing more they could do ON THE 7TH OCT IS EYES OPENED AND HE STARTED TO COME ROUND my a mirical he made it he spent 7 days on ward then came home since then they have scoped 3 times with 3 bands 6 bands and the last one was clear the first in 3 yrs of scoping we have had heart tests done and have been to leeds to see about tipps they are going to do some tests and see if its safe to do so from our scare in oct we are now closer to saying bye to these varices x
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Banded varices and holidays abroad:)
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