Mum has liver disease! Help! - British Liver Trust

British Liver Trust

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Mum has liver disease! Help!

lilipearl profile image
12 Replies

Hi, my mum has just been told she has liver disease by the specialist and I am really worried for her. She is 60 and overweight. She has been showing symptoms for the past week such as swelling of the feet, legs and shaking hands. The doctors recommend that she should go and stay at the hospital for awhile. I have also found blood in the toilet and she has been sick a lot. If anyone out there has been/is in this situation please tell me the outcome/situation! Also if you have any other information on liver disease I would be happy to read it. I am really worried for my mum I love her a lot and she is like my best friend but also my mother.

Thankyou for reading :)

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lilipearl profile image
lilipearl
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12 Replies
Bolly profile image
Bolly

Sorry to hear of your worries. There are around 20 different causes of liver damage, some "lifestyle" such as alcohol, diet, diabetes etc and some viral,or autoimmune. The viral and autoimmune ones can be dealt with by medication but the lifestyle ones are initially dealt with by the patient changing their lifestyle. So a drinker has to stop drinking, a diabetic needs to control their diabetes, someone with fat in their liver from being overweight needs to lose weight.

Have your mum's doctors diagnosed the cause of her liver damage.

If she is being sick she may have gallbladder problems? Have the docs checked for that. Blood in the urine is not typical of liver problems and blood in the stool could be from haemorrhoids, these are thing she needs to tell the doctors about so they can check the cause.

lilipearl profile image
lilipearl in reply to Bolly

Thankyou very much for that information, I will be sure to ask the doctors about a diagnosis and also get my mum to tell them about the blood and her being sick. I will take note about the other things you said and ask about them as well!

She has been going for blood tests and she had lost some weight but she isn't getting any better. Hopefully when she sees the specialist she can start a treatment plan and get more healthy. Thankyou again! :)

gamesmaker profile image
gamesmaker

I am so sorry to hear about your Mum being ill. She is lucky to have you around as a support .My husband passed away just over a year ago and he had been such a support for me - he was always there! Bolly has give you a good summary of liver disease. I find that the waiting for results is part of the main problem with liver disease, as there are so many potential types. problems etc. It all takes so long (but will be quicker for an in-patient) Where is your Mum being treated? Bolly is quite right - your Mum should treat what is in her hands to be done - lose weight, no alcohol etc. Ask your Mum to say to the doctors that she wants you to be there whenever she gets any new information. Take notes, ask questions, ask for copies of blood tests etc. Good luck - we are all there for you.

lilipearl profile image
lilipearl in reply to gamesmaker

Thankyou, it is nice knowing other people know what your going through! It really does help a lot to have someone being there for you in the hard times and I hope I can be supportive to my mum like your husband was for you! She is being treated at the hospital. My mum is currently waiting in the emergency department at the hospital. She isn't being treated yet but in a week she will see a specialist about a treatment program. She has known she has had liver problems for awhile now but only has just got it checked up on because of her symptoms. She also doesn't drink but she is overweight and has made efforts to loose weight and have a more healthy diet. I will be there for the next checkup to write notes for sure! Thankyou for the information and support!

lilipearl profile image
lilipearl

Also, I'm sorry I mistook liver failure for liver disease I'm not too sure of the difference I think my mum had it confused too because she kept saying liver disease but she has liver failure! Thankyou again!

RodeoJoe profile image
RodeoJoe in reply to lilipearl

Liver failure is when the liver is unable to function normally because of liver disease.

lilipearl profile image
lilipearl in reply to RodeoJoe

Thankyou for your answer it makes a lot more sense now :D

lilipearl profile image
lilipearl in reply to RodeoJoe

Hello, I do know for sure she had liver failure because she had to get fluid removed at the hospital today. She has talked to the doctor about it and it definitely is liver failure. Thanks for the information!

RodeoJoe profile image
RodeoJoe in reply to lilipearl

Hi lilipearl, the fluid is called ascities and is definitely a sign of liver failure. It sounds like she really is quite poorly. Any idea what the cause of the liver disease might be? It doesn't really change the treatment but its important to identify what has caused the liver to fail.

Perhaps she's been booked in for a biopsy whilst she's in hospital. That would give the Drs a better idea of what's going on.

Good luck to you both.

lilipearl profile image
lilipearl in reply to RodeoJoe

Thank you very much for the info! She has a fatty liver and she is going to be drained regularly. I think it is because she has left it for to long without seeing the doctor and because of her weight (she needs to loose half a kilo a day now). She has seen a dietitian and is eating a healthy diet to try to loose weight.

gamesmaker profile image
gamesmaker

Good luck for the future xx

lilipearl profile image
lilipearl in reply to gamesmaker

Yeah I hope she will get better and improve! Thankyou for your help :)

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