Heart murmur , dizzy spells, acute fatigue ,and only me worried!,

[Know1]

Hi, my OH has been diagnosed with liver cirrhosis for nearly two years due to alcohol

Hehas abstained since he was hospitalised and diagnosed . He has never had varices or haematemis although he did suffer from ruptured internal heamorids about six months before he was diagnosed .

I recently posted as he had had an episode of ?bilary colic and received some most welcome advice and support. He did attend his GP, she prescribed lansaprosole.

We have been away for the weekend, whilst away he was very tired, to the extent that whilst sat on a bench in a public garden for a few moments he fell fast asleep.

He admitted that he had had some dizzy spells during the week,and felt woolly .

Driving back on the Sunday he stopped the vehicle and asked me to drive, this is so unlike him to do. He said he felt as tho he was going to blackout , (he didn't) but was very tired .

I insisted he go to his GP yesterday and I went with him , O/e she detected a heart murmur. She stated she would do some blood tests for anaemia and request a scan of the heart . She has booked a telephone appt with him for next week to give the blood results. This morning he says he feels fine and he has gone to work, !

Meanwhile I'm left worrying about the heart murmur , what it may mean and fearful of what is ahead of us. I just wandered if all the other partners of OH who have cirrhosis sometimes feel like backing out of the condition and leaving them to sort their own selves out! It sometimes feels like we both have cirrhosis , but only one of us worrying .

[RodeoJoe]

I can speak on behalf of having had cirrhosis and a liver transplant. The tiredness and the woolly feeling is one of the most common symptoms of cirrhosis, and yes falling asleep almost anywhere. I almost got sacked from my job on a number of occasions, falling asleep at my desk, in meetings, and heard snoring on the toilet. It's one of the more longer term symptoms which I had problems with for many many years.

Driving was something I did push on with as I didn't see I had a choice but looking back now it might have been a bit reckless, but what can you do when you've got a family to support. I would have avoided all driving if I thought I had an option, and in the 5 years before my transplant I had 5 car accidents having never had one in 15 years driving. All my fault but fortunately no one hurt, since then I've been driving for 2 years with no incidents (but a huge premium).

I also had a couple of really dizzy spell, like I thought I would pass out, this was about a year before my transplant, I went to the GP and she did all my bloods and found high bilirubin etc and was kind of the start of the liver transplant process.

On the subject of leaving you OH, I can't blame you. But I'm eternally grateful to my partner for literally staying positive and keeping me going and saving my life. If I'd seen my partner going down I'd have fallen faster and I know my health would have suffered. I'm sure your partner is worried to death about his condition but its critical to stay positive. I'm a great believer in mind over matter when it comes to your health.

I can't explain how important keeping positive was for me and even having at least a small sense of humour about it.

[Know1 in reply to RodeoJoe]

THANKYOU so much for your reply, it has really helped, I think I'm frustrated as I seem to be the only one who can only see one way this is going, but I'm not thinking of actually leaving him , I just wish he would be more pro active in actually taking some interest in the process of liver disease, he is so passive in the whole process ! It's as if he's decided if he doesn't know it can't happen! , I do sometimes feel like saying its your disease ,you take responsibility ! Sorry, to moan, can I ask you how it was decided that the time was right to discuss transplant? I might be being dramatic but I feel that this is what the future holds for us, but I think he thinks it will right itself. Maybe I should not read so much about it?

[RodeoJoe in reply to Know1]

My blood tests were really bad, odema, ascites and jaundice. Big clues but I stayed away from the Dr for a good couple of months even with all these symptoms, because I thought they might just go away.

I was in denial about my illness until I couldn't function any more, this is probably what your husband is doing. With the responsibilities of a family and fear of transplant it's all I knew how to cope.