Life expectancy

[acjb007]

I have chronic liver disease. Am I right in thinking the liver can compensate & function well but after 5-15 years it's likely to fail?

[Millie09]

Hi , i have chronic liver disease, 10 years now, just over. So in my eyes I've done really well getting this far . Regards to life expectancy nothing is set in stone.

We are all different yet the same if you understand what I mean.

There have been people live 20 yrs plus with cirrhosis.

May I ask how you were diagnosed,

Mine was through alcohol .stopped now , even the smell makes me heave. .best we can do is take care of ourselves, good diet is most important, if you can exercise then even better. I have mobility issues so i cant do much at present. Oh i have a right try though.

I don't think about how long i have left on this earth, I just make the most of each day. I'm suffering with bad sleeping, I have to be up at 5.30 am to collect my sister by taxi to go to hospital to have her gallbladder removed, think I'll find a comfy chair and nod off while i am waiting.. so thing is , just get on with life , even i don't know how long a liver works for .. best wishes Linda

[acjb007 in reply to Millie09]

Mine was drinking too. I almost died. I've had a biopsy, scans & fibrrscans. Slowly over the past five years I've got better and better. I'm very lucky. I'd like to exercise but I get tired a lot. I've also been diagnosed with hypothyroidism. Some days I sleep all day and others I feel like I could run a marathon. My specialist said they think at some point I'll need a transplant but all is good right now. Thanks for the reply.

[Millie09 in reply to acjb007]

Well im glad to hear your doing ok! I get very tired , yet insomnia too . Fingers crossed you won't need a transplant for a while. 👍

[Smyally in reply to Millie09]

Hi Linda. I could echo everything you have said there. Hope your sisters op went ok. I’ve had cirrhosis for 3 years now suffer very similar symptoms. Also get bleeding varicies, so have to be careful. I get on with life as much as I can but boy this hot weather is testing my energy levels. Take care peops☀️

[Millie09 in reply to Smyally]

Hi smyally,

How are you today? .yes my sister's op went all smoothly thank you for asking, she's resting at home.

Shattered myself to be honest, really took its toll on me yesterday but main thing is my sister is ok .

As yet I've had no varices.. I have my regular endoscopy done at the hospital.

Tiredness really is the worst for me , so i know what you feel like, omg ... the heat .. I love the sun but the sun don't love me lol. I get bouts of itching 🙄.. Keep up the grest positivity.. take care. X

[Albeawright in reply to Millie09]

Not been on for yonks,,gd 2 see yer getting on with it,,regards albeaweright👍

[Millie09 in reply to Albeawright]

Hi stranger!!! How are you? .. hope things are good with you .

Thank you for your kind words. I'm doing my best .. take care .😁

[sunnysmile in reply to Millie09]

You are a trooper and a real tonic Millie. Words of caring and wisdom.

Respect.

G.

[Millie09 in reply to sunnysmile]

Thank you. ☺. I do what i can , but I will always put others that need help first.

I'm no martyr, don't do it for praise, I like to help when I can. Lovely of you to say sunnysmile. My best wishes to you. 😌 linda

[jeqe2000]

Hi 007! I was diagnosed with cirrhosis in 2001 and told I would be lucky to live beyond 2 years! I stopped drinking then and have lived with chronic liver disease since.

I have both good days and bad,but overall I am alive and happy to have beat the odds! Eat well, sleep well and exercise if you can and you'll enhance your chances of survival. I am testimony to that making a difference. There is no set time line for these things!!

Edwin

[Hidden]

It depends what disease you have. There are many so find out which one and then someone or the internet can say. Your gp should also be a good source of advice. In the meantime help drs by not doing anything you shouldnt.

[Hidden]

Hi acjb007,

We are fairly new to liver disease. Hubby had liver and kidney failure in Nov. 2015 and was diagnosed with cirrohsis then. He walked out of the hospital as a non-drinker and has stayed that way. We had his most recent liver doctor visit and he is still improving - slowly, but each small step is better than going backwards.

When hubby asked the doctor what his life expectancy is, the doctor said another 20 years is not out of the question. The main reason for the continued visits is to keep an eye out for liver cancer, we also have to be cautious of any infections.

The important things now are to pay attention and take care of himself. He is still on lactulose for HE and diuretics to keep fluids down, and a few other meds for different issues, but he is more active these days and busy around the house with porojects. so the kids and I are pleased.

Best wishes,

Mary

[Hidden]

As stated here my friend nothing is set in stone. If it was caused by alcohol and you have stopped drinking than the "insult" to the liver that caused the damage has been removed. Sometimes people who stop drinking with ALD can halt the progression entirely. All one can do is eat well exercise and keep up with your doctor to monitor it. It could progress. But it also could stabolize or it could regress. All are possibilities but one thing is for sure and that is if a person is compensated noone including doctors can put a time frame on it. Compensated is a safe base and you could very well stay on that base. This is why doctors dont generally give prognosis on compensated livers. Because they cant amd thats the bottom line. So chin up my friend you habe much life to live!

[Millie09 in reply to Hidden]

Great post! .. 👍

[Lperica10]

Well with my dad he lived with it for a while years and years over which he had complications (bleeding varices, ascites, diff levels being off, etc), yet he continued to drink. So he was well enough to do that. But he also had a bad accident drinking related and they told him if he continued to drink he would die within a year. Well he didn’t quit and he lived 4 more years. It wasn’t until they gave him the official “your liver is decompensated, you are in end stage, let’s take about hospice and sitting down with the family...” talk that he was actually dying. What I mean by this is the other times he was hospitalized they were able to “fix” him and send him on his way, fixing his temporary problem to his disease. And he continued on. The difference was “the end” was a decline, in front of our eyes, physically and mentally, with no getting better, only worse. When we asked how long he had they said they could only guess 1-6 mos. He lived about 5 from that. Hope this helps. Please feel free to ask me anything.