3 day assessment smoker

[Whitelock]

Hubby got to 3 day assestment at addensebrook cambridge. We know then if transplant is needed. He is a smoker and trying to quit. Will this impact decision. If he can have a transplant.

[Hidden]

Ask the Liver Trust helpline but I am certain that they would prefer that he stopped smoking, right now.

[Poobear69 in reply to Hidden]

Hi there! Did your husband get listed?

[Whitelock in reply to Poobear69]

Hi he had drain today and feel loads better and signed paperwork today to be on the list. So very happy and hopefully will not have to wait too long.

[Poobear69]

I smoked up and until I was assessed . Got a stern slapped wrist and I made an agreement to quit and I was listed and received my liver in 5 days. This is my experience and it may vary from consultant to consultant and hospital to hospital. Ask him to stop now before assessment. They seem to be ok if you vape or wear patches. Fingers crossed and the very best of luck!

[Hidden]

Hi Whitelock

Stopping smoking is an important component of preparing yourself for transplant and maintaining your health after transplant.

Because health issues are often complex and many liver transplants patients take different kinds of medications, it’s very important to talk with your doctor before starting any smoking cessation product.

You may find our publication on liver transplantation useful to read;

britishlivertrust.org.uk/li...

However, it is important to speak to the liver team to get further specific advice and support.

Hope that is helpful,

Best wishes

Trust1

[Poobear69 in reply to Hidden]

Just noticed this post. I did not intend to offer medical advice I was simply sharing MY experience.

[Hidden]

One thing that does come to mind is that a liver transplant can take up to five hours to complete and this is not including any possible complications that can arise during the procedure, It's not just about switching over livers, it's about all the other bits of plumbing that has be done. During this time your husband's progress will be monitored by the anaesthetist, being a smoker could have some impact as to your husbands breathing during the operation.

This also poses a moral dilemma. When a person goes onto the liver transplant waiting list, not only is there a strict code of practise that needs to be adhered to during the assessment phase, but one of the conditions that has to be met is to improve the quality of life. If that someone was to continue to abuse and compromise their health by smoking then should they still be considered as a suitable candidate?

someone has to decided who gets the liver when one becomes available. Ordinarily it would always firstly be offered to the most urgent of cases. If say for example you had two people on the list, both with identical liver conditions and both needing the liver. One of those patients was a smoker, and the other was a non smoker, who would you decide who gets the liver?

If nothing else this should prompt for a healthy debate, as we rarely get to think about those people who have to make these life saving choices.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hi richard

Good points!

Only up to 5 hours though? I thought it more than that - mine was 😁.

Indeed, I mean you are having a transplant so you can live longer - this doesn’t seem, to me, to be compatible with continuing to smoke. I know it’s not exactly the same as giving up drinking but giving up drinking is blurry hard too!

Miles

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

I totally agree with you Miles, ask any addict which is the hardest substance to quit and they'll tell you it's alcohol. This is why I always try to get a person to try and remember why they started drinking in the first place. I was talking to a lady on Monday who was telling me that her husband never gets drunk, but always opens a beer every night at 6:00pm. For this guys its a habit. He's never stopped to think why, or even if he really wants it. All he knows is that it's 6:00pm and this is what he does.

What's that saying they have up in Yorkshire, "Nowt as queer as folk".

Many, Many years ago I was station out in Berlin while in the RAF. I was on a bus one day going to work and it was raining pretty hard. I actually saw a young fraulein standing out in the pouring rain watering her garden. I ask the drive about this, and he told me that it was a habit thing and that at 9:00am every Wednesday she watered the garden, and today was a Wednesday.

It's a bit like the people who call in the pub each night on the way home from work. It's not that they need or even want a drink, it's because this is what they do. The problem is, when does a habit become an addiction?

[Supportinghubby in reply to Hidden]

That's interesting to read Richard. The 6 o clock drink was exactly the same as my husband. He never got drunk & never particularly enjoyed it either. Now he's stuck with cirhhosis. As soon as he found out he had it he stopped drinking & says he doesn't miss it. If only he could have had a warning before he got to cirrhosis he would have stopped drinking much earlier. Keep educating people, people just don't think enough about their drinking habits.

[Hidden in reply to Hidden]

Hehe Richard I’m queer (as in your terminology) then because, whether I needed it or not, if the sun had gone over the yard arm I was good to go.

Yes I know I was an idiot!

Miles

[davianne in reply to Hidden]

Your absolutely right Richard. I never got drunk, and it was just habit and not addiction. I am mildly OCD, and I wonder that I mentally set up a time for a drink, and just continued it until I was diagnosed 2.5 years ago, when I gave up the drink without any withdrawal symptoms or cravings.

David

[Hidden in reply to davianne]

Thanks for that David, I am pretty much interested in anything Liver these days, and now and again something comes along that makes you think. I found this article a while back. and now believe that a lot of our bodies mysteries lie with the immune system. Not only can the immune system be a cause of depression, but a team from University of Adelaide, Australia have successfully turned off the impulse to drink alcohol in mice by giving them a drug that blocks a specific response from the immune system in the brain. (Why mice need to drink alcohol in the first place is beyond me): rdmag.com/article/2017/09/i...

I thought you might find this interesting.

[davianne in reply to Hidden]

Many thanks for the link Richard, I will have a read. Interesting info on the immune system. I suffer with depression sometimes, usually, but not exclusively, when my cirrhosis throws new symptoms at me. My default state is Happy, so it really concerns me when I get moody or snappy at people. I do have mild HE though.

David

[Hidden in reply to davianne]

I also use this story on my website, "Could an overactive immune system cause depression?": taep.co.uk/research.htm

Or the same story can be found here: bbc.co.uk/news/av/health-39...

[alfredthegreat]

Hi there. I had my assessment and transplant at Addenbrookes . At assessment I was asked if I smoked. I tried it when I was about 16 but I suffered with really bad asthma from the age of 10 to the age of 21 and so it was a total non starter for me and I never took it up later in life and so my answer to the transplant team was obviously no and so no more questions were asked. I would imagine had I said yes that the next question would have been for how long and how many a day? I'm not sure how the answers to those questions would affect their decision re transplant but I'm sure that they would want him to stop. .........Also a big plus, think the money he'll save! Wishing him all the best at assessment. Alf

[Paulwil]

I had my transplant at Kings. They have a strict non smoking policy before you are listed.

This rule was certainly an incentive for me!

[1football]

I had my assessment & transplant at addenbrookes and although I didn’t smoke I remember it being a big no no so he really needs to stop now.

As for up to 5 hours surgery I was down for 11 and all went like clockwork

Good luck

Huw

[alfredthegreat in reply to 1football]

Me too Football. 11 hours and Addenbrookes.

[Hidden]

Hi Whitelock,

I have no idea about smoking and transplant and I see Trust1 and others on here have sent you excellent replies, so that's good.

Hubby [cirrhosis] and myself are trying to quit smoking - he does much better than I do at cutting back. He is trying to quit in order to have a new ankle and I was told by my cancer surgeon that once I've healed all the way the next steps are weight loss [sigh and duh] and quit smoking.

I can tell you what we hear. Smoking slows healing - sometimes it is not as major an issue and other times it apparently makes a major difference. As always listen to the advice of the doctors and nurses as they see these differences first hand.

Best wishes to your hubby and yourself,

Mary

[Whitelock]

Hi all thank you for all your replies. Jason is having the ascites drain Tuesday. Does anyone know when tummy is swollen and you have this. Does it impact breathing? He get upstairs and totally out of breath. We received some amazing news Friday. He’s on the transplant list.

[jojokarak in reply to Whitelock]

It does effect the breathing I couldn't get up the stairs because it was so bad, I used to go A&E when it was that bad as I couldn't wait for the scheduled drain appointment it ended up me going twice a week

And great news he is on the list I hope it's not a long wait x