Update on My Father's Cirrhosis - Seems Stable

[zvhipp]

Hello,

As we found out about my father's Cirrhosis in February after we noticed his swollen stomach. His Ascites of 2.5ltr was drained in on Feb 23, 2019. It was followed by Endoscopy where grade 3 varices were diagnosed. He never had bleeding, but doctors recommended banding, so he had it done in 3 sessions and during last one doc said he will no longer need banding, this should be it. Now, he is due for endoscopy next month, just to see if all OK inside.

In beginning, His Live Function Tests were not that high. Results from February 2019 - (Hemoglobin - 10.8, Platelets - 148000, Total Protein - 7, Albumin 2.8, AST - 64, ALT - 42, Bilirubin - 1.52, Creatinine - 1.85).

During this months, he was also given Pneumonia 23 vaccine & Shanvac B Vaccine (After taking his Hemoglobin was dropped to 9.2, Platelets - 104000).

As we live in India, Doctors here are all about business (Milking Money without proper guidance or giving time to discuss the matter with patient), which we experienced and didn't know where we stood.

He never smoked or drank, but he had jaundice back in 2002 (Hepatitis B test came negative with traces of it) and had diabetes, hypertension since 20 years. So taking medicines for that or actual conditions may have caused cirrhosis. Doctors are not clear about the cause.

So I myself started looking around, lots of diet plans, what may cause his Creatinine spike up and down as he also has CKD, Diabetics type 2, Blood Pressure and most importantly, what will help liver or to start with what will strain his liver. Since, I was not getting answers, and finding that Allopathy doesn't cure Cirrhosis as there is no medicines for it presently. And we can't do liver transplant - Its costly, plus there is a rick due to other conditions. So It's all about controlling the symptoms and halt or slow the progress.

So, I tried Ayurveda after reading a lots of reviews where positive results were there, discussed with patients who were cured of the condition by Ayurveda where Doctors had given up.

Result from Previous Month after starting Ayurveda Medicine - ALT 26, AST 44, Albumin 3.2, Total Protein 7.2, Bilirubin 0.9, Creatinine 2.06 (Due to Diuretics), Hemoglobin 9.4 (It's coming up since fluctuating after taking Pneumonia 23 Vaccine), Platelets 128000, Weight 68.1 KG.

He did have little fluid 360cc in stomach in previous month, his weight reached 71.5kg Swollen Legs, and edema was there, specially Ankle but as I had suspected it was due to Cilnidipine tablet - A calcium Channel Blocker for Hypertension. After changing that, He is now at 67KG - within 4 weeks dropped 4KGs - No more Swelling of Legs - very minimal. Its hot weather here so he does drink almost 1.5ltr water plus we give him strict diet where sodium doesn't exceed 1500mg, mostly given veg and rice etc which are good for liver and kidney.

Overall, he feels energetic - very much normal. He feels hungry, eats normal. He has lost a good amount of Muscles though. For which Now, I will give him little extra protein rich food which will be easy on liver and kidney so he can maintain body mass in healthy number.

Presently, we are happy but I know how quickly things can change, so keeping him on the edge where he stays on healthy course only. The thing I have learnt is, Cirrhosis is not the end of the road, its just that road gets narrow where we can't make lazy mistakes or take things lightly. Just have to be extra cautious of not doing anything stupid or foolish in excitement. It may not be cured but certainly can be controlled to live a healthy life.

Thanks.

[moonbeam4]

Thanks for the update which I am still mulling over, very iinteresting to me as I was concidering the ayurueda route myself a while ago after reading some interesting studies. Please let me know how things progress. I didn,t see it anywhere in your post but I presume that he,s been tested for Hep C?. It was hep C that caused my cirhosis ( i also drank). After hep treatment and following a healthy plant based diet etc i am now doing well and feel healthier than i have in years. You sound very knowledgeable regarding his diet and it certainly sounds as though you,re on the right tracks with his current treatment, so long may it continue and my best wishes to you both. I also now have no further ascites nor require banding and my fibroscan score ( which was off the chart at 75 plus, continues to fall dramatically ). look forward to further updates m.b 😀

[zvhipp in reply to moonbeam4]

Hi, No he didnt get tested for Hep C. Doctors didn't bother to do that and also didn't do fibroscan or biopsy. As I said, they are just more interested in milking money, that was the sole reason for me to do what we can ourselves to improve his health. As it is he was just given Vitamin b12 and Vitamin E by Doctor, no other medicine for liver. His other doctor did give Microliv Forte tablet = contains L-Ornithine L-Aspartate, Silymarin and Metadoxine but that was stopped as he was feeling constipated and doctor who did banding, didn't care if he take it or not.

So, visited Ayurveda Hospital. Since, he has Hypertesion, Diabetics Type 2, CKD - They can't perform a treatment on him which is called 'Panchkarma' - cleaning total body and then they start natural medicine therapy to rejuvenate the system. We were just prescribed over the counter medicine - one is liver kidney care by organic India and other is Amlycure DS Tablet. So far working good.

There are many other options in ayurveda where Doctor strictly puts on diet of Goat or Cow Milk only for few weeks to month with their own blend of medicines. The testimonials of the patients were positive but since my father's condition was not that bad, they just asked us to carry on with this tablets.

Please note that we have took this path because we were not properly attended by doctors plus treatment is costly, which we would have managed somehow if doctors had even shown some wisdom or courtesy to discuss. This may not work for everyone. This is just our experience I am sharing but it may vary person to person based on their condition.

[KatoombaNSW in reply to zvhipp]

Thank you for that detailed post,and supplementary information..We all experience cirrhosis in different ways..It is frustrating that no medicine is available..I live in Australia,and here too doctors do not seem very keen to talk to their patients much..I had to shop for a specialist till I found one who would answer my questions properly..Still, what is prescribed is a high protein low sugar low salt diet,plus exercise..I am taking B12 and Vitamin E supplements on my own,after getting it past the specialist..He didn't think it would help much,but he said it would not hurt either.. My only treatment has been banding of varicies which is ongoing..The specialist thinks I will need 3 more procedures before they are eliminated ( I have done 3 so far>..). Your father is very lucky to have you so concerned and involved in his treatment..I am doing it largely on my own,and it is tough at times..My best wishes to you both.. Matteo