Hi, my husband really enjoys eating fruit and he doesn’t have much of an appetite so I though fruit must be good but is it? Is some fruit better then others?
He saw the consultant today at the gastro clinic 3 months after going into hospital yellow and swollen. Blood tests are almost normal just one enzyme not quite right. The consultant said that there is some scarring but noticed his confusion and wants an MRI done of his head, should I be worried. I asked about going abroad and he said there was no problem with him travelling. I asked if this is as good as it gets and he said it can get better but the condition is chronic and can sometimes lead to other things so that’s why we will keep an eye on him.
Thanks
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Bs1524
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I had an MRI brain scan when I was having some HE episodes. They didn’t tell me why until much later - they were looking for Parkinson's disease. Instead they found quite a lot of what I call white fluff - at least that’s what it looked like on the screen when he showed me.😁. Officially it is mild vascular cerebral disease. It has never ever been mentioned since so I don’t think about it any more 😁. So, in my case - and I hope your husband’s - nothing to worry about.
Has your husband been having HE episodes.
Re fruit - I wasn’t allowed grapefruit - still aren’t even post TP. Something to do with the tablets but I’m sorry I can’t remember which ones!
Hope you get things sorted and the MRI scan is OK.
I personally like "white fluff" rather than mild vascular cerebral disease. But then, I was disappointed to learn the moon isn't really made of cheese! 👍😅🧀
Also anti rejection drugs. At the TP info session they said after TP no grapefruit, no pomegranate or permisson fruit (aka Sharon fruit). They contain an enzyme that interacts with the drugs. I think statins are the same too??
Also, maybe it's the white fluff holding your brain together!! Just imagine how boring you'd be if you always remembered stuff!!
Aha so it’s a double whammy for grapefruit 👎🏻. Thank you Wass. We were given so many separate sheets of paper when we left the QEHB that they they all got mixed up in other paperwork. I said to one of the TP coordinators some months later that they should produce a little booklet that had all the generic information like this in it - i.e. all the dos and donts post a TP (including travel rules!). She thought it a good idea and would look into it! Never heard any more ☹️
How much more boring I’d be you mean 😁. My daughter used to call me a boring old fa*t when I was about 45.. hee hee indeed 😆
Wass71 - you said "permission fruit". That's very funny. You mustn't eat permission fruit, ever, or that means you can do what you can't do whenever you eat it.
Berry fruits are very good and Kiwi fruit is supposed to be very good. I think most fruits are deemed to be ok. There's a bit of controversy over bananas (not sure why without looking it up) and grapefruit in any form to be avoided if you are on meds for diabetes type 2 (not sure about Type 1) Regards Alf
Bs1524 - could you make him a fruit smoothie and add in a few oats, cashew nuts, to give him a bit more nourishment? Important that it is just a smaller amount 250-300ml at a time because it is easy to consume but difficult for an irritated liver to process.
I was told to stop eating bananas because I had extremely high potassium levels which it messes with the body’s electrolytes and can cause heart failure so I’m told but research it but pls don’t quote me.paul
That's interesting. I was hospitalized once, a year before I was diagnosed with cirrhosis, with LOW potassium levels. My heartbeat was erratic and my BP was high, due to dehydration. My diuretic was switched to a potassium sparing one.
Complicated our bodies aren’t they.with my high potassium they actually gave me sodium bicarbonate tablets till the levels came down.dont know what they call it in the states but here we also use it as a raising agent for cakes lol
Hi, I'd say fruit is brilliant, anything that contains fibre will help to keep the bowels moving. As treatment for HE involves avoiding constipation it seems sensible to prevent it. From my own experience of nausea and poor appetite if you're able to eat something and control the nausea then your appetite can improve. The more you eat the more hungry you feel. It's worked for me, and now I'm fat!! I was joking with my Hepatologists I must be the only liver patient to increase my weight.
I hope his appetite improves, and the mri test come back normal.
I too gain weight with cirrhosis I was at 110 first diagnosed no 183 first need to gain weight now need to loose weight and I was eating right now at 174 still losing. I just had to get that in. peppy05
That's good to know, not good but you know what I mean. I had the exact same thing. Dr saying I was too thin, so dietitian said eat everything, as much as you want. It does stop nausea, but eventually it catches up. I seem to have put on 20kg in the last year!!! I've yet to start losing it, but it's going to have to happen, because I've been obese before and I didn't like it x
Sorry to hear that you're having a tough time. Has He been mentioned? Avoid grapefruit if husband is only immune suppressants, even pre transplant, as it interferes with some meds. I'd seek advice from this clinical team. Good luck.
He is taking the lactulose and his after initially losing weight he has gained weight and stabilised it and now wearing trousers that he used to fit into years ago. I am doing the best to think up meals to get him to eat and now he always eat his evening meal, and porridge for breakfast and during the day it is mostly sweets and fruit. He has never been a sweetie eater and I am sure the sweets are interfering with his appetite. Oh and he loves yoghurts so I am making lots of different ones to keep him going he also has the protein drinks and shakes as well. He has never been a big eater he used to be a jump jockey so always on a diet so eating breakfast is a big deal for him.
Bs1524 - the sweets are likely also to be because he hasn't had breakfast. If you can get some protein in early, as it takes longer to digest than carbs, it would slow down his need for sweet eating. Food needs to be eaten at smaller amounts more frequently than three meals a day because troubled liver doesn't store energy like a healthy liver does. Be sure that you are looking after yourself equally because you need caring for just as much.
He does have some porridge often followed by a protein drink. I keep telling him to space it out, but will he listen. At least he has put on some weight and stabilised. Thanks x
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