Waiting for liver transplant

[Ralphyw]

Hi this is Ralph’s daughter Ashley who joined up for help with my dad, how do you cope with the constant nausea feeling in between getting drained every 2 weeks the sickness tablets don’t seem to be helping

[Hidden]

Welcome to the forum. It's quiet on here ATM for us all with Christmas.

I've been fortunate not having experienced the acute symptoms you've mentioned therefore I can't assist you further. Those who have or have had will be along later.

Bare with us. 😇

[Sophieatkinson]

A different anti nausea may help, my husband finds ondanestron that melts on your tongue quite good,also taking regular protein shots along with a sweet drink, since nausea can be created by your body using muscles for protein source, eat low g I carbohydrate every couple of hours even when you don’t want to. Porridge, granola bars, dark chocolate. Your dad cd also try weekly drains for a bit if he is more nauseous as he fills up with fluid. All of these have helped Andy.

Hope it gets better. X

[Robbie21]

Hi Ashley,

My husband has recently had a liver transplant at 68. He had really bad nausea and projectile vomitting that were initially relieved only by ascitic drains. He had a dramatic weight and muscle mass loss. He followed the rules described by Sophie, ondanestron three times a day with maxolon added in for the times prior to ascitic drain. The antiemetics did help along with change in diet and frequency. We had a most helpful dietician who saw us each week to ensure that he was optimised pre transplant. I truly believe that he would not have survived the surgery without this help. Get the dietitans help, they did weekly assessment of muscle mass, strenght etc. They got loads of samples of high protein, high carb drinks, jelly's and protein shots. They made a personalised plan encompassing all of the above. They gave helpful hints dealing with the nausea. When he hit his targets the build up of ascities did slow down which helped with reduction of nausea and comfort.

Post transplant many comments were made by the medical staff as to how well he had been nutrictionally optimised. Which is really important as he's lost 15kg in a couple of months post transplant. You will find something that works for your dad, as Sophie said sometimes increasing the frequency of his drains helps.

It is very hard and disheartening and at times food became a battle ground between us, the intervention of the dietition was really helpful with this. I used to leave protein / carb snacks near by for grazing. The dietition also gave targets of 130 grams of protein a day and 2 hrly carbs with 50 grams of carbs pre bedtime. I found a food diary helpful for achieving targets and also showing progress or where changes needed to be made.

Hope this helps as I wish we had concentrated on his nutrition more before he lost so much weight.

I hope things go well for your dad. Has your dad had his pre transplamt assessment as they put a huge emphasis on nutriction and dealing with nausea symptoms.?

Feel free to PM me if you want to chat

[Caretaker76 in reply to Robbie21]

Thank you for this!!!

[Robbie21 in reply to Caretaker76]

Hope it helps. I think not enough emphasis is put on nutriction. If you can, go to appts with your Dad. I found my husband was exhausted and didn't tell the "true picture", unless they're honest about the problems no-one can help.

Stick in there, your Dad is Lucky to have your support.

[Sophieatkinson in reply to Robbie21]

Yes we have had furious rows about food too.

[Robbie21 in reply to Sophieatkinson]

I never thought I'd have to nag about food and fluids intake. I felt like it was a huge issue and nobody warns you about it. I don't think there is enough support from dietitics until the latter stage of decompensated Liver disease. Early intervention would be helpful in optimising our loved ones.

[Hidden]

Hi Ashley, I hope that your Dad is doing better this week!

My husband had a number of drainings as well for his ascites but the fluid would build back up very quickly too. Once he was approved for diuretics, they helped immensely. His stomach is flat now and he no longer requires drainings. The very swollen feet/ankles/legs are back to normal too. Is your Dad on diuretics? If not, they might help him if the specialist feels that they are an option. Also a Very low salt diet was recommended for my husband and many others here, I've read. Best Wishes.