Thanks

[Miles7]

Hi guys I only joined up this site a few days ago.some great information from you.i think I've had better information in those few days than the 17 years I been out of hospital.whats the difference if you got liver chirrosis from drinking to chirrosis not from drinking then?mine was done from drinking I'm 43 now October the 24th this year will be 17 years to the day my last drop of alcohol. What about anyone else and how has it been?

[AyrshireK]

Cirrhosis is cirrhosis regardless of cause. My hubby is life long t-total and got cirrhosis due to auto immune liver disease (now showing as burned out). It had done it's damage before showing any symptoms and by the time symptoms did arise they were at the decompensated end of things. Cirrhosis is monitored now by 6 monthly scans and bloods, annual endoscopy plus dealing with all the other side effects of having cirrhosis (in his case mild HE, oesophageal varices, now no spleen after having it embolized, osteopenia and proper diet to ensure he fuels properly to prevent muscle wastage and such like).

He became compensated again fairly quickly and although he can't work any more just due to the nature of his previous job (welder in heavy engineering), can't drive due to HE, fatigue and concentration problems, suffers sleep disruption and chronic fatigue though he can push himself as he's done during this holiday with all the walking though today and been a BAD day and the heat and all our exertions of late really took it out of him and today he's spent a good portion of the day in bed sleeping.

Katie

[Miles7 in reply to AyrshireK]

Wow that's mad .sorry to hear that .I'm not saying everyday been easy living with my condition but nothing compared to your husband x

[Hidden]

Hi Miles.As Katie says cirrhosis is cirrhosis whatever the cause. However with it being caused by alcohol, the sufferer may be alcohol dependant so as well as having to deal with the many symptoms cirrhosis brings, he may have a mountain to climb in giving up the booze which is essential to survive the disease so doubly hard to cope with, not only for the sufferer but their family.

Laura

[Miles7 in reply to Hidden]

Yes tell me about it x

[Hidden in reply to Miles7]

Oh dear. How are you doing at the moment ? Lx

[Miles7 in reply to Hidden]

I'm Ok ish thanks .I've got a skin condition in a nasty place I've had for about 2 years but they put me on these injections now and it's alot better,but I've been in some pain over the last 2 years and took a lot of codien that they say you shouldn't be taking if your liver is damaged.im back in the gym now as the condition has eased off trying to lose weight.i hate my belly I look pregnant lol I think I've got ibs as I suffer with constabation aswell.i don't know if the swollen belly is down to my liver or just ibs.thats what I mean 17 years down the line and still hard work to get proper answers or help x

[Hidden in reply to Miles7]

Well you are doing all the right things to help look after your liver. IBS also settles with a healthy diet. I take it no more alcohol anymore either ? X

[Miles7 in reply to Hidden]

Yes still trying to find triggers that set me off.yeah 17 years not a drop since the day I come out of hospital.only the last few months I've been eating healthy though.my constant just told me to try probiotics. You know much about them?x

[Hidden in reply to Miles7]

Thats great all credit to you. No experience of probiotics with my husband..... long time ago !

[Miles7 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you x

[Str8jacket]

Your question about differences in types of cirrhosis is very interesting. For cirrhosis patients, there may be differences in treatments depending on cause. The main goal for cirrhosis patients is to stop the cause of liver damage, so for an alcoholic cirrhosis patient, stopping drinking will be critical. For a hep C patient, while any alcohol consumption will have to be stopped, an additional component will be treating the HCV. For an autoimmune hepatitis patient, immunosuppression will be critical to stop the body from attacking the liver. Advanced cirrhosis patients will generally see similar complications regardless of cause.

The pattern of scarring in cirrhosis will differ depending on cause. That is true both in terms of where in the liver scarring starts and is most extensive, and the pattern of how the liver responds with "regenerative nodules." Alcholic cirrhosis scarring seems to be most similar to NASH cirrhosis scarring-both tend to be relatively uniform throughout the liver and result in micronodular regeneration (don't let that term fool you into thinking healing--it's the liver's attempt to heal--generally unsuccessful for many reasons).

Here's a general discussion on various causes of cirrhosis, etc.:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK4...

The cause of cirrhosis (and especially how early the cirrhosis is caught) can also play a big role in determining how likely the cirrhosis is to reverse/stabilize. Cirrhosis caused by hepatitis viruses, autoimmune disease, and hemochromatosis seems to be more likely to stabilize/reverse when the underlying cause is treated than cirrhosis from alcohol and NASH. There is a lot of interesting research on this topic you can find readily on the internet if you do some searching. One summary of numerous studies:

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articl...

Finally, alcoholic cirrhosis may play out a bit differently from other types of cirrhosis because long-term alcohol abuse can cause all sorts of damage to the body that may complicate liver disease. Alcohol abuse can affect bone marrow and affect the immune system in many ways--it can destroy the pancreas making diabetes more likely. Alcohol abuse also creates a very unhealthy gut microbiome, and leads to gut permeability where more toxins and bacteria from the gut can pass easily into the bloodstream. This in turn can lead to a vicious cycle where those toxins can contribute to inflammation, HE, and continuing liver damage even after alcohol consumption is stopped. This gut permeability may also make bacterial infection from the gut more likely with alcoholic cirrhosis. These problems are also often present in NASH (bad diet high in sugar and fat also affects the gut microbiome and permeability). Other causes of cirrhosis do not necessarily cause these additional mechanisms of liver damage (may be why other types of cirrhosis tend to do a bit better when caught early).

pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/254...

journal-of-hepatology.eu/ar...

[Miles7 in reply to Str8jacket]

Thank you very helpful

[Hidden]

Hi Miles,

Welcome, we are really delighted you have found our forum helpful.

Here is a link to our cirrhosis information;

britishlivertrust.org.uk/wp...

Well done on your abstinence, a great achievement.

[Miles7 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you

[Gabe61]

Hi Miles. I was recently diagnosed with PBC and it really came as a shock. I am a sober alcoholic and have not had a sip of alcohol in over 24 years. Needless to say that I’m blown away that I have cirrhosis now and didn’t when I was drinking. The liver specialist told me that it has absolutely nothing to do with alcohol and that it’s an autoimmune disease. I guess for me, I’m grateful that it wasn’t my drinking that caused my disease. I did enough other damage in those days. Alcoholism is a disease in itself. Be proud of yourself for quitting. Get support from others. Take care of yourself and please keep us utd on how you’re doing! Big Hugs 🤗

[Miles7 in reply to Gabe61]

That's nice of you thank you.thats bad I've never heard of autoimmune disease hope your OK now? Yes iam proud but it had to be done.first I'd say 2 years I thought I would crack but got through it

[Gabe61 in reply to Miles7]

Autoimmune is simply where my immune system has gotten crazy and is attacking good cells in my liver causing cirrhosis. It’s PBC too. It’s been really hard. I’m so exhausted all the time. That’s the worst part so far. My dr put me on Urso so we’ll see if my liver enzymes are better in a month when I re-do all my bloodwork.Take it easy on yourself. Self care is so important and it’s ok to be proud of your accomplishment even if it had to be done. Thank you for chatting with me. I just feel so alone with this damn disease!

[Miles7 in reply to Gabe61]

Aww that's sad,and thank you.i hope it improves for you.and don't feel alone just send me a message anytime

[Gabe61 in reply to Miles7]

Thank you for that 😊