I have just put together a short video illustrating the dangers of driving with HE.
So, Why shouldn’t people who have been diagnosed with having Hepatic Encephalopathy be allowed to carry on driving?
After all, they’ve been driving for years, “there’s nothing wrong with my driving, I’m fine”.
A person can be feeling perfectly fine one minute, but then the next, a HE episode could occur totally without warning.
But it’s not so much about you, but about the safety and respect of all the other road users and their passengers that you are putting at risk. Also it should be noted, that if you have been told not to drive by a medical healthcare professional, and you continue to do so, then your car insurance is no longer valid.
This short clip highlights what can happen when driving with HE. (I have blanked out the swear words used by the other drivers so as not to offend).
The people and cars featured in this video may well not have HE, but I am using these video clips to illustrate the point: youtu.be/VzeFgaKGRvo
Written by
Richard-Allen
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I'm not really pleased with that video as I'm not sure it proves that those two car drivers suffer HE unless you know them two car drivers personally, it's not a good example at all, as matter of fact its actually comes across as insinuating to patients that have suffered greatly with HE as I did for 17years prior to my transplant 3years ago.??
Hepatic Encephalopathy isn’t an exact science as it does change from person to person. However, some of the basic symptoms can include forgetfulness, frustration, sudden mood change, happiness one moment, then vocal and volatile the next. My personal experience was not being able to multitask and becoming confused, forgetful and very frustrated, which in turn would turn to anger.
I have a friend up in North Wales, Charlie, who would lose all his inhibitions, and I know of another lady down in Southend who would take off all her clothes. This is Charlie and his wife Angie talking about their HE experiences: youtu.be/LdWhPUIWt1I
People have been known to drive down the motorway on the wrong side of the road. They can become confused and disorientated. But to them, everything seems normal. People who have lived in the same village all their lives, and know every road, can become confused and lost.
There was a sad case a few years ago, that some of us on here will recall. A man from Liverpool who suffered from HE had a variceal bleed one evening. The ambulance was called, but in his mind nothing was wrong, so he refused all medical treatment and to go to the hospital. The ambulance crew then left, and he sadly died that night.
When a person is diagnosed with having HE. They should be told not to drive. It is the responsibility of the driver to notify the DVLA of this change in their ability to drive safely. In some cases, the doctor may do this themselves. (See "Alcohol-related disorders"): gov.uk/guidance/drug-or-alc...
It should be remembered that there is no course of treatment for Encephalopathy. Lactulose, Neomycin, and Rifaxmin are there to reduce the production of ammonia and prevent the growth of friendly bacteria that produce ammonia. They are used to prevent further brain damage, however, there is no treatment to deal with the brain damage that has already been caused.
Those people who are fortunate enough to receive a liver transplant may still have some residual issues post-transplant. I still have some issues with confusion, in writing and doing intricate things like trying to thread a needle, can become very frustrating.
When I spoke to Charlie about of his HE experiences, his wife confirmed that having had HE, before his liver transplant, post-transplant he still wasn’t the same man he use to be.
It should also be noted that there is a condition called “Alzheimer type II astrocyte” which is associated with Hepatic Encephalopathy. This condition can have much more lasting effects: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alzhe...
The idea of putting this video together was to try and highlight the dangers of HE. For the best part, a person who suffers an HE episode may not know about their change in personality or behaviour, to them everything is perfectly normal. Driving down the wrong side of the road, perfectly normal. Refusing to go to the hospital with internal bleeding, perfectly normal. Taking all your clothes off in the middle of Tesco’s, perfectly normal.
The point behind putting this video together was to try and show the impact a person's actions can have upon others. The bottom line should be “If you have been diagnosed with having Hepatic Encephalopathy then don’t risk driving, for your own safety and the safety of others”.
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