Around February last year my dad had decided to stop drinking as his friend had told him he looked yellow. Obviously the damage had already been done and he was suffering with really bad fluid in the stomach. He went to hospital and has had a few drains and put on medications. He had decompensated liver Cirrhosis. He’s has been doing very well recently, with his blood tests going back to almost normal if not normal range. His liver specialist not needing to see him as often and scans every 6 months. Fast forward to yesterday, he told me he had a coughing fit felt very lightheaded and fell over, cut his arm up quite badly. Decided to go to bed. Then yesterday morning was coughing up blood and blood in his stools. Spoke to nhs 111 who called an ambulance. He has been in hospital since. Yesterday he was very sleepy and dizzy but today he has seemed to deteriorate quite quickly, he is very confused and agitated and won’t let the doctors do any procedures (this is not like him) they obviously want to put the tube down into his stomach to determine where and what the bleed is. The doctor also said he is looking quite yellow. I am just very confused as I saw him on Friday and he was absolutely fine in himself and had been at work. His blood test have been good (as far as he’s been telling me) and he has not had a drink now for 7 months. This has all seemed to come on from him having a fall so very confused. Can any one shed some light or give me any advice?
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Emmyn91
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Sorry to hear about your dads condition and recent deterioration.
It sounds like something has happened to tip his liver back into a decompensated state - sometimes even having what would be a fairly minor infection in a healthy person can do this so perhaps he's had a bug of late and it's affected his liver again.
It sounds likely that he's having a bleed (possibly from varices) and his aggitated/confused state could either be a result of having an infection (UTI's can commonly cause confusion like states) or he has a build up of toxins in his blood stream which may be affecting his brain - in liver disease this is called Hepatic Encephalopathy. HE can affect balance and cognitive function and more and is usually treated with Lactulose and Rifaximin in combination.
Dad is in the right place and hopefully they can get him stablized a.s.a.p.
The British Liver Trust has some very good information on Cirrhosis and Hepatic Encephalopathy at:-
Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I think I can remember the last time I attended his liver specialist appointment with him he did not have the toxin in his blood stream, but this was a good few months ago (if that is even the same toxin) I also thought varices, just hoping they can get the procedure done. Next step is to do it under general anaesthetic so hopefully they can move on with that ASAP. It’s all a huge shock as like I said we thought he was doing really well. And as you all know it’s very tricky with covid, the doctors are keeping me updated but it’s so much information it’s hard to keep track. Dad is too confused to speak at the moment I think that’s the hardest thing for us but like you say he is definitely in the best place. Thank you so much for the information I will have a read through now. Emma
I'm sorry, that is such a shame when your dad has been doing everything correctly and still ends up being unwell.
Katie (as usual) has covered the important points and posted 2 very good links that are good reading.
The only thing I would add is, I hope he allows them to use the gastroscope. I really didn't like it and bucked like a wild horse while two nurses held me still and spoke gently and reassuringly to me, it is not a nice feeling, but I would do it again without hesitation because it serves a very good purpose.
I hope he is quickly back to his former self and gets home soon
Hi Dave,Thank you so much for taking the time to respond it really means a lot.
Yes I hope so too, but unfortunately this is not his usual self as the nurse told me he isn’t really speaking in proper sentences. He will have it done one way or another as they will have him under general anaesthetic is the next step so fingers crossed they can get it done ASAP.
Update on dad, he has had the procedure under general anaesthetic, which has been successful. He has had 3 bands put on. He is currently on a ventilator, as they are concerned about him being confused and agitated again and don’t want him to do himself damage. They may wake him up later today, or if not tomorrow. Fingers crossed things start to improve for him.Emma
That is good news that everything went well with the banding. He's in the best place right now and keeping him asleep (even for 24 hours) is probably for the best. It will give him a little time to recover without him exerting himself or getting too animated.
I'm glad dogbot kindly gave you the benefit of his experience so you know what to expect when dad comes home but I'm sure he will be ok because it sounds as though he will have a very caring daughter making sure he is ok.
Hi Emma Katie and Dave have given you some great information, if it turns out your dad has HE you are going to have to be very patient, I had HE when I was in Kings College Hospital, luckily the nurses knew me and when my wife turned up to see me I had her pull the curtains round and told her I killed an old lady with a gun last night she said where did you get an old lady from in the ward 😂. But I’m afraid it’s very real for the person going through it. So I wish you all the best patience in the world you will need them , my wife came from Gatwick airport to London to see me and I told her to go away 🙈, I loved seeing my wife but your just not yourself. Good luck wishing you all the best 💕.Stay Safe All
Hi Dogbot,Thank you for taking the time to reply and the tip that everything might not be ok straight away. I will be very patient with dad and hopefully within time he will be back to his usual self.
Hi just a little update on dad, I find writing on here and getting it off my chest can help. Also just hoping for a miracle at this point :(Dad is still asleep, his kidneys have started failing and he only has small amounts of urine (whatever that means) and his liver is in a bad way too. Over night he was a bit more stable and they have slightly lowered his oxygen and blood pressure meds. I just feel like I don’t know what any of this means 😩 my head is just so full of information. If anyone has any questions I should try asking the doctors that would be greatly helpful.
Thanks,
Emma.
Hi Emmyn91, I'm so sorry to hear about your dad - if you are in the UK and would like to talk, our nurse led helpline is open Monday to Friday (it closes on Thursday this week for a break over Christmas) between 10am and 3pm on 0800 652 7330. We are here for you and I can see that the other forum members have been of support to you too.Take care
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