frequency of appointments etc.

[Seekingadvice247]

Hello,

I’ve got a relative who suffers from cirrhosis badly and isn’t in a good health. Unfortunately they refuse to quit the booze and a transplant is out the window. A ticking time bomb you could say.

This relative is not very honest and seems to act as if there’s no problem however will attend his medical appointments at a push.

Can anyone tell me what the general routine is terms of hospital visits, appointments etc. they seem to have six monthly to yearly appointments with gastro and have blood tests and ultrasounds. Since the pandemic these have mostly been on the phone.

He seems to have a lot of blood tests at the GP’s but we get told these are for other health conditions.

We never get told what is discussed in these appointments apart from “no further damage” however he is clearly suffering from numerous symptoms and bouts of HE.

Any help is greatly appreciated

[AyrshireK]

The NICE (National Institute for Care Excellence) guidelines stipulate that minimum monitoring for cirrhosis are 6 monthly bloods (including Alpha Fetoprotein - liver tumour marker), 6 monthly ultrasound scans and regular endoscopies to check for varices etc. (this varies from patient to patient - my hubby is at yearly intervals for this having previously been every 5-8 weeks).Obviously some sort of appointment to feed back and monitor - covid has impacted majorly on this. My hubby only saw his consultant in February of this year having last seen any doctor in January 2019. He hasn't had any consultations either f-2-f or over the phone during the whole pandemic.

[BritishLiverTrust6 Moderator British Liver Trust]

Dear Seekingadvice247,

If you are in the UK and would find it useful to talk things over, our nurse-led helpline is open Monday to Friday from 10am to 3pm on 0800 652 7330 (excluding bank holidays)

Best wishes

British Liver Trust