Hubby has cirrhosis, spent 2+ weeks in hospital recently having ascites drained and getting weight and diuretics balanced.
Home nearly a week and continuing to drink (approx 2bottles of wine daily). He has money so expects it to be there, although given the current financial situation we're in, that money could buy food or fuel (we're on solid fuel, no mains gas and he's permanently cold so I'm spending a fortune on firewood)
He's barely eating, despite promising the dietitian he would try, and seems to have lost all interest in life. Sleeping so much.
I've given up work to care for him. Feel useless cos I can't do anything to make him feel there is an alternative way to live.
How do you all cope?
Written by
MrsWorried
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Most General and Regional hospitals now employ specialist alcohol liaison nurses.
If a patient is admitted into the hospital with an alcohol-related condition, then they should be visited by an alcohol liaison nurses. They will try and engage with the patient and find out the extent of their drinking problem. They should then come up with a plan of action to try and get the person involved with some form of recovery and if need be, make an appointment for them to see a mental health specialist to deal with any emotional trauma or counselling. They can also make a referral for a detox program and refer them to a locally run drug and alcohol support group. This is a sort of thing these specialist nurses should be doing: bfwh.nhs.uk/our-services/al...
But It would appear that the services covered by these specialist nurses can vary from hospital to hospital.
Either way, the hospital’s alcohol support team should write and send the action plan to the patient's doctor. And if need be, the patient should be seen at a routine follow-up outpatient appointment.
The patient's GP should be the overseer in this alcohol recovery. This is because the NHS has become fragmented in many areas, with mental health being looked after and run by a separate NHS trust to that of the main hospital.
I would go back to your husband’s GP and ask about the hospital’s alcohol support team and if they have recieved any correspondence from the alcohol liaison nurses. I would also ask if while in the hospital your husband had been assessed for HE (Hepatic Encephalopathy). Hepatic encephalopathy can be graded using the Conn score (also called West Haven classification) in which higher scores indicate higher severity. They should have done this, but many doctors and hospitals don’t follow this NICE guideline.
If you and your husband share the same GP, you should be able to share any concerns with them.
Thank you Richard, there is definitely a gap between hospital and community, not helped by living in an area where services are provided by two health boards. He has engaged with local addiction team but their softly softly approach seems to encourage him to think it's okay to drink!
Following in-patient admission he is on list for outpatient appt with liver team so we wait for this - hopefully not too long.
it was 4 or 5 bottles earlier in the year but he has cut it down now, just extremely tough to quit and / or doesn't feel he needs to. Still think he's in denial. Thanks for your input anyway, I know it's up to him - not
Quitting is awful, I've still not given up totally. But going from 5 to 2 bottles is a great step for him. I found quitting my addiction to opiates and valium easier than the booze. I know it's hard for you but
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Cirrhosis and disability. 
Newbie here - supporting my dad through Cirrhosis
