Different options?

[Segy]

Hello people.I have put a few post up regarding advice but bear with me I'm not all that with phone tech n tinternet🙃

I went for TIPs operation last week, but it was unsuccessful due to my portal vein being tuff.

I'm hoping n praying that they will try again.

I've asked but waiting for next week's ascetic drain to ask,beg and pray that they will more than anything.

Then I got a phone call from lung function department regarding a test for transplant!!!!

Seriously wasn't expecting it n as scared me to death😳

I no this site probably prefers pharmaceuticals n surgery but my question is......

As any body tried natural ways to alleviate sorocis and water retention. Obviously diet n every thing? Maybe giving me the chance ov not going under the knife? I mainly ask because ov I feel left I. The dark with my doctors n nurses, specialists n what not. And obviously I feel they would always use the pharmaceutical companies as they pay the bills. I do not mean any disrespect it's just I don't feel like I been given the care or support I much need.

Sorry for such a long post I feel lost.

All the best people. 👍

[Grassroots112]

I’m sorry you are going through this right now and hopefully they can be successful with the TIPs procedure in the near future. I too am sceptical of big pharmaceutical companies and how we seem to turn to meds for everything these days or rather we are pushed towards taking meds and I also believe it’s totally wrong that life saving meds seem to cost an arm and a leg and where it comes to health, it’s clearly a profit making operation in the main. So therefore there is a conflict of interest here.

When I was released from hospital having been drained of 5.5ltrs for my ascites, I was given 28 days worth of diuretics which I was told to take 5 times a day I believe because I was told in no uncertain terms, the ascites would return and even taking the meds, I would likely require further drains.

And while I understand what these meds were for, what they did and what help they would provide me with, it shocked me reading up on all the side effects that taking them may or may not bring about and furthermore I thought to myself it’s all good and well these meds making me pee constantly to flush out bad toxins which a damaged liver will struggle to do at times, but what about all those important nutrients, minerals and vitamins my body would be losing as a result?

Things my body was already massively depleted of to start with thanks to my alcoholism, poor diet and muscle wasting. I was also sent home with 28 days worth of folic acid and thiamine, which my body badly lacked, but I’d be peeing a lot of that out.

The side effects from the diuretics was of course constant trips to the toilet, 20 times a day at times and often every 20 minutes at some point which I know is what they are designed for. But other side effects were tingling hands, numbness in my hands and dry skin.

So what I did was look at what those meds did, and researched into food sources and found my own natural form of diuretics from food sources which were also packed with all the vitamins, minerals and nutrients my body also needed.

I still continued to take my meds, but I reduced how many I was taking and eventually stopped altogether, with my doctor’s blessing. I quickly stopped going to the toilet as much and although I peed a lot, a lot more than one would usually do during the course of the day, that was good because I was flushing out the bad toxins still, while retaining the good ones needed. What were they doing to my kidneys too?

After a month I saw my GI doctor and my results showed that there was zero trace of ascites and that all my vitamin, mineral and nutrient levels were back to normal. Even today a year on I pee a lot, but that’s because I take a lot of natural diuretics. Thankfully my ascites hasn’t returned, it disappeared after about a month after my discharge and I firmly believe while the meds helped initially, it not returning is down to my diet and my liver functioning better which is a by product of my diet.

I mean it amazes me where all that fluid comes from, you can be drained of 20 litres, take in 3 litres of liquid and a week later it’s back. Where is it coming from, how, why? Even the doctors are perplexed by ascites and don’t fully understand it, the moment they do I believe they can fix it without operations and pumping us full of potentially long term damaging meds.

Of course it isn’t just about flushing out bad toxins, it’s about making sure bad toxins don’t enter your system that will bring about an ascites flare up or lead to other issues. Salt as we all know is a big no no so I stuck to my low sodium diet which was 1mg at first and then 2mg, I hover in between those levels even today and I found sugar doesn’t help with ascites either, so I cut that right down. I looked at other sources of minerals and nutrients and vitamins which we all need, but kind of often overlook as not that important compared to the likes of the more known A, B, C and D vitamins.

E vitamins are important and vitamin K as well. Selenium for example. I also learned that bile plays an important factor in ascites too. Low albumin of course as well. So lots of protein plays a part, which I needed anyway to help aid my muscle growth after losing a lot of muscle mass. Basically while meds are essential in many ways to treat various issues across the spectrum and not just for the liver, taking such meds can lead to a whole host of other issues and complications that guess what… will likely require yet more meds to help fix. Guess who wins again, BIG PHARMA! ££££££

Now I’m not advocating not to take your meds, nor is this medical advice, this is just my own experiences and what worked for me which I only undertook myself after speaking to my hep and GI doctor, after doing my own research and even using myself as a Guinea Pig to some degree to see what works and doesn’t. I even made my own homemade cream to help with my itching because the Dermacool prescribed to me wasn’t working, mind neither did mine ha ha. Thankfully the itching has resolved and I believe that’s thanks to my diet in the main.

Guess what, who would have thought, it’s what we put into our bodies that cause us all our health problems the most and first if not genetically passed onto us via genes or through old age, wear and tear or as is the case with many with liver disease, the meds and drugs we take, like alcohol which was my poison of choice and the major contributor to my own poor health, liver problems and why I needed meds in the first place.

So it stands to reason by cutting out the bad stuff and replacing it with the good stuff, is what our bodies need. Sadly many need meds as a good healthy diet, staying off the booze and regular excercise just isn’t enough. People also need major operations and procedures like TIPs for example.

But we can help ourselves be less reliant on meds by making healthier choices and using what’s natural in this world of ours in our food and plants, from Mother Nature rather than some chemical lab peddling meds that might help you, but will also mean you will likely have to take even more meds, and it will cost you ££££

Sorry for the huge mega post by the way, but big pharma and their practices boil my pee and I’ve read on here a few times now how medication prescribed by doctors has lead to serious health issues for some people.

[Segy in reply to Grassroots112]

Nice 1 will read it again at hospital tomorrow. Thanks for taking time to reply 🙂

[Grassroots112 in reply to Segy]

Good luck in hospital, hopefully your stay will be a short one and whatever you’re in for you’ll heal or recover from as best as possible.

[AyrshireK]

If they can't do TIPS due to your portal vein issue and your ascites isn't able to be controlled with diuretics & drains then as I explained in one of my earlier replies transplant may now be the last possible course of action.

There is zero chance of curing decompensated cirrhosis with diet or anything - there is no miracle cure and sadly thats a fact.

I did point out that by the time transplant starts to be mentioned they feel that every other possible intervention has been tried and transplant becomes a very real and life saving operation.

I urge you not to delay having the transplant assessment tests - time may be of the essence and it's not something you can really say "no, don't fancy" that then when you are really suffering weeks or months down the line go back and say "oh could I get the transplant tests now" .......... there is every possibility you leave it too late and then you are in deep doo, doo.

There was a lady on here in the past by the name of Catfishjumpin, she was lovely, lived in Hawaii and was all for natural cures etc. etc. They told her she needed a transplant and she said no at that time, sadly a few months later during her monitoring scan they found liver cancer and she went back seeking the transplant only to be told her cancer(s) meant she could no longer have one and she missed the boat and shortly thereafter she sadly passed away. They don't offer transplant to fall in line with Big Pharma - they offer it to save your life.

My hubby doesn't fancy the surgery either but it's been pointed out to him that as he currently is he stands less chance of surviving a year without tranplant than the risk he has of passing away during the operation.

Weigh it up very carefully because time may well be of the essence.

Best wishes,

Katie

[Grassroots112]

Just reading a Katie’s post and obvious very good advice, I hope mine doesn’t come across as being anti meds and operations and procedures OP, as much as I’m all for trying to solve my own health issues via natural sources if I can, I wouldn’t be here today without the modern wonders of science, medication and operations as I’ve had 13 of them when I was a child and when I was in hospital whatever meds they give me to detox and to heal obviously helped as I went from being at death’s door on admission to being sent home in just under 2 weeks and on the road to recovery, even though I was sent home in a wheelchair. Transplant is obviously a huge thing to even consider never mind actually undertake and it’s a life time commitment to all the trials and tribulations post transplant in terms of medication, recovery and making sure a new liver stays healthy, but if it’s that or death, well… again good luck and hopefully you won’t need a transplant and can get Tips done successfully second time around.