Looking advice with mental health

[Cheesecake49]

Hi My dad has cirrhosis plus cancer in the liver . 6 years ago they removed the cancer and he had the after treatments. His a walking miracle.

His now twice had the bringing up blood and had the veins banded . We are on tender hooks waiting for it to happen again. His eating ok and gets a about a but but very weak . But his mental health is taking a battering . His so depressed and holds his head in his hands with despair and agitation. We are waiting for a councillor to get in touch to be able to medicate his symptoms. Just no rush with them and his just suffering. Apparently you have to be on certain antidepressants!

We are all along side if suffering too just breaks my heart and the family .

[BritishLiverTrust12 Moderator British Liver Trust]

Hi Cheesecake49,

We are sorry to hear of your situation. We would encourage you and your Dad to speak to a healthcare professional with these symptoms. If you are in the UK, use NHS 111 if you think you need medical help right now. They can direct you to the best place to get help if you cannot contact your GP during the day, or when your GP is closed (out of hours)

Here is the link to information about mental health and liver disease on our website, which includes details of support available from the NHS and other organisations across the UK.

britishlivertrust.org.uk/in...

Best wishes

British Liver Trust

[Fibro2021]

Hi. Before considering antidepressants, it's crucial to ensure that the symptoms aren’t related to hepatic encephalopathy, as the manifestations of HE can sometimes overlap with depression or anxiety. If hepatic encephalopathy is present, using antidepressants could potentially worsen the condition, as they may impact cognitive functions or worsen symptoms related to elevated ammonia level and other gut toxins.

Only after ruling out HE should consider treatments like antidepressants, ensuring that the approach is safe and won’t cause further harm.

I would definitely recommend discussing this with the healthcare team to make sure that all possibilities are thoroughly explored.

[2022minks]

Hi there, sending you and your dad much love, there is a real black hole for getting mental health support for liver disease patients. Your dad's pathway team which starts with his hospital consultant should be able to get your dad support, it can come under the pallative hospice team to help patients with long term health conditions and with limited life diagnosis. I really wish patients would get this support alongside diagnosis. I hope your dad gets some help soon, please keep chasing xx