Hello, all!
I joined here recently. For the past 12 years, I have had cirrhosis that developed from Type 2 Diabetes and NASH (non-alcoholic steatohepatitis.) I also have a number of other health problems.
I spent last week in the hospital with an episode of Acute Renal Failure. My physicians think it was caused by a combination of the cirrhosis, side effects of my diuretic medications, and dehydration. They think my kidneys will probably recover well, but it's "wait and see."
As for why I became dehydrated, I tend to lose my appetite when I'm worried. And, I have lots to worry about -- my husband has been having heart trouble, and we are in substantial financial problems from our medical bills. (I live in the US.) My husband was in the hospital for his heart problems, and came home Friday, Jan. 10 to find me semi-conscious. He called an ambulance and I was immediately admitted, with a risk of a fatal heart arrhythmia from electrolyte imbalance.
I really had no idea how dehydrated I was getting. I did not feel thirsty at all. In fact, I felt no worse than usual, or even a little better -- extremely exhausted, but not nauseous. Also, I had none of my common pain from swelling in my legs and I was not short of breath -- I now realize those were signs of dehydration. They made me feel *healthier* when in fact my life was in danger.
On Monday, Jan. 13, my husband returned to work and was told his company was doing poorly and could no longer afford to pay him. So, now on top of it all, he has no job. We want to sell our house and move someplace smaller and cheaper, but getting our house spruced up and getting rid of possessions will be difficult, with us both so ill.
I am taking all this very hard emotionally. I feel that no matter what I do, my health is very poor for my age and constantly falls further and further behind people my age.I wonder if I have much time left. I am 57, and have been sick since I was a child. I feel my whole Iife has been taken up by one treatment attempt after another. I have never been well enough to have children or a full-time career. Increasingly, I am bedridden.
What upsets me the most is the constant attitude I run into, that my health problems are caused by poor eating habits and a lack of exercise. Until I became disabled, I was very active. I love hiking, gardening, canoeing, swimming, aerobics, camping, etc. I did plenty of those things until my liver gave out when I was around 45 -- since then, I can't do any of them. I have tried to be active slowly, then work my way up, but it does not help. I always relapse -- or worse, get sick from overexertion. At one point, a simple one-block walk caused my varices to rupture and nearly kill me. Another time, a little no-impact aerobics resulted in a fractured leg. (I have bad osteoporosis from my hormonal problems.) No matter what attempts I make to become healithier, I spend more and more time bedridden.
As for nutrition, I was raised in a very health-conscious family, with a mother (and grandmother) who had been health food fanatics since the 1940s. But unlike the rest of my family, I was very heavy and had asthma and other illnesses.
I have been a vegetarian since age 18 -- first following a low-fat diet on my doctor's orders, then, after about 25 years, switching to the opposite diet : reduced carb (again, on doctor's orders.) I find no diet works in the long run -- I just get hungrier and hungrier, and the weight creeps back no matter how hard I try to fight it. No one seems to believe me, though. They think I must stuff myself all day.
My latest approach has been to eat as little as needed to get rid of hunger pangs -- but that approach is a big part of why I landed in the hospital with renal failure. When I got anxious, I wasn't hungry, and believed I should eat unless I ws truly hungry. Normally, I'd be drinking yogurt smoothies, eating low-sodium homemade soup, eating lots of low-carb veggies.Without that, I wasn't getting enough water. (I was still drinking water will my pills.)
So, "eat as little as I can stand" isn't a good approach, either. I am really at a loss for what to do.
Scared, shocked but glad to be alive!
How do I get to see another hepatologist just for 2nd opinion and the choice of methods for HCC
Advice sought-- do I need to see someone, and how urgent/high level do I need to go?
A medical professionals responsibility
Salt...got to love salt!
