Hepatic Encephalopathy

Question: what happens if you have hepatic encephalopathy and do not have a liver transplant? A friend is in the ICU for the third time in the last 2 months on dialysis 24/7 and is not a candidate for transplant (open wound) Anyone know what happens without a transplant? Worried.

Answer: It really depends on how bad it is. But, eventually, if your friend doesn't get one, he'll die.

Question: My mother is 80 years old with she has been diagnosed with stage 3 Hepatic encephalopathy, how long can u live I can not get an answer for this! I just need to know how long does the average person live with stage 3? The docs keep giving medicine to help with ammonia levels, but my brothers and sisters have no idea if this could go years or months? Any help at all would be so wonderful.

Answer: The real question you need to ask the docs, is if this condition is reversible? Because it really depends on what is causing the Stage 3 Hepatic Encephalopathy; without knowing the cause, I can't give you an estimation. If this is not reversible and they are just trying to keep it from getting worse, I hate to say this, but I think its time for your family to discuss what your mother would really want. Would she want to keep going this way? Some doctors have a hard time allowing patients to die; they feel like they must do everything to prolong life. Make sure your doctor is able to talk about this with you, and what his/her philosophy is on this.

Question: Is there anywhere online with case studies of hepatic encephalopathy?

Answer: Yes. Click to google by wrtting hepatic encephalopathy alex

Question: Has anyone been around a person with Hepatic Encephalopathy? My dad is in liver failure from Hep C and he went into the hospital in August and was in a coma for over a week, we were told that 90% of his brain was dead tissue and that we should consider pulling the plug. He would never wake up. He had a TIPPS shunt put into his liver to stop the bleeding and they told us that it would make him foggy from a build up of amonia in his system, but that it wouldn't happen for awhile. After he woke up he wasn't the same person, he can't remember things, he forgot my moms name and they have been married over 30 years, and he has a short temper and some days he is so foggy that he doesn't know whats up or down. He is on a lot of different meds to keep the amonia levels down but even on good days he isn't the person I knew. He used to be very independent but know he requires constant supervision. My question is to anyone out there that has been through this, Does it get better after the transplant or will he be foggy forever?

Answer: Yes, I am on the board of a 501c3 hepatitis & liver disease organization and have worked with many people with hepatic encephalopathy. I'm glad to hear your dad is on a transplant list. When he gets a new liver, this will go away. I know several people who were blessed enough to get a new liver, and all of them are living a renewed life. In fact, they have so much energy they run rings around me and many others! With a transplant, your dad's new liver will be able to filter & process the foods he eats. Right now, the protein he eats isn't able to be broken down, thus causing the ammonia build up. That will change post transplant. Best wishes to you and your dad.

Question: Hepatic Encephalopathy? medical background only please? what is the treatment for Hepatic Encephalopathy? is their surgery needed? when the person is acting confused etc, do they just let them stay like that and they eventually snap out of it? or is it somethign that needs to be corrected with the liver? people with medical background only please

Answer: Hepatic encephalopathy is caused when the liver can't keep amonia from building up in the body. It causes mild to severe confusion and is treated with lactulose medicine that can keep it from getting worse. If the amonia level goes to high they can lapse into a coma and have brain swelling and die. If lactulose isn't enough there is a new med that can be given along with it called Xifaxin.

Question: Does hepatic encephalopathy cause short term memory loss the higher the ammonia level goes?

Answer: It depends on if you are talking about an acute or chronic state. Acute hepatic encephalopathy may be reversible, while chronic forms of the disorder are often progressive. Both forms may result in irreversible, memory loss, brian damage, coma and death, with approximately 80% fatality if coma develops. Recovery and recurrence are variable. Short term memory loss is not usually seen in an acute state of encephalopathy assuming the underlying cause was effectively treated and resolved.

Question: how long can a person live with hepatic encephalopathy?

Answer: Acute hepatic encephalopathy may be reversible, while chronic forms of the disorder are often progressive. Both forms may result in irreversible coma and death, with approximately 80% fatality if coma develops. Recovery and recurrence are variable. Without liver transplantation the 1-year survival is only 40%. If the cause can be corrected in time, the outcome can be favorable. Good Luck.

Question: Any Dr.of gastroenteritis or repeatability.Iknow someone with stage 0 sub-clinical hepatic encephalopathy? Lack of detectable changes in personality or behavior.Minimal changes in memory,concentration,intellectual function,and coordination.Asterixis is absent.What,if known is this Diseases Mortality rate in years ?

Answer: Hepatic encephalopathy isn't a disease per se, but a complication of liver disease. When the liver can't clear amonia from the body effectively, it backs up into the brain. There are meds (lactulose, enulose) that can help clear the amonia level. Although these drugs may not be prescribed at the sub-clinical stage. Sub-clinical encephalopathy isn't really a problem. Sub-clinical means it's not symptomatic. Many people with liver disease live with sub-clinical encephalopathy. When the liver disease is under control, the encephalopathy will resolve. When the liver disease worsens, the encephalopathy can return, and can progress from subclinical to coma (with several stages in between). The encephalopahy itself doesn't cause mortality, the underlying disease does. And this can be any one of many different diseases, each with it's own progression and prognosis.

Question: how long can I live with hepatic encephalopathy?

Answer: depends on whether you have liver cancer or not. If you just have cirrhosis then you might live quite a while with good medical care and taking good care of your personal health plus some luck. good luck

Question: please state the rationale for each signs of cirrhosis:nausea ab pain gi varices and hepatic encephalopathy?

Answer: I assume you are a healthcare student, especially considering the types of complicated questions you are asking. I hope, if you are, that you aren't depending on our answers to help you pass your courses. Some of the answers you're getting aren't that accurate! This page http://www.medicinenet.com/cirrhosis/page2.htm should address most of those questions.

Question: what is hepatic encephalopathy and is it bad? My dad come home today and told me he got hepatic encephalopathy. I don't have a clue what that is, so can someone please tell me!!!!

Answer: You should ask your dad and see what the doctor told him. Hepatic encephalopathy is one of the symptoms of end stage liver disease. ESLD can be caused by several things, most commonly from alcoholism and/ or viral hepatitis infection like hepatitis C or B. Basically, after the liver becomes damaged over a period of time, it fails to do one of it's jobs; mainly filtering toxins out of the blood. These toxins (which are waste products from the food we eat) build up in the blood stream and cause high ammonia levels in the blood. This ammonia affects the brain's ability to think clearly. This can be treated temporarily with laxatives like lactulose which helps the body to get rid of some of these toxins. Eating a lower protein diet can help decrease some of the symptoms. Hope this helps.

Question: symptoms of hepatic encephalopathy?

Answer: one of the first signs is liver enlargement. Your liver metabolize nutrients it use to. Eventually a bi-product of all this...ammonia, builds up in your blood and will cause confusion that left untreated will result in a coma state. this is referred to as a hepatic coma.

Question: Advice about feline hepatic encephalopathy? My 1 yr old cat, Teeger, has a liver shunt(s) that prevent some or all of his blood from going through the liver. He can't process the ammonia created by protein and without treatment drools, spaces out, & his brain is adversely affected. Has anyone else raised a kitty with this problem? He's doing pretty well on Royal Canin reduced protein but balanced renal diet and antibiotics 2x/day to kill ammonia creating bacteria. Since this treatment he has regained weight and size and become bigger than his littermates like he was before he became sick and stunted. And he's generally more normal acting, although somewhat subdued. He has the drooling, once a week or less & I wish I knew some other way to help him. I would appreciate any advice. I live in a quiet neighborhood and take him outside with me when I am in the yard & can keep track of him. He runs around with his bro, Zorro, rolls the dirt & chases bugs. I think that has helped him keep muscle mass. Suggestions?

Answer: I am sorry i do not know much about this disease. Just spent the last 45 minutes trying to find info Have you looked into surgery?. I do not know if you have checked to see if this can be done What i can tell you chance at a long life as your cat is a carnivore and needs animal protein to survive A low protein diet will lead to other problems. High quality proteins are recommended, as they are digested and absorbed before they reach the bacteria in the large intestine and therefore less likely to result in the production of ammonia. You may want to consider a raw diet. I also dont know if the vet talked to you about ading zinc and maybe other vitamins into the diet. Zinc may help with the detoxification of the ammonia If you are interested in a vet that may be able to help and that is a nutrtionist please contact me. She does phoine consultations. I wish you the very best

Question: Can someone help, does any one know anything on end stage liver disease? My mother is in end stage liver disease and I believe she hs Hepatic encephalopathy. I was wondering what the stages are because to me she seems really bad. Once this starts how long do I have with her.

Answer: Unfortunatly Hepatatic Encephalopathy is a serious complication of Cirrhosis (inflamation of the liver). It can be treated up to a degree, but organ transplantation is the only real treatment. Once she's admitted into an ICU, mortality rate increases to over 50% (but still almost half of the people admitted into intensive care units with this diagnoses have a chance for recovery - especially if they can find a donor liver, I believe even a living-donor's partial liver transplant can help). Improving this chance is when malnutrition is addressed quickly and aggressively: "... early intervention in replenishing the nutrient deficit can prolong life expectancy, ameliorate quality of life, diminish complications and prepare them for a more successful liver transplantation.[5,7] http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/5751… good luck!

Question: Alcoholic Cirrhosis - advice needed - anyone have experience of this? My mother has end stage liver disease and now has hepatic encephalopathy (confusion through not being able to process toxins and near coma). It would be good to hear from anyone who has had family members go through this - it is terminal but not getting much out of the doctors. Please no horrid answers - genuinely would like advice. She is in hospital already - we know she's dying but we don't know how long she might stay alive for.

Answer: My mother in law has the same thing she has been in hospital a couple of times in comas and near death. with laxatives and drips thay can get the toxins out and rehydrate her. At home she was taking sleeping tablets thats what caused a toxic build up cos her liver couldnt break anything down. She is now in a nursing home as she cant look after herself but at least here she has no access to any chemicals and has a regular routine. Her quality of life isnt 100% but its better than it has been for a number of years. And shes still around.

Question: will medicaid pay for Adult pullup diaper underwear? medication induced diarrhea (lactolose) to prevent/aid hepatic encephalopathy

Answer: Talk to the doc...I don't know if it varies from state to state but I know from typing up reports for several doctors that if the doctor prescribes it Medicaid pays for it with the exception of some specific medications.