What's in alcohol that causes the disease of cirrhosis of the liver??

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I dont drink, n i have never drank any alcoholic beverage until the recent age which i am 21, and i am thankful!! but i am curious about this b/c my uncle was diagnosed with it, n now he's in serious condition, y does it affect the liver, what does alcohol contain that makes it dangerous for our health???
Alcohol itself is toxic. Over time too much alcohol can cause cirrhosis of the liver.
A very good rule is, "moderation in all things".  (+ info)

Does anyone have any home remedies for cirrhosis of the liver?

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My grandfather just found out that he has cirrhosis of the liver and he is waiting for treatment. I was looking for any home remedies for the time being while he waits for his appointment. Doctors take so long and i'm worried that this may be able to be controlled but the doctors appointments take so long that they might not be able to help him.
I'm sorry to say there is no home remedies that is going to help him. There is no cure for cirrhosis and all the doctors can do is treat the symptoms and try to either make the disease stop progressing any further or at least slow it down. The doctor is probably going to tell him to avoid alcohol and some medications that might hurt his liver further. He will also probably be told to go on a low salt diet. They might want to do some testing on him and he should get routine blood work done to let them know if there is a real problem they should address. The doctor will probably give him some medicine to take to help control any symptoms that could be bothering him.

I don't know how old your grandfather is or what caused his cirrhosis. I don't know if transplant would be an option for him or not. He might not need one yet. All these things are why he needs a doctor and no home remedies. One person mentioned Milk Thistle. Even though Milk Thistle has shown to be good for the liver, it will not help someone with serious liver disease such as cirrhosis. You are just going to have to be patient and let the doctor take care of your grandfather. I wish him the best.  (+ info)

How many drinks a day does it take to cause cirrhosis of the liver?

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My boyfriend is 25. He drinks not necessarily excessively, for he has a high tolerance, but I am worried for him for the future. In a typical male, how many drinks a day (or percentage of alcohol) does it take to cause cirrhosis of the liver? By what age would he start having problems? Links to official website will be helpful. Thank you!
Everyone is different, but the experts say that 10 years of steady excessive drinking could be enough to cause liver damage. Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver and one never wants to get to that point because it is permanent, and the only thing that will cure it is a liver transplant. I see drinkers asking this question all the time. I think they want to kind of play with fire and say to themselves, "If I quit at 8 or 9 years, I'll be OK." Problem is that someone that drinks like that will not usually quit after 8 or 9 years because they are probably an alcoholic. If they are drinking enough to even ask this question, there is probably a problem with excessive drinking.

Cirrhosis is a cruel disease and not something to be played around with and take chances. I know because I had it. Not from drinking but because of an autoimmune disease. Cirrhosis is cirrhosis no matter what the cause might be. It acts the same. I had a transplant, but many alcoholics do not get them. Hospitals require at least 6 months of proven sobriety before they will even consider one for a transplant for a drinker. A lot of alcoholics cannot or choose not to do it. Normal cost for this surgery is about $500,000 without any complications.

If you just do a search on alcoholism, I'm sure you will find lots of information about this disease that will answer any other questions you might have. Your boyfriend is still young so I hope he can get away from the drinking before it becomes a problem. Wish you the best.   (+ info)

How can a person have cirrhosis of the liver when they are not a drinker or drug user?

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My mom has portal hypertension and they keep on saying she has cirrhosis but they done a biopsy not that long ago and it was fine, no liver damage or disease.

How could this be? She has never drank. She is not a drug abuser. She only takes her blood pressure and water pills.

Why?
She won't even hardly take a tylenol or motrin when she is hurting. She will suffer it out before she would take anything.
She does not have hepatitis
Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver tissue. This can be caused by hepatitis as well as a bunch of other reasons...check out this wikipedia link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cirrhosis  (+ info)

How much alcohol would you have to drink to get liver cirrhosis?

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Hey there!
I heard that if you drink too much alcohol over a period of time then you can develop liver cirrhosis. So I was wondering how much alcohol would you have to drink daily to develop cirrhosis and for what period of time?
Thanks! :)
PS - I don't drink, I'm just curious! ^^
Actually that depends on the individual. Some can drink all their life and not get it, then some with less tolerance can have a drink maybe 3 times a week, then develop it.  (+ info)

How long can Lactulose work for someone with end-stage liver cirrhosis?

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Sorry I ask so many questions about this, but I'm really confused, because one minute my Grandfather looks near death, and then he can get out of bed and wheel himself to the bathroom. There is however blood in his stool...what would happen if this happened daily? How long can lactulose work in a patient with the final stage of liver cirrhosis? A few months? A few weeks?
Lactulose is used to get rid of ammonia for people with cirrhosis. It will work as long as the patient takes it. The ammonia is removed through bowel movements. High ammonia levels can cause a condition called encephalopathy which causes confusion, memory loss, behavior changes, hallucinations, and even coma and death if the levels get super high with no treatment. Of course, Lactulose also can cause a lot of diarrhea since that is the side effect.

If your grandfather has continued bleeding day after day, he could get anemic from the blood loss. Cirrhosis causes lots of problems with bleeding. Unwanted veins grow called varix that can leak and bleed. Blood doesn't clot like it should. Any bleeding can be hard to stop. They bruise very easy. It's all part of the disease which is especially true when a person is in the end stage of the disease. Your grandfather can take the Lactulose as long as he is alive. The doctors usually increase the dosage if the ammonia levels continue to go up.  (+ info)

How long can a person survive after being diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver?

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I found out a couple of days ago that my mom has cirrhosis of the liver. While I was looking for the symptoms of it I realized that my mom has had many of this symptoms for over 5 years. In 1997 my mom was diagnosed with diabetes and she always drank alcohol with her medication but the past 5 or 6 yrs the drinking has gotten worse. My mom has had trouble walking for many years because of her swollen ankles and yr after yr it has gotten worse and now she can't walk at all. My mom lives in germany and I need to know how long she has so I can go see her.
Blood tests will tell her physician what condition her liver is in. cirrhosis caused by excessive alcohol can be gradual, or sudden onset. My husband had a patient he saw 10 years ago. He told the guy then that if is alcoholic consumption continued at the present rate, he's be dead in 10 years. About 10 years later, the guy showed up in my husband's office, a little yellow in the eyes. Tests showed he had no liver function at all. My husband put him in the hospital, and told him he needed to begin thinking about his wills, his trusts etc., that he had probably a week to live. The parents, wife, and kids of this man were madder than hell at my husband, but two days later, the guy was becomming really ill. By the end of the week, reallllllly. He died within a week....

So, to answer your question, blood tests will reveal how bad your mother's liver functions are....  (+ info)

If someone has de compensating cirrhosis, about how long do they have to live without a liver transplant?

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My husband has cirrhosis. His abdomen is distended, he has jaundice, pain in the abdomen, and most of the other symptoms of end stage liver failure. No one has given us an idea of how much longer he will be with us. We have no insurance, and he only quit drinking 2 months ago, so even if we had money they would not give him a transplant.
If you are low income, you might qualify for state aid regarding insurance. It would be a guess at best as to how long your husband might have left. A hepatologist or gastroenterologist would be able to give you a somewhat accurate prognosis as to how long. Sometimes people with cirrhosis can go a long time with getting tapped (fluid drained) and treating the symptoms as they appear.

The pain is probably due to all the fluid retention. If he gets to the point of not being able to breathe right, get him to an emergency room right away. That happened to me when I let the fluid accumulate for too long. It starts squeezing the lungs and everything else. If left untreated, it can be fatal. There is also the risk of the fluid becoming infected which also can be fatal. If he needs tapped, take him to a hospital whether or not you have insurance.

You don't say how old your husband is or whether or not a transplant might be an option for him if he did have insurance. The transplant centers require 6 months of proven sobriety before they will consider him. There is a procedure called TIPS that is done that can help control fluid accumulation.

When the liver is near total failure, the person is usually extremely weak and tired. It's common for them to sleep 16 hours/day or even more. Of course they also have the hard bloated abdomen and jaundice. They usually get to the point of not being able to care for themselves any longer due to weakness. Due to the liver not being able to get rid of ammonia like it should, the levels become high which causes confusion, behavior changes, forgetfulness, and even can cause hallucinations and they can become violent. Lactulose is the med used to help this, but near the end it may not help.

Your husband is really going to need some kind of insurance more than anything else right now. He is going to need medical care to help him through this. If he had insurance, he could at least be evaluated for a transplant. The husband of a friend of mine was an alcoholic who recently had a transplant and he is doing good today. We thought he was going to die. He got through the 6 months of waiting and got listed. Of course, he cannot drink any alcohol for the rest of his life and he understands that. Some people just can't or won't give it up long term.  (+ info)

can you have cirrhosis of the liver and fatty liver disease at the same time?

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my father in law just got a "partial" result back on his liver count. they have said for right now all they know is he has fatty deposits in his liver. he has drank for over 45 years and i was wondering if you can have fatty deposits and cirrhosis at the same time?
Cirrhosis and a fatty liver can go hand in hand. A fatty liver is very common in drinkers and can lead to cirrhosis. This is very typical for alcoholics. That's a long time to be a drinker so there very well could be significant damage already done to his liver from scarring which is cirrhosis.

Everything is going to depend on how much damage has already been done. The liver has the ability to regenerate, but it cannot do that once cirrhosis has occurred. Cirrhosis is permanent damage that does not go away. If the damage is severe, only a transplant will save their life. If caught in the early stages where the damage is not so bad, then if they quit drinking and take care of themselves, they can get well again.

I don't know how much damage has been done to your father's liver, but one thing is for certain. If he does not stop drinking forever, it will lead to total liver failure and death. Getting a transplant will be very difficult for him since they don't give transplants to anyone that is an active drinker. He would have to quit and wait at least 6 months before they will even consider him for a transplant. Liver failure is not an easy way to die. I hope someone in your family can talk some sense into him before it kills him. Good luck.  (+ info)

Is it possible to go from a slightly fatter liver to Cirrhosis in 5 months?

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Had a CT scan in January for Diverticulitis which also revealed a slightly fatter liver. My GGT count was 117. Had a blood test the end of May and my other Enzymes were slightly elevated. Would it be possible go from from a slightly fatter liver to cirrhosis in 5 months? I am a moderate drinker but now only have a few glasses of wine on weekends.

Male 43 years
No, it would not progress so quickly from alcohol unless something else was going on that caused it to happen. I had cirrhosis and never had a fatty liver ever plus I never drank alcohol. My liver enzymes were only slightly elevated to the point where the doctors paid no attention to them and told me my liver was fine. I had some fluid retention which sent me to the doctor.

In reality, I actually had only 10% liver function left and my liver was pretty much destroyed with cirrhosis from an autoimmune problem. What a shocker! My only choice was to get a transplant if I wanted to stay alive.

I would cut out all alcohol use, stick to a low fat diet and see what happens after about 3 months. Get the blood work done again and see if there is any improvement. If there is no improvement, then something else could be going on that needs checked out.  (+ info)

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