Info on Cirrhosis; Compensated vs. Decompensated - Rhoda

[Guest guest]

Compensated Liver disease

Most chronic liver disease damages the liver over time by forming

scar in the liver that replaces normal liver tissue. When there is

enough scar, we call this cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is an advanced form of

scarring or liver damage. However, even a cirrhotic or badly scarred

liver can often still perform all the functions that a liver needs to

do and in fact, it often continue to perform these functions quite

well even for decades. This is because we are all given excess liver

capacity which allows the liver to function well even if a

significant amount of the liver is damaged. When a liver is diseased

or cirrhotic but is still functioning well we say this is compensated

liver disease.

This is a critical distinction because many people with hepatitis C

will have cirrhosis but have no signs of liver failure. We call this

compensated cirrhosis. Many of these people will be stable for years

and many will be candidates for therapy. They typically do not have

to be considered for liver transplant unless the liver starts to fail

or their disease " decompensates " . Signs of decompensated liver

disease include jaundice, marked fluid retention in the abdomen

(ascites), episodic confusion or a specific type of gastro-intestinal

bleeding.

I do want to say that when the liver starts to fail with chronic

liver disease, it almost never happens suddenly, unless some one is

drinking heavily or gets another insult to the liver like hepatitis

A. People with chronic liver disease often feel they will feel fine

one day and then be close to death the next and this is not the way

things work. In fact, typically, liver specialists can start to see

signs of liver failure in tests months or years before the patients

themselves notice them.

This response is being provided for general informational purposes

only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation.

Always check with your personal physician when you have a question

pertaining to your health.

http://www.medhelp.org/perl6/hepatitis/messages/30083a.html

> Hi everyone,

> I have a few questions and was hoping some of you could help me

out. What is end stage liver disease and how do you know when you

are there? I am also unclear on the difference between compensated

and decompensated cirrhosis. I have read many posts on the debate

between conventional tx and alternative tx. My husband has cirrhosis

( I don't know what stage) and was not given the option to do

conventional tx. Like you Satya he was told that even a liver biopsy

was too dangerous for him. He was told that he would not live

through conventional tx. He takes herbs and supplements. He is

not on a transplant list yet. To be honest I don't think he would

take one anyway. This quality of life thing that some of you have

been talking about is really what we are focusing on, one day at a

time. I wish all of you a healthy happy day.

> Rhonda.

>

>

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[Guest guest]

Grace:

Thanks so much for posting this article. I feel much more at ease about having cirrohsis. I have been looking for more info about cirrhosis. I had no idea how long I could have it before my liver started to fail. I am going to recieve my first delivery of Pegasys and Rebetol (?) this a.m. The doc will give me the injection on Tuesday. I believe that because I am a genotype 2 I have a very good chance of clearing most of this virus. I wondered if anyone could tell me about side effects. How long before one starts feeling them? Is it more a cumulative effect? I know I may have no side effects or very little, but I want to know what to expect.

Thanks,

[ ] Info on Cirrhosis; Compensated vs. Decompensated - Rhoda

Compensated Liver disease Most chronic liver disease damages the liver over time by forming scar in the liver that replaces normal liver tissue. When there is enough scar, we call this cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is an advanced form of scarring or liver damage. However, even a cirrhotic or badly scarred liver can often still perform all the functions that a liver needs to do and in fact, it often continue to perform these functions quite well even for decades. This is because we are all given excess liver capacity which allows the liver to function well even if a significant amount of the liver is damaged. When a liver is diseased or cirrhotic but is still functioning well we say this is compensated liver disease. This is a critical distinction because many people with hepatitis C will have cirrhosis but have no signs of liver failure. We call this compensated cirrhosis. Many of these people will be stable for years and many will be candidates for therapy. They typically do not have to be considered for liver transplant unless the liver starts to fail or their disease "decompensates". Signs of decompensated liver disease include jaundice, marked fluid retention in the abdomen (ascites), episodic confusion or a specific type of gastro-intestinal bleeding. I do want to say that when the liver starts to fail with chronic liver disease, it almost never happens suddenly, unless some one is drinking heavily or gets another insult to the liver like hepatitis A. People with chronic liver disease often feel they will feel fine one day and then be close to death the next and this is not the way things work. In fact, typically, liver specialists can start to see signs of liver failure in tests months or years before the patients themselves notice them. This response is being provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Always check with your personal physician when you have a question pertaining to your health. http://www.medhelp.org/perl6/hepatitis/messages/30083a.html--- In , "Rhonda Wilcoxson" <rhondawilcoxson@l...> wrote:> Hi everyone,> I have a few questions and was hoping some of you could help me out. What is end stage liver disease and how do you know when you are there? I am also unclear on the difference between compensated and decompensated cirrhosis. I have read many posts on the debate between conventional tx and alternative tx. My husband has cirrhosis ( I don't know what stage) and was not given the option to do conventional tx. Like you Satya he was told that even a liver biopsy was too dangerous for him. He was told that he would not live through conventional tx. He takes herbs and supplements. He is not on a transplant list yet. To be honest I don't think he would take one anyway. This quality of life thing that some of you have been talking about is really what we are focusing on, one day at a time. I wish all of you a healthy happy day.> Rhonda.> > > ____________________________________________________________> Get advanced SPAM filtering on Webmail or POP Mail ... Get Lycos Mail!> http://login.mail.lycos.com/r/referral?aid=27005