What do you mean by cirrhosis of liver?
In medical terms cirrhosis is diffuse irreversible damage to liver parenchyma. In the current era, it is irreversible. That means that the damage to the liver has crossed the point of no return. Although, you can remain stable with cirrhosis, you cannot cure or reverse cirrhosis of liver. Under normal circumstances, liver is smooth and soft to touch. In cirrhosis your liver becomes hard and irregular and rough. In simple terms, it means, your liver is damaged.
How does cirrhosis affect your body?
Liver performs more than 500 functions. So when you develop cirrhosis, these functions start decreasing. Some of these functions include cleaning of toxic byproducts of your body, metabolizing all the food that you eat, storing important vitamins and even forming proteins necessary for life. Besides, all the blood from your tummy (including from your intestines), drain through the liver into the heart. In cirrhosis this drainage is interrupted. So when you develop cirrhosis, all these functions go down. You will start facing problems related to loss of these functions.
What does it mean when a doctor says that your liver is ~80% damaged?
This is not correct way to estimate the amount of liver damage. There is no way to give accurate percentage. What your doctor means is that it is damaged to considerable extent and you will face complications soon. Of these 500 functions, not all functions become zero. Even in cirrhosis, certain functions continue while certain functions stop. So giving a percentage is not an accurate method of estimating damage. The question you should ask your doctor is whether the current liver is capable of coping up with life
Can I be asymptomatic with cirrhosis?
Yes! When you develop cirrhosis of liver, you do not have any symptom. It is a silent disease. Most of the diagnosis of cirrhosis is made incidentally when you get investigated for other symptoms. Cirrhosis per se has no symptoms. It is only when you develop complications of cirrhosis, you start having symptoms.
What are the complications of cirrhosis?
The complications of cirrhosis can be jaundice, fluid accumulation in your tummy, swelling of legs, blood in vomitus, black coloured stools, poor appetite and loss of muscle mass, altered behavior, altered sleep and any change in mental status. All these complications can be managed by your liver specialist. You need to stay in close follow up with your liver specialist
Is cirrhosis a death sentence?
Absolutely not! As mentioned, all the complications can be prevented or controlled to certain extent. Patients with cirrhosis can live a normal functional life if they adhere to all guidelines b their liver specialist and stay in follow up with them. Even when the disease progresses to a point where the complications cannot be managed by medicines, there is a curative treatment available which is liver transplant?
Is liver transplant possible?
It is indeed a curative treatment. There is a myth that transplant has no success. In fact, India has success rate comparable if not better as compared to rest of the world. Now transplants are even possible in Gujarat. You donot have to travel outside to get a new liver. The cost of transplant is 5-10 times cheaper in India as compared to rest of the world.
Can you live a normal life after transplant?
You can live normally after transplant. Three months after transplant you can go to work. Girls can even get pregnant and can start a family after transplant. You have to just take few medicines and you continue to live normally.
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