Liver disease - alcohol related.
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I've posted on here a couple of times saying I'm having some family problems lately, but in particular I'm after some advice regarding my dad.
Firstly, I feel I should point out that I don't have a good relationship with my father whatsoever. We never have done, so to me this is "normal". Not to go into detail too much, but I feel pretty sure it's down to his alcoholism. Anyway, to cut a long story short, it seems he is recently getting worse with his health. He has had weekly blood tests for the past 3 weeks, and all of them have come back with abnormal results regarding the state of his liver. His skin is yellow, as are his eyes (jaundice?). He has water retention in his legs and also his stomach. He has been advised by his GP to go to the hospital and get treatment, but he is refusing to go. As far as I know, he intends to see his GP again next week, but knowing him, when it comes to the day, he won't go. He has also stated he won't go into hospital, so I can't see where this will end up.
I'm not after expert medical advice here, but I want to know if anyone has been through this either personally, or with family/friends. I'm just wondering what's going to happen to him next - if anything. I guess I just want to know what to expect. Looking on the internet (I know I'm not qualified or anything of the sort), but I can see he has symptoms which seem very much alike to chirrosis (sp?).
Any information/experience would be appreciated. Thanks.
Firstly, I feel I should point out that I don't have a good relationship with my father whatsoever. We never have done, so to me this is "normal". Not to go into detail too much, but I feel pretty sure it's down to his alcoholism. Anyway, to cut a long story short, it seems he is recently getting worse with his health. He has had weekly blood tests for the past 3 weeks, and all of them have come back with abnormal results regarding the state of his liver. His skin is yellow, as are his eyes (jaundice?). He has water retention in his legs and also his stomach. He has been advised by his GP to go to the hospital and get treatment, but he is refusing to go. As far as I know, he intends to see his GP again next week, but knowing him, when it comes to the day, he won't go. He has also stated he won't go into hospital, so I can't see where this will end up.
I'm not after expert medical advice here, but I want to know if anyone has been through this either personally, or with family/friends. I'm just wondering what's going to happen to him next - if anything. I guess I just want to know what to expect. Looking on the internet (I know I'm not qualified or anything of the sort), but I can see he has symptoms which seem very much alike to chirrosis (sp?).
Any information/experience would be appreciated. Thanks.
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Don't want to scare but prepare yourself for the worst, when the legs and especially the stomach are bloating I think that's a very bad sign. The sooner he gets to the hospital the better, it might not be too late yet but certainly wont get any better at home.
I'm sorry to hear that.
Thanks for replying. To me, it seems his symptoms are getting worse almost daily, especially his stomach - it looks like he's pregnant almost, which sounds ridiculous I know, but that's the best way of describing it.
With him refusing to get treatment, I just wonder how long he can go on for at home like this. Weeks? Months? Years..? He hates hospitals - who doesn't - but I don't see how he can constantly refuse to be admitted when he's clearly not getting any better himself.
A friend of mine went through this about 3 months ago, he eventually went into hospital for a week and had a drain put into his stomach and was given various drugs.
Cut a long story short they drained about 4 litres of fluid from him and when he came out he looked terrible but he has stopped drinking and has started to put some weight back on and he's looking good and getting better every day. He will never be able to drink again but he is alive and well and that's the important thing.
BTW, he has an appetite now!
HTH
Well we found out my gramp had been hiding the swelling under baggy clothes for many months so it can go on for a while. Looking back we noticed he wasn't eating very much over the previous 6 months so maybe should of spotted somthing, but that's hindsight and if someones very stubborn that they wont go to hospital they can hide most things. We were pretty shocked at the speed from hospital to dieing, he was still able to get about to the shops not long before he went to hospital.
Oh BTW he wasn't a heavy drinker, think his liver failing was more old age. It depends how old your dad is, I don't think you can assume he will die but he needs to get to hospital.
Sorry to hear that happened to your friend, but I'm glad he's okay now.
It sounds like a horrible thing to have to go through... in that way, I can understand why someone wouldn't want to be treated in hospital for it, but once you realise there's no other way, obviously you have to face facts and get yourself there ASAP.
With my dad... I don't think he'll ever stop drinking. He has done it for as long as I've known him - think he started drinking as a teenager, and never stopped since. It's almost enough to put me off alcohol altogether...
My dad is in his mid-50's. I'm no doctor, but I'd be 99% sure this is happening due to his alcoholism. The doctor told him years ago if he didn't quit drinking, this would happen to him.
My Mum went the same way. I drove her to hospital one night with a letter from the Doctor recommending she be admitted straight away. She had no appetite and refused to have a feeding tube so gradually got weaker and weaker and got very confused. 4 weeks after walking into hospital she died.
I'm so sorry to hear that.
It sounds such a terrible way to go...
Thanks again for all the replies, I appreciate it.
If you are concerned that he is refusing to get treatment, you could get in contact with Social Services and get them involved. If he NEEDS treatment and is refusing it, they may be able to section him under the Mental Health act. This happened to my Mother-in-Law just over a month ago. Her circumstances were different, but was refusing treatment to the point that she could have died. Her condition was affecting her ability to make rational decisions, and was pretty much arrested and taken to hospital. Could this argument be used with your father?
If you want any more information, please feel free to PM me.
Good luck!
Please try to encorage/enforce a visit to the Emergency Deparment of a good hospital.
Aside from the other serious symptoms you describe,the fluid in his stomach that makes him look pregnant is more likely to be a fluid called Ascities than water. (I have accumulated this fluid for entirely different reasons.)
The fluid in the ankles is likely to be water.
He will be so much more comfortable if he has a simple procedure under local anaesthetic to drain the fluid. If left it can become infected and cause other illness. It can also leak from the stomach cavities into the lungs if he spends alot of time lying down and this can cause serious breathing problems.
Please be aware that I am not a medical professional but have been through the above and the team of Doctors looking after me all say the most common reason for the preganant, swollen stomach symptom is Ascities linked to Liver Disease of some sort.
The draining also helps to bring back the appetite which will of course be important in retaining strength.
Hope this helps.....
On Tuesday I had a call from a friend of hers who said that he's worried about her health and, it turned out, her friends had been making appointments at her GP but she'd been cancelling them. He'd made an appointment on her behalf for 5.30 that day. I went to her flat at about 3.30 to get her to the doctors and I couldn't get any reply. I was banging on the door and shouting throught the letterbox - the whole block could hear me. Eventually I called 999 and two ambulance people turned up. The paramedic was banging on the door and shouting but still nothing. The paramedic then called the police and they came and started banging on the door and calling her name through the letterbox. By this time I was very anxious and the policemen had no alternative but to kick the door in.
She was watching TV and, unbelievably, couldn't hear the racket! She was wobbly on her legs and looked about 80 years old ( she is 54). I said I'd come to take her to the docs and she was so disorientated that she was malleable. I practically had to carry her to my car and to the Doctors surgery. Her GP took one look at her and said she had to go straight to hospital there and then.
So that's where she is at the moment. She has had loads of fluid drained from her abdomen and she is being given antibiotics but at the mo. I don't know the prognosis.
I was wondering how the OP's father got on .
ambulance called - taken to hospital where they put a drip in her, put a catheter in but they warned us she had liver & kidney failure and may not last the night.
She was then taken to ITU, put on a dialysis machine where she stayed a week (got pneumonia too) and was in a pretty bad way.
After that she came round a bit and was put on a general ward for 3 weeks before coming home dried out, but on a cocktail of drugs, vitamins etc as the alcohol had pretty much depleted everything.
She's been dry now for 2 months but it will be a battle she'll have to fight for the rest of her life. Once an alcoholic, always and alcoholic as far as i'm concerned. We have tp take each day at a time. She's been warned if she drinks again it could kill her.
I've also warned her of the ethical side of things - she was taking up a vital ITU bed for an addiction whe no doubt people who were in need of the bed due to no fault of their own couldn't have treatment that they may have needed.