# My Husband Is Really Ill (Liver Failure) \[edited title\]
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [March 17, 2011, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065 "2011-03-17T20:50:05Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 8
### Author:  [@Asimovian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Asimovian)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 5:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/141 "2011-03-20T17:41:42Z")
**Faithfool** , I just caught this thread, and have no advice or expertise to offer, but just wanted you to know that my thoughts are with you guys. If there’s anything I can do, please let me know.
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### Author:  [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/142 "2011-03-20T18:33:22Z")
Thank you everyone! It’s a beautiful day here in central Texas and my husband feels better!! We haven’t had much news today, except that they’ll be keeping him another day until they get the test results back from what they are doing now. He’s a little grumpy about that, but considering the prognosis has improved so, I’m not complaining at all. 🙂
Some of the swelling has gone down in his legs, but has migrated to his mid-section. He’s still not sleeping well (which I attribute to those horrible hospital beds and the fact that he just had back surgery in September), but overall, everything else looks to be on the upswing. His hemoglobin has gone up another point and hopefully, will reach 10 before he leaves.
Tomorrow they should have all the results back to all the tests. I promise to keep y’all updated as soon as I know anything else. And thanks once more, from the bottom of my heart, for being my strength as we’ve gone through this. You guys are just the absolute best!
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### Author:  [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/143 "2011-03-20T18:54:56Z")
Yeah, one of the things I hated most was being told I \*might \*be allowed to leave and then _not_ being allowed to leave. (Especially because I went to a specialty hospital that required a two hour drive for the person bringing me home.) It always made me grumpy.
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### Author:  [@Shayna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shayna)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 7:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/144 "2011-03-20T19:00:51Z")
Outstanding news. Here’s to his continued improvement!
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### Author:  [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/145 "2011-03-20T19:19:08Z")
That’s some fantastic news, great to hear it!
> [@picunurse](#):
>
> …the liver is the most renewable organ. It can completely regenerate, if left uninsulted long enough.
So avoid saying things like, “My husband’s live is SO fatty, it beeps when it backs up!”
mmm
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/146 "2011-03-20T19:39:08Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#):
>
> “My husband’s live is SO fatty, it beeps when it backs up!”
> mmm
MY husband’s liver is so fatty, we make liver and onion rings!
(too soon, **faithfool**?)
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### Author:  [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 7:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/147 "2011-03-20T19:42:45Z")
Never too soon. We need some light-heartedness going on around here.
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### Author:  [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/148 "2011-03-20T20:09:57Z")
Sorry to hear about your husband’s liver.
Two and a half years ago, my sister was terribly jaundiced. Initial diagnosis, cirrhosis. And she’d drunk herself into it, so while they told her she’d need a transplant, they also told her she was unlikely to get one - transplants go to people who didn’t set off to destroy their own liver.
Two and a half years later, her liver has mostly healed. She still is missing some function, but as someone said, livers do heal, and where they don’t heal, you can get by with less capacity than you’d think.
So sending healing, regenerating liver thoughts your way. And talk to a doctor about low sodium diets - the amount of sodium my sister was permitted was almost NOTHING - if that is what is directed, and you have a normal American salt heavy diet, doing something productive - like learning to recook, might make you feel better.
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### Author:  [@Bosda\_Di\_Chi\_of\_Tricor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bosda_Di_Chi_of_Tricor)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/149 "2011-03-20T20:29:49Z")
Good luck to your hubby, **faithfool**. 🙂
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### Author:  [@fubbleskag](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fubbleskag)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 8:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/150 "2011-03-20T20:47:37Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#):
>
> And talk to a doctor about low sodium diets - the amount of sodium my sister was permitted was almost NOTHING - if that is what is directed, and you have a normal American salt heavy diet, doing something productive - like learning to recook, might make you feel better.
I was recently diagnosed with a kidney disease and am on a very restricted sodium diet (1500mg/day) as well as a restriction of 1L water/day. It was very eye-opening to our family to find out how much sodium we were taking in on a daily basis, and the task of reducing to 1500mg seemed rather daunting at first. But we’ve found that by simply changing our eating habits to include more cooking from scratch, using fresh meats and vegetables, it’s usually quite easy to maintain this level. This has actually been a small blessing in disguise for us, as cooking time has become shared quality time for us that we’re both very much enjoying - not to mention the benefits to our health. We’re even considering taking a couples cooking course on our upcoming spring vacation!
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### Author:  [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 8:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/151 "2011-03-20T20:48:33Z")
My husbands liver is so fatty that geese hold protests.
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### Author:  [@Cat\_Whisperer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cat_Whisperer)
#### Post date: [March 20, 2011, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/152 "2011-03-20T22:03:17Z")
> [@fubbleskag](#):
>
> I was recently diagnosed with a kidney disease and am on a very restricted sodium diet (1500mg/day) as well as a restriction of 1L water/day. It was very eye-opening to our family to find out how much sodium we were taking in on a daily basis, and the task of reducing to 1500mg seemed rather daunting at first. But we’ve found that by simply changing our eating habits to include more cooking from scratch, using fresh meats and vegetables, it’s usually quite easy to maintain this level. This has actually been a small blessing in disguise for us, as cooking time has become shared quality time for us that we’re both very much enjoying - not to mention the benefits to our health. We’re even considering taking a couples cooking course on our upcoming spring vacation!
As our age and blood pressure creep up, we’re trying to eat low sodium, too, and damn, it is hard, if you don’t want to cook everything you eat from scratch (no canned stuff or frozen stuff, either - it all has tons of sodium).
(I saw this page first, then went back to the last page - glad to see **faithfool** endorses the humour. 🙂 )
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### Author:  [@surrounded\_by\_literalists](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/surrounded_by_literalists)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2011, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/153 "2011-03-21T00:50:28Z")
If you haven’t had time to find information, here are a couple of links that might help
> **[Ascites (Fluid Retention) Causes, Symptoms, Types & Treatment](https://www.medicinenet.com/ascites/article.htm)**
>
> Ascites is the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. Learn about the causes, symptoms, types, and treatment of ascites.
> **[Ascites: Background, Pathophysiology, Etiology](https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/170907-overview)**
>
> The word ascites is of Greek origin (askos) and means bag or sac. Ascites describes the condition of pathologic fluid collection within the abdominal cavity.
I am so glad that things are improving.
Husbands make the worst patients, don’t they? Don’t let him get away with anything!
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### Author:  [@HazelNutCoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HazelNutCoffee)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2011, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/154 "2011-03-21T01:42:22Z")
You and your husband are in my thoughts, **faithfool**. Hope everything turns out well.
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### Author:  [@OttoDaFe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OttoDaFe)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2011, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/155 "2011-03-21T04:16:57Z")
I rarely participate in these threads — though I usually contribute to the collection of prayers, good wishes, etc. — because by the time I read it, anything I might have said has been better said by others. But this time, I have to nitpick the following:
> [@faithfool](#):
>
> \
>
> And thanks once more, from the bottom of my heart, for being my strength as we’ve gone through this.
>
> \
**faithfoo** l, you are your own strength. You have it within you. What we can do is help you keep in touch with it.
(Please note that this is not in any way an attempt to disparage anyone’s contributions. As I said, I add my own poor efforts to the pool. I just hate to see anyone sell themselves short.)
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2011, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/156 "2011-03-21T08:45:33Z")
> [@faithfool](#):
>
> On the bad news front, the consensus of two doctors now is that, yes, his liver is that damaged. I will find out from the next specialist what all that means from a transplant angle.
If it does come to a transplant, contact his blood relatives: those are usually a good starting point for living donors, being both more likely to be compatible and more likely to be willing. It looks like it won’t get there now (hallellujah amen), but I thought I’d mention it for others to know as well. Live donors are also sometimes used for kidney transplants, and again the best bet is to start searching among blood relatives.
_more get well vibes_
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### Author:  [@Shirley\_Ujest](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shirley_Ujest)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2011, 1:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/157 "2011-03-21T13:04:23Z")
Sorry I am late to the “Faithfool’s Husband is Ill” gathering.
Reading through 4 pages of this is like the worst kind of soap opera.
**Faithfool** and \*\* FFHusband\*\*, stay strong, take it easy and know that we are a most excellent sounding board for all your mental needs during this craptacular time in your lives. money back guarantee and stuff.
Positive vibes, etc.
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### Author:  [@joyfool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/joyfool)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2011, 1:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/158 "2011-03-21T13:25:07Z")
Couple of things: Yes, we’re assuming he’ll be on a sodium-free diet. Not that he eats a lot of salt now, but I’m sure it’s still in other stuff he doesn’t pay attention to. I’ll be reading up on that ASAP.
I’ve begun to check out the articles on ascites. That definitely seems like what’s going on, as well as another mention of thrombocytopenia. They all sound like another version of portal hypertension to me, except for a couple of different symptoms. I’ll be going through those with a fine tooth come as soon as I’m on my home computer versus this iPhone.
Thank you for the information. It’ll come in very handy.
Thank you **Otto**. It’s always hard for me to believe in myself. I’ll try to do better because I know my husband needs it.
And to **Nava** ; Jaceson just lost his last relative in December. ☹ But that’s a good thing to know for anyone reading this thread. Thank you.
Finally, Jaceson forgot to mention yesterday that when they were getting him prepped for his tests, that they’d decided to have him do a bone marrow biopsy today. I’ve heard those things hurt tremendously, so if y’all don’t mind sending one more set of good vibes / prayers this way, I sure would appreciate it if you could ask for it not to hurt as bad. Thank y’all much again.
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### Author:  [@WhyNot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhyNot)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2011, 2:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/159 "2011-03-21T14:02:49Z")
Sending easy-peasy bone boring prayers his way. Deep, slow breaths.
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### Author:  [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)
#### Post date: [March 21, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-husband-is-really-ill-liver-failure-edited-title/575065/160 "2011-03-21T14:06:32Z")
> [@faithfool](#):
>
> And to **Nava** ; Jaceson just lost his last relative in December. ☹
Damnit people! You really need to be more careful, how many times have I told you: one place for everything, and everything in its place?
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