So I Have Cirrhosis

Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
21

Not necessarily. Alcohol abuse causes lots of problems, but alcoholic cirrhosis is not inevitable. Some get cirrhosis, others may go on to develop hepatic cancer, steatosis, or steatohepatitis. All of which can be fatal, but are definitely different aspects of liver dysfunction with their own individual problems. Cirrhosis occurs in about 1% of people who drink from 30-60 g/day of alcohol, and about 6% of people who drink 120 g/day.

One standard drink contains 14 g of alcohol. So 12 oz. of a standard 5% alcohol beer, 9 oz. of a 7% alcohol beer, 5 oz. of a 12% alcohol wine, or 1.5 oz. of an 80 proof liquor.

Meanwhile, a lot of folks consume more than 120 g of alcohol for decades and do not experience liver disease. Just like some smokers consume a pack a day for decades and don’t get lung cancer, heart disease, or COPD.

But odds are that the more alcohol that is consumed chronically, the more likelihood of negative outcomes to health and life.

22

Not dying.

23

As someone who watches her sodium intake (kidney issues), relearning scratch cooking with fresh foods and making friends with my spice rack has helped immensely. Your taste buds will adjust after a few weeks and on the occasions that you’re dining on commercially prepared food, it will taste salty (and for me, sweet, as a lot of processed food has a lot of added sugars).

I wish you the best of luck.

24

Fair enough. I think I read that after 10 years of heavy drinking (a pint of 80 proof liquor a day) about 10-20% of people have cirrhosis. I believe the first 2 stages of alcoholic liver disease are reversible, but cirrhosis is not.

25

Sorry to hear this, and best wishes.

26

Quick and dirty salt swaps my patients like are vinegars and lemon juice. They do the same thing salt does on the tongue - dissociate into ions that activate the taste buds so you can taste your food better - without the sodium hit. I’ve even managed to convince my salt loving husband to love balsamic vinegar splashed with a modest hand over steamed vegetables (green beans are his favorite, California blend - carrots, broccoli and cauliflower - are mine).

I second the suggestion that you look at the kidney disease diet world for ideas. For some strange reason, I find more tasty recipes there than in the “low sodium” world. Davita, a kidney dialysis company, has a great website with lots and lots of recipes. They’re low sodium, which you need, and low potassium, which you probably don’t. (In fact, most alcoholic cirrhosis patients are a bit low on potassium.) If your potassium levels are too low, that’s pretty easy to add a few servings of higher potassium foods or a potassium supplement in to fix.

Potassium rich foods include:
Winter squash, cubed, 1 cup, cooked: 896 mg
Sweet potato, medium, baked with skin: 694 mg
Potato, medium, baked with skin: 610 mg
White beans, canned, drained, half cup: 595 mg
Yogurt, fat-free, 1 cup: 579 mg
Halibut, 3 ounces, cooked: 490 mg
100% orange juice, 8 ounces: 496 mg
Broccoli, 1 cup, cooked: 457 mg
Cantaloupe, cubed, 1 cup: 431 mg
Banana, 1 medium: 422 mg
Pork tenderloin, 3 ounces, cooked: 382 mg
Lentils, half cup, cooked: 366 mg
Milk, 1% low fat, 8 ounces: 366 mg
Salmon, farmed Atlantic, 3 ounces, cooked: 326 mg
Pistachios, shelled, 1 ounce, dry roasted: 295 mg
Raisins, quarter cup: 250 mg
Chicken breast, 3 ounces, cooked: 218 mg
Tuna, light, canned, drained, 3 ounces: 201 mg

27

I am sorry about this and wish you the best.

28

Try learning to season with herbs instead of salt; my mother’s sense of taste is starting to get to the point where anything she seasons will be called “a chunk of salt” by her children, and conversely she finds what we season bland (ironic considering she was always one of those women who boil everything until even the pot is dead) unless we add a pinch of oregano, or thyme, or a bit of chopped up onion…

29

I wish you strength as you engage all of this.

30

And I just bought a Blackstar HT-20 and replaced the 12" Rocket 50 with a Celestion V-30, too! Haven’t had much urge to play lately though, for obvious reasons…

31

The American Heart Association has a page all about sodium, including tools for tracking sodium intake, information about salt in foods, and more HERE.
As a liver patient, some of it won’t apply to you, but there’s a lot there you can use, including some links to recipes.
If you find yourself struggling with dietary changes, or with a lot of questions you can’t find the answers to, consider checking to see if your insurance will cover some visits with a Registered Dietician. Many times, they will if you have a health condition where diet management is key. Your specialist may refer you to one. I work closely with several RDs and the resources and knowledge they have is incredible. Keep it in mind.

32

Thank you very much for coming out of the relative woodwork to share the link. I really appreciate it.

33

I can’t say I’m weaned off of sodium-filled foods such as cheese, but I now use black pepper and chilies a lot more than I used to for flavor and only add a pinch of sodium to a couple of items on my cooking list.

Find some good recipes that encrust your food with herbs.
Penzey’s spices have some great low-sodium recipes. Steer away from Lemon Pepper which has a lot of salt.
Fruit is a very flavorful addition to cooking, especially citrus.

Good luck to you.

34

My 2 cents. Have that sucker too from October, but in my case the main cause is Hepatitis virus doing havoc. I got it from my ma when I was 5 or 6 (she got it from transfusion at rutine gallbladder operation). It was dormant for 35 years. I was regular drinker, but not excessive one. Not even close to your dosage. And I was completely sober for months before the complications issued.

But oh boy. When I showed up at the emergency very confused and green-yellowish in colour and with pains I didn’t know that existed before, they fast misdiagnosed me as an alcoholic with hepatitis even before I was hospitalised the very same day. And treated accordingly. People are assholes.

Liver collapsed (with many other body functions), blood measures were off the scale and cirrhosis took only two weeks from mild too very serious. Meantime, after the countless needles and in-and-out scans the right diagnosis - chronical HPV - was established and I was treated properly. They also diagnosed genetic predisposition for general liver problems.

I was vaccinated against other virus types of hepatitis and treated with furosemide, spironolakton, pantoprazol and karvedilol. And some minerals in careful dosages. Fighting for my life for three weeks in a corner of gastric palliative department before the sent me home.

I’ve cut the dosage to half just this week after six months of treatment. Still a bit fuzzy, groggy and beaten tired, lost quarter of weight (from normal to skinny) and am itchy all day. Hairs getting thinner, man boobs larger and nipples are painful. And occasionally constipated. And still with blood coagulation problems. Other than that I’m ok. At least I can control my motoric and body functions again, have apetite, eat and drink normally and work almost half-time. Blood pressure is up and pulse down, both almost normal. Libido is also slowly crawling back.

Alcohol is taboo for me for the rest of my life (although I might sniff a light beer per year). As for change of diet, I use half the salt and more other spices (from lemon, to vinegar, ginger and tabasco). That was easy to change. Eating less fat was even less of an issue as I avoided all kind of fats before.

It only saved me my youth, general good health and regular exercise, they said. They also say it takes 2 years to fully (more ore less) recover, but cancer chances and other implications are higher now. Yearly gastric-check matinee for me from now on.

Best luck to you, FoieGras. Cirrhosis can be treated nowadays, but results are still case to case based. Best pills modern medicine has, they told me, is spironolakton in large dosage (it was designed for cardiac problems originally), but only if you do not have serious problems with heart or kidneys and side effects are horrific.

35

I believe the OP mentioned nadolol was part of his artillery of meds. Could someone explain what role a beta-blocker plays in treating cirrhosis?

36

It lowers the blood pressure in the portal system - the big blood vessels that feed the liver - and reduces chances of your liver deciding its blood belongs in the abdominal cavity.

37

Sorry to hear that. But isn’t the liver capable of recovering on its own? Assuming you drop the booze, of course.

With regard to salt, I got told to cut down on my salt intake for other reasons and I simply don’t use it any more in cooking. I use it for making gravelax but that’s about it.

38

Up to a certain point, yes. Cirrhosis is not curable, it’s the accumulation of scar tissue in place of healthy liver tissue. When enough scar tissue accumulates, there is no going back (I believe it’s stage 4?). At that point, diet modifications, lifestyles changes and medication can only treat it.

39

How long have you been aware of liver problems? How long before you sought treatment?

40

Oh, I remembered something I wanted to ask. You mentioned that you are dealing with painful man boobs. As you know, liver damage can cause the liver to excrete large amounts of estrogen and prolactin (maybe more), resulting in gynecomastia (man boobs). My question is, is treating that hormone imbalance part of your treatment? Or are they supposed to get back on track as a result of treating the cirrhosis in general? I know there are medications that will lower those hormones. I just don’t know if, 1.) you would even be a candidate for such therapy, given your compromised liver function and 2.) if it’s even needed.