My friend has cirrhosis

I’m sorry about your friend.

Me too. I feel like she's probably dying. I really don't think you can come back this right?

The liver is resilient, will repair itself valiantly until suddenly it can't.

Three years ago today we found out that my husband's cirrhosis was terminal. He lived for another 11 days. I hope your friend has a better outcome, OP.

I don't understand men who have female friends. why ?

R4 women have always accepted gays, well most of them. I have two very close female friends and I adore them. It's different than my male friends but they are just as important to me.

I only comme within 15ft of a woman If I really can't avoid it. These creatures are intolerable

R6 your choice.

Not really. More like THEIR choice. I don't think they should be allowed so freely in the public space. They're always trouble

Oh wow. Someone's worried about their friend dying, so you make comments too stupid for a 5 year old to bother with?

Mature.

I'm sorry for your friend and for you. Whatever is happening, just try and be of some help to them. Maybe they want to tidy their home or something, sort things out if this is the end.

Hang in there.

I knew four people who died of cirrhosis of the liver. The first two were a pair of twins, a brother and sister; they were both alcoholics and died within three years of each other. The other two were husband and wife. She died within a month of being diagnosed and he drank himself to death less than a year later. I think a lot of people around us have serious drinking problems and we don't focus on it until they get sick.

Oh wow you're so GOOD saint R9. wow. I'm humbled. I'll cry tears of empathy every time an anonymous poster pretends a) they have friends b) said friends are ill or dying. How many seasons of little house in the prairy have you watched to become so compassionate ? truly christian.

The pandemic lockdown has allowed people to isolate and drink in secret. Nobody can smell your breath over Zoom.

^^^ responding to r10, not OP.

OP, make sure you have her stuff

R4, R6, R11 is DYING for attention everyone

[quote]My friend has cirrhosis

When she does could she take the phony Frau at R1 with her?

ahahah thank you R16, you're my hero

WTF is R11's damage?

Such angry weirdos post here.

I shit you not I was thinking about having a drink just seconds before seeing this thread and suddenly have no desire.

Thank you OP (seriously).

Just bored trolls. Sometimes I think they are just teenagers because some of the things they say are so infantile.

Larry Hagman (actor who played JR on Dallas) got a liver transplant, and he was already old.

For normal people, like your friend, yes, she will probably die from the cirrhosis.

Do you drink, OP?

I hope your friend pulls through, OP. Cirrhosis is a real challenge.

All of the Kiwi Farms trash blew over here when it closed. They are literally garbage

R21, I am on the wagon. I can't stop once I start, so I don't.

Terrible the hold alcohol has over people.

I hope your friend finds some peace in this world, OP.

How much alcohol consumption does it take to get cirrhosis? It seems to really vary.

My aunt died of lung cancer and never smoked a cigarette. People can get cirrhosis without being alcoholics. Don’t assume.

My sister was a secret drinker.and functioning alcoholic. I never saw have more then one beer. She was diagnosed with advance liver cirrhosis with "hot spots". She was dead at 59. All happened in just eight months. When her sons cleaned out her closet they found 32 empty boxes of pink zinfandel. Good luck OP.

I'm soryy to hear about your friend, OP. It's only anecdotal but there are some supplements that have long been used in apparently restoring a bit of function even in very damaged livers: N.A.C., Alpha Lipoic Acid in high doses, N.A.D., L-Glutamine, and of course, the ancient remedy of Milk Thistle. See what you can find on these and maybe pass it along to your friend, if it's not too late.

Sorry to hear. Alcohol is so much more damaging than people want to admit. I "lost" a friend to wet brain. He's now in a home at 50 and wears diapers. I had never even heard of wet brain before.

Women are at higher risk for cirrhosis than men (hormones?). It takes less drinking over a shorter period of time, according to medical statistics.

I'd take silymarin if I were an alcoholic as it kind of helps protect the liver.

Hi r11

Happy to tell you I am a man, not especially religious and never watched Little House on the Prairie.

You can be a man and be polite or compassionate.

Did no one ever teach you that? I'm sorry. Good luck.

OP I'm sorry for your friend. I know two with Fatty Liver, which can become Cirrhotic. One drank, the other did not. Both slim, but the one who drank also has ascites now, and finds herself quite uncomfortable most of the time. She's mainly been living on her sofa. She really enjoyed sweets, and desserts as well. She's a close mate's step-mum, and I've always thought the world of her. Some great advice here, as regards supplements. I've also read it helps to cut back on fats and protein. A plant-based, low-fat diet can really be helpful.

.,.,

She's in the hospital and her texts don't make any sense. She won't answer the phone and doesn't want any visitors

Drinking does not cause cirrhosis

I love you, R24.

I’m sorry to hear this OP. I’ve been curious whether the rising popularity of wine over the past few decades, especially among women (all the “wine mom” crap), is going to result in some unexpected later-in-life problems.

A lady drinking herself to death on boxed pink zinfandel is a sobering story.

When the liver becomes inflamed, it swells up and over time, repeated cycles of inflammation cause scar tissue to build up. Scar tissue prevents fluids from flowing through the organ. After a certain amount of scar tissue build up, it's referred to as fibrosis of the liver. That reduces performance but it's workable. When the inflammation continues, the layers of scar tissue become denser and turn into cirrhosis.

Fibrosis and cirrhosis both can be caused by alcoholism, but also by alcoholic fatty liver and non-alcoholic fatty liver disease. The association with alcohol has created a stigma and people think of cirrhosis as a punishment, which is pretty fucked up IMO. It can also be caused by hepatitis, copper accumulation, some medications, and some of the above factors can be side effects of inflammatory diseases like lupus, mast cell activation disorders, etc., as well as side effects of medications used to treat them.

Be kind to your friend and don't hold her alcohol addiction against her.

[quote]The liver is resilient, will repair itself valiantly until suddenly it can't.

[quote]How much alcohol consumption does it take to get cirrhosis? It seems to really vary.

I'd love a comprehensive answer to R27's question. I've always gotten the impression that you really need to be hitting the bar extra hard on a consistent basis for years and years before you do yourself any serious damage, but this thread is food for thought.

Amount wise, she didn't drink more than the rest us, but she was also a she and weighed at least 100lbs less than us.

R43 Per the above comment, cirrhosis is caused by inflammation over years of time that gradually causes scar tissue to grow and impede the flow through tissue. Time is a necessary factor. And the effect of alcohol is not that alcohol in the bloodstream plants seeds of cirrhosis or anything; it's that it causes inflammation in body tissue. Inflammation is part of the body's defense mechanism. When tissue is inflamed, the original tissue is replaced with scar tissue, which is denser and stronger. But build up of scar tissue on scar tissue on scar tissue creates thick, impenetrable tissue that then becomes a catalyst for its own disease processes. Alcohol is only one potential cause of liver cirrhosis and also probably in most people who get cirrhosis, probably only one major factor in developing it. The way the immune system responds, the state of the immune system, whether other diseases are present, the presence of other drugs, body chemistry probably also factor in when heavy drinking does cause cirrhosis. Bear in mind how many alcoholics do not develop cirrhosis.

There is no correct answer to the question of how long it takes. It can take up to 30 years depending on a lot of diffrerent factors.

I’ve known heavy drinkers who’ve lived to old age with no liver problems at all, and teetotalers who’ve developed cirrhosis. There seems to be a genetic component that contributes to the risk of liver disease, and, as others have said, women are more at risk because they metabolize alcohol differently. Also, high cholesterol, hepatitis, and certain medications are hard on the liver, so it’s best to avoid alcohol if these other health conditions exist.

You can sort of visualize cirrhosis if you have ever had thick calluses build up on the soles of your feet. The skin of your feet is pretty soft. Walking on it for years causes tiny amounts of scar tissue to build up in layer after layer, eventually resulting in a leathery shell called a callus. Imagine if you put that callus all around a sponge. Fluids normally absorb into and can flow through the pores of a sponge, but if the sponge had a leathery shell develop over the same amount of time it takes to develop calluses on your feet, the sponge eventually would become useless.

Had to block the illiterate shitpiling cunt at R11

Prairie is a tricky word to spell, but r11 from this thread is a total moron. Hoping some nuns beat his ass

Sorry OP. A very good friend of mine died at age of 38 of alcoholism a few years ago.

She had 3 things that worked against her- She was molested by her father, incredibly intelligent and empathetic, and also a family history of alcoholism on her mom's side.

I am also friends with her sister. I was not there at the end of her life as she did not want to see me anymore, however I was told that it was an incredibly painful/sad ending. She was actually quite afraid at the end of her life and it was not pretty.

She was a great person and I hope her future lifetimes are kinder to her :(

How is being intelligent and empathetic a negative, R50???

I watched a YT video of a British TV show that was discussing binge-drinking in the UK, which is a serious problem. The journalist hired a medical van with a physician and a portable sonargram, and then went out on the street and asked young people if they wanted to find out whether their liver was still in good health. Many of the sonargrams revealed damage to the liver, and the young people were warned that they were headed toward cirrhosis if they keep up the binge-drinking.

Liver disease is the greatest cause of death among people 35-49 in the UK.

"Liver disease is expected to overtake heart disease as the biggest cause of premature death in the next few years. Over the past decade, liver cancer has increased by almost two-thirds (63%) in the UK."

Obesity is a leading cause of liver disease, as well.

I’m not r50 but intelligence/empathy by some estimations leave you open to more damage from the world. More sensitive, more aware. I think there’s something to it.

And idiocy and lack of empathy make you vulnerable to harming other people and not giving a shit. Just because a person doesn't give a shit, that doesn't mean that it's favorable.

R51- Sorry I should have elaborated- R54 pretty much nailed it.

I see it every day in my life- shallow, sociopathic, or just airheads who lack depth seem to handle EVERYTHING better.

I live in surfer land and they are all shallow, empty, and perpetually stoned. So I am getting jaded.

R55 just popped up as I type- You are also correct. But I think you get what I meant above. Her sister was also molested, an incredibly kind person- but much tougher in many ways? Anyway. It just sucks.