Newlife2019

Sad news today that XAH (age 60) is in liver failure and being moved to a nursing home/care center. Such a waste of life. He has large scale ascites and jaundice. Has anyone dealt with this? Does this go on for weeks, months, or years? I'm worried about my adult sons and their ability to cope with this.

DiggingForFire

It’s really hard to predict. There isn’t a straight line from any one particular symptom to imminent death, and many of the things that can go wrong from liver failure can be treated here and there, and sometimes they succeed in treating it and sometimes they don’t. My XAH is in his early 40s and was diagnosed with liver failure, and he had jaundice and ascites, two years ago. he’s been in the hospital a couple times since then, and is currently in multiple organ failure. But the doctors thought he had less than six months two years ago. It can be a slow and miserable way to go, or they can have a fast bleed out.

My best advice, that I have not been able to take, is try not to put a time frame on your expectations, as it can’t be known and won’t help you anyway. I am sorry you are going through it.

littlesister1

My brother went on for months.
It was unreal what his body was able to handle.
He could bounce back and be fine for a couple months and then BOOM
Down again
It's so difficult to watch
Hugs

mylifeismine

A close family member passed in February this year. He was diagnosed with liver failure
and his kidney function was poor. He had severe acsites and had a procedure, paracentesis, every
week for about 8 or9 months and they removed sometimes 1.5 L of fluid. He had
stopped drinking and was waiting on a liver transplant but spent 8 weeks in the
hospital before he passed. He continued to have some
good days until he had to be admitted to the hospital and we miss him dearly.
Maybe the best way for your sons to prepare themselves is to educate themselves
and ask questions of the doctors so they can know what to expect. Doesn't
make it easy though, but in the best scenario, maybe some sort of new and
genuine relationship can form, but that would be the best case. Hugs

Seren

I'm so very sorry to hear about your ex-husband!

My stepson has been in the hospital several times. He isn't drinking at the moment and is in a nursing care facility. During his first admission to the hospital after a family intervention of sorts, he had jaundice, hepatitis, and they drained 1 liter of ascites from his abdomen. That was 12 years ago. The body has a remarkable ability to heal itself to a certain point. I will pray your ex has not reached that tipping point yet!

thequest

I always heard the liver is one of the more resilient ograns so he has a chance. That being said being admitted into a nursing home it's probably not good for now. I don't think most As care after a certain point or they think quitting is a switch they'll flip when they want to. Good news he was forced to or sought medical care so he might actually give a poop. There's a chance. But his health fate was determined long ago.