Cirrhosis of Liver

Cirrhosis of Liver

Cirrhosis of Liver / Liver Fibrosis / Avoid Liver Transplant

Cirrhosis is a late stage of scarring (fibrosis) of the liver caused by many forms of liver diseases and conditions, such as hepatitis and chronic alcoholism. The liver carries out several necessary functions, including detoxifying harmful substances in your body, cleaning your blood and making vital nutrients.

Cirrhosis occurs in response to damage to your liver. Each time your liver is injured, it tries to repair itself. In the process, scar tissue forms. As cirrhosis progresses, more and more scar tissue forms, making it difficult for the liver to function.

Decompensated cirrhosis is the term used to describe the development of specific complications resulting from the changes brought on by cirrhosis. Decompensated cirrhosis is life-threatening.

Signs & Symptoms

Cirrhosis often has no signs or symptoms until liver damage is extensive. When signs and symptoms do occur, they may include:

• Fatigue
• Bleeding easily
• Bruising easily
• Itchy skin
• Yellow discoloration in the skin and eyes (jaundice)
• Fluid accumulation in your abdomen (ascites)
• Loss of appetite
• Nausea
• Swelling in your legs
• Weight loss
• Confusion, drowsiness and slurred speech (hepatic encephalopathy)
• Spiderlike blood vessels on your skin
• Redness in the palms of the hands
• Testicular atrophy in men
• Breast enlargement in men

When to see a doctor

Make an appointment with your doctor if you have any of the signs or symptoms listed above.

Causes

A wide range of diseases and conditions can damage the liver and lead to cirrhosis. The most common causes are:

• Chronic alcohol abuse
• Chronic viral hepatitis (hepatitis B and C)
• Fat accumulating in the liver (nonalcoholic fatty liver disease)

Other possible causes include:

• Iron buildup in the body (hemochromatosis)
• Cystic fibrosis
• Copper accumulated in the liver (Wilson’s disease)
• Poorly formed bile ducts (biliary atresia)
• Inherited disorders of sugar metabolism (galactosemia or glycogen storage disease)
• Genetic digestive disorder (Alagille syndrome)
• Liver disease caused by your body’s immune system (autoimmune hepatitis)
• Destruction of the bile ducts (primary biliary cirrhosis)
• Hardening and scarring of the bile ducts (primary sclerosing cholangitis)
• Infection such schistosomiasis
• Medications such as methotrexate

Complications

Complications of cirrhosis can include:

• Complications related to blood flow:
  • High blood pressure in the veins that supply the liver (portal hypertension)
    Cirrhosis slows the normal flow of blood through the liver, thus increasing pressure in the vein that brings blood from the intestines and spleen to the liver.
  • Swelling in the legs and abdomen
    Portal hypertension can cause fluid to accumulate in the legs (edema) and in the abdomen (ascites). Edema and ascites also may result from the inability of the liver to make enough of certain blood proteins, such as albumin.
  • Enlargement of the spleen (splenomegaly)
    Portal hypertension can also cause changes to the spleen. Decreased white blood cells and platelets in your blood can be a sign of cirrhosis with portal hypertension.
  • Bleeding
    Portal hypertension can cause blood to be redirected to smaller veins, causing them to increase in size and become varices. Strained by the extra load, these smaller veins can burst, causing serious bleeding. Life-threatening bleeding most commonly occurs when veins in the lower esophagus (esophageal varices) or stomach (gastric varices) rupture. If the liver can’t make enough clotting factors, this also can contribute to continued bleeding. Bacterial infections are a frequent trigger for bleeding.
• Other complications:
  • Infections
    If you have cirrhosis, your body may have difficulty fighting infections. Ascites can lead to spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, a serious infection.
  • Malnutrition
    Cirrhosis may make it more difficult for your body to process nutrients, leading to weakness and weight loss.
  • Buildup of toxins in the brain (hepatic encephalopathy)
    A liver damaged by cirrhosis isn’t able to clear toxins from the blood as well as a healthy liver can. These toxins can then build up in the brain and cause mental confusion and difficulty concentrating. Hepatic encephalopathy symptoms may range from fatigue and mild impairment in cognition to unresponsiveness or coma.
  • Jaundice
    Jaundice occurs when the diseased liver doesn’t remove enough bilirubin, a blood waste product, from your blood. Jaundice causes yellowing of the skin and whites of the eyes and darkening of urine.
  • Bone disease
    Some people with cirrhosis lose bone strength and are at greater risk of fractures.
  • Increased risk of liver cancer
    A large proportion of people who develop liver cancer that forms within the liver itself have cirrhosis.
  • Acute-on-chronic liver failure
    Some people end up experiencing multi organ failure. Researchers now believe this is a distinct complication in some people who have cirrhosis, but they don’t fully understand its causes.

Diagnosis

People with early-stage cirrhosis of the liver usually don’t have symptoms. Often, cirrhosis is first detected through a routine blood test or checkup. Your doctor may order one or more laboratory tests that may suggest a problem with your liver, such as cirrhosis.

Laboratory tests, your blood is checked for:

• Liver function
  excess bilirubin, which is a product of red blood cells breaking down, as well as for certain enzymes that may indicate liver damage.
• Kidney function
  creatinine as kidney function may decline in later stages of cirrhosis (decompensated cirrhosis).
• Tests for hepatitis B and C
  the hepatitis viruses.
• Clotting
  your international normalized ratio (INR) is checked for your blood’s ability to clot.

Your doctor may order imaging and other tests to further diagnose cirrhosis:

• Magnetic resonance elastography or transient elastography
  These noninvasive imaging tests detect hardening or stiffening of the liver and may eliminate the need for a liver biopsy.
• Other imaging tests
  MRI, CT and ultrasound create images of the liver.
• Biopsy
  A tissue sample (biopsy) is not necessarily needed to diagnose cirrhosis. However, your doctor may use it to identify the severity, extent and cause of liver damage.

If you have cirrhosis, your doctor is likely to recommend regular diagnostic tests to monitor for signs of disease progression or complications, especially esophageal varices and liver cancer.

Holistic Treatment

Treatment for cirrhosis depends on the cause and extent of your liver damage. The goals of treatment are to slow the progression of scar tissue in the liver and to prevent or treat symptoms and complications of cirrhosis. You may need to be hospitalized if you have severe liver damage.

Treatment for the underlying cause of cirrhosis

In early cirrhosis, it may be possible to minimize damage to the liver by treating the underlying cause. The options include:

• Treatment for alcohol dependency
  People with cirrhosis caused by alcohol abuse should stop drinking. If you have cirrhosis, it is essential to stop drinking since any amount of alcohol is toxic to the liver. If stopping alcohol use is difficult, your doctor may recommend a treatment program for alcohol addiction.
• Weight loss
  People with cirrhosis caused by nonalcoholic fatty liver disease may become healthier if they lose weight and control their blood sugar levels. It is important to maintain adequate protein intake while attempting weight loss in the setting of cirrhosis.

Principle of Holistic Treatment

1. Human body has a wonderful self-healing power
2. Through excellent drainage system i.e. Liver, Colon, Kidney, Lungs, etc., waste material is thrown out of the body.
3. Whole of the body is a unit so it is treated in totality
4. Body has a strong defense (immune) system
5. At any point of time (age) live tissues can be regenerated and
6. Immune system can be modulated

 Protocol of Holistic Treatment

1. Avoidance of allergen food: both known to the medical world after various studies and known to the patient itself
2. Correction of DIGESTIVE SYSTEM: Regulation of biological clock and right food
3. Decongestion of VITAL ORGANS i.e. Liver, kidney, Colon Gall Bladder, Lungs, etc.
4. Cellular DETOXIFICATION: through various natural chelation/detoxification methods
5. ACID & ALKALI IMBALANCE correction: through alkali forming food and nutrients
6. Nutritional cover along with PHYTONUTRIENTS supplementation: Initially ONA (Optimum Nutritional Allowance) is recommended followed by RDA (Daily Recommended Allowance).
7.  Herbs like Tecoma undulata, Phyllanthus urinaria, Taraxacum officinale, Nyctanthes arbortritis & Terminalia arjuna, etc are also used in the treatment of liver.
8. Physical exercise and healthy life style choice hasten the process of recovery.

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Duration of the Treatment

Duration of the treatment varies according to the type, duration and severity of the illness.

Positive changes may be observed within days in most of the cases suffering from the liver disorders. For the best results time period may vary from 4 to 6 months or sometimes more for the complete recovery.

Result

The results are well established. Even the most chronic and severe cases of liver diseases respond early. After complete recovery, patients are advised to follow some maintenance treatment and healthy lifestyle.

Prevention

Reduce your risk of cirrhosis by taking care of your liver

• Do not drink alcohol if you have cirrhosis
  If you have liver disease but do not have cirrhosis, talk to your doctor about whether you may drink alcohol at all. For healthy adults, that means up to one drink a day for women of all ages and men over age 65, and up to two drinks a day for men age 65 and younger.
• Eat a healthy diet
  Choose a plant-based diet that’s full of fruits and vegetables. Select whole grains and lean sources of protein. Reduce the amount of fatty and fried foods you eat. Caffeinated coffee may protect against fibrosis and liver cancer.
• Maintain a healthy weight
  An excess amount of body fat can damage your liver. Talk to your doctor about a weight-loss plan if you are obese or overweight.
• Reduce your risk of hepatitis
  Sharing needles and having unprotected sex can increase your risk of hepatitis B and C. Ask your doctor about hepatitis vaccinations.

If you’re concerned about your risk of liver cirrhosis, talk to your doctor about ways you can reduce your risk.