The Beginning
A. My Story
A. My Story In late 2008 I was diagnosed with End Stage Liver Disease. I didn’t know it at the time but Cirrhosis was and is considered untreatable and incurable by the medical profession. Here I am in 2012, still alive and kicking which should give some measure of hope to many who get diagnosed…
Read MoreB. The Early Days
B. The Early Days When I started out on this journey through the land of cirrhosis in November 2008 I was terrified. Terrified of the unknown, terrified of the consequences and terrified because I didn’t know which way to turn, what questions to ask or where this was all leading me. Then the symptoms started…
Read MoreC. Cirrhosis – My Overview
C. Cirrhosis – Overview In order to begin to understand about cirrhosis and why the disease is quite so devastating we need to start with the liver. To many of us, myself included our first introduction to a liver was some rather nasty, chewy, grayish, brownish offal that was served up at school lunches. Onions…
Read MoreD. Learning to Live With Cirrhosis
My research into cirrhosis continued unabated. I learnt that the swelling in my stomach/abdomen was caused by ascites. i read all I could about the problem and frankly didn’t like what I was reading. I read about the fluid being drained off and the inherent dangers of doing so. I suppose when we operate in…
Read MoreE. So, What Causes Cirrhosis?
E. So, What Causes Cirrhosis? There are a number of conditions that can lead to cirrhosis: Excessive intake of alcohol (most common) Types B, C and D of chronic viral hepatitis, Inherited or congenital diseases Obesity Hemochromatosis — abnormal accumulation of iron in the liver and other organs because of the increased absorption of iron…
Read MoreF. The Stigma of Cirrhosis
F. The Stigma of Cirrhosis There are something we wish to forget and somethings we wish to remember. Saturday,December the 10th 2008 was one of those days when a lot was forgotten and perhaps best left that way. Linda had gone to work as usual and I was in the house on my own. At…
Read MoreG. Christmas 2008 and Diet
G. Christmas 2008 and Diet Christmas 2008 was a miserable affair. Misery heaped on misery, my appetite was sporadic with difficulty in keeping down any food at all, my diarrhea was uncontrollable, I couldn’t sleep, pee, sit or do anything much such was the debilitating effects of the disease. For Christmas Day Linda had planned…
Read MoreH. Ascites, Weight, Protein and Hernias
H. Ascites, Weight, Protein and Hernias By around March my weight was becoming seriously alarming. I was losing about 5lbs of body mass per month and nothing I could do seemed to make any difference. I weighed myself multiple times per day hoping to see an improvement or at least a stabilization, but none was…
Read MoreI. Attitudes
I. Attitudes When discussing or dealing with this disease, attitudes like flies in summer are everywhere. Those of us who are sick often have lousy attitudes, sometimes for good reason, often for not. We who are sick have an expectation that we should be looked after, cared for, catered for, pampered, nurtured and protected. Unfortunately,…
Read MoreJ. Fair Weather Friends
J. Fair Weather Friends There is nothing like a good crisis to bring out the best and the worst in people. Cirrhosis amounts to a fairly large crisis in anyone’s life and the shocks and aftershocks of the earthquake leave a lasting impression on you. We would always like to think that when things go…
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