Liver Cirrhosis - My husband was diagnosed with Alcoholic Cirrhosis of the liver in July 2013. He?

I'm not sure what to expect from here. He told me he was fishing today but I think he was probably at a bar. That really doesn't matter as I am not going to follow him around like a child. I just don't know what these symptoms mean and what to expect in the future.

I had paracentices weekly, a tracheotomy, kidney failure with dialysis for two months, pleuradisis surgery (to attach my lung to the lung sac to keep fluid from creeping into my upper body cavity), a loss of 70 pounds (weighed in at 80), neurological damage from the HE which caused loss of all feeling or movement in one of my legs (knee to toe), and a raging stage IV bedsore on my tailbone that would not heal. When I finally had gained a little weight and they were able to get rid of some of my chronic infections, I had a skin flap surgery to close the sore where I then had to lay on one side of my body for SIX weeks. Then I had to learn how to stand and walk again.

It's now been two and a half years and I feel pretty darn good. In fact, I forget anything is even wrong with me, except for my half-way-there foot. My MELD score has maintained at 8-9 since I've been out of the hospital (range is 6-40, with 40 being awful). I had the TIPS porcedure which raises the risk of HE, but so far I haven't ever felt like I was out of my head. In fact, Ive hardly taken the lactulose because I don't like the side effects and I stopped taking the rifaximin five months ago just to see if I could. I haven't noticed a difference at all (don't tell the doc). So now I just take diuretics and gabapentin for the neuropathy in my feet. I've had several CT and varicies scans with good reports.

I've read a few stories about people who said they reversed the damage. Don't know if it is even possible, but it gives me hope. The docs always give me vague answers when I ask these types of questions. I do know that people who tank fast from heavy drinking in a shorter amount of time as opposed to decades tend to have a better chance of recovery. While I am on a transplant list, it would be more risky for me to have one at this point than not. But who know what the years to come hold. The doctors can't tell me what will happen in five or ten years. I will just expect the best and live as long as the next person. I'm 47 and have lots of life left.

It saddens me when I read some of these posts about people diagnosed with cirrhosis who continue to drink. That's just asking to die. Be positive and don't drink is pretty much my best solution.

With the liver - it can still partially function with partial cirrhosis - and I've learned that those that don't strain their liver with alcohol (most important if alcohol induced), excessive salt, sugar, proteins - basically things that are hard to process - can live years with reasonably treatable symptoms with medical support. I'm NOT clear how much normal "healthy living" with a damaged liver is slowing or preventing altogether further damage - but I know it's critical to long-term success.
It's great news that your husband has quit drinking and is slowing further damage! Alcoholism is a disease in itself that needs to be treated before improvement can take place.
The other side, what I believe shortens life expectancy (even with rule-book liver-care and treatment) is that having a less than 100% functioning liver (and with any cirrhosis, that will always be the case without a transplant), it
1) puts strain on other organs/systems to help support what he liver can't do - increasing chance of their damage/failure and
2) increases the chance for infection and cancer of the cirrhosed cells - which can be unovercomable
Because of these two very critical risk factors, medical professionals will tell you that the only 'cure' is a liver transplant. It's just not healthy to live with a cirrhosis liver... I don't know about the risk factors of liver transplant vs treating a mildly cirrhosised liver - but I think it would be a good question to ask your hepatologist or internist.
Hope some of that helped.
Honestly, it's been a painful process for me, and sharing anything that might help someone else makes the pain a little more bearable. {hugs}