Also, in case someone finds this in the mire: I have been living with cirrhosis for 7 years.
When I was admitted to the hospital 12/26/16, my hepatic vein was bleeding: they stapled it, and I didn’t come out of anestesia for 11 days. My MELD was 37, and I had 80+ lbs of fluid that my liver wouldn’t process. I was intubated; I was on a feeding tube. I developed TRALI, and part of my lung is still collapsed. I had to learn how to walk again, to write, and my neuropathy is still so great I can’t feel my left leg.
Here’s the really important part: I never touched a single drop of alcohol ever again. When I was released, my life expectancy was predicted 3 weeks to 3 months - because people DO keep drinking. I was a high-functioning alcoholic for 10 years, and I attempted home detox three times. I -know- the pull of addiction.
But I also recognize having to FEED an addiction, the point where it stops being enjoyable and starts becoming an necessity. I also DID NOT want to die. Coming out of that hospital without a physical addiction to feed was a gift- an absolute God-given Miracle - and I did not take it for granted.
I was placed on the transplant list, I had to go every five or six days to have the bilirubin (the fluid your liver won’t process) drained via a catheter they punched through my stomach muscles, and again: I have an absolutely non-feeling leg.
…but I didn’t drink, and the need to have fluid drained stopped, because my liver was HEALING. Three years in, they kicked me off if the transplant list because my MELD had gone from 37 to 12. Now, it’s anywhere from a 6 to an 8.
What I am saying to you is this: cirrhosis is not the death sentence it once was, and I’m proof of that. There is hope for you.