my aunts liver has shut down, how long does she have.?

Cirrhosis of the liver is death of the liver cells and scar

tissue formation inside the liver that blocks the flow

of blood through the liver on its way back to the heart

and also blocks the flow of blood to the functioning

liver cells and they continue to die off.

People who have Cirrhosis, can develop a condition

known as Encephalopathy. Our bodies use proteins

all the time. The byproduct that develops from this

is Ammonia. The liver would normally take this ammonia

and convert it into urea for the body to dispose of.

It cannot do this now. The ammonia stays in the blood

and goes pass the blood brain barrier and into the brain.

If treated with medications...it can be removed some

from the body, if not...it can lead to a patient going into

a coma. This condition causes confusion, disorientation,

personality changes, sleep pattern changes, tremor of

the hands. The drugs the doctor uses to help this are

Lactulose or Enulose or Xifaxan. If she has this and

they treat her with this medication..she may come out of

the coma.

People who have Cirrhosis tend to hold onto sodium in

their bodies. This can cause edema (swelling of fluid

in the legs and feet, etc). The doctor can start them on

a" lower sodium' diet and diuretic pills to help this.

If she has a large build up of fluid in her abdominal area...

this is known as Ascites. The doctor can remove this

fluid by a procedure known as paracentesis that will

help her to breathe and eat better.

Only her doctor can tell you what exactly is happening.

They look at her blood, ultrasounds, CT scan, MRI,

liver biopsy tests results and can give you an

educated guess, how far advance she is in the disease

and how long she may have to live.

If you are taking care of her...if she ever has blood in

her sputum or vomit, or blood coming from the rectum...

this is considered an emergency and she should be

taken to the ER immediately.

The more you learn about Cirrhosis of the liver, the more

you will understand what is happening and how you can help

her.

Here are some links, you can click on:

http://www.hcvets.com/data/hcv_liver/cirrhosis.htm

http://www.medicinenet.com/cirrhosis/article.htm

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/cirrhosis/DS00373

http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/cirrhosis.html

http://www.uihealthcare.com/topics/medicaldepartme...

I hope your aunt gets better. Best wishes to you.

The yellow (jaundice) color is caused by biliruben from the malfunctioning liver -- not necessarily shut down but certainly impaired. It does indicate severe disease, but is not an exact indicator of how much time she may have left. Her doctor can give her an estimate, but even he cannot say for sure. If her cancer started elsewhere and has now spread to the liver, it has likely spread to several places.

my grandpa had this..he was at 50% he died the next day. idsay go be with her talk hold her hand watch tv ect you never know god could just be watching

I haven't had this happen to me, but i imagine she doesn't really have much time left. I suggest you pray to god for her well-being purely because miracles CAN happen.