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Suggest Treatment For Ascites, Edema, Diarrhea And Nausea While Having Liver Cirrhosis

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Posted on Thu, 5 Jan 2017
Question: my nan whos 92 has congenital heart failur
e ciroisi of the liver has fluid retention in abdomen although not enough to drain so doc at hospital said she has fluid in ankles and swollen hard stimach with nasua and diorea now can you let me know whats happening
with all her condition
doctor
Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
certainly

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thank you for your question.
Heart failure is a condition where the heart does not pump adequately. It causes a back up in fluid and that fluid often collects in the lung, legs and abdomen.
This makes people weak and sometimes short of breath.
Cirrhosis can be caused by many things but it is a failure of the liver to funciton normally. This often causes an enlargement in the vessels around the liver and this can add to the fluid in the abdomen, because fluid leaks out of those enlarged vessels.
Both of these conditions are very serious in anyone but especially in older patients. Neither heart failure or cirrhosis is curable but there are medications that can help with symptoms and make the patient more comfortable. She should get specialist care from both a cardiologist and a liver specialist.
Please let me know if you have further questions.
Dr. Robinson
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Kathy Robinson (6 hours later)
nan is under gp and hospital she gets diarea and stomach is bloated they said minimal fluid in abdomen to tap it slthough shes taking frusmure and siralatone (sorry spelling off ) her ankles still swollen and stomach swollen and quite hard just want to know if this is the cirisis and heart disease progressing and what to watch out for she eats very well but her weight is only 43 kgs and is very bony just cant find any info so if you can tell me is this the diseases she has progressing any advice would be very welcome ...she sees gp regularly he says as she needs him but i dont understand it all and cant find anything that helps ...
doctor
Answered by Dr. Kathy Robinson (2 hours later)
Brief Answer:
hard question to answer

Detailed Answer:
Hello and thanks for the follow up.
It is hard to tell you what to expect. As I mentioned both cirrhosis and heart failure are not curable. They often progress over the course of years. If the medications are not able to keep down the swelling then it may be that it has progressed to a rather severe point. Death from either of these conditions is possible but predicting the time of that is very hard. If she is not in the hospital then there is not severe crisis, but still you have to be ready to deal with a rapid decline if it happens. Sometimes people live for years with these conditions. Only her doctor could tell you the extent of the liver and heart damage. Even then predicting outcome or time course is extremely difficult.
I hope this helps
Dr.Robinson
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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Answered by
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Dr. Kathy Robinson

General & Family Physician

Practicing since :1989

Answered : 3535 Questions

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Suggest Treatment For Ascites, Edema, Diarrhea And Nausea While Having Liver Cirrhosis

Brief Answer: certainly Detailed Answer: Hello and thank you for your question. Heart failure is a condition where the heart does not pump adequately. It causes a back up in fluid and that fluid often collects in the lung, legs and abdomen. This makes people weak and sometimes short of breath. Cirrhosis can be caused by many things but it is a failure of the liver to funciton normally. This often causes an enlargement in the vessels around the liver and this can add to the fluid in the abdomen, because fluid leaks out of those enlarged vessels. Both of these conditions are very serious in anyone but especially in older patients. Neither heart failure or cirrhosis is curable but there are medications that can help with symptoms and make the patient more comfortable. She should get specialist care from both a cardiologist and a liver specialist. Please let me know if you have further questions. Dr. Robinson