Before we get started here, I’d like to point out that this is my experience with liver cirrhosis, I’m not asking anyone to follow me, how you proceed is up to you, but here’s some takeaways from what I’ve learned.
- Don’t listen to everything Doctors tell you. Doctors are good are specifics, they can hep you with liver function tests and diagnose all sorts of problems. In my experience I’ve learned not to listen to everything I’m told, especially about liver cirrhosis.
- Survival rate – I’ve been told over and over, the survival rate (and fast deterioration of your overall health) runs at 50% mortality for 2 years after diagnosis with decompensated cirrhosis. Sorry, but this is absolute bollocks, I’ve been diagnosed with decompensated cirrhosis for almost 6 years and my health continues to improve. The power to heal really comes from inside and believing that the choices you make are going to fix you. I am living (nice word) proof of this.
- Don’t take all the meds… Do you OWN research on what you are taking and why. Doctors are amazing at telling you what synthetic meds to take, but in my experience, that stuff is treated like a one size fits all solution, which of course, it isn’t. Our bodies are all different and require different amounts of intake that benefit us.
- Stress – Do you have a stressful life? I did. Now I focus on one thing first, before everything else. My well being, I cannot help others around me if I do not help myself, look after yourself, and know that stressing and worrying about the future is a negative action that results in you feeling worse and being less productive with your family, work etc. Enjoy your life, you only have one, do what makes you happy.
- Never dismiss herbal / holistic solutions. Again, explore my blog a bit more and you’ll see that I am living proof that other remedies do actually work.
- No matter what else is going on, keep positive, once you slide into the negative, your physical well being and body will follow. Apart from having been diagnosed with decompensated ascites 6 years ago, in the previous 6 years I have broken my back, broken my leg (I had an 8 hour operation to insert a supporting titanium plate), broken my wrist, broken 4 fingers, had covid twice, been through a divorce, been in a wheel chair for months on end, had to use walking frames and won a battle against serious alcohol addiction. See, you thought you had problems?
Yet still, my positivity has brought me through on top. Don’t underestimate the power of your mind, don’t expect others to fix your issues, take control and make a difference. - Food and drink is your medication – OK, if you have cirrhosis and its refractory (recurring) then you’ll need some diuretics to get it under control, but be sure to get this down to the minimum and focus on what you actually need. The correct fuel, food and drink. I cannot stress how important this is, nature provides us with so many beneficial herbs, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit. Finding the right balance of all this good stuff will set you up and make you feel fantastic, as I generally do everyday, a big difference from my depressed state when this all started.
- Sleep – This is an important one, sleep to people with liver disease is medication, power your body with the correct food and drinks and get as much sleep as you can. Even in the daytime, if you are able to, if you feel tired take a nap for an hour or two, don’t fight your body when it is telling you it needs to shut you off for a while, it has work to do, let it work and you’ll feel the benefits.
