Cirrhosis - What is cirrhosis?

cirrhosis that's the medical term for scarring in the liver cirrhosis can impact many parts of your life but having the right knowledge and support can make living with it easier before we talk about cirrhosis let's go over some things about the liver the liver is one of the largest and most important organs in your body it's like a factory that does hundreds of jobs medicine and all the things you eat and drink travel from your stomach to your gut and then into your blood your blood gets to the liver through a large blood vessel called the portal vein in a soft healthy liver blood flows in easily like water from a hose pouring into a sponge now the factory work begins your liver takes things to store for your body like sugar and vitamins it also takes out things like toxins and bacteria it breaks down medicine so your body can use it it makes proteins that help your blood clot and it makes bile that drains out of your liver through small tubes called bile ducts bile travels to your gut where it helps you digest food many things can damage the liver alcohol is a major one having too much fat in the liver can damage it too this happens to people who are overweight or have conditions like diabetes or high cholesterol viruses like hepatitis b and c can also cause damage there are genetic diseases passed on through families and other diseases that make your immune system attack your liver or bile ducts whatever the source damage to the liver can cause scar tissue over time this shrinks and hardens the liver this is called cirrhosis if you've been diagnosed with cirrhosis you'll be wondering what to expect cirrhosis has two stages for most people it gets worse over time but treating the cause like quitting alcohol or getting rid of hepatitis c can help a lot the early stage is called compensated cirrhosis in this stage some people have symptoms like low energy or feel really tired others have no symptoms at all in fact it's really common to have compensated cirrhosis for years and not know it remember in a healthy liver blood flows in like water from a hose into a sponge now imagine the sponge is hard like a rock water can't flow in easily and pressure builds in the hose just like with the hose and the rock pressure in the portal vein builds when the liver gets scarred and hard this is called portal hypertension pressure buildup can spread to nearby blood vessels and make your spleen bigger when you have a big spleen it can take longer to stop bleeding and you can bruise easier these symptoms are also part of the compensated stage if the pressure builds too high and the liver can't do all its factory jobs you can have major complications this includes fluid buildup in your abdomen or belly called ascites or bleeding from swollen veins in your esophagus your food pipe called varicel bleeding forgetfulness and confusion can be another complication this is called hepatic encephalopathy if you get any of these complications the stage is now called decompensated cirrhosis at this stage you'll need to work more closely with your health care team depending on your age and other medical conditions they may even suggest a liver transplant no matter what stage your cirrhosis is at having the right knowledge and support can help we understand you may have many thoughts and feelings if you've been diagnosed with cirrhosis remember your healthcare team is here to support you reach out to them if you have questions to learn more visit cirrhosiscare.ca or myhealth.alberta.ca

Channel: MyHealth.Alberta.ca

Views: 213,339

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Id: g2mLjGRTxSY

Length: 5min 24sec (324 seconds)

Published: Wed Feb 10 2021