Can someone help...I need to know how long?
Question:
Answers:
The prognosis depends a lot on the underlying disease(s) --what's causing the organ failure.
The liver is a remarkable organ and often can regenerate, reversing some of the damage.
Is the person on dialysis? With dialysis for kidney failure a person can live for many years. Without it, they will pass away in 1-3 weeks. Death from renal failure is said to be relatively painless and peaceful.
Liver failure is not so straightforward. Prognosis depends on what caused the liver failure, the patient's age, if they are a candidate for transplantation and whether the failure is partial or complete.
The liver usually starts out with inflammation
inside of it, caused by hereditary conditions,
alcohol abuse, blocking of the bile ducts which
lead out of the liver, chemical contacts, drugs
that are toxic to the liver, fatty liver, and other things like a virus, known as Hepatitis. There is so much involved in answering this question. How much of the liver is damaged, how long has it been damaged, are they being treated to help slow down and stop the progression of the
disease? Another question is their general
health has to be taken into consideration and
also their age.
A person who has inflammation of the liver
cells, can be treated and, if they stop the
bad habits (drug, alcohol abuse, etc)..they
can heal. Once it progresses to the death
of the liver cells, known as cirrhosis, the doctors
can only try to slow down this progression to
failure. As the liver becomes more scarred
because these cells have died...the less the
liver is able to do the functions it once did
in order for the body to stay healthy. Toxins
can seep out into the blood, proteins will
stop being made, and getting rid of harmful
substances that can injure other areas are
also not accomplished.
There is a difference between just liver failure
and complete liver failure. When a person is
first diagnosed as having cirrhosis...they are
in liver failure cause the function of the liver
starts to deteriate. As time goes on, the
more the liver becomes scar tissue, the more
they are heading toward complete liver failure.
If a patient has other medical problems, this
also weakens the body and makes it harder
to recover from.
Usually, when the liver starts to fail, it also
puts a strain on the kidneys. Many of the
toxins, that the liver once took care of, like
ammonia, bilirubin, and other things, goes into
blood. Since the kidneys filter the blood, they
have to work much harder to rid the body of
them. Some patients may have to be placed
on dialysis to help the kidneys do this. Too
much of a strain can cause the kidneys to fail
also.
There is no way to know how long a person
can be expected to live unless they can see
the blood tests results to determine how well
the liver and kidneys are functioning.
Some of the tests they do to determine this
are:
For the liver:
The liver enzymes are the ALT, AST, and
Alkaline Phosphatase
The liver function blood tests are the
Bilirubin, INR, and Albumin levels
For the Kidneys:
The tests are the Creatine and Bun
Also the Potassium, Sodium, and Phosphates.
Here is a link to help you understand these
tests and what the results may mean.
http://www.labtestsonline.org
Considering the fact that you mentioned both
the liver and kidney failure...it seems like this person is in the advanced stages of this disease. Here are some things to look for:
Fluid building up in the abdominal area that
has to be drained by the doctor...this fluid
is known as ascites.
Mental problems and confusion...caused by
the toxins going pass the blood brain barrier and
into the brain...this is known as Encephalopathy.
These two things may be a sign that the end
is near if they also are going into kidney failure
with it.
I hope this is of some help.
More Questions & Answers...