Any success stories healing from bad ascites?

Hi Johnny-o and welcome, . I was diagnosed with hep c and alcoholic hepatitis in 1992. I had significant liver damage at the time. my liver enzymes were 360/alt and 290/ast. I was stage f2 to f3, liver damage. I quit drinking, and stared a better diet. But there was no cure for hep c.. by eliminating alcohol and eating a healthy low carb diet, my enzymes dropped to 80/alt, and 65/ast. By 2012, I had compensated cirrhosis. meaning my liver was still full functioning . in 2012, I cured my hep c. My liver regenerated. by 2014 my biopsy(fibroscan), showed I was f-1.

In your case, you have changed your diet, and eliminated excess sugar. you have removed the source of inflammation, that drove your liver disease. Very glad to hear, you are feeling much better, and you have improved your liver function.

I can not think of a better place to get the help you need. UCSF has done wonders for a few folks ive met on this and other sites..

Please let me know, how your visit goes. best of luck Johnny-o

hey johnny-o, I never had belly ascities. When I progressed to cirrhosis, my lower legs would swell up like bowling pins. I still get ocassional swelling, but I think it is from loss of mobility now. I also have MS.

Hepatic scar tissue is not reversible. You will find out more when you are evaluated at UCSF. you have done what you can control, with diet, and I hope with no alcohol at all.

My liver enzymes are higher than yours. They stay at a high normal level. I have to take many medications, that are not liver friendly; statins, anti covulsants, and narcotic pain meds. But my liver can handle that load now..

hope your visit goes well... let me know

go to the search bar above and put in a key word...ascites..,and you will see many posts..,good and bad

or look up "ziff" he has conquered terrible ascites for years

mama lana

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MamaLama, Forum moderator - Hepatitis
Partner received liver transplant (May 1, 2011) FL
Hep C 1a Treatment - Sovaldi/Olysio (March - May 2014)
Undetected since week 4. Undetected 12 weeks post treatment.

Post Edited (MamaLama) : 1/6/2018 10:59:36 AM (GMT-7)

hey Johnny-o
glad you are getting the help you need, and feeling better. I would email your dr about fluid intake. Probably no big deal, since you feel better.. but, just to be safe, ask your dr!!!
are you by chance, seeing dr Terrault?

UPDATE: Major plot twist! My liver wasn't the primary cause. On July 2, 2018, I finally got a liver biopsy done, at UCSF Medical Center in San Francisco. It was supposed to be a one day in and out thing. But I ended up staying there for 6 and a half weeks - they had to do an open heart surgery on me! Turns out that there was no portal hypertension and no cirrhosis of the liver after all.

My liver was failing due to poor blood flow from the heart, which in and of itself was fine (clean coronary arteries). But the outer lining of the heart, the pericardium, had gotten infected or something, and had been swelling and getting hard, restricting the heart from pumping properly. The docs said most likely after they remove the pericardium, I would heal and eventually be at full health again, as if I had never been sick to begin with, and could live out my life accordingly. (the pericardium is not essential to life or longevity).

So in my case, all the liver problems were secondary, caused by the heart, and also the ascites as well. Here I am, 12 weeks after the surgery, and my healing is going as they expected. But there was a major complication. My kidneys failed after the surgery, and I have been on dialysis 3 days a week since then, but improving. Now they are about to discontinue the dialysis as I no longer need it.

When the blood flow is bad, the liver can get congested and that is what they say happened to me. All I can say now in retrospect is that I had been praying and believing for a miracle somehow, and I got one! Through a plot twist, and a very difficult surgery, but hey, I'll take it!

I hope this info will help others. I would say, if you have a difficult to diagnose liver problem, ask them to check your pericardium. In my case, if the various doctors had been quicker to get a biopsy done, or if they had known to consider the pericardium, then maybe this would not have dragged out for two years.

Like others have said, if you have liver problems, it is up to you to seek out the best medical care possible. Just doing what the doctor says is not enough. You must push to get the best doctors, and learn as much as you can about your specific condition so you are informed and in some cases, you might be able to suggest things your doctor didn't consider. Anyhow, may God bless you in your journey!

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Johnnie-o
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Diagnosed with Cirrhosis in early 2017, probably from fatty liver, no biopsy yet.
Going to UC San Francisco in January. Yay! Finally see a hepatologist there.
Bad ascites, paracentesis, about 9 liters/week, low dose duiretics
Liver function greatly improved since January. Bilirubins as low as 1.3
Cut most sugars from diet, trying to eat more cruciferous veggies

That's good news Johnny. Glad to see ya got down to the bottom of things and you are so right about complete knowledge of your ailments. While I support surfing the net for info it can be too much for some folks. Feelings of doom and gloom can result from your searches. Particularly when folks don't actually see a proper doctor (Educated in the field). The patient that has himself/her for their own doctor is a fool. I'm no doctor, It took me a while to figure that out. Science and prayer along with a support group is the only way to survive the horrors of this disease. I wish you and yours the best. Congrats on your determination and health.

Ziff