Everything You Need to Know About Cirrhosis and More (E52)
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Recently, a member of the Sober Powered Facebook group passed away due to complications from cirrhosis. The hope for this episode is that this helps someone to quit drinking a little bit sooner or to go to the doctor a little bit sooner if they are experiencing symptoms. This is a full, extensive guide on cirrhosis. You'll learn the stages of liver disease and how cirrhosis develops, what cirrhosis does to the body, complications of cirrhosis and why they occur, and the general prognosis for someone with cirrhosis. About 10 minutes into the episode Gill gives a signal to turn it off if you don't want to hear all of the details about complications and prognosis. This is because she doesn't want to scare anyone.
IMPORTANT: Please see your doctor immediately if you are experiencing any symptoms of liver disease.
Key Takeaways
Every time you drink alcohol, some liver cells die. The liver is incredibly resilient and is able to regenerate damaged cells and heal. Studies in rats have shown that when 75% of the liver is removed, it’s able to regenerate in only a week or 2. Liver cells are able to become activated upon stress and damage, and divide to repair the damage. They are only able to do this a certain amount of times though. There are liver stem cells called oval cells, which are located in an area of the liver called the Canal of Hering. When liver cells stop being able to divide and replace dead cells, these oval cells activate and regenerate the liver. However, the liver is only able to take so much, and once the Canal of Hering is destroyed, the liver cannot repair itself.
The first stage of liver damage is fatty liver, when fat is deposited in the liver from excessive alcohol consumption. Fatty liver usually doesn’t cause any symptoms, but it is something that can be detected in your blood work. If you stop drinking for a few weeks, the liver will return to normal. The next stage is alcoholic hepatitis. This is where more liver cells die and are replaced with scar tissue. This causes inflammation and swelling of the liver, which is when a drinker may begin to detect something isn’t quite right because they have that lower right side pain. If someone continues to drink, liver damage progresses into cirrhosis, which is permanent. The buildup of scar tissue hardens the liver and prevents it from functioning normally.
There are many ways that cirrhosis can be treated and managed. To prevent and reduce fluid buildup, it’s recommended to go on a low salt diet. Damage to the liver prevents it from storing glycogen as energy, which is a stored form of glucose. Because the liver can’t store energy, the body breaks down muscle tissue to get the energy it needs to survive. Lifting weights, increasing protein intake, and eating more regularly can prevent the breakdown of muscle tissue. Prescription creams can be prescribed to reduce skin itchiness. The swelling and buildup of scar tissue in the liver prevent the portal vein from bringing as much blood in as it should, and this causes a backup of blood into the portal vein increasing the pressure exerted on the vein and leading to portal hypertension. Medication to manage this condition can be prescribed.
Sources
NHS Choices. Treatment - Cirrhosis. 2021.
Banyan. The Alcoholic Liver Disease Stages & Their Warning Signs. Banyan Massachusetts. 2020.
Roskams T. Liver stem cells and their implication in hepatocellular and cholangiocarcinoma. Oncogene. 2006;25(27):3818-3822.
The Healthline Editorial Team. Cirrhosis. Healthline. 2021.
Tietz, G. Episode 23: What your Blood can Reveal about your Liver Health. Sober Powered. 2020
Gaines, P. Stem Cell Biology Lecture. UMass Lowell. 2015
Dresden D. What is the life expectancy for cirrhosis of the liver? Medical News Today. 2020.
Cite this episode
Tietz, G. Episode 52: Everything You Need to Know About Cirrhosis and More. Sober Powered. 2021.
