Cirrhosis Support Group

Well it has been awhile...I was diagnosed exactly one year ago w/cirrhosis. Feels like longer than a year. I have lost about 25lb. which is good, my diabetes type 2 is in control and I am off insulin!! All good...lately though I have been having intense upper abdominal pain and have an appt. 9/10 with my gastro, I am also experiencing "pins & needles" in my fingers,arms and sometimes all over. Itchy skin is getting bad too, I itch & scratch until I bleed sometimes. Any input?

Congratulations for loosing the weight and getting your diabetes under control.

For the itching Try drinking grapefruit juice . But check with you pharmacy first to make certain it won't interfere with your meds.One study showed that drinking 2 and 1/2 cups per day stopped the itching with in 24 to 48 hours. Once the juice was stopped the itching returned.

The abdominal pain can be from many things including the Liver being inflamed ( The Liver has no pain receptors but the lining covering it has plenty), gallstones (even if you don't have a gallbladder)Mine is caused by adhesion's from previous surgeries.

Gail

Somebody here said tegrin shampoo helped. I tried it and it is the best thing I have found. I use it as a body wash with one of those puff things in the shower. For other spots that crop up I use Gold Bond or store equivalent. With those two together I'm pretty well set.

Woo hoo Tam! Great news regarding the weight loss and losing the insulin too!

My first thought as you described the pain was gallstones. Gail's right though, there are a number of things that could be going on. I'm glad you already have your appointment.

As for the itching, that's a really popular topic here. I haven't tried Tegrin, but I do use T-Gel the same way Mike does, like a body wash in the shower. I imagine the ingredients are similar. (My grandmother made a "shampoo" for dandruff with pine tar in it, so at least the premise has been around for a long time.) I can't do grapefruit juice because of other medications I'm on, but at my really sick times, when the itching is nearly unbearable, the doc prescribes Questran (cholestyramine). I hate that stinging feeling under the skin, like someone is sticking me with pins, but it goes away for me after the first day or so, and the itching soon after. I took it in a powdered form. You mix it with a prepared drink, like Crystal-Light. It doesn't dissolve though, so you have to stir it before each swallow. Fun. I liked it better in applesauce. If you take other meds, you have to take the Q at least an hour before meds, or 4 to 6 hours after. I know there are other prescriptions liver patients can take too. I wouldn't take OTC meds without asking the doc first.

If you find something that works for you, Please share it. you wouldn't believe the number of people here who suffer from itching! Thanks, Bobbi

Tracy used T-gel and it helped a lot. Just be careful in the tub as it can get slippery. Years ago we used to buy pine tar soap (it's black). Haven't seen it in years but that is another option and won't cause the slippyness.

T-gel, tegrin, they both use pine tar. I use store brands so don't keep the brand names straight.

I had terrible itching too! My Hep's PA put me on 250mg Xyfaxin (rifaximin) 2/day about the same time. I thought it was for the itching because it really seemed to help. I found out last month that there is now a 550mg dose of this med to help supplement lactulose. Don't really know now which symptom the med was for !

I also had a lot of severe cramps in my legs, mostly while I was sleeping. I couldn't do anything except get up and try to work the muscle. It always woke me up so completely which was irritating since I was trying to control when I would sleep. I also would pop a couple of Tums to increase my calcium or would have bananas handy to increase my potassium. My support groups, nor I now, did not have a definitive solution to the cramps. Just knowing I was not alone with these problems was a big help too!

Dennis

Tracy also had the horrible leg cramps so bad that he would scream - like Dennis mostly when he was sleeping. We never knew the reason but I would rub and knead his leg (it was usually just one leg or the other) until it went away. It's pretty crazy all the things that can start happening when the liver has problems. I'm so sorry for everyone having problems - there are great people here willing to listen and help.

Marie

Thank you all for the quick responses...I will be off to the drugstore today!!! It really helps knowing you all are out ther for tips and advise. I will keep posted on the abdominal pain after dr. appt. take care everyone

Xifaxin is an antibiotic not absorbed in intestinal tract or effecting liver. It is to kill some of the digestive bacterias in order to reduce production of poisons.

For those killer leg cramps my hep. said zinc would help. I've been taking 50 mg daily and no cramps. I wasn't sure what was really helping until I went without the zinc a couple of days and the cramps came back. You find the zinc in the vitamin and supplement aisle.

The only abdominal pain I had was associated with all the gas production. Simethecone helped that.