Cirrhosis Support Group

my partner has cirrhosis due to unknowingly having hep cfor 30 to 40 years had 12 month treatment with interferon and ribavarin cleared virus but did not pickup,put it down to after effects of treatment but steadily became more fatigued felt really unwell, started itching eventually saw GP who did bloods and said he had pernicious anaemia.has anyone else with cirrhosis got this? i wonder if it is connected to his liver problems.he has also had a bone scan,we are still waiting for the results of that

Hey tykegirl!

Can you explain what you mean by "cleared virus but did not pickup"? I understand that the treatment cleared the virus but did the HCV come back or did his condition just not pickup?

Anyway "pernicious anemia" is one of the types of anemia, all of which are just saying the red blood cell (RBC) count is low. The pernicious part says that his body is not able to produce enough RBCs and the ones it does are on the large size further complicating the body's ability to carry oxygen throughout the system. It is usually a vitamin deficiency that his doc should give him a prescription to help resolve.

Most cirrhosis patients complain of fatigue. Studies have been conducted that conclude that cirrhosis itself does not cause anemia. Some experts have theorized that some complications of cirrhosis may cause the spleen to filter too many RBCs from circulation or decrease production of RBCs. Varices also cause a loss of blood from the system, which can result in anemia.

Something else that I found was "If cirrhosis is caused by HCV, there is a good chance that the anemia is actually being caused by the antiviral treatment, for instance the drug Ribavirin is known to cause mild anemia." Maybe he just needs to let time build up his RBCs build up?

Extreme anemia may require a blood transfusion to increase the number of RBCs in the body. I remember many such transfusions prior to transplant. Best to stay on top of his anemia with his hepatologist.

thank you for your reply,he is having injections 3 times a week for 3 weeks then every couple of months for the rest of his life.when they did his blood at the hospital in january they were ok,but since then obviously not ok.the treatment for hepc he coped with quire well, but as i said seemed to feel better for couple of months then progressivly felt more and more ill. i know he is lucky compared to many of you god bless

Pernicious Amenia, or Schilling Disease is the inability to absord B12 through the stomach. It is an autoimmune illness and comes commonly in a 'cluster' of autoimmune illnesses. I have Primary Biliary Cirrhosis which is autoimmune and there is a history of schilling in our family, I have it too. I don't think it is a consequence of cirrhosis but if he has a history of any autoimmune illness, commonly this will be one that comes along. Treated with direct injections of B12 into the thigh once per month. Alleviates some of the fatigue and grouchiness.

thank you so much for your reply, it is nice tohave as much information as possible about these different diseases i wish you good health god bless tykegirl