Christina Piccoli asked:


If you’re tying to figure out how long you can live with cirrosis of the liver due to hepatitis c, it’ll be difficult to find a true answer as there are many factors involved. The good news is that some of those factors include your diet and stress levels, and you can easily change those in order to help prolong your life.

But first, let’s talk about what happens when you are listed for a transplant. In this case, you are given a Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) score. The lab values used in the MELD calculation include:

Bilirubin, which measures how well your liver is excreting bile. INR, which measures your liver’s ability to make blood clotting factors. Creatine, which measures kidney function. Kidneys that aren’t functioning properly are often associated with severe liver disease.

The MELD score can go up and down depending on your lab values. For instance, you can have a high score, then receive treatment and your score will then go down. (By the way, this score doesn’t take symptoms into account, just lab work.)

In many cases, it’s common for doctors to wait until after a transplant to treat hepatitis C once the liver is healthier and better able to clear the infection. Even with hepatitis C, you can live a very long time with treatment and a new liver. It’s also good to note that hepatitis C doesn’t always cause cirrhosis.

If you decide to do a liver transplant, make sure to set some goals for yourself. Leading up to a transplant and after a transplant, your muscles are affected. If you can, try to do some light exercising to keep your muscle tone up and to stay as strong as you can. You also want to make sure to eat a healthy diet which includes plenty of protein and calcium.



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