Hepatic Encephalopathy Causes Treatments Symptoms

Hepatic Encephalopathy Causes Treatments Symptoms 

I could look you straight in the eye, and yet not be aware of what I was doing. The world inside my head that didn’t always follow reality. Getting drunk produces the same results, but I wasn’t drunk. So does mental illness, but I wasn’t mentally ill. I had hepatic encephalopathy, or HE. Let’s talk about hepatic encephalopathy causes treatments symptoms.

Looking back, there might have been a little glimpse of what was really happening in my life …. sometimes. But, even now, it seems far far away from what was real to me. Advanced cirrhosis can create hepatic encephalopathy. Because liver disease is called the silent killer, (there are no outward symptoms until the end stages) we can appear to be a nut job. I just looked at the title, it should be causes symptoms treatments – see, EVEN NOW – SOME DAYS MY BRAIN WON’T WORK!

Hepatic Encephalopathy is a dark mystery to me.

Every time I try to write about it, my heart swells up into my throat. It’s one of the saddest symptoms of liver disease. Mine was from Hepatitis C, but you can get it from NASH, PBC, NAFLD, or any other liver ailment. Even though I got liver cancer and had a transplant, I still live with the effects of HE.

Causes:

In a healthy body:

1. We eat protein to help repair our cells.
2. Our tummy breaks it down into ammonia and nitrogen.
3. Our body absorbs it.
4. The liver and kidneys process it.
5. It is emptied out through our urine.

EXCEPT when our liver can’t filter – the ammonia circulates in our blood stream over and over.

Symptoms:

Reaching Toxic Levels:

Even low doses cause problems AND can build up over time.

Body will feel :

Fatigue

Muscle weakness

Nausea

Vomiting

Diarrhea

Liver pain

Reverse sleep

Brain will experience:

Swelling

Headaches

Confusion

Anger

ADD

ADHD

Forgetfulness

Fogginess

Scattered

Amnesia

Dizziness

Damage

Delirious

Convulsions

Coma

Death

Hepatic Encephalopathy Causes Treatments Symptoms Treatment:

Diet can play a huge role in reducing the amount of ammonia in your blood stream. It does NOT always have a direct effect. Instead, it changes it slowly. While certain foods can make it worse, like certain proteins, we need them to stay alive. What we want to do is change our eating habits over the long haul. That helps us to achieve some type of balance.

One example is regarding sugars. If the liver is having a hard time processing sugar, it just makes sense to cut out simple white sugars. I talk a lot about this in my book The Liver Loving Diet. I do NOT go without sweets, however, instead of eating the SAD Standard American Diet, I chose when and how much sugar I will eat. This frees up my liver to take care of filtering other things. It’s not about quitting sugar forever, it’s about finding balance.

Medication certainly plays a valuable role in reducing the effects of HE. My first course of action was Lactulose. It is made up of a synthetic sugar that doesn’t break down in your body. Instead, it binds with water, creating soft stools, and is proven to reduce the amount of ammonia in the blood stream. The side effects are no fun and will get a blog of their own.

Xifaxin is an antibiotic that actually goes after the bacteria in your gut. There is good bacteria and bad bacteria. The bad stuff obviously fogs up your brain. While probiotics have been shown to decrease the bully bacteria, Rifaximin or Xifaxin can clear you up quick. Check out  my youtube channel for this. 

There is no real “cure” for hepatic encephalopathy. My personal story is that my alcoholic dad lay hospitalized in a hepatic coma for over 2 weeks. During that time, he dried out and woke up. He quit drinking, took his Lactulose, watched his diet, and lived for many years.

Hepatic Encephalopathy is a mind boggling (pun intended) disease. It withers your thoughts, self esteem, and can suck the life out of you. Address the cause of your liver disease, talk to your family about the symptoms, and then begin working on treatment. If you’re a caregiver, have a heart and be patient with your loved one, for they know not what they do.

There is still a viable life for you even with HE. Knowing the cause, and symptoms are important. Working toward a good treatment plan can help bring your brain back from the darkness of Hepatic Encephalopathy. Don’t let anything hold you back. Get help with Hepatic Encephalopathy Causes Treatments Symptoms – In it together, Karen