Cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is a stage of ARLD where the liver has become significantly scarred. Even at this stage, there may not be any obvious symptoms. It's generally not reversible, but stopping drinking alcohol immediately can prevent further damage and significantly increase your life expectancy.
Healing can begin as early as a few days to weeks after you stop drinking, but if the damage is severe, healing can take several months. In some cases, “if the damage to the liver has been long-term, it may not be reversible,” warns Dr. Stein.
Cirrhosis is scarring of the liver caused by continuous, long-term liver damage. Scar tissue replaces healthy tissue in the liver and prevents the liver from working properly. The damage caused by cirrhosis can't be reversed and can eventually become so extensive that your liver stops functioning.
Cirrhosis cannot usually be cured, but there are ways to manage the symptoms and any complications, and stop the condition getting worse.
Cirrhosis has become irreversible. Diagnosed at stage 3, the 1-year survival rate is 80%. It's during stage 3 that a liver transplant may be recommended. There's always a risk a person's body will reject the transplant, but if accepted, 80% of transplant patients survive more than 5 years past their operation.
Is there a cure for cirrhosis of the liver? No, there is no cure for cirrhosis. The damage already done to your liver is permanent. However, depending on the underlying cause of your cirrhosis, there may be actions you can take to keep your cirrhosis from getting worse.
Patients with compensated cirrhosis have a median survival that may extend beyond 12 years. Patients with decompensated cirrhosis have a worse prognosis than do those with compensated cirrhosis; the average survival without transplantation is approximately two years [13,14].
It's generally not reversible, but stopping drinking alcohol immediately can prevent further damage and significantly increase your life expectancy. A person who has alcohol-related cirrhosis and doesn't stop drinking has a less than 50% chance of living for at least 5 more years.
Stage 3: Cirrhosis
Cirrhosis refers to severe, irreversible scarring of the liver.
The liver is very resilient and capable of regenerating itself. Each time your liver filters alcohol, some of the liver cells die. The liver can develop new cells, but prolonged alcohol misuse (drinking too much) over many years can reduce its ability to regenerate.
Increased appetite: Digesting foods and nutrients can become easier as the liver healing continues. Usually, your appetite can improve as well. Improved blood work: Liver healing can lower toxin levels in your blood and improve liver function. You can see evidence of these improvements in your lab work.
Week four of giving up alcohol
Removing alcohol from your diet for four weeks can also help to improve your liver function as your liver will start to shed excess fat. If your liver function is not too badly affected by alcohol, it can recover within 4-8 weeks.
You will experience physical signs your liver is healing, such as healthier-looking skin and eyes, increased energy levels, and reduced stomach pain and swelling. Other signs your liver is healing include: Improved amino-acid regulation – Your liver processes proteins and amino acids that your body cannot store.
When a patient's liver disease reaches cirrhosis, a stage when the liver damage can no longer be reversed, it becomes a terminal diagnosis. Unlike most terminal illnesses, a cure may be available for some patients through a liver transplant.
According to the VA, although cirrhosis is progressive, some people with the condition can move from decompensated, or symptomatic, back to the asymptomatic stage. This is a challenging process, although one of the critical steps is avoiding alcohol of any kind.
Even after years of heavy alcohol use, the liver has a remarkable regenerative capacity and, following alcohol removal, can recover a significant portion of its original mass and function.
Do all alcoholics get alcoholic hepatitis and eventually cirrhosis? No. Some alcoholics may suffer seriously from the many physical and psychological symptoms of alcoholism, but escape serious liver damage. Alcoholic cirrhosis is found among alcoholics about 10 to 25 percent of the time.
As the liver attempts to repair itself, after alcohol abuse, scar tissue forms. Over time, this scarring within the liver can lead to decreased liver function. Once the liver has been damaged by cirrhosis, this damage cannot be undone. Any use of alcohol will only damage the liver further.
Mild cirrhosis may not cause any symptoms at all. Symptoms may include: Fluid buildup in the belly (ascites) Vomiting blood, often from bleeding in the blood vessels in the food pipe (esophagus)
If you have fatty liver disease, the damage may be reversed if you abstain from alcohol for a period of time (this could be months or years). After this point, it's usually safe to start drinking again if you stick to the NHS guidelines on alcohol units. However, it's important to check with your doctor first.
However, by day 4 without alcohol, most people will have got beyond any initial withdrawal symptoms. All the alcohol will have left your system by now, and your body will begin to bounce back. If you're not as focused on alcohol, you may be eating better, drinking water, moving more, and perhaps sleeping more deeply.
According to some reports, cirrhosis does not develop below a lifetime alcohol consumption of 100 kg of undiluted alcohol[8]. This amount corresponds to an average daily intake of 30 grams of undiluted alcohol for 10 years.
Depending on the cause, acute liver failure can sometimes be reversed with treatment. In many situations, though, a liver transplant may be the only cure.