One of the dangers of chronic liver disease is that there are few symptoms and they don’t show up until the disease is in an advanced stage. Hepatitis can linger in the body and produce a chronic infection that lasts for years. This can eventually lead to liver cirrhosis and, in some cases, liver cancer. Signs and symptoms of cirrhosis include abdominal pain, general fatigue, intestinal bleeding, itching, jaundice, loss of interest in sex, nausea and vomiting, small red, spider-like blood vessels under the skin or easy bruising, swelling in the abdomen and legs caused by fluid accumulation, weakness and weight loss.

Many people associate alcohol abuse with liver disease, since the liver processes alcohol so it can be eliminated from your body. If you consume more alcohol than the liver can process, then the resulting imbalance can injure the liver by interfering with its normal breakdown of protein, fats and carbohydrates. There are three kinds of liver diseases related to alcohol consumption: fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis and alcoholic cirrhosis, which is the most serious type of alcohol-induced liver disease. Cirrhosis refers to the replacement of normal liver tissue with scar tissue. Between 10 and 20 percent of heavy drinkers develop cirrhosis, usually after 10 or more years of drinking.

The symptoms of alcohol related liver disease are serious and include fluid in the abdomen, bleeding from veins in the esophagus, an enlarged spleen, high blood pressure in the liver, changes in mental function, coma, kidney failure and liver cancer. The first step in treatment is to stop drinking. A doctor may suggest changes in diet and certain vitamin supplements to help the liver recover from the alcohol-related damage. Medications may be needed to manage the complications caused by the liver damage. In advanced cases of cirrhosis, the only treatment option may be a liver transplant. However, active alcoholics usually do not qualify as organ recipients.

It’s important to remember that it’s possible to live for years with chronic liver disease if you receive the proper medical treatment and halt behaviors that may worsen your condition. Anyone with alcohol-induced liver disease will improve their health and life expectancy if they stop drinking. Patients who do not stop drinking are likely to suffer a variety of life-threatening health problems caused by alcohol-related liver damage. Taking control of the disease before it takes hold of you is the key to your recovery.

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The most common conditions that cause final stage liver disease include chronic viral hepatitis B and C, alcohol related liver disease, autoimmune hepatitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, primary biliary cirrhosis, steatohepatitis and drug induced liver damage. In this article, we’ll explain the symptoms of liver disease and how you can take better care of this vital organ.

Alcohol abuse is the most common cause of end stage liver disease because the disease is rooted in addiction. Unless the patient makes lifestyle changes and gives up drinking, little can be done to improve their health. A fatty liver and alcoholic hepatitis are two of the most common conditions found with an alcoholic liver. Patients with acute alcoholic hepatitis often deteriorate during the first few weeks in hospital, with a mortality rate of 20-50%. With alcoholic cirrhosis, patients who abstain have a five-year survival rate of 60-70%, which falls to 40% in those who continue to drink.

Hepatitis is another common cause of liver damage. Most patients infected with hepatitis B and some with hepatitis C recover completely with no further liver damage. However, some will develop chronic hepatitis leading to cirrhosis and end stage  liver disease. This is more common with hepatitis C. A liver transplant under these circumstances is difficult to manage because the new liver almost always becomes infected with these viruses. Ongoing treatment is usually necessary to keep the new liver healthy.

Most cancers of the liver develop in other parts of the body and spread to the liver. Occasionally, cancer develops first in the liver. This is called primary cancer or hepatoma. When a primary liver cancer is identified early, a liver transplant will be performed. Primary cancer of the liver has the lowest long-term survival at about 50%-60%. However, long- term survival is less common in this case than with transplants for other conditions.

Sometimes the only hope for survival when a patient reaches the end stage of liver disease is a liver transplant. This is a very complicated process with no guarantees. There are really three operations involved. The first is the removal of the liver from the donor, the second is the removal of the diseased liver from the patient, and the third is the operation to insert and connect the new liver. The new liver is attached to the various blood vessels and bile ducts. Long-term treatment against rejection is always necessary.

As with any disease, support from friends and family while coping with final stage liver disease can make all the difference on the world. Your survival may be contingent on lifestyle changes, so be with people who support your choice not to drink and to live a healthy lifestyle. If you are given the opportunity to have a transplant, the process can be painful and you will have to spend several weeks in the hospital. Don’t doubt the ability of your loved ones to help you get through this difficult time.