Symptoms

• Extreme tiredness

  
  

• Weakness

  
  

• Loss of appetite, often with an upset belly and weight loss

  
  

• Water building up in the legs (edema) or belly (ascites)

  
  

• Easy bruising or bleeding

  
  

• For females, absent or rare menstruation not related to menopause.

  
  

• For men, loss of sex drive or tender, enlarged breasts

Symptoms of late-stage, or advanced, cirrhosis include yellow skin, called jaundice, intense itching, and vomiting blood due to bleeding from the stomach or esophagus.

People with advanced cirrhosis have trouble digesting certain proteins, resulting in unsafe levels of ammonia in the blood (hepatic encephalopathy), which can cause mild sleep disturbances, trouble focusing, unresponsiveness and coma.

What causes cirrhosis?

Cirrhosis has many causes. It can come from certain illnesses or disorders, direct harm to the liver cells, indirect harm by inflammation, or swelling, or a block in the bile ducts, which drain the liver cells of bile.

Common causes of direct liver harm

• Long-term alcohol abuse.

  
  

• Chronic viral hepatitis (types B, C and D).

  
  

• Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD).

  
  

• Autoimmune hepatitis.

  
  

• Obesity.

  
  

• Inherited (passed down through family) illnesses, such as alpha-1-antitrypsin deficiency, among others.

  
  

• Metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease (MASLD).

  
  

• Hemochromatosis.

Tests for cirrhosis

• Blood tests.

  
  

• Imaging studies (CT scan, MRI or ultrasound).

  
  

• Physical exam.

• Ultrasound-based transient elastography or MR (magnetic resonance) elastography.

  
  

  • Noninvasive.

    
    

  • Measures stiffness of the liver.

    
    

  • Results can be seen right away.

• Liver biopsy.

  
  

  • Taking a small piece of tissue from the liver to look at under a microscope.

    
    

  • Calls for hospitalization for half a day.

    
    

  • Local numbing is given and medicine to help you relax, if needed.

Treatment

Caring for cirrhosis is aimed at stopping or slowing liver damage and holding off complications. Patients with cirrhosis often live healthy lives for many years. If complications happen, they can often be treated..

Vaccinations

Make sure that you are vaccinated for the flu each year, as well for pneumonia and hepatitis A and B.

Prescriptions

Talk to your doctor about any prescription or over the counter medications or supplements you are taking, such as acetaminophen.

Good eating habits

Good eating habits are key to the care of advanced cirrhosis.

• Diets that have easy-to-digest forms of protein, such as legumes, poultry and fish, are important.

  
  

• A low-salt diet is vital if you have edema (swelling) or ascites (the buildup of fluid in the legs or belly).

  
  

• Eat less hard-to-digest proteins, such as red meat, results in fewer toxins in the digestive tract.

  
  

• Avoid eating raw seafood, as this may cause severe infections.

For Alcoholic cirrhosis

In alcoholic cirrhosis, you must stop drinking alcohol to stop liver damage

Medication

Your doctor may recommend medication.

• If you have a certain type of hepatitis, your doctor may give you steroids or antiviral drugs to lessen liver-cell damage.

  
  

• If you have edema and ascites, you may be put on a low-salt diet and given diuretics, so that you make more urine to remove fluid and stop the swelling from coming back.

  
  

• Medications can control itching.

Important Reminder: This information is intended only to provide general guidance. It does not provide definitive medical advice. It is very important that you consult your doctor about your specific condition.

Cirrhosis - AGA GI Patient Center