How Long After Liver Failure Till Death (And Why)?

Exact Answer: 6-12 Years

Failure of liver functioning can be due to two diseases and are Hepatitis B and Alcoholic liver diseases. People who drink too many alcoholic products have a chance of liver failure because too much alcohol will heat the liver and thus people die.

However, there are two stages of cirrhosis that include compensated and decompensated stages. People suffering from the first stage would most likely live for about 9-12 years without showing any kind of symptom although about 5-7% of those with this kind of condition develop certain types of symptoms within a year.

How Long After Liver Failure Till Death?

People suffering from decompensated cirrhosis will already suffer from certain kinds of symptoms. The most common decompensated cirrhosis symptoms are jaundice, fatigue, weight loss, bleeding and bruising easily, bloated abdomen due to accumulation of fluids, legs swollen, confusion, and nausea.

The higher a person’s meld score higher would be the risk of mortality. Say suppose, if a person’s meld score is less than 9 then the risk of mortality would be about 1.9% whereas on the other hand, if a person suffering from cirrhosis has a meld score of more than 40 then the risk of mortality would be about 71.3%.

People with compensated cirrhosis do not show any kind of symptoms but almost 5-7% of people start to show symptoms within a year. The final or the last stage symptoms would include things like muscle cramps, trouble sleeping at night, fatigue, loss of appetite, and depression.

There are several other symptoms that will indicate that the person is dying from liver failure. Most people suffer from jaundice and there is an increased risk of bleeding and along with this, there is an accumulation of fluids in the abdomen.

People suffering from any kind of cirrhosis need to see their doctor or medical team regularly and they should check their patient’s progress every day so that to increase the chance of living. Early treatment of the patient will help prevent further complications and thus there can be a chance for the patient to revive.

Why Does It Take That Long After Liver Failure Till Death?

Since there are two types of cirrhosis disease then one cannot be sure as to how long a person can live after they have suffered from the disease. Some people if they get early treatment can live much longer than a person who suffered several complications.

Your medical team or the doctor will try their best to save you from suffering from any kind of complication. They might give you diuretics that will reduce the accumulation of excess fluids in your abdomen. They might give you laxatives so that all the toxins are removed from your body. In many cases, people can also opt for liver transplants.

People or patients should be able to maintain a healthy diet because eating healthy is one of the most crucial things with this condition. Cirrhosis can affect the diet of the person so they should try to consume a low-salt diet, they should limit their fluid intake, eat plenty of protein foods, and other such kinds of things.

However, it is best that you consult with a doctor as soon as possible so that you know what you should eat and what you should avoid. Do not be careless and ignore symptoms because severe complications may occur if you keep it in yourself and do not talk it out with your family or friends.

Conclusion

In the end, you have to be extremely careful about what kinds of foods you eat and what kind of fluids you take in. If you are an alcoholic then there is a high chance that you will suffer from cirrhosis with complications.

Cirrhosis is a severe condition and it will cause permanent damage to your liver and your body will be weak permanently after you suffer from this kind of disease. If you are into the final stage or if there are severe complications then physicians will use meld scores so that you can get a liver transplant.

However, keeping all the medical procedures aside you should take care of yourself even if you do not suffer from any kind of disease. Even a small infection can lead to the death of a person.

References

1. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.3727/096368909788237168
2. https://journals.lww.com/transplantjournal/Fulltext/1997/06150/TREATMENT_OF_SURGICALLY_INDUCED_ACUTE_LIVER.1.aspx