Diagnosis of liver cirrhosis - what you need to know and do?

Cirrhosis is different from cirrhosis!

Usually people believe that if a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis is made, then this is a death sentence. This is not always the case. There are different causes, forms and stages of liver cirrhosis. And depending mainly on the cause of the disease, the prognosis of the disease can be different. In some forms of cirrhosis, eliminating the cause of the disease leads not only to the cessation of progression, but also to the restoration of liver function. Such patients can live long, fulfilling lives, even if the disease was diagnosed at a very young age. Of course, in cases where the cause of the disease cannot be eliminated and the diagnosis is made at a very late stage (doctors call this decompensated cirrhosis), the prognosis is not favorable. In such cases, a liver transplant may be required.

How can you cure yourself with oat decoction? Personal experience

The first incident happened to my mother. This was about 13 years ago. Her right side hurt badly. At first she went to all the doctors, who each prescribed their own treatment, but there was no improvement. The side kept hurting and hurting. Further we go, worse it becomes. Nausea and vomiting appeared. And the pain became more and more intense. Mom was admitted to the hospital. Examinations showed that she had a duodenal ulcer and, in addition, a greatly enlarged liver. After treatment for the prescribed period, she was discharged in almost the same condition as she was admitted. The pain did not stop, but the condition worsened, because there was also anxiety that they could not cure her even in the hospital. So she suffered, from time to time calling an ambulance when the pain became unbearable.

In the end, my mother was sent to emergency surgery. There she underwent FGS again. She barely swallowed this tube because her condition was terrible. The diagnosis was confirmed, and it was also discovered that the gap between the stomach and duodenum had closed, and this was an indication for surgery. Mom was completely upset. Her condition was naturally reflected on her face. This is probably why the doctor who performed FGS on her, seeing her condition, said: “Wait to be so upset, I’ll write you a prescription now, try it, drink it, and if it doesn’t help, then you’ll think about surgery. You will always have time to go under the knife, but in the meantime, buy oats from a horse farm and do this: brew 1 glass of oats with 1 liter of boiling water and leave in a thermos for 7 hours. Strain and drink 1 glass 3 times a day. (The daily dose is 3 cups of decoction, obtained from 3 cups of oats per 3 liters of boiling water).”

We immediately went, bought oats, although not at the farm, but at the pet market, and began to brew it and drink it just as the doctor had written. A week later, my mother’s pain stopped, but she continued to drink the decoction for a whole month. She is now 81 years old, but so far the pain has not returned.

The second time oats helped us out was when my aunt got sick. It all started with a slight malaise. She didn’t pay attention to it, she thought it would pass. But the further, the more. Let's get treatment, not knowing why, because we don't really want to go to the hospital, we're all hoping for chance. So she drank one thing, then another - where she would hear what. It got to the point where my whole face and body turned yellow. Only then did she get scared and go to the hospital. But at the hospital they said that she came in late and had advanced jaundice. She, of course, is shocked, what to do...

I wrote her a prescription and told her what the doctor advised and explained how to drink it. But she didn’t have a thermos to brew, so she did this: she put a 3-liter pan of water on gas, poured in 3 cups of oats and, as soon as it boiled, simmered over low heat for 2 hours. Before the end of cooking, I added another 2 tbsp. spoons of chicory (someone recommended). After that, I wrapped the pan with a terry towel and waited until it cooled. I filtered the broth and drank 1 glass 3 times a day after meals. Within a month, all the yellowness disappeared from her body, but she drank the decoction for some more time to fix it. Many years have passed, she is alive and well.

The third time we had to use this recipe was when my father got sick. He was 72 years old and somehow suddenly his whole body seemed to malfunction. It seemed as if all organs were affected at the same time. What did we not do! Even the doctors had already lost hope and treated us without much optimism or hope for recovery. I will say that in the history of this disease, along with other disappointing diagnoses, there was also a diagnosis of liver cirrhosis. Because my father's liver enzyme production was completely disrupted, his tongue was black and there was a constant taste of bitterness in his mouth. He was abandoned by two hospitals and an ambulance, which left us a signal sheet with a diagnosis of “Acute cerebrovascular accident” as a reminder of this illness.

Since we had no one to rely on, we resorted to our own recipe for brewing oats and began to give this decoction to the patient. They watered him for about 2-3 months, and the result, as in previous cases, was amazing. The bitterness in the mouth has gone, and the blackness has completely disappeared from the tongue.

When I became interested in the beneficial properties of oats, I was surprised to discover that it turns out to be a storehouse of minerals and vitamins that a person needs for normal life.

Firstly, during any illness, diseased organs lack nutrients, and hence the immune defense decreases. It turns out that our task is to replenish the body’s reserves of vitamins and minerals, and then it’s his job, which he begins to cope with himself.

Our whole family fell in love with this wonderful oatmeal broth, which we happily drink even just like that, for example, during epidemics, and give it to our children. By the way, during the Patriotic War, during the period of famine, infants were fed precisely with a decoction of oats, which in terms of nutritional properties is equivalent to human milk.

Use of oatmeal broth:

- to reduce blood sugar; - gastritis, enterocolitis; - peptic ulcer of the stomach and duodenum; - eczema, diathesis and chronic dermatitis in children; - viral hepatitis; — general disorders of the digestive system; - burns; - diseases of the nervous system; - to maintain normal skin trophism.

This was the experience I had in my life, so I decided to share this recipe with you, maybe it will help someone else. My only regret is that I didn’t ask the name of the doctor who advised my mother this recipe, but I still thank God for it all my life and remember it with a kind word.

Tags: folk remedies, grains, medicinal plants, treatment, health

The main thing is to establish and eliminate the cause of liver cirrhosis!

Establishing the cause of the development of the disease is the primary task of the doctor, as it allows in most cases to eliminate the factor that caused the disease, prevent the progression of cirrhosis and the development of complications. The most common causes of cirrhosis are alcohol, hepatitis B and C viruses, as well as metabolic disorders with fat deposition in the liver. Less common are autoimmune (autoimmune hepatitis) and cholestatic diseases (primary biliary cholangitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis), hereditary diseases with accumulation of copper (Wilson-Konovalov disease) or iron (hemochromatosis) in the liver, and drug-induced liver damage.

Completely removable causes of liver damage include infection caused by the hepatitis C virus. Currently, medicine has safe and highly effective medications that make it possible to completely eliminate the hepatitis C virus from the body in a short course of therapy. Elimination of the hepatitis C virus, even at the stage of liver cirrhosis, leads to the prevention of disease progression, improvement and restoration of liver function.

There is also an effective treatment for liver cirrhosis resulting from chronic hepatitis B. This infection cannot be completely eliminated from the body, but there are medications that can persistently suppress the infection, stabilize the disease, preventing its progression and the development of complications. Unlike cases of liver cirrhosis caused by the hepatitis C virus, in the presence of the hepatitis B virus, treatment with an antiviral drug must be continued continuously throughout life.

Complete cessation of alcohol consumption is the main treatment for alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver, which leads to liver restoration and prevention of complications. Therefore, the prognosis for this disease depends not only on the doctor, but also to a large extent on the patient himself.

There are some forms of liver cirrhosis that are successfully treated with treatments that target the mechanism of injury rather than the cause. So, with genetically determined liver diseases, we cannot change genetics. But, for example, with Wilson-Konovalov disease, liver damage occurs due to excessive accumulation of copper in it, and the removal of copper from the body with special medications leads to restoration of the liver. This is one of the few inherited diseases that has very successful treatment. In such patients, liver cirrhosis is diagnosed more often in childhood and adolescence. Without treatment, they die at a young age. Under the condition of constant lifelong therapy with drugs that remove copper from the body, they live a full life (study, work, give birth and raise children). In hereditary hemochromatosis, liver cirrhosis develops due to excess iron, so removing iron (by simple bloodletting) changes the prognosis of the disease.

In case of liver cirrhosis as a result of autoimmune hepatitis, doctors also act on the mechanism of damage - they suppress pathological immune reactions with the help of corticosteroid hormones, azathioprine and other drugs. Treatment can stop or significantly slow down the progression of the disease. In primary biliary cirrhosis, it is also possible to significantly slow down the progression of the disease with the help of ursodeoxycholic acid drugs.

The same patient may have two or more causes of liver damage. For example, viral hepatitis can be combined with alcohol abuse, metabolic disorders, etc. It is very important to identify and eliminate all factors that damage the liver. This is the key to a good prognosis for the patient’s life.

Liver cirrhosis has its own stages of development

When diagnosing liver cirrhosis, a doctor, in addition to the causes of liver damage, always evaluates the degree of disease activity and the severity of damage to liver function. Depending on the severity of liver dysfunction, three stages or classes of liver cirrhosis are distinguished:

class A is fully compensated cirrhosis (there is fibrosis, but liver function is not impaired).
class B - there are initial moderate signs of liver dysfunction (slight increase in bilirubin, decrease in albumin levels, slight accumulation of fluid in the abdomen, treatable, etc.).
class C – severe impairment (or severe decompensation) of liver function and the presence of complications of liver cirrhosis. Such patients, as a rule, have jaundice, edema, ascites, bleeding tendency, and impaired consciousness (hepatic encephalopathy).

It is clear that the diagnosis of cirrhosis at the “class A” stage is more favorable for the prognosis, but to a greater extent the prognosis depends on the possibility of eliminating the cause of liver damage. So, for example, with an autoimmune, viral genesis of the disease, with Wilson-Konovalov disease, successful treatment is possible even in the later stages, and it can lead to compensation for liver cirrhosis (transition to class A). In those rare cases when treatment is absent or ineffective (for example, with primary sclerosing cholangitis, hepatitis delta virus infection, and some others), the prognosis may not be as favorable in the case of initial class A cirrhosis.

Patients with liver cirrhosis should undergo regular examination, including assessment of liver function and prognosis, to select adequate treatment and prevent complications.

Oats and its decoction.

Oatmeal broth has particularly healing properties; its advantage is in the unrefined grains, the peel of which contains a lot of useful substances.

Its intake has a beneficial effect on the entire functioning of the digestive tract. It is taken for the treatment and prevention of gastritis, pancreatitis, hepatitis, etc. It makes it possible to get rid of problems associated with intestinal function and restores the intestinal flora.
Oat decoction has an excellent effect on the functioning of the liver and kidneys and is an excellent anti-inflammatory agent.
Very often it is taken for various colds. A decoction with the addition of onion or garlic juice is an excellent remedy for colds.
Experts recommend replenishing the body with vitamins during illness. This remedy helps to easily relieve fatigue, a great way to relieve nervous tension and get rid of stress. Oats, which contain B vitamins, perfectly strengthen the nervous system.
Helps in the fight against smoking and does not harm. When taken, the body can easily get rid of this addiction.
The above-mentioned cereal removes harmful toxins from the body and renews cells. Very often used for alcohol and food poisoning.
This remedy easily cleanses blood vessels, improves brain function, and normalizes blood pressure in a short time.

Cirrhosis is dangerous due to its complications

Complications pose a danger to life in patients with liver cirrhosis. The main complications include bleeding, hepatic encephalopathy and coma, ascites, as well as the development of liver cancer.

Bleeding. Fibrous scars in the liver compress the intrahepatic blood vessels, which leads to increased pressure in the vessels carrying blood to the liver and their dilation. This is called portal hypertension. In the dilated portal vessels, saccular protrusions are formed - the so-called varicose veins. Most often, varicose veins are observed in the esophagus, stomach, and rectum. Ruptures of such vessels lead to severe and life-threatening bleeding.

The most dangerous bleeding is from varicose veins of the esophagus and stomach. Therefore, all patients diagnosed with cirrhosis of the liver are advised to undergo esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) at least once a year to clarify the presence of varicose veins, assess the risk of bleeding and, if necessary, carry out preventive ligation of these veins. This is a small operation that is performed through an endoscope and consists of compressing varicose veins using latex ligatures. This operation is performed urgently in cases of bleeding to stop it, but if there is a risk of bleeding, it is better to perform it prophylactically. In addition, following a certain diet is of great importance. The doctor may also recommend taking medications that reduce pressure in the portal vessels, as well as eliminate erosions and ulcers of the mucous membrane.

Hepatic encephalopathy and coma. As cirrhosis progresses, the liver's ability to detoxify toxic substances is impaired. The brain is especially sensitive to the effects of toxic substances, primarily ammonia, which is formed in the intestines as a result of the digestion of protein foods (the so-called “nitrogenous waste”). As a result, dysfunctions of the central nervous system are observed in the form of decreased memory, slow reactions, drowsiness, lethargy, trembling of hands, loss of coordination, etc. As encephalopathy progresses, a life-threatening coma develops.

Therefore, patients with liver cirrhosis should undergo regular examination aimed at assessing the presence and degree of hepatic encephalopathy and prescribing adequate treatment. Patients are recommended to adhere to a diet with varying degrees of limiting the consumption of animal protein (mainly red meat), depending on the severity of liver dysfunction. Medicines are prescribed that eliminate constipation and reduce the toxicity of “nitrogenous waste”, drugs that bind ammonia in the blood, etc.

Ascites, edema. Ascites means the accumulation of fluid in the abdominal cavity. Ascites is a consequence of portal hypertension, as well as a decrease in albumin synthesis in the liver. At the same time, fluid can accumulate in the chest (in the pleural cavity), and swelling is observed. An enlarged abdomen, a decrease in the amount of urine, and shortness of breath are observed. Ascites can be complicated by the development of infection of the abdominal cavity, impaired renal function, etc. The doctor prescribes such patients a diet with limited salt, diuretic therapy, which is based on the use of spironolactone, drugs to prevent bacterial infection and other complications. The patient should avoid excessive prescription of diuretics, massive urine output (more than 2-2.5 liters per day), regularly monitor fluid output, blood tests and be observed by a doctor.

Primary liver cancer is a malignant tumor that, unlike metastases to the liver of cancer in other locations, develops directly in the liver tissue. Liver cirrhosis is a precancerous condition. The greatest risk of liver cancer is in patients with viral and alcoholic cirrhosis of the liver. After eliminating the cause of liver cirrhosis, the risk of developing liver cancer decreases tenfold, but it still remains.

Since the early stages of primary liver cancer can be successfully treated, all patients with liver cirrhosis should undergo regular examinations (at least once every 6 months), including mandatory ultrasound examination and testing of the level of the liver tumor marker - alpha-fetoprotein. In some cases, additional studies are required (magnetic resonance imaging, etc.).

How to brew?

You won’t find the product we need on supermarket shelves. It is sold in pet stores, markets or specialty health food stores. Its main characteristic is the absence of any processing (it is a cereal in its pure form, collected from the fields). The most effective for cleansing the liver are decoctions and infusions.

Decoction

There are several ways to properly brew oats.

Recipe No. 1

Place 100 g of cereal in a pan (preferably not an aluminum one), add a liter of water, bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat with the lid open. Then close the pan and leave for several hours until it cools.

Recipe No. 2

Pour 500 g of oats with three liters of water and cook for several hours over low heat. The volume of liquid should decrease to a glass. You will get a slimy mass that is equal to a single serving.

Recipe No. 3

Combination with herbs and rose hips will not only enhance the healing effect, but also improve the taste of the drink. We will need: crude oats and knotweed - 3 tbsp each. spoons, birch buds, chopped rose hips, corn silk, lingonberry leaves - 2 tbsp. spoons, water - 5 liters.

Pour oats, lingonberry leaves and birch buds into 4 liters of water in a large enamel pan. Leave in a cool place (maybe the refrigerator) for a day.
Pour the rosehip with the remaining liter of water, bring to a boil, cool and let it brew for the same time.
Place the pan with oats on the fire; when it boils, add knotweed and corn silk. After 15 minutes, turn off the heat, filter the broth and combine with rosehip broth.

Kissel

Unlike decoctions and infusions, they replace one of the meals, usually breakfast. There are many recipes, let's focus on the main ones.

Classical

The cereal grains are dried and ground in a coffee grinder. 450 g of the resulting flour is poured with 1.5 liters of boiling water and left for 1.5 days. The resulting mass must be strained and boiled until thickened. After cooling, it will acquire a jelly-like consistency.

According to Izotov's recipe

The most delicious cleaning product. You will not regret the time spent preparing it:

Grind 500 g of flakes and pour them into a three-liter bottle.
Add washed, dried and chopped natural oats (300 g).
Fill with yogurt or kefir (400 ml) and water (1.5 l). Stir (preferably with a wooden spoon), wrap.
After two days, strain, rinse the grains additionally (do not throw away the water after this). Leave both containers covered for 16 hours.
After washing the oats, drain the top layer from the liquid (this is oat kvass, which can be drunk additionally), leaving the sediment in a cool, dark place (this is the base of the jelly).

Prepare a portion immediately before use: mix 400 ml of water from the first can and 3-4 tbsp. spoons of the remainder from the second jar, boil for five minutes over low heat, add dried fruits, a teaspoon of honey. We use the resulting jelly to replace breakfast for 1 month.

From cereal

You can cook jelly from oatmeal:

Mix 400 g of Hercules flakes and a liter of water, cook for 40 minutes.
We pass through a colander.
We rub the separated flakes through a sieve and pour the broth again.
Boil for another 5 minutes.

This is a quick way to prepare a healthy breakfast.

From sprouted grains

Requires more time and patience, but is more effective than many recipes:

We germinate the grains in the traditional way on wet gauze.
Dry and grind through a meat grinder.
Pour a tablespoon of the resulting porridge into a glass of water and boil for 5 minutes over high heat.

We received a single serving of jelly. Let it sit for one hour in a warm place before use.

Steaming

The “golden mean”, which allows you to preserve most of the beneficial properties of the product. There are several ways to steam oats:

Grind the beans in a coffee grinder. Mix a tablespoon with a liter of boiled water and steam in a thermos for 12 hours.
Pour a glass of oats with hot, but not boiling water (3 l). Close the lid and place in the oven at 150°C for 2 hours. Cool and strain.
Pour 3 liters of water into a saucepan with a thick bottom and add a glass of oats. Bring to a boil, turn off the heat, cover and leave for 24 hours. Strain.

Infusion

The drink, prepared without heat treatment, retains all its beneficial properties. This is the easiest way to prepare oats: pour 100 g of cereal with a liter of boiled, cooled water and leave for 12 hours at room temperature. Then we strain.

The insidiousness of liver diseases

Many human diseases can occur unnoticed, without significant manifestations. But liver diseases are characterized by a particularly long asymptomatic course, and this is their insidiousness. There are no nerve endings in the liver, so even if you have cirrhosis of the liver, it does not hurt. Jaundice usually develops in the later stages of cirrhosis. Therefore, the disease is often detected during clinical examination or during a random examination already at the stage of cirrhosis, and not hepatitis.

You need to know that the first manifestations are different for everyone, which depends on the cause and stage of the disease. Often it is only weakness, increased fatigue and discomfort in the right hypochondrium. The first manifestations may be an increase in the volume of the abdomen, swelling in the legs, that is, complications of cirrhosis. Sometimes it is itchy skin, bleeding from the nose and gums, slight bruising on the skin, yellowing of the sclera of the eyes, joint pain, skin rashes, etc.

When should you see a hepatologist?

For timely diagnosis of liver disease, you need to consult a specialist

if you feel unwell, the cause of which is not clear
if there are any of the above manifestations of the disease
if you regularly drink alcohol
if you have had jaundice or have had surgery, blood transfusions, intravenous drug use, tattoos (all of these are risk factors for hepatitis virus infection)
if you suffer from metabolic disorders (diabetes, obesity, gout, high cholesterol)
if during medical examination you were found to have abnormalities in a biochemical blood test or markers of hepatitis viruses
if an ultrasound examination reveals an enlarged liver