Mom had a hepatologist appointment this week. He told her the reason he's been pushing for a biopsy is to verify a diagnosis he's been suspecting, but a biopsy isn't really possible right now. They tried trans-jugular last year and the guide wires were stuck on a particularly sharp curve around one of her organs, and trans-abdominal won't work with the ascites. There's too much fluid for them to work properly and the risk of infection is greater with ascites. The decision was made to try her on medication for the diagnosis and see if it works. I asked if it would hurt her if she doesn't have the condition it treats, and the doctor assured me it's safe to take. I'm waiting for an envelope from Mom with the address of her mail-in pharmacy on it so that I can send it off tomorrow.
The diagnosis the specialist suspects is called primary biliary cirrhosis. Click the link to read more about it. Basically, it's when the main duct in the liver sort of shrinks and it's treatable. It has a lot of symptoms of every other autoimmune disease she already has, so it's well hidden, but it does explain her tender liver and high alk phos levels. If this medication reduces her alk phos levels, it's a fairly good indication that she does have this type of cirrhosis.
The doctor hopes this medication will help slow the progression of her liver disease and help her liver function more normally. It should also help her to be less confused. If it doesn't help with the confusion, the doc mentioned another medication that can be used in conjunction with what she's already on that isn't helping as much as we'd like it to. She refused to take any medication for a day and a half because she got her days confused, and even after looking at her cell phone today, she swore to me that it was Saturday the 18th and nearly refused to take her night time meds. The good news is that I got a simple recipe for soup from my boyfriend's sister and she actually really likes it. It's just chicken thighs (they have more fat than breasts, and we need to fatten her up) and pinto beans ("no salt added" brings a can from 1590 mg to 30 mg of sodium) and carne asada seasoning which I add in moderation. A whole crock pot is about 2600 mg of sodium and feeds her for four or five days and is loaded with fiber and protein. If she would stop eating food from the Chinese restaurant (the liver specialist said that Chinese restaurants are known for their high salt content), she might be able to get her ascites under control.
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