Dealing with Hepatic Encephalopathy

Recently, I went through a very serious health scare dealing with hepatic encephalopathy (HE). Landing in the hospital and not remembering anything has left me very emotional. It scared me enough to reach out to all who read this and share the importance of talking with family, friends, and coworkers about your condition.

It's hard to admit that something is wrong

Sure, we all like to pretend that we are good and nothing is wrong. In fact, I fell into that category- hard. I knew I had HE. I take medications daily to combat the brain fog effects.  However, I guess I felt I was beyond the stage that I could end up in a coma or hospital as a result of it. Not that I saw myself above anyone else fighting it, but I guess I really didn’t comprehend the dangers of HE until that fateful morning that landed me a trip in ambulance and then to the trauma unit at the hospital.

The truth about hepatic encephalopathy

I am grateful I sat my kids down in the very beginning.  Both so young, yet I wanted them to know if they happen to see mom acting this way or not responding what to do.  I encourage anyone fighting end stage liver disease to share this video with family and close friends.  It helps explain the dangerous condition known as HE.

Back in the earlier days of this documentary, HE was named "wrestling the monster". I am sure given this name because of the horrible side effects it gives off. The mood swings, the angry outbursts, the drunken-like stupor it gives off, the spaced-out feelings, and the lack of communicating to others. In fact, Mike in this documentary died during one of these HE episodes. He slipped into a coma and never regained consciousness. Having done this serval times before, his wife Sandy was fully aware of what was happening and got medical help right away. Sadly, however, because of the stage of his liver disease and struggling with HE, Mike passed away shortly after filming this powerful documentary.

Getting help

I am not going to sugarcoat this - It scared me to death waking up in the hospital not remembering anything but trying to communicate with my coworker. How quickly my life could have been different hadn’t no one sought medical help for me as soon as they did. Had my daughter not known enough to tell paramedics my condition to save time in trying to diagnose me, I could have slipped into coma.  All these key things saved my life.

Please, if you are suffering from any degree of brain fog, talk to your doctor today and get help.  This is a matter of life or death.  Do not risk that by ignoring or sugarcoating the situation here. It can be so dangerous.