How is cirrhosis of the liver treated?
How is cirrhosis of the liver treated?
Treatment depends on what’s causing your cirrhosis and how much damage exists.
Although there is no cure for cirrhosis, treatments can delay or stop its progress and reduce complications.
Treatments for the causes of cirrhosis are as follows:
- Alcohol-related liver disease: If you’ve developed cirrhosis from alcohol abuse, stop drinking alcohol. If you need help, ask your healthcare provider for recommendations for alcohol addiction treatment programs.
- Hepatitis B or C: Several approved antiviral medications are available to treat hepatitis types B and C.
- Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Management of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease includes losing weight, following a healthy diet, getting physical exercise and following your provider’s instructions for managing your diabetes.
- Inherited liver diseases: Treatment depends on the specific inherited disease. Treatments are aimed at treating symptoms and managing complications. Treatment of alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency may include medicine to reduce swelling in your abdomen and legs, antibiotics to treat infections and other medicines for complications. For hemochromatosis, treatment is to remove blood to reduce the level of iron in your blood. For Wilson disease, treatment is medicines to remove copper from your body and zinc to prevent absorption of cooper. For cystic fibrosis, medications are prescribed to improve lung function, methods to clear mucous and treatment of complications. Treatment for glycogen storage diseases that involve the liver is to keep glucose at the right level.
- Autoimmune hepatitis: Treatment includes medications to suppress your immune system.
- Diseases that damage or block bile ducts in the liver: Treatments include medications such as ursodiol (Actigall®) or surgery to open narrowed or blocked bile ducts.
- Heart failure: Treatment depends on the cause and stage of your heart failure. Medications include drugs to treat high blood pressure, reduce cholesterol, remove excess fluids (edema) from your body and improve heart pumping function. Other treatments include implantation of devices to help pump blood or monitor heart rhythm, surgeries to unblock arteries or replace or repair heart valves and transplant surgery to replace your heart.
- Medications that may be contributing to cirrhosis: Your provider will review all of your medications to determine if any are causing problems for your liver and if so, stop the drug, lower the dosage or change to a different drug if possible.