liver and gallbladder disorders
Alcohol Related Liver Disease
Treatment of Alcohol Related Liver Disease
Stopping drinking (abstinence) and assistance in doing so Treatment of symptoms and complications Treatments for liver damage Abstinence is usually the best treatment. Other than Liver Transplantation , abstinence is the only treatment that can slow or reverse alcohol-related liver disease. In addition, it is available to all and has no side effects. Because abstinence is difficult, several strategies are used to help motivate people and to help them change their behavior. Strategies include behavioral therapy and psychotherapy (talk therapy)—often as part of a formal rehabilitation program—as well as self-help and support groups (such as Alcoholics Anonymous) and counseling sessions with the primary care doctor. Therapies that explore and help people clarify why they want to abstain from alcohol (called motivational enhancement therapy) may also be used. Medications are sometimes used but only to supplement behavioral and psychosocial therapies (see Detoxification and rehabilitation ). Some medications (such as Doctors treat the problems caused by alcohol-related liver disease and the withdrawal symptoms that develop after people stop drinking. (especially B vitamins) are important during the first few days of abstinence. They can help correct nutritional deficiencies that can cause complications such as weakness, shaking, loss of sensation and strength, Overview of Anemia , and are used to treat withdrawal symptoms (see Emergency treatment ). However, if alcohol-related liver disease is advanced, sedatives are used in small doses or avoided because they can trigger Abstinence is tried first. Several medications, including some antioxidants (such asS-adenosyl-L-methionine, phosphatidylcholine, and metadoxine) and medications to reduce inflammation, may be useful, but further study is needed. Many nutritional supplements that are antioxidants, such asmilk thistleand vitamins A and E, have been tried but are ineffective. Corticosteroidscan help relieve severe liver inflammation and are safe to use if people do not have an infection, bleeding in the digestive tract, kidney failure, or pancreatitis. Liver Transplantation None 