Excellent first person resource on Liver Transplant experience

I just discovered this very informative blog from someone who has been through liver transplant surgery. I hope you find it informative too: https://flyme33.wordpress.com

First Visit to my G.I. post surgery

This week I visited my G.I. since having the surgery. Visit went well overall, however he did want me to get on the liver transplant list. Without saying it exactly, he did leave me with the impression this will be my ultimate permanent fix. As with most TIPS surgery recipients, the biggest concern is blockage of the stent. He said if my mental acuity started to slow down, I should be very wary and take myself to a hospital for further investigation. He also stressed the importance of continuance of my lactalose and even increase my intake. Overall, my walk away thoughts were good, but I got the distinct impression that this is a stop gap measure before a liver transplant. more to come...:)

Sodium intake

Since the TIPS surgery I've been trying to cut down on my sodium intake. It's hard to do. Sodium is everywhere in the food we eat and worse, it's the stuff that makes food taste good! I've started reading food labels and buying low sodium products, but I still fall short in keeping my sodium intake down. I love spicy foods etc, so I am  interested in hearing how others have found good alternatives to the sodium challenge.Thank you!

A forum for sharing your experiences after Tips Surgery

I'll keep the about me part short. I'm starting this blog because there was no good information about life after tips surgery. Most of what I found online was dry academia about the procedure itself.

The personal stories I did find where older and outdated.

 I had the surgery because I'm an alcoholic. One day I went in for a banding procedure for my variceal bleeding  and 4 days later I woke up in Phoenix hospital. During the banding procedure I was found to have a hole in my esophagus, so they kept me under and helicoptered me to the hospital due to bleeding they could not stop.

After waking up, I found out that the hospital had performed TIPS surgery and thus the story begins.

Before surgery the effects of my disease included constant fatigue,confusion and slurring, constant draining of my stomach, (9-11 quarts) every month and a terrible quality of life.

It's been 2 months since my surgery and all of the symptoms described above have gone. Of course, I no longer drink and keeping my sodium count down isn't fun, but I'm alive. Since the surgery, I have started walking everyday and feel good.

Of course, being engaged in the life of living again, I was curious as to the recovery stories of others. Did the ascites return after a while? What have other TIPS patients experienced post surgery?

So feel free to share your story here. and I hope this blog is useful to you. Best Regards, TC