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Questions and AnswersQuestion No.: 18314 Submitted By: Liz Submitted on: February 24, 2008 Subject: ascites in a young woman Question: My daughter (23yrs) has grade 3 ascites. Platelets at 40. All tests come back neg. She will be having a trans-jugular liver biopsy in 2 wks to try to find out what is shutting down her liver. She was a heavy consumer of red wine vinegar (up to 3 bottles weekly with her salads and raw veggies) but has no longer used red wine vinegar for 5 months now. She is on diuretics now and antibiotics as her ascites became very infected. what kinds of supplements can she take safely to try to heal her liver and prevent the ascites from coming back? All supplements mentioned I will ask her hepatologist before she takes them. Please advise. Thanks so much! Liz Dr. Cinque's Answer: I am very sorry about your daughter's predicament. I'm not going to mince words: it sounds serious. At this point, she needs to be under medical care constantly and she shouldn't do anything, or take anything, without her doctor's permission. You mentioned that her platelets were at 40, which is extremely low. My understanding is that platelets, like red blood cells, are produced by cells in the bone marrow. So, I don't know exactly why her liver problem would result in low platelets. As far as the red wine vinegar goes, I have no reason to think that it played any crucial role in this crisis- and it probably played no role at all. Since the ascitic fluid is infected, I can understand why they are giving her antibiotics, and I certainly approve of that. But as far as giving her diuretics to relieve the ascites, it is standard medical procedure, but it's not something I favor. That's the truth. But this is an emergency, and I am certainly not an expert. However, it seems to me that the first priority is to find out exactly what is going on with her. So yes, the biopsy sounds like a good idea. And I wouldn't hesitate to submit to any other testing they recommend. I think it would be very imprudent for me to start recommending supplements at this juncture, so I won't do that. But I invite you to write to me again after you know more. In the meantime, I will be praying for your daughter. |
