Question: I am 63 years old, male, with Type II diabetes, for which I am taking 170 units of insulin daily. I also have non alcohol related cirrhosis, which was diagnosed nearly 3 years ago. I have more and more difficulty carrying heavy objects. They don't even have to be heavy anymore . After a few minutes of carrying some medium sized boxes and loading them into a car, I am bent over like an old man and cannot continue. I have read that cirrhosis can cause a loss of core strength and make it difficult to carry heavier objects, but my liver specialist says he has never heard of this correlation. My liver specialist is retiring soon, so please don't worry about causing a rift between us with a candid honest answer that differs from that of my doctor. What, if anything, can be done to strengthen my core? Is there some medication that will help?

Also, I was diagnosed with cirrhosis by means of a liver biopsy after a scary episode of vomiting six pints of blood and being rushed to the ER. The bleeding turned out to be caused by bleeding varices in my esophagus, which have undergone a series of banding. I suffer from encephalopathy for which I take Xifaxin, and my doctor told me I shouldn't be driving. My chief complaint is that despite my worsening condition, my doctor says my MELD score isn't high enough to qualify being put on the registry for a liver transplant. My last CT scan revealed something that is suspicious for cancer, but my doctor thinks we should wait and see until after my next CT scan in 6 months. Meanwhile I am feeling lousy, weaker every day, getting lost in malls, and wondering why I entered a particular room. I have been having abdominal pain in my right side, which is new, but I only see my doctor every six months. When I call to tell him I am feeling worse, his assistant tells me to be sure to tell the doctor when I see him in 3 months. I fear that while we "wait and see," I may die of liver failure. The liver specialist is the Director of Liver Disease at a prestigious medical facility, who I hoped would be able to get me a new liver. Oh yea, I recently developed a hernia in my groin area, which my regular physician readily diagnosed, but which my liver specialist refused to even look at. I was unbuckling my pants and he just dismissed me, saying he had felt around down there when he examined me, and he doesn't need to look at it. My question is after nearly 3 years of waiting and getting progressively worse, shouldn't I be eligible to get on the registry for a liver transplant?