Hepatic Encephalopathy (and a hodgepodge of stuff.)

Being that I have been M.I.A. these past few months I thought I would explain to you the reason. Yes most of it is from a symptom of my cirrhosis, Hepatic Encephalopathy... Not only has it caused me to be slightly O.C.D. (I do things over and over again, and check time repeatedly because I don't want to forget something) and now I can't even be all "Martha Stewart" with home projects because of this twitching and low attention span. hehe... I know, the things I whine about)  We have also had a few real issues, kinks, and losses to deal with. The toughest, the loss of my Papa Earl this month. He was 80 years old. Rest in peace papa!! We have also had a few financial scares (who hasn't) my husband has pretty much lost his job, but God has provided. Jason has been doing free-lance work (lets pray the company does well, and likes Jason enough to hire him.) AND (by the grace of God, and the amazing owner of Rezn8) We have been able to keep our insurance, at least for now. We have such amazing family and friends that not only have sent their prayers and good vibes, but also donations! Donations of time, Harley rides (hehe), and money from $1.00 to hundreds of dollars, and again, just when I think we cannot be any more blessed... The biggest gift anyone can give, a second chance at life, my liver sliver giver (sorry, I can't resist) Jason's cousin, Nancy. << Trust me when I say, this is HUGE, and doesn't happen often for people... Whoa, whoa, Nelly... Reign 'er in there Ricki... tehehe, this post was supposed to be about Hepatic Encephalopathy, I have found some interesting articles on conflicting research on protein restrictions (I myself have come to the conclusion... in my expert opinion that doctors mislead us by saying low protein, but what they REALLY mean to say is low animal proteins, stick with mostly vegetarian type proteins... and lots of carbs. Low protein will lead to malnourishment and no energy, trust me) ...Please correct me if you disagree. Also, I have found some interesting stuff on vitamins and BCAA's (Branch-chain amino acids), L-carnitine, rifaximin... and have come to the conclusion that Lactulose is probably not the most effective treatment for H.E., rifaximin is probably better (even though Lactulose is what I use) I also personally take Zinc which has been shown to improve HE (I think B-12 has also helped with the mental fog for me... but that is just me - could just be the extra energy of B-12.) And I really don't see any negative effects of these or even the BCAA's many recommend. I hope I am not leaving anything out... Of course the obvious, as with any toxin, the goal is to get it out of the body, so to add to it by taking any drugs whether over the counter, prescribed, or not... ANYTHING that is not absolutely necessary (and obviously alcohol will intensify the effects of HE) should be avoided! Ok, I think that is all I have to say right now about that... I know I should cite where I found all this golden information... but I'm tired, and like I said, I do not claim to be a doctor, but here is one great site that explains it much better then me, the rest you will just have to take my word for... muwahahaha. (Click here to learn more about my newest nemesis... So bad it needs no other name then H.E.) hehehehe... I'm not going to even try to blame my cheesiness on it though.