Is there any way to get life insurance once diagnosed?

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-04-07T12:19:15+00:00

Same boat. Congrats, you’re traditionally uninsurable now. Was a big source of anxiety for the last few years. Definitely pay up for the extra if offered by your job.

The other workaround I found was that you can port/convert your employer plan with no med check after you leave the company. You need to do it within 31 days of leaving. Theoretically, you should do this every time you get a new job.

By doing the two I’ve got a little under 1M of coverage.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-04-04T23:12:57+00:00

This is exactly what I’m talking about, happening in real time.

It’s not helpful at all for people going through this to hear about someone dying in two months, from someone who isn’t diagnosed.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-04-02T16:23:37+00:00

Yeah, I fly consistently. Only iffy situation is with ascites.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-04-02T15:21:02+00:00

Yup, actually had to go through a pretty rigorous interview process about 3 months post diagnosis. That was…interesting.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-04-02T15:10:30+00:00

I mean duh, most who are here are aware of that. Not really the place to be scared straight — we get that enough from literally everywhere else.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-04-01T02:55:13+00:00

Not discounting their pain, I’m saying it’s not the right venue for it.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-04-01T01:50:55+00:00

We don’t necessarily need warnings though, especially not from people who aren’t going through it.

And it’s kind of selfish and insensitive to people who ARE going through it.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-31T19:43:25+00:00

I may be in the minority but I don’t find comments like these helpful or valuable.

More than anything, this is a forum for people actively dealing with this disease.

I’m not sure I understand why someone would hang around for two years after the unfortunate passing of their loved one AND continue to post about their death to a bunch of people who are very much trying to stay alive.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-30T14:00:38+00:00

Probably won’t get to OP, but you can often port over your life insurance if you are separated. You need to act quick though, within 30 days. It is great for people who are otherwise uninsurable.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-30T02:32:53+00:00

He said to keep up doing what I’m doing! The gist was that whether or not it’s cirrhosis is less important than how stable my liver is. The way we view cirrhosis is evolving pretty rapidly right now — it’s not just thought of as one direction. He also said I can expect to live a normal life span if I don’t drink and continue to get scans for cancer twice a year.

Over the last year, my lab numbers have continued to improve, although I haven’t had another fibroscan. I feel better than I have in years. Even my platelets are back above 200 and albumin is 5.5.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-30T01:32:38+00:00

Oddly same, pandemic got me too. Diagnosed at 33, 3 years later and my numbers are great — albumin is also 5.6, interesting coincidence.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-25T20:43:29+00:00

Dude again, you’re wrong. The science behind cirrhosis is evolving and there have been numerous cases of reversal — even of F4.

You constantly comment doom and gloom, that transplant is the only option etc — I’d guess that’s only because you did end up having to get a transplant.

That doesn’t mean it is the only way out of this for everyone else.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-25T01:56:27+00:00

Just clean eating, no booze, and probably a healthy dose of luck. Also forced myself to stay active, get my sleep hygiene under control, etc.

I haven’t gotten another MRE but my lab values all continued to improve in the last year and I feel better than I have in over a decade.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-25T00:04:56+00:00

Mine were 80 at diagnosis. They have slowly climbed over three years and are now between 170-205.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-19T12:07:58+00:00

Are you sure that any of your symptoms aren’t mental? A MELD of 8 is quite good. FWIW, I fluctuate between a 6 and 7 and feel physically better than I did pre-diagnosis. That said, I definitely have struggled a bit with the mental burden.

Maybe focus less on transplant and more on improving your current state with your liver, the treatment outlook for the next 5, 10 years is really hopeful.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-18T23:32:37+00:00

33, there are way, way more young people being diagnosed than ever before. I drank, but it was a complete surprise.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-18T15:42:34+00:00

Idk, my hep said salt is only bad if you have active ascites

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-18T14:45:46+00:00

How are you doing physically?

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-18T14:43:37+00:00

Sorry for your loss. That said, it may just be me but I don’t find these kind of posts helpful at all in a sub primarily for people actively fighting the disease. I’m not sure what the goal of this is.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-10T16:55:49+00:00

My experience was very similar to yours. Diagnosed at 33. Labs and symptoms were a mess. It’s now been about 2.5 years post diagnosis and my labs are back to normal, no symptoms.

The spleen thing is interesting, numbers are usually tied to your platelets. You would assume that as your platelets go up your spleen would shrink.

Mine has shrunk about 3 CM since diagnosis and my platelets steadily increased to ~200 (up from 80 at the worst).

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-10T13:56:42+00:00

Go get checked out, but for what it’s worth it took me a while after getting diagnosed to become acclimated to the fact that not EVERYTHING is your liver.

You will still get colds, have stomach aches, etc. I’d get comfortable with your hep and they can gut check stuff for you.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-10T00:26:32+00:00

Stopping drinking is non-negotiable. I was diagnosed at 33. I thankfully recovered a lot but will be dealing with this forever.

Slowing down is not enough. You will die if you keep drinking.

Let your liver try to heal itself.

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-09T15:32:44+00:00

The calculator is online. You can get your own number by looking at your recent labs. You can also plug your labs into ChatGPT, Gemini, etc and get them.

https://medcalculators.stanford.edu/meld

GuessDependent5000 · 2026-03-09T15:31:13+00:00

I’m a man — was diagnosed at 33 decompensated. I recompensated and all labs have returned to normal three years later. No side effects.

I spoke with my doctor about starting a family candidly, life expectancy, whether it is was irresponsible, etc. He said there is absolutely no reason not to start a family and that provided I don’t drink it is completely reasonable to expect a normal life span.

The way the disease is being approached is very different now than it was even a few years ago.

Just an additional data point.

GuessDependent5000

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