With No Cure... His Life Changed Forever Waiting for a Liver Transplant, How His Brother and Nutrition Saved His Life

    CARLSBAD, CA, February 28, 2017 /24-7PressRelease/ -- It's an illness, that can be treated but not cured. In 2002, with a diagnosis of PSC, (Primary sclerosing cholangitis, a chronic, or long-term, disease that slowly damages the bile ducts) & Ulcerative Colitis, the life of Jonathan Terauchi ultimately changed forever.

For the first 10 years, his lifestyle didn't change much. He knew he needed to adjust his eating habits to manage the discomfort of his new illness, but as a young adult, that was difficult. With no urgency or importance expressed, he continued his life as normal.

"I was very nervous at first, because PSC is a slowly progressing disease," states Terauchi. "It was easier to simply move on with life and not think much about it unless it bothered me."

30 million Americans have some form of liver disease. Unfortunately, nutrition's effect on the liver is severely underestimated. The symptoms and specific dietary requirements of liver disease make it a big challenge for patients to manage their nutrition. Liver disease patients may need to dramatically change the way they eat to fulfill their new dietary needs. An improper diet, however, leads to further health complications and a worse disease prognosis.

Over time, many PSC patients will continue to suffer a gradual loss of liver function. Because it is not an immediate loss, many do not understand the importance of nutrition in the health of the liver. But over time, when liver failure becomes severe, a liver transplant may be necessary, and by 2014, things began to change drastically for Jonathan. He began to notice more weight loss, itching, abdominal pain, and just the usual symptoms PSC patients experience.

At the insistence of his older sister, who was a Palliative Care Doctor at Baylor at the time, he went to Baylor University Medical Center, knowing their proficiency with PSC patients would be a positive experience. Even though they immediately performed surgery to try to manage his disease, by 2015 his conditioned worsened. He experienced infections that were antibiotic resistant, alarming the physicians. His health declined rapidly and he found himself on a liver transplant list, as a high risk patient, unable to recover from his infections.

The outcome for patients with PSC who have undergone transplantation is excellent. The survival rate for two or more years is about 80 percent, with a good quality of life after recovery. But as friends lined up to be tested as donors to help save his life, there were no matches. That's when things started to turn around for Jonathan.

"Thankfully my younger brother decided he would donate part of his liver to save my life," Terauchi reflects. "He was a perfect match! So now we not only share the same birthday, but we also share the same liver!"

Now Jonathan finds himself a healthy liver transplant patient. Because of his history, he puts his liver health first when considering what he eats, unlike when he was younger. He is very mindful of the damage that can take place if he doesn't consider his diet, like getting sick again, or the possibility of rejection. His liver is 'brand new' and staying on the right path for liver health could mean the difference between life and death.

"Eating after surgery was the most difficult thing to do and I am taking my diet seriously," says Jonathan. "My wife found the Amsety Bars for me and now I eat them in the morning and as a snack. I love them and I feel good about what I am putting in my body."

Created by leading US liver specialists and food engineers, Amsety Bars support the daily nutrient intake of those with liver conditions. Gluten-free, sodium-free, no refined sugar, 100% organic, vegetarian and kosher and no artificial preservatives.

The Amsety bar was developed to improve the lives of liver patients by delivering healthy liver nutritional solutions. Nutrition is a critical factor for general health and well-being. Maintaining a healthy diet can be challenging. Changing your nutrition for the better is the first step towards a healthier lifestyle.

"If more people with liver disease knew about Amsety Bars, I just know they would love them! They have changed the way I look at my diet," Jonathan concludes.

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