I was diagnosed with autoimmune hepatitis and now have cirrhosis. how long do I have to live?

This is NOT a death sentence. I dont know the severity of your cirrhosis, but you could live for a very long time

This is from the National Institute of Health in the US:
http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases...

Autoimmune hepatitis. This disease appears to be caused by the immune system attacking the liver and causing inflammation, damage, and eventually scarring and cirrhosis.

Liver damage from cirrhosis cannot be reversed, but treatment can stop or delay further progression and reduce complications. Treatment depends on the cause of cirrhosis and any complications a person is experiencing. For example, cirrhosis caused by alcohol abuse is treated by abstaining from alcohol. Treatment for hepatitis-related cirrhosis involves medications used to treat the different types of hepatitis, such as interferon for viral hepatitis and corticosteroids for autoimmune hepatitis. Cirrhosis caused by Wilson's disease, in which copper builds up in organs, is treated with medications to remove the copper. These are just a few examples鈥攖reatment for cirrhosis resulting from other diseases depends on the underlying cause. In all cases, regardless of the cause, following a healthy diet and avoiding alcohol are essential because the body needs all the nutrients it can get, and alcohol will only lead to more liver damage. Light physical activity can help stop or delay cirrhosis as well.

Treatment will also include remedies for complications. For example, for ascites and edema, the doctor may recommend a low-sodium diet or the use of diuretics, which are drugs that remove fluid from the body. Antibiotics will be prescribed for infections, and various medications can help with itching. Protein causes toxins to form in the digestive tract, so eating less protein will help decrease the buildup of toxins in the blood and brain. The doctor may also prescribe laxatives to help absorb the toxins and remove them from the intestines.

For portal hypertension, the doctor may prescribe a blood pressure medication such as a beta-blocker. If varices bleed, the doctor may either inject them with a clotting agent or perform a so-called rubber-band ligation, which uses a special device to compress the varices and stop the bleeding.

When complications cannot be controlled or when the liver becomes so damaged from scarring that it completely stops functioning, a liver transplant is necessary. In liver transplantation surgery, a diseased liver is removed and replaced with a healthy one from an organ donor. About 80 to 90 percent of patients survive liver transplantation. Survival rates have improved over the past several years because of drugs such as cyclosporine and tacrolimus, which suppress the immune system and keep it from attacking and damaging the new liver. Source(s): The NIH also has all kinds of articles about treatment options for cirrhosis,
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/cirrh...
Including with Diet http://www.liverfoundation.org/cgi-bin/d...
as well as with the herb MILK THISTLE http://nccam.nih.gov/health/milkthistle/...
Empower yourself with knowledge!
Find a healthcare provider that you trust!

I don't know, but I want to offer my sincere and heartfelt sympathy to you. I hope the rest of your life is full of friends and family and good memories. God bless.
god bless you
If you have facility for surgery (and money ) for relief of portal hypertension, you have 15 yrs.I do not know where you reside but "medical tourists" like you come to India where treatment costs 1/5th of cost in U.S.A.
sorry to hear sarah, cirrhosis is bad news. but it's not that bad.. it all depends on how much residual function ur liver still has.. known by liver function test.. they say that liver can still do its function, even if it is reduced to 20-30 % of its original mass.. such is the reserve mass.. but u still need to b vigilent. consult ur Dr regularly.. keep a regular follow-up, as some condition r more common in cirrhotics.. he'll definitely guide u abt precautions u hv to take in diet n other things.. m sure he'll also tell u the same thing.. i hv known people who lived with it for decades..gl
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic366.ht...