ascites

Hi Scraggles,

My mom developed ascities shortly after her diagnosis. Other than the appearance, it hasn’t bothered her very much although it can be a real problem for some people. It may be one of the things that has caused some shortness of breath for mom though.

She chose not to have it drained as our research showed that often you can drain it and it builds right back up again quite quickly. Another consideration was that each procedure increases the chance for infection which was really mom’s biggest enemy at the time.

As Marion said there is a wealth of information on this topic on this site so I am sure you will find what you need to help your mom decide what to do with her doctor’s help.

Good luck and I hope your mom is feeling ok,

Sharon

scraggles….I am sorry to hear that. Ascites is excess fluid in the space between the tissues lining the abdomen and abdominal organs (the peritoneal cavity) something, we have had and continue to discuss frequently, on this board. Many have undergone a procedure called Paracentesis”, in where a thin needle is used to pull the fluid from the abdomen. A diuretic such as Lasix has been reported to be helpful including, a reduction in salt intake. But, others may have much more information coming your way.
In the meantime you might want to use the “Search Function” (top, middle, simply: enter Ascities or, diuretic) or, you may like to use the “google” search
(top bar, right hand side) in order to familiarize yourself with Ascities. The occurrence of ascities appears to be quite common with the disease of Cholangiocarcinoma. In fact, Wikipedia (amongst other sites) offers a good explaination. Here is the link:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascites
I am wishing for things to improve real soon.
Best wishes,
Marion