Ascites
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Duke –
Good to hear that the diuretic is working and that you have lost the “pregnant” look. No one likes to look pregnant unless they really are.
KrisV
Glad to hear that the diuretic is working Duke and hope that it does not muck about with your potassium levels. Pregnant look gone, good!!
Gavin
I’m taking a diuretic (100 mg spironolactone / aldactone) every other day (prescription is daily) and it seems to be helping. Onc is concerned it may increase potassium when combined with my high blood pressure med lisinopril. Blood work yesterday showed no problems with potassium – will keep it every other day and check again in two weeks. Pregnant look is gone, but still a little tummy fat. Lost about 4 pounds since i started taking it.
Duke
Duke –
Getting in on this one a little late. I would say that you should push to have it drained when YOU feel uncomfortable enough to want it done….some people wait until they are short of breath where others will want it done because there is enough pressure in the abdomen or clothes don’t fit.Two big reasons it happens is related to the liver getting stiff from disease (be it cancer, cirrhosis or other diseases) which allows the blood to kind of back up before it goes into the liver and the clear fluids leaks out. The other reason is due to not enough albumiin in your blood…..protein basically. It can be a combination of the two. I would suggest trying to increase your albumin intake….leans proteins like chicken, turkey, fish and eggs can help a lot. Diuretics will helps some too.
Mark had some before his surgery…..there was actually quite a bit…..I had teased him for awhile about looking pregnant before his diagnosis not realizing I was seeing ascites. Bad nurse, bad nurse! But it was so subtle that I just thought he was gaining weight. He kept some of it around for about 6 months after surgery. And your doc is right the often just use a big needle then just take the syringe off the needle and let it drain. Most docs I know usually drain around 2 liters but some will do more. They can also but a more permanent drain in if needed so you don’t have to go to the hospital every time it needs to be done.
Hope this helps some. And hopefully you don’t have too big of a problem with the ascites.
KrisV
GRRRRRR! It worked for me after I posted it as I checked it after posting it here on the thread, but as you say Duke it is not working now. Basically it was just a search here on the site for ascites and it threw up every post for ascites.
GRRR to bad links, and ascites too.
Gavin
Youre’ right Duke.
Hope this one does.
http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/punbb/search.php?search_id=517542278
Gavin
Duke, my wife had two paracentesis procedures about a month apart to drain ascites after her surgery last year. The procedure was performed by an interventional radiologist and each time approximately 2 liters of fluid were drained.
Lisa chose to undergo the paracentesis procedures because the fluid build-up was causing significant discomfort and abdominal distension. Her surgeon first recommended diuretics for several weeks after the resection. When it became clear that the diuretics alone were not going to fully resolve her ascites, we opted for the paracentesis.
For Lisa, the procedure was a relatively simple outpatient process. The procedure itself only takes about 15 minutes, but the total time at the hospital was 3-4 hours each time including recovery. The medical team tested the fluid and confirmed that there were no malignant cells.
Because my wife’s fluid build-up was directly related to her surgery, she does not have chronic ascites and has not had to repeat the procedure. As Marion mentioned, some patients on this board have to have the procedure performed on a frequent basis to get relief.
If the ascites is mild and is not causing any symptoms, diuretics may do the trick. The procedure is pretty simple, but not without risks. It seems that most oncologists only recommend a paracentesis when the fluid causes pain and cannot be resolved through other means.
I can say that Lisa had immediate relief each time she had the fluid drained; the instant five pound weight loss was also a nice side benefit.
Hi –
I had paracentesis done about 3 -4 times. The first time I requested it because I looked about 9 months pregnant (was not), had trouble getting out of bed, and slight shortness of breath after bending down or doing chores. They removed close to 4-5 liters of fluid each time. But I was never drained “dry” and always had some fluid remain. It is pretty painless (just don’t look at the needle) and you’ll have some gas afterwards.
However, for those two months, the ascites just kept coming back, which I was warned about, and I needed to repeat the procedure. Eventually, the ascites just stopped, much to my relief.
Hope this might help.
Interesting links. My onc said she would just withdraw fluid with a needle. That does not seem to be the conventional method.
She prescribed a water pill but the onc at the Cleveland Clinic suggested I not take it unless things get worse.
Duke
Duke….we have had few discussions re: ascites for quite some time now. Wonder why that is? What we know about ascites is that it can be controlled with diuretics for quite some time prior to resorting to paracentesis for relief of symptoms.
You will want to discuss with the physician reducing the salt intake to 4-5 grams per day (2,000) or less. A nutritionist or dietician can advice about various foods to avoid. Salt substitutes have been mentioned, but it is important to choose one without potassium. Again, this is something to confirm with the physician.
Overall though, paracentesis is dependent on how the patient feels with the accumulated fluid in the abdominal cavities.
When entering the word “paracentesis” in the “Search” function numerous postings will appear. I recall one particular member mentioning weekly drainage of the fluid for many, many months.
As always I hope for others to chime in as well.
Hugs,
MarionMy dad never got his drained Duke but they were discussing it as an option but didn’t do it. He had diuretics for it so not sure I can help with this one.
I know that you will probably know all of this info anyway but here are a few good links from the UK –
Gavin
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