debdanielson

Hi Pam.
Well, my dad hasn’t had it yet but he is going to have to soon. He has absolutely no appetite so I was hoping that once some of the pressure was gone he would feel better and hungry again. If you are pretty new here, you can find out a lot by using the search forum and typing in ascites. I did that but I was specifically looking for how people felt after-wards and didn’t really find the answer to my question. I hope that your husband finds relief. I know that there is a drug everyone is talking about that you will definitely find with the search forum… it starts with an ‘a’, that they are using it to treat the ascites, and I know that they use diuretics sometimes too, and that it helps. Make sure your husband is taking probiotics or at least eating lots of yogurt if he is on antibiotics all of the time. We didn’t do that with my dad and he got c-diff which is very bad. They sell acidopholous (I think I spelled that wrong) in the drugstore too in a little pill form or a flavored tablet that you can chew, and hopefully your husband’s digestive system won’t get all messed up from the ongoing antibiotics. Also, a lot of people on here who have recurring infections and have to take antibiotics often swear by a product called florostar but I looked it up and it is too expensive for us, but the yogurt and pills seem to be working now and keeping the bacteria in his stomach balanced. Good luck!

Pam- I looked it up and the drug is called Avastin so you can look under the search forum or even just ask your doctor about it. Or both

Tomorrow is my dad’s 69th birthday. Today his doctor told me we would be extremely lucky if my dad made it (as in lived that long) to the family reunion on July 11th. How do you wish someone happy birthday when you know it will be their very last one?
I know I am supposed to be glad for the time I have with him now. I know I am supposed to be strong for him. I know this is about him- not me. I am already having problems with my mother in that regard…she is overwhelmed by the smallest of things. Today she told my dad how much work he was causing her. I know she is sad and scared and frustrated but how do you say something like that to someone who is dying?
I probably shouldn’t write stuff like this. But none of my friends really understand. I figure if anyone would understand, I would find them here. I have never been that close to my dad. This cancer has brought us together in the way we should always have been. But instead of feeling glad for having the opportunity, I am only angrier that now that I finally have a good relationship with him he is being taken away.
He doesn’t complain. He hasn’t complained once. He doesn’t feel sorry for himself- a least not that I can see. The most he will ever say is that he is just very tired. Meanwhile he is gasping for breath, he is wheelchair bound, he has to use a commode in the family room, he is getting needles stuck into him almost nonstop…
And here I am feeling sorry for myself. It makes me feel like the most selfish person in the world. I want to talk to him about this, I want to ask if he is scared, I want to tell him I will miss him but I feel that I can’t say these things to him because I don’t want to upset him. I feel like I have to just suck it up and be strong and not let him see me upset because then he will be upset and he is already going through enough.
I really wish it wasn’t his birthday tomorrow.

Thanks. My dad went back in today to get another lung tap to drain the fluid but they were not able to get anything out. The pulmonary doctor said he needs either a chest tube which would require my dad to be admitted yet again, or the next time they try to tap him they would have to use an ultrasound to find the pockets of liquid in the lungs. My dad does not want to go back in the hospital for the chest tube, so when he gets north and settled, my mom will try to get him hooked up with another pulmonary doctor to try again. His breathing had been better for a couple of days but when the fluid comes from the cancer I guess it comes back pretty quickly. We asked about diuretics but this particular doctor doesn’t seem to think they would help. ? Hmmm. My father’s abdomen is also finally starting to swell so I am sure we will be dealing with ascitis soon enough here.

Thanks Jan for your reply. The thing is, when he was taking chemo he had some good results. The big tumors in his liver shrank and his bile duct looked clear on the ct scan. He has been in and out of the hospital with different infections for a month and a half and we really want him to get back to the chemo. I was just wondering if anyone else was having or has had similar issues.

Thank you again. This site has been a God-send and I am planning on getting my mom on here as well- at least to read the posts from others and see that we are not as alone as we thought before.
Today I spoke with the infectious disease doctor and he said my dad’s port was infected with staph- aureus. I am not sure if I spelled that correctly but I know the staph part and I know also that particular kind can be antibiotic resistant. They were going to take the port out tomorrow but rethought it and he went to surgery today and had it taken out and had a triple lumen put in temporarily until a new port can be placed. Tomorrow or the next day he will have a TE-echocardiogram to make sure his heart was not infected with staph. Hopefully he will catch a break for once and his heart will be okay.
One new thing that he has been saying is he is having excruciating burning pain in both legs, on the top of his thighs. I was wondering if anyone knew what this may be or had any experience with it. I am scared he may have a tumor in his spine creating this but am hoping there may be another less scary reason.
Thank you again for the help and kind words and I will be back here often reading others’ posts and probably putting more questions on here I’m afraid. As much as I hate this whole thing, I can’t pray for it to be over because that will mean my dad is gone and I want him around as long as possible.