Not had a drain but feel I need one as now can not breath, even just sitting down, Who to ask Doc or consultant & advice plz if u had one

[Ruby52]

I am on furosemide hi dose of Spiro but just getting bigger and bigger must have put on 4st if not more in last 4 weeks. Also do they put you out when having a drain, my son had one but said it was really painful very worried not seeing my consultant till July and my doctor is rubbish, not seen them now for months, try to but can never get in. I feel I just want to give up as it seems no one cares. Husband always out all day in the pub, never takes me out, moved 6hrs away from all my friend's & family to be with him. Been here 3yrs now & still don't no anyone, Had my younger son to talk to every day on the phone, but he died in Nov last yr. He also had cirrhosis & fatty liver. have not had a drink now for 7mths but really feel is it worth trying so hard to keep on track. Sorry to bore you.

[Hidden]

Hi. Sorry to hear of your troubles. I got to the point I was struggling to breathe. I took myself to the local hospital A&E and got admitted immediately. I had over 10 litres of fluid drained and there was still some left!

I wasn't put out but they numbed the area. It was uncomfortable but the relief of getting rid of most of my massive belly was worth it. I was in pain afterwards and was given painkillers.

Please ring your doc, consultant or go to hospital. I kept kidding myself it would go away but a drain was the only option.Take care.

[AyrshireK]

Hi Ruby, sorry you are having such a rough time and don't have the support network which a sufferer really needs. As regards your swelling - ascites is really dangerous and shouldn't be ignored, you certainly can't wait until your consultant appointment in July to get this dealt with. If you are not getting any joy at your GP practice definitely telephone your consultant to get this seen to, any symptoms pertaining to your cirrhosis can not be ignored. You must make your consultant aware of an onset or worsening of ascites, maybe your meds can be altered or you may indeed need a drain. Don't ignore it, get yourself an appointment with either your GP or preferably the Consultant or present yourself at A&E as fluid build up with ascites can end up causing you all sorts of other difficulties such as your shortage of breath - the fluid can also get infected.

I wish you all the best and hope you get the treatment which you obviously need very quickly.

Katie

[dawks]

i would try and ring your liver specialists at the hospital.. I have done this several times as my symptoms change and the illness gets worse. On a couple of occassions they have bought forward the appointment date or told me to go to the nearest A & E as soon as possible. I am lucky that so far apart from slight fluids in my legs i havent any in my stomach..I havent had a drink since 1st January 2013 so know what you are going through, i sometimes feel like having a drink but know it wouldnt just be one and i think it would be a waste of 6 months and dont think i could go through all the effects of the illness again.. Let me know how things go

[Ruby52]

Thank you all so very much for your advice and thoughts. I don't feel so alone now, still feel so depressed and have been for the last 3 weeks now. I am going to go to A&E in the morning, ( woodtree) How long do you think it will take before I'm out or I suppose its how long is a peace of string Anyway thank you all again, will let you all know how things are going, x

[AyrshireK in reply to Ruby52]

Good luck Ruby, a lot of folk rooting for you our here so go with all our thoughts and best wishes.

[Hidden]

Ruby. I am glad you are going to A&E tomorrow. Fingers crossed and good luck.

I was in hospital for 5 days. I had packed a bag with all my essentials in ( pjs, phone charger, toiletries, etc). It made life a little easier.

Let us know how you get on. Best wishes.

[98percentoriginal]

Speak to your consultant. It may be possible to reduce your ascites with meds rather than a drain. A drain is invasive and does introduce a risk of infection. I had three separate SBP infections when I was ill(bacterial peritonitis of the ascetic fluid), these weren't caused by drains, but the effect is the same, and resulted in a month in hospital on IV antibiotics. So you can understand why consultants don't always rush to a drain if they have an alternative.

[Sheana]

One very good piece of advice my Consultant gave me is WRITE EVERYTHING DOWN. Keep a medical diary on yourself and measure and record everything you can. Doctors like data . To go to a Dr saying that you fear that your ascites is accumulating as you are putting on a lot of weight will not make the impact that showing them a list of exactly what you weighed on which date.

[Hidden]

I must be very lucky that way' I'm under a really good consultant Dr Fox in whiston (Liverpool) who told me whenever I need a drain just ring his secretary and he will organise it for me to go in within two days, the most that has been drained is 27 ltrs!!! Yep you read it right 27 so far so good

[Ruby52]

Thanks all took advice went to A & E short cut is, I could not breath, thought it was water as my legs, were so very big could not walk across the room and stairs well took me at lest half an hour before I could breath. Found out that it was not the water, had an ECG and they found I had a hart problem. Could not have a stent put in as blood to thin & I could bleed out, so now on more meds. Goes to show if you think there is something wrong see someone, with out the help you guys gave me I would never have known, so thanks again. x

[Hidden]

Ruby. I have been looking to see if you updated. Glad you got an answer to your breathlessness. I hope the meds give you some relief. Take care. X

[steve4]

that is a prob with liver chrrousis blood thins i had op after damge my hand lost lot of blood they put me on thiamine . hope u get it sorted soon steve

[angse]

About as cites I have cirrohsiss and thank god no as cites, my brother who had cirrosshis also never had it or swollen stomach, he died last year, never gave up drinking, am new to forum so wondering does everyone get it, also my best wishes to everyone suffering this complex disease. Angse

[H1ghtower]

Hiya, love. I know about spiro and furesemide as i was prescribed them when i was 10 stone over my usual weight with ascites. I had 4 stone drained at the hospital, but, the water tablets youre taking take at least a month to start showing a difference in your weight. I lost the remaining 6 stone in about 6 weeks, but, it took about 6 weeks before any weight came off and then it just flew off. I was taking double the prescribed dose though out of frustration so that probably helped but it didnt speed up how long it took for the tabs to start working.