Ascites help!

Hi, I was diagnosed with ascites a few months ago and have been receiving treatment. However, my swelling and fluid retention seem to be coming back. Other than speaking to my doctor does anyone have any advice? Thanks in advance.

[sophiaS1980]

Did they put you on diuretics? if so, call you doc, he/she might increase your dosage but don't increase without talking to your doctor.

[Hidden in reply to sophiaS1980]

Yes,150mg of spironolactone!

[Hillclimber72]

I’m on 50mg of spirolactone for this. You need to check with your medical professional whether this is the best course for you.

[Hidden in reply to Hillclimber72]

Will do,thanks 😊

[Hillclimber72 in reply to Hidden]

My pleasure 🧗

[Millie09]

Hi , I had very bad recurring ascites, I was on 200mg of spironalactone and 100mg of ferusomide and even that did not Work until I had three drains done over the course of 6 weeks whilst I was in hospital .

Try to limit your fluid intake to no more than 1.5litres per day . Elevate your legs .

You must contact your GP or liver consultant .

[Hidden in reply to Millie09]

Was the draining painful?

[Millie09 in reply to Hidden]

No , just a bit uncomfortable but the relief after was just great ! I looked like I was carrying triplets , tachycardia and breathless . My advice is not to leave it as the fluid can build up quite fast

[Hillclimber72]

By coincidence i was speaking to my liver nurse about this last week. I will defer to Millies experience on discomfort. keep an eye on it until the fluid builds up to a point where draining is possible. They perform the procedure by touch and the risk is perforating the bowel so as the fluid builds up the margin of risk falls. Hope our responses help. Any doubt speak to your care team

[Lam1e in reply to Hillclimber72]

Hi Hillclimber for info! the procedure does vary from hospital to hospital! When I had mine they always carried out an ultrasound to find out where most of the fluid was and the best place to insert the drain! Usually the left hand side as there are fewer organs their, however I have seen the procedure done elsewhere and it was done differently.

Lamie

[Lam1e]

Hi Glenzulu

You really need to contact your Dr today! If you have a Hepatologist then contact them! It sound as though for some reason the diuretics are not doing a good enough job at the moment and you need to know why❓

Before being diagnosed I had terrible swelling everywhere! Ankles, thighs, arms not to mention tummy, I had no energy, couldn’t walk well, had shortness of breath! and One of the first things they did was to do a drain! Once that was done I was much more comfortable and we could move forward with tests and treatment! The procedure they did for me was as a day patient and they use a local anaesthetic to insert the drain, which is not painful, just a little bit uncomfortable, but you can normally have some sort of painkillers if it bothers you! I think they told me that every litre drained is equal to a kilo!

Please call and get help, as sadly it won’t get better just worse! I left it far too long and if I hadn’t got help when I did I wouldn’t be here today🙏🤗

[Dogbot]

Hi Glenzulu

They are not very happy on draining as there are risks of infection and other injuries but they have a lot of different diuretics they can prescribe I was on spiro but they gave me very sore nipples now they have put me on a mixture of two different tablets and they are working fabulously I wish you the best of luck but contact your team 👍.

Stay Safe All

Dogbot 🐶🌈

[Cat-B]

It sounds like they should increase your diuretic, but the best thing I did after 2 drains totalling 25l+ was to cut all salt from my diet and only eat food I had cooked! Good luck, I’m 3 years post drainage still on a no/ very low ( I have to put some on chips lol) and have had no further problems

[Samqdj4 in reply to Cat-B]

Hi. Sorry to jump in on post. Do you jist not add salt? Or wach labels etc too? Im tryimg.so hard with no salt but its in soooo much!

Thanks

[Hidden in reply to Samqdj4]

Hi,I'm watching my salt intake and read every label. You're right,there is so much salt in everything!

[Samqdj4 in reply to Hidden]

Thank you. Im new to this too x

[Cat-B in reply to Hidden]

I don’t use salt in any cooking, I use herbs and no one has noticed! I add a bit of sea salt to chips, I only buy green traffic light items, it’s tricky but do able. What ever you do don’t buy Losalt! It’s very high in potassium, which is much harder to reduce, but if you think it will help I’ll post how to do it! Good luck it’s really easy to cut out salt by doing your own cooking!

[gratefulgal]

I empathize with you. I dealt with ascites for a couple years. I can be absolutely miserable. I had half dozen paracentesis procedure. They each provided comfort, but it always came back. No alcohol most definitely helps. Have you had your fluid drained? Otherwise, know that its a process, but it does get better so long as you take care of yourself.

[Hidden in reply to gratefulgal]

It's not at that stage yet, just wondered if there was anything I could do to stop it etc.

Thanks for the advice