Ascites Drainage and Diet

[LivePositive]

Hello, My friend was diagnosed with ascites and liver cirrhosis about 6 months ago.

He had his ascites drained and felt much weakness afterwards. Is it normal?

Any diet recommendations? He's meeting the doctor tomorrow for blood test results so will ask the doctor but your experiences/opinions would be helpful.

He was an alcoholic but has now stopped drinking completely.

Thank you!

[Alo123]

Hi there,

Just want to caveat that I’m no expert and am new to all this (as my dad was recently diagnosed with liver failure and liver cancer), but I just wanted to respond to say that my dad has now had 4 drains for his ascites and every time he has had that, he’s felt very low energy afterwards, and has often had to spend a couple of days in bed (on day 3 after the drain, my dad seems to have a bit more energy). I was reminded by a helpful forum member here that it is quite a traumatic procedure and we have to remember that, so the weakness is to be expected. But your friend should start to feel more comfortable and less bloated as a result of the drain... so I hope that is the case for you.

The diet that we have been recommended is high protein, high carb and of course low salt. And it’s important to eat a small amount every few hours vs a more significant meal 3x a day. It’s also important to eat a snack late at night right before bed, as that will ensure energy levels are kept up over night.

As I said - this is just our personal experience but hopefully somewhat helpful.

Wishing you and your friend all the best.

[LivePositive in reply to Alo123]

Thanks a lot!