My ex has a massive stomach. Looks like a 9 month pregnant lady. He is now being told that he needs it to be drained. A year ago he was told that if he didn’t give up drinking he had a life expectancy of 2 years. He didn’t give up drinking and shamefully boasted that he planned to go for the ‘2 year option’.
He has every symptom of ESLD. Can paracentesis be carried out long term? He lives by himself now so I can’t see him doing the procedure himself at home.
It’s definitely not a procedure that you can do at home. He will need to book into the day unit of his local hospital, unless he is an inpatient.
I was drained approximately every 3 weeks for well over a year. You book the next session whilst you are getting it carried out. But it will take a while to see how quickly the fluid builds up again, after the initial drain. They will start with taking his bloods, this will determine things like the need for transfusions of blood units, platelets and albumin.
He will then be checked over to see the best place to insert the drain needle, which may involve a portable Ultrascan device. The fluid sits in pockets and not one big reservoir. A local anaesthetic will be administered before sample fluids are taken by a large syringe to be tested for infection etc.
The drain needle itself is about 6” long and will be inserted into his stomach. Lying flat and still, the fluid is drained off for a maximum of six hours. The drain site is then cleaned and dressed, because he will probably carry on leaking. The dressing will need to be changed and kept clean to avoid infection.
Best of luck with everything, it certainly isn’t an easy process.
Thank You so much! I know little about the procedure. This really helps. Are you ok now? Was your ascites drink related? If so, I guess you don’t drink now?
Thank You again
Yes, mine was an alcohol related diagnosis. The criteria for transplant are 6 months total abstinence and a lifetime commitment to it.
It actually took the doctors over 7 months to get me “well enough” to get to the transplant assessment and then 19 months on the waiting list due to my blood group. I actually caught peritonitis from a drain and spent 17 days in isolation and two years on permanent antibiotics. So it’s definitely an infection risk, great care is required.
I am now two and a half years post transplant and things are going well with the new liver.
Good luck with everything.
My ex has no stamina . He proudly announced he was going to go for the '2 year option' when given the news that he would not survive 2 years unless he gave up drinking. He cancelled appointments and scans and hit the vodka hard. Looks to me like he is unlikely to reach the 2 year mark and he is bringing the date forward. From the correspondence I have seen, I would be surprised if his consultant is likely to put my ex at the top of his priority list. My ex misses appointments and generally acts like a bit of a idiot. But our NHS is great and I know they will treat idiots.
He definitely isn’t doing himself any favours and the NHS can only do a certain amount of things to help him. However, as you are aware, he needs to make the necessary changes otherwise it doesn’t look like a favourable outcome.
Hi. One of the most unbelievable parts of alcoholism is the need for honesty to oneself. There’s also the undeniable fear factor and just hoping the doctors could be wrong, after all your still alive.Unavoidable is the effects of your ex’s health on his overall physical and mental well-being.
If he is totally alone then the world can seem a very scary place at this time for him. Alcohol may be his only companion, definitely his crutch. If you can reason with him just a little ask him to come on here with you. I know that’s a big ask, but if he cannot access internet then ask if you can put a question on here, his question, anything he wants, and wait for a response from what you will find will be a suportive, well informed and non judgemental group of people just like TT has proved in his posts to you.
It seems you still care for him very much, he is very fortunate because his situation sounds pretty desperate and action sooner rather than later needs to be implemented to get him the best care available.
You are totallly correct Debbie, the NHS will treat idiots, I am willing proof of that😳, but only if that person is there in front of them. I hope he pays attention.
Take care.
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