Tuesday, June 24, 2008
I've Got You.....Under My Skin....
"Ascites" is a term used to describe pockets of fluid buildup in the abdomen, usually as a result of an improperly functioning liver.
I've been losing weight due to my appetite issues, but my belly is huge and round. I must look like Tik-Tok of Oz. My arms are particularly scrawny. I've almost got bony shoulders, which seems bizarre. My parts are all supposed to be soft and squishy. My belly in particular should squoosh nicely, but it's all taut with fluid.
I've been getting fluid buildup in my legs and feet, but edema is something that rather suffuses the tissue and makes it sort of like a wet sponge. I deal with that by wearing my thigh-high compression stockings (which, by the end of the day, leave me with "muffin-tops" on both legs)--the black ones are particularly sexy.
Ascites are actually pockets of fluid that can be drained. Since my belly was sounding like a ripe watermelon when thumped, I had an appointment last Wednesday to get the stuff sucked out (paracentesis), and I was rather upset at the prospect of giant sucky needles. So I asked if taking a "happy pill" would be out of the question. It wasn't, so I showed up at the hospital with Brian and my friend, Xanax.
The technician or doctor or whatever she was first did an ultrasound to locate the most likely entry point, which was determined to be on my lower left side. Advising me to not look at any of the equipment, first they gave me a shot of a local anesthetic. The needle would go in a little bit, inject something numbing, go in a little more, inject more numbing stuff, etc. Then the next thing I knew, a plastic straw was sticking out of my belly, which they hooked up to some tubing and then they connected the tubing with a bottle that was empty and vacuum-sealed.
The bottle started to suck away and filled up with an unholy greenish liquid. A second bottle was hooked up, but the suction petered out after a bit. They thought perhaps if I tilted on my side, the liquid on my right side would slosh over and get picked up. No such luck, so they unhooked the bottle and started pulling out more fluid with a GIANT syringe.
It was two and a half liters, well short of the 5 they said was that day's potential maximum. Subsequent taps might take as much as 8 liters. Ack! I felt soooooooo much better that afternoon that Brian and I celebrated at Longhorn.
Alas, by Friday I was feeling bloaty again. I'm not as uncomfortable as I was before the procedure, but I've been scheduled for another on this Thursday. Friday I will finally have a brain scan (MRI).
In other news, my various counts are no worse than last week, some are slightly better, which will hopefully be the trend. My white blood cell counts were very low, however, and Dr. Hayes and Lita decided not to treat me with Gemzar today. The plan is to instead try an every-other-week schedule, hopefully giving my blood counts time to recover. (I neglected to bring up the subject of Neupogen, which is the devil and hurts like a mofo...if waiting a week will help my white blood cells recover, I'm not going to volunteer for stinging agony.)
I've been losing weight due to my appetite issues, but my belly is huge and round. I must look like Tik-Tok of Oz. My arms are particularly scrawny. I've almost got bony shoulders, which seems bizarre. My parts are all supposed to be soft and squishy. My belly in particular should squoosh nicely, but it's all taut with fluid.I've been getting fluid buildup in my legs and feet, but edema is something that rather suffuses the tissue and makes it sort of like a wet sponge. I deal with that by wearing my thigh-high compression stockings (which, by the end of the day, leave me with "muffin-tops" on both legs)--the black ones are particularly sexy.
Ascites are actually pockets of fluid that can be drained. Since my belly was sounding like a ripe watermelon when thumped, I had an appointment last Wednesday to get the stuff sucked out (paracentesis), and I was rather upset at the prospect of giant sucky needles. So I asked if taking a "happy pill" would be out of the question. It wasn't, so I showed up at the hospital with Brian and my friend, Xanax.
The technician or doctor or whatever she was first did an ultrasound to locate the most likely entry point, which was determined to be on my lower left side. Advising me to not look at any of the equipment, first they gave me a shot of a local anesthetic. The needle would go in a little bit, inject something numbing, go in a little more, inject more numbing stuff, etc. Then the next thing I knew, a plastic straw was sticking out of my belly, which they hooked up to some tubing and then they connected the tubing with a bottle that was empty and vacuum-sealed.
The bottle started to suck away and filled up with an unholy greenish liquid. A second bottle was hooked up, but the suction petered out after a bit. They thought perhaps if I tilted on my side, the liquid on my right side would slosh over and get picked up. No such luck, so they unhooked the bottle and started pulling out more fluid with a GIANT syringe.
It was two and a half liters, well short of the 5 they said was that day's potential maximum. Subsequent taps might take as much as 8 liters. Ack! I felt soooooooo much better that afternoon that Brian and I celebrated at Longhorn.
Alas, by Friday I was feeling bloaty again. I'm not as uncomfortable as I was before the procedure, but I've been scheduled for another on this Thursday. Friday I will finally have a brain scan (MRI).
In other news, my various counts are no worse than last week, some are slightly better, which will hopefully be the trend. My white blood cell counts were very low, however, and Dr. Hayes and Lita decided not to treat me with Gemzar today. The plan is to instead try an every-other-week schedule, hopefully giving my blood counts time to recover. (I neglected to bring up the subject of Neupogen, which is the devil and hurts like a mofo...if waiting a week will help my white blood cells recover, I'm not going to volunteer for stinging agony.)
Labels: ascites, Brian, Dr. Hayes, edema, Gemzar, Lita, liver, paracentesis, Xanax
