Has anyone had ascites - I think I do now

antcat
antcat Member Posts: 270
in Ovarian Cancer #1
I think I have ascites, my abdomen is a little distended, I've gained some weight despite not eating anything more than usual and my ankle seems a little puffy. My cancer is getting worse.

Has anyone had this? What needed to be done? If you had drainage did your gyn/onc do it in the hospital or someone else.

Any information you can give me will help. Thanks.

Comments

  • Cafewoman53
    Cafewoman53 Member Posts: 735 Member
    #2
    I don't know
    Put your feet up when you are resting and call your dr Monday to let them know about your symptoms. It may not be ascites it could be a lot of different things. I hope you feel better soon.
    Colleen
  • carolenk
    carolenk Member Posts: 907 Member
    #3
    Cafewoman53 said:

    I don't know
    Put your feet up when you are resting and call your dr Monday to let them know about your symptoms. It may not be ascites it could be a lot of different things. I hope you feel better soon.
    Colleen

    Diagnosing ascites
    Interventional radiologists are experts at draining ascites--often diagnosed by ultrasound.

    I went in for an ultrasound looking for ascites & the technician gave me the results on the spot (she sounded kind of annoyed as if I was wasting her time).

    I said: "Don't I get to see the radiologist?"

    Technician: "No, you don't have any fluid."

    It turned out that I was constipated.

    The docs often wait until the ascites is intolerable before they drain it. Probably because there is less risk of bowel perforation when more fluid taking up space.

    If you are not too uncomfortable, see if you can hold off on getting drained. Once you get on the chemo, the ascites should resolve.

    You can estimate the fluid retention as 1 liter (~ one quart) weighs about 2 lbs.

    I used to measure my abdominal girth & weigh myself daily to monitor myself for ascites.
  • lovesanimals
    lovesanimals Member Posts: 1,366 Member
    #4
    carolenk said:

    Diagnosing ascites
    Interventional radiologists are experts at draining ascites--often diagnosed by ultrasound.

    I went in for an ultrasound looking for ascites & the technician gave me the results on the spot (she sounded kind of annoyed as if I was wasting her time).

    I said: "Don't I get to see the radiologist?"

    Technician: "No, you don't have any fluid."

    It turned out that I was constipated.

    The docs often wait until the ascites is intolerable before they drain it. Probably because there is less risk of bowel perforation when more fluid taking up space.

    If you are not too uncomfortable, see if you can hold off on getting drained. Once you get on the chemo, the ascites should resolve.

    You can estimate the fluid retention as 1 liter (~ one quart) weighs about 2 lbs.

    I used to measure my abdominal girth & weigh myself daily to monitor myself for ascites.

    Dear Antcat
    I've had to deal with ascites once. At the time of my diagnosis, I was very bloated and gaining a lot of weight fairly quickly. During my surgery to remove the tumor, my gyn/onc surgeon drained approximately 6 liters of ascites from my peritoneal cavity.

    Let your doctor know on Monday what symptoms you're experiencing. Take care and I hope you feel better soon.

    Kelly
  • AnneBehymer
    AnneBehymer Member Posts: 738 Member
    #5
    Lungs 3x stomche 1x
    Here goes the fun I had lugs drained at the first hospital I had 1 Litter on left lung 1.5 litters on right lung. Sent to new Hospital and a week later sent home to let my lungs heal before they do the historectomy I know I did not spell that right lol. Three days later back in the hospital because my lungs filled up again so this time 1 litter each lung and historectomy done so that my lungs would stop filling up removed 2.5 from my stomach so total of almost 5 litters that day I spend 8 days in the hospital that time. Three days later had to go back into the hospital to have 1 litter of fluid removed from each lung again. So a total of 9 litters in the three time they removed fluid from my body. I hope that information helped. If you ankles are swollan then ask to be put on a water pill and see if that helps. My anckle were sowllan for a total differen reason and that helpped. Sorry about all the wrong spelling the chemo brian has brought my IQ down from 131 to below my shoe size so it's about an eight lol.

    Love, Hugs, and Prayers
    Anne
  • whiterose
    whiterose Member Posts: 89
    #6
    Ascites
    I had ascites when I was diagnosed. My stomach was huge, my legs and ankles were swollen. I had my stomach drained before surgery just to relieve the discomfort. I think they removed 4-5 liters of fluid. I used to keep my feet elevated to drain off the fluid. After a few rounds of chemo, the ascites disappeared, just as the doctor had told me it would. Good luck with this, I know from experience that this is so uncomfortable.
  • Tethys41
    Tethys41 Member Posts: 1,382 Member
    #7
    Ascites
    I had repeated ascites for two months after my surgery. I also had swollen legs. You should definitely let your doctor know what is going on, but this is what he will tell you. If you can eat okay and are able to breath fine, you should not have the fluids drained. Each time you have them drained, you lose a lot of protein. It can put you in a downward spiral where the lack of protein produces more ascites and each time you get drained, the situation gets worse. That being said, however, if you cannot eat or breath comfortably, you need to have it drained.
    For the swollen legs, I wore compression stockings.
  • kikz
    kikz Member Posts: 1,345 Member
    #8
    Tethys41 said:

    Ascites
    I had repeated ascites for two months after my surgery. I also had swollen legs. You should definitely let your doctor know what is going on, but this is what he will tell you. If you can eat okay and are able to breath fine, you should not have the fluids drained. Each time you have them drained, you lose a lot of protein. It can put you in a downward spiral where the lack of protein produces more ascites and each time you get drained, the situation gets worse. That being said, however, if you cannot eat or breath comfortably, you need to have it drained.
    For the swollen legs, I wore compression stockings.

    I had ascites
    but didn't know it of course. I was feeling ill but not bad and although I was trying to lose weight, my stomach seemed to be pooching out more. I even began to have a little cough. When I was diagnosed I found out it was the ascites which was pressing against my lungs. I had 5 liters drained and a few days later another three liters. It was a great relief. Once I began chemo it went away. It was so uncomfortable. By the time I was diagnosed and before it was drained, I looked about seven months pregnant which really looked weird on a 62-year old woman.

    Karen
  • azgrandma
    azgrandma Member Posts: 609 Member
    #9
    kikz said:

    I had ascites
    but didn't know it of course. I was feeling ill but not bad and although I was trying to lose weight, my stomach seemed to be pooching out more. I even began to have a little cough. When I was diagnosed I found out it was the ascites which was pressing against my lungs. I had 5 liters drained and a few days later another three liters. It was a great relief. Once I began chemo it went away. It was so uncomfortable. By the time I was diagnosed and before it was drained, I looked about seven months pregnant which really looked weird on a 62-year old woman.

    Karen

    i did
    I had 5 and a half liters taken from my tummy, i hate this diesase and i hate the acites
    God bles you and I am praying foryou

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