The draining went well today, and so far there isn't any unusual swelling, like the last time. **knock on wood**
They were able to take 7 liters, so I took a picture of it. I hope I am not offending anyone by posting it. Bill had a little pain when the doctor inserted the catheter into his abdomen. It made him jump and call out in pain, which in turn, made me jump and call out in (sympathy) pain. My heart was racing... I almost asked them to take my blood pressure too. After that though, the draining went quickly. Last time he felt kind of shaky when walking out, so we watched him closely and the nurses had him drink some juice. He was still a little wobbly when we left, but by the time we got home he felt better. He is really groggy again and slept this afternoon after we got home. He came down for dinner, but I could tell he wasn't excited about it. He just needs to relax and sleep for a day or two in order to keep the swelling down. All in all... a pretty productive day!
We Know Better
1 week ago
4 comments:
Hi Jackie,
I am amazed at this stories about liters of fluid. I guess I never encountered that with my experience with melanoma. I am just curious to know what is causing this?
Anyway, you are doing great. I just want you to know that. I can hear it in your blogs. You are staying strong which is not always easy.
Just wanted to lend you some support.
Anna Hogan
HI Jackie,
I've been thinking about you and Bill all day! I'm glad the procedure went well and that Bill is resting. How did your day go at preschool? By the way, the picture doesn't show up on my screen.
See you next week!
Love, Nancy
Just saw the liters! Nancy
I know a couple of people have posted questions about the fluid, so I thought I would respond. There is normally a small amount of fluid in the abdominal cavity. The increased fluid in this case is probably caused by lymphatic obstruction (blockage) with decreased fluid re-absorption. The second possible cause of this excess fluid is the presence of tumor cells seeding resulting in a change in the filter system, and increased fluid formation with decreased re-absorption. Another possible cause would be the tumors causing fluid leakage and protein spilling into the abdominal cavity.
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