Update

Good Evening to all,

          The last time I posted was about my Anxiety episodes. I started seeing a Psychologist but he did not have a license to write presciptions, but he has 30 years of sobriety, so we are on the same page. I  have seen him for an hour session  once a week for the last 3 weeks. He told me 10 mg.'s of buspirone ( buspar), 2x a day and 100 mg. of Trazadone, once at night before bed is what to ask the PCP for a remedy to anxiety attacks. My PCP wrote out what he said and I took the dose for a couple of days. Had to cut the Trazadone in half after the first couple of days because it was too much. I was feeling too lethargic . Just today I stopped the Buspirone dose. Just did not like feeling that way. I do not care if they are  non-addicting. I think they are dangerous, the dose together.  I still need the diuretics, but today I did not take any pills because my liver doc said he wanted my weight at 190 to 195. If my weight goes over 200 lbs then take 2.5 mg. of the Metalozone, but not more than 2 in 1 week or bloodwork would be needed to be done. The new meds I started taking caused me dry mouth. I was drinking alot of soda, juice, etc... and my weight shot up to 201. Today, I was 188.4 lbs., so I laid off for a while. I have gone 4 days taking 40 mg.'s of Furosenide and 100 mg.'s og Spironolactone, but as soon as the weight goes over 195 it's back to 80 & 200 mg.'s. I want to have to take less not more pills. That is my goal. I even cut the nightly Traz to a quarter of a pill, even a half gives severe dry mouth. The  reason I posted this update is that I have been experiencing a very tender stomach, especially under the ribs in the middle and on the sides. If I press in on these areas it is painful. My liver doc says it is the ascities even though it's not much causing the pain. I sleep on my back, ever since my operation the weight of my stomach gives me pain. I wake up in the morning usually with a full bladder and feel like someone worked my midsection over. I really do not no what this means,but its probably not good. If this would stop, I would be golden. I f anyone has the same pains, I would like to get some feedback. Because sometimes the advice you get on this website is the best advice. Thanks. BostonMike.

Hi bostonmike,

My mom experiences severe abdominal pain/tender tummy area all day everyday due to her ascites. It makes it hard for her to walk, sit up, have an appetite, etc. The pain is so bad that she's been prescribed a mild painkiller (dilaudid) for it that she takes pretty regularly now. She always says that despite all the other symptoms of liver disease, if only her stomach didn't hurt, she'd be doing a million times better. the dr. says it's due to the stretching of the skin because her ascites is really bad and to all the fluid pushing against the skin. she always describes it like she feels like her bellybutton is going to explode out of her stomach if that makes sense. it also makes it very hard for her to breath due to the fluid pushing down on her lung. so far, they've just tried increasing the diuretics.

good luck and stay strong!

Hi, Mike!  It sounds like your ascites and fluid retention have improved greatly from when you first posted here.  I agree with David that you need to let your doctors know (when you see them) about cutting your meds.  They're not going to paddle you.  I cut my diuretics to twice a week (20 of Lasix and 50 of Aldactone) when I saw my creatinine and BUN rising.  Now they are normal.  The usual Trazodone dose is 50 mg at night.   I started it a month ago and am now sleeping through the night or just getting up once.  It does make me a little groggy when I get up.  I use sugar-free menthol cough drops for dry mouth.  I experienced some constipation at first, but I'm now back to normal.  There is also a dry mouth lubricating gel put out by Oragel.  Look for it and use it just before you go to sleep.

Hopesprings, I have to tell you that Dilaudid is not a mild pain killer.  It is a semi-synthetic opiate, class II narcotic, with a "high alert" for addiction.  Of course, at this point it may not matter.  However, someone should monitor how much she takes.  If she is taking any other central nervous system depressants, it could be dangerous.  Just thought you should know.

Hugs,

Connie

David, I can make it into Boston next Wednesday, 10/13. Do you have a Morning appointment or afternoon? The last time I lost weight, 2 months ago when I moved from beverly, my weight went down to 187 and I called my liver doc and he told me to cut the meds and half and then when I hit 196 to double back up. I was 190 this morning and today took 40 Lasix and 100 Spiro with Quinnine pill and magnesium pill. Tonight I will take a quarter of a Traz pill before bed and SAYANARA!