Showing posts with label Ascites. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ascites. Show all posts

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Hellurrr




Normally, my husband is merely irritating, but lately, he has become a royal pain in my tookus over me finally getting with the blogging program.  So, I had to do something to drive him at least as nuts as he has been driving me, and he absolutely hates it when I say, “Hellurrr.”

No, I am not a very large black woman—let alone Madea, himself.  I am, however, the saint, who married Jerry 20 years ago. It's taken me all this time to teach him that I'm always right, but there are still times when he forgets.  After I “remind” him of what is what, our lives are harmonious again.

I hope it won’t take as long to train all of you, but in the meantime, please be patient and kind with me.  Needless to say, I have never done this before.  So, it may take me awhile to learn how to bend you to my will without actually bending you in a physical sense.

Oh, and if you have not figured it out by now, my name is Arlynda Lea, with Lea being my middle name.  I usually just go by Arlynda, but Jerry thought adding my middle name would be a nice touch.

My current journey began in September of 2012, when I gained 30-40 pounds in just a few days, and I couldn't hardly breathe. My regular doctor couldn't get me in.  So, I was really thankful that his physician assistant could see me. He explained that since he had never seen me before, he had taken the time to go through my chart, where he found a copy of a MRI from 2010, which showed ascites. Well, that was news to me, and just what the dickens is ascites???? It is the buildup of fluid in my abdomen.

That is not a picture of what I looked like over there, but it sure could have been.  The doctor told me the amount of excess fluid in my abdomen made me feel like I was at least nine months pregnant.  Now, I have always wanted to have a child, but hearing this was not comforting at all! (LOL?) There will be so many other discomforting things to come. At least, a pregnant women won't stay that forever!!! LOL

I couldn't get an appointment with a liver specialist until November, and between the end September and November, I had 5 paracentesis procedures, which is where they put a tube in my abdomen and drain off the fluid. In those 5 episodes, they took of 58.3 liters! Just imagine carrying 29 2 liter bottles of pop! No wonder I usually feel better after they “tap” me.

Another issue with my illness is I get tired really easy and this has about wiped me out for now.  So, I will continue this at another time. Thanks for stopping by!  Later.