Our first trip to the ER

Becky hasn't been feeling well lately and after things continued to worsen over the weekend, I decided to take her to the Emergency Room. At this point, I wasn't sure if this had something to do with her liver - although I suspected it did - but it felt too urgent to wait for an appointment that would likely be weeks away.

Everybody that we've talked to at the ER claims she should get quite a bit of relief once this is done, but the fluid buildup will probably continue to be a problem. We'll need to figure out how often this procedure needs to happen - possibly as an outpatient procedure. Doctor mentioned it could range from several weeks to every few days. That sounds fun.

The root cause of the fluid buildup is liver damage (probably cirrhosis) and its inability to produce enough proteins and function properly. Becky had 8.3 liters of fluid drained from her abdomen. Let that sink in for a minute. That's close to three 3-liter bottles of fluid she was carrying. I won't post a picture.

After waiting for an IV drip of albumin, we were able to return home. The official diagnosis is ascites. The procedure to drain it is a paracentesis.

    https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/14792-ascites

As far as I can tell, the best way to reduce the fluid buildup and have it drained less frequently, is by changing her diet.