A Bag of Junk

After getting the bag attached last Wednesday we had a minor problem develop by Friday. I noticed two chunks of tissue inside the bag. I wasn’t too concerned about that until the tissue lodged itself in the bag’s drainage plug and clogged it. The drainage plug is used to empty the bag as it fills up. It amazed me how this tissue could find it’s way through the tiny holes of the catheter, the narrow tubing and the entry valve into the bag but then get stuck in the drainage plug.

Anyway I could no longer empty the bag so I had to go back to the hospital. They gave me a new bag, a spare one and taught me how to flush the catheter. That was all very helpful but they should have done that from the start. The doctor looked at the tissue and said it was normal to get some. In fact he said it may be pieces of the tumor. So I asked him if we could increase the suction and try to suck all the tumors out.

Interestingly, during the first 48 hours I had the bag I was draining almost 4 liters of fluid per day. That’s an enormous amount. Since then it has decreased steadily to the point where now there has been none for more than 48 hours. Dr. Yablonsky, the interventional radiologist had said that sometimes, when the abdomen remains dry, the ascites may subside somewhat. I didn’t put too much faith in what he said because everything else I had heard or read, including from other doctors, indicated otherwise and gastroenterology was not his specialty. But maybe he was right.

Yesterday I had a routine appointment with Dr. George. I described some pains I was having and her suggestion was pain pills. Everything is palliative now. I declined. I’m not ready to knock myself out. It turns out I was dehydrated so she kept me there for hydration. That was an unexpected two and one half hour stay. I didn’t have my computer with me and my cell phone battery was all but dead so I settled in the chair for what I thought would be a boring afternoon. However Chris, a medical assistant, came over, sat down and spent a good hour chatting with me. We had never spoken to each other so much before. It turns out we have quite a bit in common. I really appreciated his time.

I had more energy after the hydration, but the pain continues. It worries me.

But for now I’ll carry on.

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