Recently I had a brush with one of the more odd symptoms of
worsening liver disease. While my ascites has not been a constant obstacle in
my life it does randomly present some odd challenges. Like tying my shoes, my
stomach area is so rigid that it’s difficult to bend down. It’s as if I were
either pregnant or weighed a hundred pounds more. Over the last few months my
legs have been getting worse and worse. My skin brittle and lacking the
elasticity it once had prior to treatment has been struggling with my legs swelling up. Last night the swelling
was so bad I was unable to move my ankles properly, it was as if I were wearing
two casts that were part of my body. After
lots of rest, water and exercise my legs got to the point where I could walk,
drive and function normally. Running is still out of the question. Imagine someone
hot gluing then duct taping two Ziploc bags of water to your feet, that’s what
it feels like.
I went to Urgent care where in I found out, this is in fact a
result of my decompensating liver. They will probably be tapping me soon in attempt to
ease the ascites (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ascites) my hope is that the rx
they gave me will also decrease the leg swelling. It’s actually immobilizing,
and I’d rather avoid it if at all possible. Additionally it on reinforces the
rationale behind getting in shape, if I’m in shape this shit happens less.
I'll know more sometime today(friday 1/16) th
