All of this leads up to the fact that I had yet another paracentesis today. I was scheduled for 9:00, and actually got to the hospital much earlier because I anticipated traffic problems that I didn't encounter. They have usually been able to take me early if I arrived early, but today Dr. Liver had several emergencies, and I didn't get taken until nearly 10:00. Even after I was prepped I had to wait for the good doctor's ministrations, and the paracentesis didn't start until after 10:30. I didn't leave the hospital until well after noon.
We got 4.9 Liters off, which is about all I had in me. This is as deflated as I've been since this whole nonsense started last summer. The elastic-waist pants I wore to the hospital now sit loosely on my hips, the elastic not stretched out in the least. The edema in my legs is completely gone; I have ankles and kneecaps again. I'm looking forward to getting some real sleep under my belt so I can enjoy feeling normal.
Dr. Liver is keeping me on the new diuretic, but we're cutting it back to every other day. That should help control the nausea. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the lower dosage will be sufficient to maintain the improvement I've achieved in water loss.
Dr. Liver also prescribed some sleeping pills for me. Ordinarily I'd be less than thrilled at the prospect of relying on those, but right now I just don't care. I don't think I've gotten more than three hours sleep any night for the past week, and those three hours are never even consecutive. I shall go stark raving mad if I don't get some real REM time in soon. I called my friend at the vet school to back out of giving the seminar tomorrow; in my present condition there is simply no way I could do it and be coherent. I'll call work tonight and leave a message that I won't be in for the afternoon as originally planned. Tonight I take my sleeping pill, and tomorrow I sleep until I wake up. With any luck, a good night's sleep coupled with having so little fluid left in my abdomen should have me feeling pretty good by Wednesday.
Ah, but the best news - I plugged today's blood test results into the MELD calculator and got a 19! If that is confirmed later this week, then all of this has achieved its goal. I find I'm thrilled and scared shitless at the same time. The reality of actually getting a transplant begins to really hit home.