swollen logs and upper stomach

[fightlikeagirl56]

A first for me me my feet and legs and upper stomach were severly swollen yesterday should I call the doc

[HectorSF]

I am glad you are cancer free and a survivor.
I have had a bout with cancer in my foot a few years ago and now liver cancer but have been luck so far. I only have a small inkling of what a women goes through with breast cancer. But my heart goes out to all cancer survivors.

Hepatitis C is rarely fatal once it has been diagnosed, managed and treated. (Except for people like me that didn't respond to the old treatment and then developed liver failure or liver cancer before having a shot with the new more effective treatments). So you are doing the right thing by taking responsibility for it.

You should ask your doctor at what stage your liver disease is so you have a basic understand of how ill you are.

I hope your edema is not related to liver disease an is only a temporary condition. Let's use know what your doctor says.

Hector

[fightlikeagirl56]

unsure of stage he did not tell me gastroenterologist I take arimidex which has been checked and shows no interaction. Thansk for the information it really helps

[HectorSF]

Plenty of good advice here. Reduce your sodium intake. Avoid salt and processed food if possible. Sodium increases fluid retention. Swelling can be a serious condition. As others have said many medications can cause fluid retention as well as advanced liver disease. Severely swollen? Best to err on the side of safety and have it looked at.

I looked at your profile and it says nothing about the stage of your liver disease or what type of doctor is going to be treating you.

Stage of liver fibrosis?
Type of doctor (gastroenterologist, hepatologist) you plan on helping you treat your hepatitis C?

Since you had breast cancer you should be seeing a hepatologist for hepatitis C treatment. Someone who is experienced with working with patients with other health related issue than just hepatitis C. If you are taking any meds for your cancer it is critical for your treating doc to fully understand interactions between an antiviral like INCIVEK and any cancer meds. As a person with cancer myself you do not want to do anything that can cause cancer occurrence. A hepatologist could coordinate with you oncologist while treating your hep C and monitor your cancer status. Perhaps at the same hospital that you had manage your breast cancer? A private practice gastro is not qualified to understand your cancer issues and any interactions that may occur between hepatitis C treatment and cancer related issues.

Good luck with your doctor's visit.
Hector

[orphanedhawk]

I agree. Call the doctor.
You could have decompensated cirrhosis causing the swelling.
These, or  other causes, need to be addressed prior to starting treatment.

Good luck,
OH

[fightlikeagirl56]

Thanks

[eureka254]

It's important for you to address your swelling with doctors as soon as possible.  Certainly pursuing treatment is important, but you also want to make sure you don't have other issues that can complicate your starting treatment, and to getting this swelling resolved before jumping in would be most important.

In the meantime, abstain from salt; oftentimes salt overload (or even a *normal* amount of salt for someone with liver disease) can cause the kind of swelling you described, so avoid salt until your doctor can resolve this for you.  Good luck. ~eureka

[fightlikeagirl56]

I'm calling tomorrow and asking to start treatment asap I'm tired of being sick

[fightlikeagirl56]

unsure of damage it was discribed as fatty liver and no not yet on the biopsy

[Bill1954]

Edema (swollen legs) and ascites (swollen abdomen) are both hallmarks of decompensated cirrhosis. Anyone with HCV that isn’t certain they don’t have a cirrhotic liver should indeed contact their liver doctor for obvious reasons. And of course contact your primary care doctor to better understand other disease etiologies.

Good luck-

--Bill

[spectda]

Yes you should call your doctor asap. Have you had a biopsy? Do you know what stage of liver damage you have? This can be caused by Cirrhosis, but it can also be caused by other medical problems.  
-Dave

[Advocate1955]

From your prior posts, you haven't started Hep C treatment yet, so your swollen feet/legs and stomach wouldn't be related to Hep C drugs.  I also recall that you just went through breast cancer treatment a couple of months ago.  Could your swelling be related to that?  Or related to other medications that you might be taking?  Change in diet?  Bottom line:  yes, definitely call your doctor, I'm just not sure which doctor you should call!  :) (Primary care? Oncologist? Hepatologist).
Advocate1955