Congestive Heart Failure??

[moe monsarrat]

My EF was about 30% when I was sick with it. Now after two ablations, diet change, exercise & drugs I'm over 70%. I have two cardiologists- a plumbing guy and an electrical guy. Both say I'm in great shape. I lost a bunch of upper body strength and excess weight when I was ill. I'm regaining the strength but the diet keeps the fat off.

[Bayouboy]

Diet and a LOT of cardio.

[kutnchute]

In 05 my EF was 24% at the age of 44. It is now 76% I quit drinking (12pack/day) and take my meds. Lots of fish oil and CO-Q10 also.

[mykidsdad]

Prayers sent...
Seems like it will be a manageable illness if you take care of yourself. In the meantime.... Lots of thoughts and prayers headed your way

[Chef]

Time for a lifestyle change. Diet and exercise has to be a part of the new you. Let me know if I can help. I have access to thousands of heart healthy recipes and how to tweak the ones you love.

[jetlag887]

Thanks everyone, I have never had any health issues before. I guess age catches most of us eventually. I turned 47 in July.

[aironeout]

In 2009 I contracted a Virus that they couldn't pinpoint but took several rounds of meds to clear up. Shortly after that I began to have thyroid problems, acid reflux, another upper respiratory infection and then on Dec, 23 I started to swell up and couldn't breathe. I finally went to my Dr. and he sent me straight to a pulmonologist. I had so much fluid in my chest that he performed a thorencentesis, then a week later another one, and another one 6 days later. He said I'm not doing any good and sent me to a thoracic surgeon. After looking at my chest x-ray he asked if I had eaten anything that morning. I told him yes. He said well you are going straight to the hospital and I am doing surgery (pleurodesis) first thing in the morning, because I'm afraid you are going to die of CHF if we don't get the fluid off. That surgery helped for about two months and it started again. It got so bad that my legs would swell to twice their normal size and I literally couldn't make it up a flight of stairs without stoping for air. My O'2 sats were still in the 98 range. They kept loading me up with diuretics and steroids but that didn't help. My legs started "oozing" fluid and then would blister and get infected. My stomach would also get so much fluid in it that they had to begin performing Paracentesis'. Removing anywhere from 1.5 to 4 liters of fluid every two weeks. This whole process lasted until March of 2011 til I "fired" the docs here in Victoria after one of them told me my Right Lung was severely scarred and damaged, that I would be on oxygen, prednisone and diuretics the rest of my life and went to Houston. They figured my problem out in three days and diagnosed my condition as Constrictive Pericarditis and performed open heart surgery 4 days later to remove the pericardium from around my heart that had become inflamed and rigid which wouldn't allow my heart to beat fully. They told me that it would take about 8-9 months and I could breathe again and not have to worry about fluid retention anymore. Well, they were right. While I will never be 100% I can do things that I thought I would never be able to do again. I also went from taking 12 pills in the morning and 10 at night to 3 in the morning and 2 at night. The only way to determine Constrictive Pericarditis is by doing an MRI of the heart.

Sorry for the long post. But, what I'm getting at is make sure they pull out all the stops and do all the right tests. According to the Drs in Houston if Victoria would have done an MRI in the beginning I could have avoided all of the unnecessary procedures that were done here. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Prayers Up and Good Luck

>E

[Txbownut]

Prayers up. Sounds like you can manage this very well with some lifestyle changes. I need to make a few myself.

[crazy8]

Saying prayers now.

[Bowtech Lefty]

Prayers sent for you Pat. Just follow the doctors instruction, be proactive about your healthcare and you'll be good as new!

[jetlag887]

In 2009 I contracted a Virus that they couldn't pinpoint but took several rounds of meds to clear up. Shortly after that I began to have thyroid problems, acid reflux, another upper respiratory infection and then on Dec, 23 I started to swell up and couldn't breathe. I finally went to my Dr. and he sent me straight to a pulmonologist. I had so much fluid in my chest that he performed a thorencentesis, then a week later another one, and another one 6 days later. He said I'm not doing any good and sent me to a thoracic surgeon. After looking at my chest x-ray he asked if I had eaten anything that morning. I told him yes. He said well you are going straight to the hospital and I am doing surgery (pleurodesis) first thing in the morning, because I'm afraid you are going to die of CHF if we don't get the fluid off. That surgery helped for about two months and it started again. It got so bad that my legs would swell to twice their normal size and I literally couldn't make it up a flight of stairs without stoping for air. My O'2 sats were still in the 98 range. They kept loading me up with diuretics and steroids but that didn't help. My legs started "oozing" fluid and then would blister and get infected. My stomach would also get so much fluid in it that they had to begin performing Paracentesis'. Removing anywhere from 1.5 to 4 liters of fluid every two weeks. This whole process lasted until March of 2011 til I "fired" the docs here in Victoria after one of them told me my Right Lung was severely scarred and damaged, that I would be on oxygen, prednisone and diuretics the rest of my life and went to Houston. They figured my problem out in three days and diagnosed my condition as Constrictive Pericarditis and performed open heart surgery 4 days later to remove the pericardium from around my heart that had become inflamed and rigid which wouldn't allow my heart to beat fully. They told me that it would take about 8-9 months and I could breathe again and not have to worry about fluid retention anymore. Well, they were right. While I will never be 100% I can do things that I thought I would never be able to do again. I also went from taking 12 pills in the morning and 10 at night to 3 in the morning and 2 at night. The only way to determine Constrictive Pericarditis is by doing an MRI of the heart.

Sorry for the long post. But, what I'm getting at is make sure they pull out all the stops and do all the right tests. According to the Drs in Houston if Victoria would have done an MRI in the beginning I could have avoided all of the unnecessary procedures that were done here. Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions.

Prayers Up and Good Luck

>E

Wow, that's pretty scary, thanks for the info though. I'd rather know straight up what I'm dealing with.

[matchejm]

Prayers sent

[Bro. Bill]

Prayers sent

[dieter]

Prayers sent

[dcbrown]

Prayers sent up!