Quote:
Originally Posted by vreihen16
Edema in the extremities is a symptom of the congestive heart failure (CHF) that I have. The same fluid collecting in my legs/feet was also collecting in my chest around my ticker, where it made the heart muscles work harder due to the surrounding fluid pressure.
What finally put me in the hospital the last time was not sleeping one wink for three weeks straight. Laying down flat allows the fluid to collect in the chest cavity, and my brain was apparently shutting down subconscious breathing trying to make room for the ticker to beat easier. The first question my doctors ask on every visit now is how many pillows I'm sleeping with, to verify that I can sleep laying flat.
Assuming that your heart is still not as far gone as mine was, they will probably start you off with a low dose of an oral loop diuretic like furosemide (Lasix) to see what happens. A side effect of vitamin pee (diuretics) is lower blood pressure, so you'll get that closer to under control for free. If that doesn't, the next step is a week in the hospital while they pump stronger diuretics in via IV. Most likely, they will order an echocardiogram test at your next doctor's visit, to determine if and how bad your CHF is. I'm an IT person and not a doctor, but would say that there's nothing to worry about unless the echo shows an ejection fraction (EF) of less than 40% from my own experiences. (I was sent home to die with a 15% EF after my last stay, and even my cardiologist was surprised to see that it is now up to 30% after my last echo a few months ago.)
My first time in for this (about your age), they managed to extract 4.5 *gallons* of fluid over that week per the daily trips to the scale. Our local hospital had a dedicated CHF diet counselor, who made daily room visits explaining the danger of hidden sodium and history of pre-refrigeration food preservation. FWIW, my breakfast this morning was fresh steamed broccoli, with a pat of EVOO margarine and a pinch of cajun seasoning powder. They also sent me home with a 1.5 liter/day fluid restriction after my last hospital stay. I stuck with that for two years, and I have relaxed that now after learning the onset signs of drinking too much water.
Depending on the dosage of vitamin pee, they may also recommend staying out of the sun for long periods of time. At the insane dosages of the harder diuretics that I'm on, I am always on the verge of dehydration. More than a few minutes in the sun will push me over the edge. This is why I had to rent a car last weekend for our road trip from NY to SC, because the aircon in our usual road trip vehicle wasn't working and I can't even handle 75 degrees for an entire day.
Like I wrote earlier, my wife is totally jealous of my un-bloated/skinny legs from the vitamin pee. As of this morning's daily weigh-in for the log book, I have lost 33% of my total weight since checking into the hospital for my last stay (7 weeks total) in 2016. Making lemonade from the bowl of lemons I've been dealt...as long as it's under 1.5 liters/day and my blood sugar doesn't spike.....  |
Was the swelling in both feet or just one?
I've had 4 EKG's, all with completely different readings. After 45 minutes in the room with the nurse doing the EKG, she accepted the results of the 4th one, because at that point I was getting frustrated as hell.
Do you ever have "pressure" in your left arm? Like a squeezing that comes and goes randomly? Doesn't hurt enough or last long enough to warrant taking an advil, but it's uncomfortable and a nuisance.
As far as food goes, I love to eat greens. My kid thinks I'm disgusting as I eat spinach for breakfast. I love broccoli, edamame, spinach, Brussel sprouts, anything green, I'll eat. But, I am guilty of making brownies and eating cereal some days, too.