Congestive Heart Failure

I just spent three days in the hospital. Three days I was not expecting to spend and receive a dig a noise that I never wanted to hear again in my life. Let me back up a little bit though. A few weeks ago while working out I got short of breath. I didn’t think much of it since I was working out. I mean shortness of breath happens during that. Two weeks later and walking across the floor felt like I was going to pass out.

That led me to the emergency room and thus my hospital stay. My blood pressure was through the roof but my oxygen levels were good. So they did an echocardiogram and I heard them say only 40% then the doctor said, “Looks like we are admitting you.”

That was it. No other information until the next day. I went down and had another full echo and then that afternoon a doctor came to see me. He asked if the cardiologist had been by. When I said no, he told me he didn’t want to get into everything because the cardiologist still needed to look at everything but it looked as though I had congestive heart failure.

If you have been with me a while you know that is what my father died from. I spent eight months watching him slowly dying and now that was where I was headed. I was devastated. I would be leaving everyone and everything I love. How could this happen? I did everything I was suppose to do. How could God do this to me?

Another day went by, more tests, more worry, and my depression began to flare. Then my cardiologist came in and talked with me. Mine is left sided congestive heart failure. He told me there was no reason I could live a full and productive life with this. Even though my numbers 40-45% sound low, normal healthy adults function at 50-70%.

There were so many questions, so many uncertainties in all of this. I came home to a new and different life rather suddenly. I have a home health nurse that comes and a physical therapist now. I suddenly get tired when I do the smallest thing but I have to do more in order to get stronger. I did some research and found that five years is roughly what those with CHF live after diagnosis. That doesn’t mean others don’t live longer. I intend to be one of those others.

Changes

There are a lot of changes. The first one being I can only have 1500 ml of fluids total for the day. That includes soups or ice creams. Anything that melt and becomes liquid at room temperature counts. That red cup in the picture is my new lifeline. It is the cup that helps me stay in my fluid limit. That cup is 200 ml and I now use it to measure how much to drink and when.

Lower Sodium and Salt Intake

There is sodium, which of course is salt, in every single thing we consume. I have to eat less than 2000mg of that a day. That means I threw the salt shaker away which really upset my household. It also means I have to consider every single food or drink I have. Goodbye fried chicken from the best little restaurant in town. My first two days home was spent with everyone suggesting something for a meal and me saying “ I can’t have that.” The second day I had a full scale meltdown. It was just too much. I mean my heart no longer works right and now I have to give up all the food I enjoyed.

The Water Pill

I now take a water pill called lasix. In the hospital they gave it to me in my iv and said it would work quickly. I went from everything is fine to almost asking the nurse if she could carry me to the bathroom. My poor bladder felt so full it hurt to walk. It’s not that bad now but I pee more than I have in my entire life.

Daily Weight

I also have to weigh myself every day. It’s important because it will be the earliest sign that I am retaining water and need to call the doctor. There was more than a little around my lungs when I was in the hospital. I weighed 225 lbs going in and am now at 217 lbs. That is just from losing water weight.

What Now?

Now, I work towards my goals but there are plenty of changes that I have to make. One of the biggest is my work schedule. I have discovered I get tired very easily. On top of that I have therapy and nurses and so much more. In fact, I have decided to give up writing God, Fitness, and Mental Illness. Not because those things aren’t important but I had to make decisions that allowed me to thrive and work at the same time. I have also cut my office hours for the time being. It is not a permanent change I hope.