Comment from: 65-74 Female (Patient)Published: September 09
My feet swelled and I went to the doctors he gave me 60 mg. of Lasix I lost 15 lbs. in a week. My husband has brain cancer and I couldn't take my pills every day since I was his driver. Finally I couldn't breath, my feet were like balloons. I went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with CHF and blood clots in my leg and lungs. Two weeks in hospital and 3 weeks of physical therapy I still am on Lasix and my feet are still swollen and I'm still huffing and puffing on oxygen 24 hrs. a day. I'm hoping that my next visit to the doctors will see an improvement. I don't want to spend the rest of my life hooked up to oxygen. Last year I had a pacemaker put in due to a heart rate that would be between 40 and 197 that they couldn't control with medication. I've never been healthy since.
Comment from: Dave, 45-54 Male (Patient)Published: September 09
I am 46 years old. After losing over 100 pounds, I was diagnosed with diabetes, then lost a toe, after all this I started retaining fluid gaining 70 pounds in three months. I went to my family Dr. he treated me for allergies. I got a second opinion and was diagnosed with CHF. With the fluid retention I also have shortness of breath; I sleep in the recliner now. I have night sweats and no energy I want to sleep all the time.
I have been very recently diagnosed with congestive heart failure. My signs and symptoms mainly consisted of shortness of breath, but it was more like gasping for air, and there was a lot of wheezing. Turns out it wasn't wheezing at all, but fluid in my lungs. Saw my doctor and she treated me for what she believed was either asthma and/or emphysema. When I demanded a chest x ray after 3 weeks of this, I was told to go to the ER, where they did a chest x ray and discovered fluids in my lungs. The next few days in the hospital required many tests such as more chest x rays, an echocardiogram, EKGs, and a CT scan with and without contrast. After 2 days on Lasix and steroids, I apparently released 10 lbs of fluids in my lungs, 10 lbs! More than a gallon of water. I am feeling much better breathing wise, but I have a long road ahead of me. My next step is a heart catheterization.
The 1st indication I had that I was experiencing CHF was severe loss of energy. A simple walk up a flight of stairs, and I was huffing and puffing, practically gasping for air. That's when a friend who happens to be a para medic, pointed out to me that my ankles were unusually swollen. I passed the lack of energy off on the fact that I was about 35 to 40 lbs. overweight and did not exercise. I was what you could call a lazy couch potato. I smoke about a pack of cigarettes a day, and although
I don't drink anymore; I went through about 12 to 15 years as a very serious alcoholic. (1 QUART of Jack Daniels per day plus 12 to 24 beers). It was when my testicles got swollen to the size of a couple of grapefruits, that I went to the ER. The
diagnosis was Congestive Heart Failure. I've been hospitalized 3 times since that fateful day, most recently for an infection on my lower leg that oral antibiotics would not cure.
I take a lot of diuretics and am on a strict diet with my goal being to loose 40 lbs. I still smoke cigarettes, but have cut down substantially. The doctors tell me I won't die, THIS TIME!
Comment from: sue321, 45-54 Female (Patient)Published: September 25
In 2002 I had four hours of morning vomiting, back spasms, severe headache and exhaustion. I had been treated for sinus infection and was on antibiotic during the onset of congestive heart failure (CHF) symptoms. When my lungs began to wheeze heavily, I remembered that the lungs can fill with fluid as a backup system for heart problems, so I laid down in my hallway and told my son to call an ambulance. This was the beginning of a ten day Myocarditis congestive heart failure. Not fun. It took four months to recover fully. However, today I have exercise induced "cardiac urgency" which was recently translated as congestive heart failure probably related to the Myocarditis.
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My feet swelled and I went to the doctors he gave me 60 mg. of Lasix I lost 15 lbs. in a week. My husband has brain cancer and I couldn't take my pills every day since I was his driver. Finally I couldn't breath, my feet were like balloons. I went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with CHF and blood clots in my leg and lungs. Two weeks in hospital and 3 weeks of physical therapy I still am on Lasix and my feet are still swollen and I'm still huffing and puffing on oxygen 24 hrs. a day. I'm hoping that my next visit to the doctors will see an improvement. I don't want to spend the rest of my life hooked up to oxygen. Last year I had a pacemaker put in due to a heart rate that would be between 40 and 197 that they couldn't control with medication. I've never been healthy since.
Related Reading: brain cancer | blood clots | pacemaker