topic Re: What a week in Wellness

What a week

smoochy — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 00:44:59 GMT

Few days ago my body started swelling up with fluid, feet, hands, face, abdomen. Bad cough, then the shortness of breath became intolerable. Before my husband drove me to urgent care, I hopped on the scale. Six pound weight gain in three days.
Was worked up thoroughly in urgent care, BP extremely high. Got IV Lasix (diuretic) which helped my breathing a lot. I had fluid in my lungs also. Was transferred by ambulance to the hospital where I was kept overnight. Complete cardiac work up was done. The good news, the tests were mostly normal but there was evidence of uncontrolled hypertension (thickened heart walls and mild pulmonary hypertension) my BP was very high during my stay, even with extra bp meds. Several times my heart rate dropped into the low thirties and a nurse had to keep doing sternal rubs to try and get it going. All quite scary and thank God for Xanax and Ativan. Bottom line: my primary doc who I will be seeing soon, will likely add another bp med to my regimen. I'm to start checking my blood pressure at home, which I've neglected. And I have to eat a low sodium diet from now on. Cardiologist in the hospital said my extreme daily sodium intake probably caused the problems. Fluid follows the salt. Ok so I'm on a mission to save my own life. I ordered the DASH diet beginners cookbook and a smokeless indoor grill. Today's grocery shopping trip took a long time as I needed to read labels for sodium content. Some surprises-most breakfast cereals, loaded! Some varieties of breads ( the ones I've been eating lol) salad dressing and most condiments. I bought several bottles of Mrs Dash seasoning, found unsalted tomato sauce and soups. I can do this 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Cooking/ recipe tips are welcome. My nurse said grilling and baking, no frying. I'm also keeping the saturated fat down as well.

Re: What a week

SeaMaiden — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 19:47:26 GMT

@smoochy How scary! Do they know what the main issue is that would lead to this situation? Can I ask how old you are? Is it heart related for the most part? Hopefully with some lifestyle tweaks and diet tweaks you will get this under control...not easy....but so worth it! Please keep us up to date on this thread how you are doing❤️

Re: What a week

We rescue cats — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 19:57:37 GMT

You are off to a good start!

Little to no salt, watch your prepared food for sodium, I avoid carbohydrates when I can, eat lots of fresh veggies that I roast, broil or air fry and cut back on red meat. Drink lots of water and I use a spritzer to spray veggies and salads with olive oil. Once you get onto it the whole process becomes second nature. When I started reading the nutrional values on food I nearly fainted at hidden salt and sugar.

Hope you feeling better soon!

Re: What a week

smoochy — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 20:02:40 GMT

@SeaMaiden wrote:
@smoochy How scary! Do they know what the main issue is that would lead to this situation? Can I ask how old you are? Is it heart related for the most part? Hopefully with some lifestyle tweaks and diet tweaks you will get this under control...not easy....but so worth it! Please keep us up to date on this thread how you are doing❤️

Yes the main issue was that my blood pressure was no longer under good control and my excessive salt/sodium intake caused the sudden fluid retention. My heart function is normal per the testing that was done. And my blood vessels are clear, no heart disease. So it's not a heart problem it's a blood pressure issue. Im 71 thanks for your kind words. 🥰

Re: What a week

smoochy — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 20:04:53 GMT

@We rescue cats

The spritzer idea, I wouldn't have thought of it. Thanks! And grilled or roasted veggies. That's new to me. I'm kind of excited about trying some new methods of preparing food 😊

Re: What a week

Kachina624 — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 20:11:02 GMT

@smoochy I had that happen to me, although not as severe, about 20 years ago. I was at a routine medical appointment and my BP was extremely high. They sent me to the ER at a nearby hospital. Wanted to call an ambulance but I refused.

Anyway, I spent the afternoon getting a Lasix IV. They called it congestive heart failure. The Lasix, then daily hydroclorothyisaide fixed me up and I've been fine ever since.

Re: What a week

Zhills — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 20:15:39 GMT

How scary! Hope all turns out well. Prayers.

Re: What a week

happilyretiredgirl — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 20:16:02 GMT

@smoochy I wish you well and pray for a speedy recovery. Blood Pressure can cause so many health issues so I am glad you are on track to take care of it.

You will like roasted/grilled vegatables and will never want them any other way again. Especially when fresh vegatables, if you have a farmers market near you this summer you will enjoy all vegatables roasted/grilled.

Take care and keep us posted on your journey of good health.

Re: What a week

greenjean1 — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 20:21:35 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@smoochy I had that happen to me, although not as severe, about 20 years ago. I was at a routine medical appointment and my BP was extremely high. They sent me to the ER at a nearby hospital. Wanted to call an ambulance but I refused.

Anyway, I spent the afternoon getting a Lasix IV. They called it congestive heart failure. The Lasix, then daily hydroclorothyisaide fixed me up and I've been fine ever since.

I call Lasix the "peeing your brains out" med. I took it once and thought I'd never stop, but it did the trick. My culprit: a July 4 celebration with too many hot dogs, chips and pickles. It would be an odd way of going out.

Re: What a week

hckynutjohn — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 04:44:56 GMT

Re: What a week

Terrywu — Fri, 03 Mar 2023 21:21:00 GMT

Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.

Re: What a week

rockygems123 — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 00:14:00 GMT

@smoochy Good for you for saying "yes you can do this"! That's huge.

My mother had to limit her salt intake and we had the Morton's salt substitute in the house, we roasted cornish hens for her using it and pepper and they were good.

We've used Mrs Dash and liked it, used it like regular seasonings. I remember one recipe was using a salt free seasoning, think it was a bit spicy to give it a little more flavor, chopped garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, quick marinade on shrimp and then grilled, it was delicious.

Re: What a week

smoochy — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 00:46:17 GMT

@Kachina624 wrote:
@smoochy I had that happen to me, although not as severe, about 20 years ago. I was at a routine medical appointment and my BP was extremely high. They sent me to the ER at a nearby hospital. Wanted to call an ambulance but I refused.

Anyway, I spent the afternoon getting a Lasix IV. They called it congestive heart failure. The Lasix, then daily hydroclorothyisaide fixed me up and I've been fine ever since.

The initial diagnosis was CHF, however subsequent tests ruled it out. Echocardiogram showed my heart muscle is strong and working normally. Glad to hear that you are doing well.

Re: What a week

smoochy — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 00:47:37 GMT

@hckynutjohn wrote:
@smoochy

I can personally relate to some of your heart and BP issues. I am now classified with Congestive Heart Failure(CHF) because of my low Ejection Fraction numbers. I am on oral Lasix because of my EF numbers, even though my fluid buildup is negligible compared to what you described for yours.

Many BP meds lower the heart rate, some much more than others. Some of the findings you listed are quite serious. Thickening of the heart walls and Pulmonary Hypertension!

I'm surprised that you didn't seek answers from a Doctor when you noticed your extremities swelling up with fluid. That is quite often a signal your heart is not pumping sufficiently.

My blood sodium levels have been on the low side for decades. I quit adding salt back in the 1970's and read all labels very closely for the amount of salt in anything I eat or drink. You might be surprised to know there is sodium even in milk. There is 130mg of sodium in an 8oz glass of fat free milk.

If you do not have a personal Cardiologist, I suggest you find a good one. With the things you listed about your heart, what you eat may not be all you can do to help your heart.

Getting an Echocardiogram would be something I think you might mention to your doctor. Those EF numbers are very important for the things you listed with the diagnosis given to you in the hospital.

I wish you well,

hckynut(john)🥅🏒 🇺🇸

To clarify, the initial onset of edema was in my left foot. Two days later it was everywhere and I was suddenly very short of breath. That's when I went to the urgent care clinic. As far as cardiac testing, I had a complete work up in the hospital-stress test, echocardiogram, cardiac lab profile, X-rays. The cardiologist who managed my care said the pulmonary hypertension is mild and the thickened heart muscle is mild,per results of the echo. My ejection fraction is normal because there is not anything intrinsically wrong with my heart.

Re: What a week

PamfromCT — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 02:03:26 GMT

@smoochy,

I am so glad you are ok. Most of us learn the hard way to change our diets and lifestyles. I do recommend you purchase a few books with ideas to help you transition. It does take a while, but you will learn how to eat well and healthier.

It it is a different way of cooking, but you will get used to it.

My DH and I made the transition many years back after my DH had a mild heart attack. He has been fine ever since, and we rarely “cheat” on our healthy way of eating.

All my best to you.

You can check out “Penzeys Spices.” They offer a catalog, and have quite a few salt-free mixtures to send for. And yes,

after grilling veggies in the oven, you will love them.

Re: What a week

Kachina624 — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 02:04:45 GMT

@greenjean1 wrote:
@Kachina624 wrote:
@smoochy I had that happen to me, although not as severe, about 20 years ago. I was at a routine medical appointment and my BP was extremely high. They sent me to the ER at a nearby hospital. Wanted to call an ambulance but I refused.

Anyway, I spent the afternoon getting a Lasix IV. They called it congestive heart failure. The Lasix, then daily hydroclorothyisaide fixed me up and I've been fine ever since.
I call Lasix the "peeing your brains out" med. I took it once and thought I'd never stop, but it did the trick. My culprit: a July 4 celebration with too many hot dogs, chips and pickles. It would be an odd way of going out.

@greenjean1 I didn't take it long as it caused me to chronically cough, a typical side effect. I went to an opera and had to leave my seat because I couldn't stop coughing. There are alternatives.

Re: What a week

AuntG — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 02:27:56 GMT

I think you'll find the DASH cookbook has some palatable recipes. Thankfully, I'm not on prescribed medications but I need to lower my glucose numbers as they are creeping up. It's great that most your numbers were normal so now you can concentrate on the sodium and blood pressure. Good luck on making healthy changes.

Re: What a week

hckynutjohn — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 04:43:32 GMT

Re: What a week

smoochy — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 04:25:18 GMT

@hckynutjohn

my "numbers" were satisfactory to the board certified cardiologist who attended me in the hospital. Not going to engage in any further discussion with you about this.

Re: What a week

hckynutjohn — Sat, 04 Mar 2023 04:57:51 GMT

@smoochy wrote:
@hckynutjohn

my "numbers" were satisfactory to the board certified cardiologist who attended me in the hospital. Not going to engage in any further discussion with you about this.

@smoochy

As you wish,

hckynut(john)🥅🏒 🇺🇸