A few odd little things happening with me.....

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sunflowergirl

sunflowergirl

Well-known member
Joined
Jun 13, 2010
Messages
80
Location
Virginia
I am 6 weeks post op and I have been regularly weighing myself. I recently went on a small trip and In a 7 day period I gained 10 pounds!! Is that worrisome? I remember them telling me right out of the hospital to call you doctor is you fluctuate more than 3 lbs either way. My wedding rings seem tight but I do not notice swollen ankles. I also went to my initial Cardiac Rehab visit today. She got a BP on me of 160/106 I usually run 120/70. The RN there seemed concerned and asked me to call my cardiologist as soon as I left to see what they would like me to do. SO I called. I have an echo scheduled with them tomorrow...but they have no one that can see me till Thursday. Should I be concerned? I also *(yes I know ...3 issues in one day) around 3 am I got a funny feeling in my upper stomach...or atleast I think it is my upper stomach...kinda a cramping feeling that is now, over 12 hours later, radiating thru my chest and over into my shoulders. Now this is not pain...more or a discomfort feeling. I think I feel fine otherwise and I am not having difficulty breathing. Not sure if is my heart or what. So, has anyone had any of these issues and should I be worried? Robin
 
The issue of fluid retention has been a problem for me as well. When I can wear the puzzle ring on my right hand, I am near zero. When I must move it to the left hand, I am retaining fluid. When I must take it off the retained fluid has gone over 5 or 6 pounds and my calves start feeling tight. When it once approached 10 pounds, my hands and lower legs began to itch. Lasix (40mg daily) helps but does not always reduce the fluid retention to zero. So far, I've not been given a good explanation for why this continues to happen. I'll look forward to hearing about your next visit with your medical retinue.

Larry
 
Sudden weight gain like that seems to point to fluid retention. Not everyone gets swollen ankles from fluid retention. Some people also get it in the abdominal area (ascites). That may be what has happened to you. If it gets into the abdominal area, it can get into the liver and cause nausea, maybe even the little twinges of whatever you are having. Could also cause loss of appetite. Your hands can get fluid in them too, hence the ring problem.

My husband had fluid retention for years and years, and frequently got it in his abdomen.

I am glad you are going to see the doctor soon.

In the mean time, stay on an extremely low sodium diet, if you can, until you see the doctor. Add no salt at the table, and don't cook with it either. Others can always add it at the table. No lunch meat, no cheese.

They will probably put you on a diuretic.

If you have any difficulties like breathing issues, coughing up blood, chest pains, go to the ER.
 
Larry, different diuretics act in different ways in the system. Joe was on a very high dose of Lasix, but his doctor often had to add Zaroxolyn which boosts the effect of Lasix. There were also times when he was on Lasix plus Spironolactone (Aldactone), which acts on a slightly different aspect of the urinary system. If you feel you are not getting the relief that you need from your Lasix, you should call the doctor to discuss it. There are many ways to reduce fluid in the system.

In addition, sometimes when the fluid gets too bad, it can blunt the effect of Lasix because the fluid actually clogs up the digestive system that the Lasix uses to do what it has to do, taking it by mouth. When this happened to Joe, and he was having breathing difficulties, I took him to the ER, and they gave him IV Lasix which goes right into the bloodstream and works much better in that kind of situation.
 
The American heart association has a low-salt cookbook at barnes and noble. It's really good. I threw caution to the wind last Friday and ate out and had too much sodium and gained 3 lbs that day and gave myself higher blood pressure, a high heart rate, and tons of PVCs. You may want to go to the ER and make sure your kidneys and lungs are functioning correctly and get an IV of lasix.
 
I guess it is fluid retention. I hope that if there is something
Wrong they will see it on the echo. I still feel the same this evening
A strange feeling in the top of my abdomen. Not sure what I feel. :(
 
Three years post op and Lasix is still part of my daily diet ....I weigh in EVERY day and log the numbers and adjust my lasix accordingly ...for the first six months I went in to the heart function clinic and had IV lasix as well as my daily ration of tablets ....damn near lived in washrooms...night time is fun at my house my wife is finally able to ignore me and gets a good nights sleep.... 5lbs up in a 48 hr priod and I am told to go to the clinic that day .....my insulin plays havoc with fluid retention as well
 
Another way to check for Fluid Retention is to press your Shin, above the ankle. The Bigger the Dimple, and Slower it resides, the more fluid you are retaining.

When weighing, it is best to wear only your Birthday Suit or maybe just underwear so that you see only changes in Your Weight and not changes in how much your clothes weigh.

'AL C'
 
Before my op I had over 28lbs of excess fluid and had to take 160mg of Furosemide a day with water intake and outake measured. I am normally about 150lbs and nearly all of the water was around my waist and lower legs. I lost up to 1.8 litres a day. No kidding! It took one week to get down to decent levels to have my op. Since the op I was on 40mg of furosemide a day and am now after 6 months on 20mg daily for BP. I have no excess water now but my BP is tending to rise and is now 130/70. I think as you get fitter and exercise your heart you will get back to normal. I also had some water problems at around 6 weeks when I removed the surgical stockings, which we have to wear in the UK until seeing the specialist. I was told by my doc to sit with my feet up or lay with them slightly higher than my head, this worked. As I got fitter the water problem disappeared. I don't have any knowledge of your other problems other than to say thay the operation involved your chest , shoulders and arms and it is most likely that your pains are bruising orligaments getting back into place.
It is funny how our bodies react and despite all of our knowledge they still surprise us. Or should that be because of all of our knowledge.
Best wishes for a good recovery.
 
About 2 weeks ago, my wife noticed my face was really swollen and I was up by about 4-5 lbs. I took my 2 daily doses of lasix and lost all that weight that day. I stayed on it for the rest of the week. We called the cardilogist and he seemed concerned, so they scheduled an echo to check for SVC (severe vena cava); basically a block in the artery bringing dirty blood back to the heart. If there is a blockage, that can cause the blood to back up a litte and causing the face to get puffy. They did not find anything and told me that it was probably an isolated indident. He said the people that have this are much puffier and also he said the the fact that my "wimpy" dose of lasix took care of it showed that it was something else. This was last Friday. Monday morning it was the same thing, so I took one dose and that took care of it.

My guess is that might be what they are looking for. I can happen from potential scar tissue that developed on that artery after it healed up from being on the pump.
 
update: Ok had echo and they saw a pocket of fluid behind heart. So they sent me for a CT. But that just showed small pockets and after comparing it to the CT I had in hospital 6 days after surgery they thought it was ok. She thinks it is fluid retention and does not feel the upper abdominal / shoulder pressure is connected to that (????) but she is concerned about the high BP it was 148/98 in office today. So she wants me to start Cardizam LA...of course my pharmacy did not have that in stock so we told dr that and she is going to call in a different version tomorrow morning. I was exhusted after having so many medical things go on and driving for so long both ways that I fell asleep around 6pm and I am back up now(10:40) with all the same aches and pressure, Does not feel good at all. I want to feel like I did last week. I was starting to feel so normal :( Robin
ps. thank you for being here with helpful answers and suggestions
 
Regarding suggestions, might it feel better for you to sleep upright in a recliner for a couple of nights, or propped up with several pillows in bed? Hoping the doctors are on the right track and you are feeling much better very soon :)
 
Did she put you back on Lasiks? Are you taking motrin? Why does she think your blood pressure is up? Are you scheduled to see your surgeon again or has he released you? I know it is hard to be where you are right now, but hang on, it will get better.
 
My Surgeon released me already. She had no answer for why my BP is up other than stress and anxiety...which I have a hard time agreeing with because I am home still and not even starting work till Monday. I am not feeling stressed. She did not put me back on Lasiks...I guess because it was only 10 lbs. I am concerned that the pressure I am feeling is an issue. It has now been going on since early Monday morning. Robin
 
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