Nancy
Well-known member
I thought I'd give you an update on Joe. He had his monthly cardiology appointment today and everything is looking just great. His labs are good, his breathing is good, his stamina is good, his CHF is under control, his pulmonary hypertension is much improved. His heart is fine, his liver and spleen are back to normal size, and he has a terrific appetite.
The past two days he cleaned out the entire garage by himself, and this morning, he did 30 minutes on the treadmill.
This is just so dramatic, that I'm almost at a loss for words well, almost .
For those who don't know what happened, at the end of December of 2002, Joe was very close to losing his life. He had several conditions which had de-compensated very rapidly. He was in Class IV CHF, kidney failure, severe anemia, severe pulmonary hypertension and he had ascites, liver enlargement, spleen enlargement and general weakness. He spent much of the time sleeping and could hardly move. It was the pulmonary hypertension that was at the base of all this.
I found a wonderful pulmonary hypertension and CHF specialist about 20 miles from where we live (Dr. Lawrence Zisman at Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York) and was able to get an immediate appointment. It was just in the nick of time. Joe was admitted directly to the hospital, and even into the heart transplant unit, not that he needed a transplant, but he was that sick. He spent a month in the hospital and had enormous amounts of diagnostic tests and lab work. They reworked all his meds and added Procrit and Tracleer and Imdur. It did the trick.
For all of you who either have pulmonary hypertension, or have been told that you had it in the past, I urge you to keep track of it, and make sure your cardiologist checks this condition. Echocardiograms show it, but the numbers on the echo can vary 10 points either way. It is a rare condition, but I was very surprised to see that there are a few people here who have it in their history. Because it is so rare, not too many doctors have experience dealing with it, and it might get overlooked. In addition, it used to be a disease that had no treatment and a very poor prognosis. That has changed recently. There are now several treatments available, and more in clinical trials, and the prognosis is much more favorable. But you have to seek proper treatment for yourself. It is a sneaky, nasty disease that can mimic other problems and is very often misdiagnosed until it gets to dire circumstances.
The past two days he cleaned out the entire garage by himself, and this morning, he did 30 minutes on the treadmill.
This is just so dramatic, that I'm almost at a loss for words well, almost .
For those who don't know what happened, at the end of December of 2002, Joe was very close to losing his life. He had several conditions which had de-compensated very rapidly. He was in Class IV CHF, kidney failure, severe anemia, severe pulmonary hypertension and he had ascites, liver enlargement, spleen enlargement and general weakness. He spent much of the time sleeping and could hardly move. It was the pulmonary hypertension that was at the base of all this.
I found a wonderful pulmonary hypertension and CHF specialist about 20 miles from where we live (Dr. Lawrence Zisman at Albany Medical Center, Albany, New York) and was able to get an immediate appointment. It was just in the nick of time. Joe was admitted directly to the hospital, and even into the heart transplant unit, not that he needed a transplant, but he was that sick. He spent a month in the hospital and had enormous amounts of diagnostic tests and lab work. They reworked all his meds and added Procrit and Tracleer and Imdur. It did the trick.
For all of you who either have pulmonary hypertension, or have been told that you had it in the past, I urge you to keep track of it, and make sure your cardiologist checks this condition. Echocardiograms show it, but the numbers on the echo can vary 10 points either way. It is a rare condition, but I was very surprised to see that there are a few people here who have it in their history. Because it is so rare, not too many doctors have experience dealing with it, and it might get overlooked. In addition, it used to be a disease that had no treatment and a very poor prognosis. That has changed recently. There are now several treatments available, and more in clinical trials, and the prognosis is much more favorable. But you have to seek proper treatment for yourself. It is a sneaky, nasty disease that can mimic other problems and is very often misdiagnosed until it gets to dire circumstances.
