confused

I was diagnosed with CHF when I was in the hospital in September. When I got out of the hospital I went to a cardiologist and he said that I did not have CHF. My symptoms are extremely swollen feet and legs ( my feet and legs are always swollen, but not to the extent that they were, I lost 30 pounds of water weight in the 4 days I was in the hospital). I was also having a really hard time breathing, I do have COPD and take meds for it, but even after the meds I couldn't breathe good. I also was coughing constantly. I am confused. A couple of days ago I was back in the hospital with the same symptoms. I was diagnosed with COPD. Could you help me, do I have CHF or not? Thanks Denise

[gmachris518]

I'm not a doctor, but I do have CHF, and you definately have the symptoms.  Whether you actually have CHF or not, only a doctor can tell you that, and it would have to be in a face to face appointment.

[mebenana]

To:gmachris518

   I am going to make a appointment with my family doctor today. Thanks for answering my question. I am on a 2000 gram sodium diet, I am looking for low sodium cassarole recipes. Also a recipe for low sodium taco seasoning. Thanks

[mebenana]

To:gmachris518

   I am going to make a appointment with my family doctor today. Thanks for answering my question. I am on a 2000 gram sodium diet, I am looking for low sodium cassarole recipes. Also a recipe for low sodium taco seasoning. Thanks

[gmachris518]

Don't expect your family doctor to do much to help your situation, except, perhaps, refer you to someone else.  

As far as looking for low sodium recipes, you should be able to come up with something from searching the internet.  I took a basic recipe for soft taco shells and made it low sodium.  The basic recipe called for baking soda and salt, and I just left the sodium ingredients out of the recipe and it worked great.  In this case you can hardlly tell the difference.  Your basic list of seasonings should include dehydrated onions and garlic, along with chili peppers, and all the Mr. Dash seasonings you can handle.  

It takes a while to change your taste buds to accept the new no sodium fair, but after a while the new recipes will taste better than the old ones.

I wish you all the best in your endeavors......perhaps write a low/no sodium cookbook and make some cash while you're at it...huh?

[mebenana]

I was looking for a recipe for taco seasoning for hamburger meat, but thanks for the info on the shells. I have a really great family dr., and I am sure he will refer me to a cardiologist. I have been using mrs dash, garlic powder, and onion powder. I found a great low sodium worchershire sauce, and raspberry vinirgerette salad dressing at a store called frys. I also found mrs dash's marinades which are new. I have been on a low sodium diet since September so I have done some research. But some recipes are hard to find. I did find a great website made by someone who has CHF. He puts recipes on it and also puts out a newsletter every so often. The web address is www.lowsodiumcooking.com. I hope you like it. thanks.

[gmachris518]

Thank you for the info...I check it out.