home 6 weeks after hospital for congestive heart failure

[needhelp345]

hello .   mom is recovering from her chf episode  and has been home from hospital 6 weeks now. she is on alot of heart meds and is very tired. on exertion she has shortness of breath and if very bad has to puff her proventil inhaler. she also has to use advair twice day and saline nose spray every day. she developed a cough from her chf before during and now at home. the cough isn't so much now but she will spit up mucus once in awhile. i don't know why she is on advair. she took a spirometry breathing test and She does not have copd. she is wearing oxygen on exertion only. we have complained about her very tiredness, lack of energy, lack of appetite, but she eats, and perhaps removing her from some of her meds. we told home nurse, general practioner, cardiologist. they ignore her and say stay on your meds you need them. they don't say much about her very tiredness or short of breath on exertion. gp stated it will take time maybe few months. she is frustrated. is her life doing things over. she does do few exercises daily but cannot walk very much due to her tiredness or short of breath. we would sure appreciate any others who have experienced these problems and how did you recover. thank you everyone.

[tacolino]

Hi Need Help. It must be a difficult time for you. I can imagine that you dont need 'Clever people on this forum giving you cheek or smart answers'. I am delighted to try and help you in some small way.
It must be awful to look at your Mum like this.
Firstly, what exactly is the Cardiologist saying. There can be several things causing the failure. Some can be improved, others are just managed with drugs.The classic symptom is exercise tolerance as you describe.A lot of doctors are dismissive of patients side effects etc. Write down all that you have said here, go see the doctor and say your not happy, dont get brushed off. Ask your cardiologist for help and guidance, plus some form of small basic exercise plan. Ask if they can change any of the meds to see if that helps? Its difficult, but I figure your mums EF is probably reduced? The fact that she has not got copd is very good news . Mind your mum and get answers to allow you to work out the future strategy for your Mum. Best wishes

[tom_h]

"yes, even here she is ignored."

michellepetkus is being kind, however, I take offense to your comment!  You asked for specific comments from others who might have experienced this.  Obviously no one had.  You werent being ignored.  You're also posting in the wrong forum.  Hopefully you'll have a better attitude in the Heart Disease forum.

[MichelleP_3811]

I am so sorry you did not get a reply.  That can be upsetting I know.  This is the heart rhythm section and people here mostly face issues with ectopic beats and fast or irregular rythms.  You might get a better response from the heart disease section.  How is she feeling now.  My grandmother had cfh and it is brutal.  I would suspect she has adjusted to the meds by now but cfh basically means the heart is worn out and unable to pump well.  Fluid builds up and basically it can feel like the person is suffocating.  Water pills are a must to keep the water from building up.  if you see her ankles are swollen that is a big red flag.  Unfortunately I don't think there is a cure at a certain point.  It then just becomes an illness that is managed.  

[needhelp345]

yes, even here she is ignored.