Texas friends- beware. I'm going to sound like a weenie of epic proportions to you. But this heat in Seattle is killing me!!!
We've had the most mild spring-too cool by Seattlite's standards. And I've loved every dreary, 62 degree day. However, a few days ago, we hit "Summer". All 97 degrees of it. And here's the problemo-No one in Seattle has air conditioning! That's a brutal combination.
Well, Nick was a genius and got us an air conditioner for our bedroom, but with that heat, it was still almost eighty in the dead of night.
And that's when the full heat effects took their toll on my poor little (well big) heart.
I just hadn't been feeling right all day (I was dizzy, and overheated, and weak). So as I tried to go to sleep, those things just got worse. I started gasping, feeling pukey, and if I even touched my stomach lightly, the pain was really bad. These are classic heart failure symptoms, all due to water retention around my heart and other organs. Blast.
We put a cold towel on my forehead and I ended up taking a lasix (diuretic) at 2:30am and peed all night. So it was a lousy night's sleep, but by morning I felt quite a bit better. The scary thing was I hadn't felt that bad with heart failure stuff since right before I was diagnosed. So all the bad memories came rushing back and for a little while, we thought we were going to have to head off to the ER. But we made it through the night!
I went to the cardiologist the next day (yesterday) for a regular check in. She ran all my labs and said they were a little high, but not terrible. The lasix did the trick!! Her main advice was to be extra cautious in the heat, stay hydrated, take extra lasix if needed, and don't push it. I'm not fabulous at "not pushing it", but I'll do my best.
Other than stumbling through the heat like a zombie, things have been good! We're headed to a party tonight at our friend Jillian's house- and she has a pool!!!!! I knew I was her friend for a reason. ; )
Oh, for a quick "what's the big picture look like" update- We are really close to having me on the full doses of my heart meds (it's taken 8 months to get there). I should be fully dosed up by August and then they are going to do another ultrasound of my heart to see how my heart is functioning with those meds. At last ultrasound, it was pumping at 20-25%. Normal is 70%. So I can't wait to see what it is!! My guess is 35%. 50% would be just dreamy though. :)
After that test, I'll meet with my doc and we'll determine the next course of treatment (maybe some new drugs). If the function isn't improving much, we will probably have to start kicking around the idea of a transplant sooner than later, but I have a feeling that won't be the case. PMA (Positive Mental Attitude)!
Anyway, I hope you all are having a great summer! Texas friends- come up and see us to cool off! Next week is supposed be lovely and in the 70s!
Love you all!
Jana
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