Latest cardiologist visit
Hello again,
John had his 2 month appointment with the doctor at the UWMC on Monday and the doctor was pleased with everything. John has been quite concerned with his weight lately. He has been having trouble keeping it at the level the doctor previously indicated, thought that it might be caused by water retention in the lungs and that the dose of diuretic might be raised. Self-diagnosis…incorrect!
Blood pressure was a bit low, leading the doctor to think that the weight wasn’t water, just normal weight. (Dehydration lowers blood pressure.) So she did two things; she lowered the dose of diuretic and she raised the ‘ideal weight’ by six pounds. And, of course, the usual “see me in two months”!
A nurse from the UWMC called today with the blood test results and wanted info about weight and blood pressure. The weight has been stable and generally below what the new recommended weight is. The blood pressure has gone up since the diuretic dose was lowered. This is good since now the doctor can raise the dosage of another drug, Carvedilol, which she has wanted to do. It is a beta-blocker used for heart failure. Its purpose is to lower the blood pressure. Confused? YUP, it’s one of those things that makes sense when explained by the doctor and is difficult to explain to others. Do as we do and just trust the doctors.
The blood work showed that the BNP was 431, much higher than normal, but where it was last time. Normal hearts have a BNP of less than 100. BNP is an indicator of the extent of congestive heart failure. It can vary due to medications. John’s BNP was higher than 1400 when he was feeling so bad the last half of last year.
We have been talking about another cruise, this one a trans-Atlantic cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin and then to Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland and on to Florida in the fall. When we mentioned the idea at a support group, and Kelley, the doctor’s nurse seemed uncomfortable with the idea. She knows about the cruise last fall with the multiple trips to the sick bay with water retention and asked how many days in a row at sea. She was concerned that the same problem might occur and we would be far from a landside hospital. But the doctor seemed enthused about the idea and had no reservations about the trip, its length (18 days) or distance/time from ports. We haven’t booked this trip as yet, but likely will in May. It should be a fun trip if we do it!!!!
John & Colleen
John had his 2 month appointment with the doctor at the UWMC on Monday and the doctor was pleased with everything. John has been quite concerned with his weight lately. He has been having trouble keeping it at the level the doctor previously indicated, thought that it might be caused by water retention in the lungs and that the dose of diuretic might be raised. Self-diagnosis…incorrect!
Blood pressure was a bit low, leading the doctor to think that the weight wasn’t water, just normal weight. (Dehydration lowers blood pressure.) So she did two things; she lowered the dose of diuretic and she raised the ‘ideal weight’ by six pounds. And, of course, the usual “see me in two months”!
A nurse from the UWMC called today with the blood test results and wanted info about weight and blood pressure. The weight has been stable and generally below what the new recommended weight is. The blood pressure has gone up since the diuretic dose was lowered. This is good since now the doctor can raise the dosage of another drug, Carvedilol, which she has wanted to do. It is a beta-blocker used for heart failure. Its purpose is to lower the blood pressure. Confused? YUP, it’s one of those things that makes sense when explained by the doctor and is difficult to explain to others. Do as we do and just trust the doctors.
The blood work showed that the BNP was 431, much higher than normal, but where it was last time. Normal hearts have a BNP of less than 100. BNP is an indicator of the extent of congestive heart failure. It can vary due to medications. John’s BNP was higher than 1400 when he was feeling so bad the last half of last year.
We have been talking about another cruise, this one a trans-Atlantic cruise from Copenhagen to Oslo, Edinburgh, Belfast, Dublin and then to Iceland, Greenland, Newfoundland and on to Florida in the fall. When we mentioned the idea at a support group, and Kelley, the doctor’s nurse seemed uncomfortable with the idea. She knows about the cruise last fall with the multiple trips to the sick bay with water retention and asked how many days in a row at sea. She was concerned that the same problem might occur and we would be far from a landside hospital. But the doctor seemed enthused about the idea and had no reservations about the trip, its length (18 days) or distance/time from ports. We haven’t booked this trip as yet, but likely will in May. It should be a fun trip if we do it!!!!
John & Colleen
posted by Colleen and John | 7:55 PM
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