Carla

Gentle Hugs,
Carla



In the midst of your pain, don't forget the blessings in your life.

Jan

May your troubles be less, Your blessings be more. And nothing but happiness come through your door!

Thanks for all the posts and private messages regarding my daughter. Now I'll share the results of her last test and doctor's visit. (My daughter developed Peripartum Cardiomyopathy in the last months of her pregnancy. A beautiful, healthy girl was born in April. See profile and diary for more info.)

The news was good, but not as good as expected. Her heart injection rate has improved in 3 months from 20% to 30-35%. We are please with that, but it would probably be better if she had not been taken off Altace because of low BP in the beginning, and never put back on it until now. Her BP went up some after she began birth control pills, but when her husband called the doctor's office (2 different times) about adding the Altace again, the nurse practitioner told them to leave everything as is until her 3 month visit. (In the beginning of all of this, she was told that she needed to be on an optimal drug regimen of Lanoxin, Altace and something else. It was essential that she be on all 3 at the same time, because they help each other heal the heart faster. So as soon as her BP went up some, they wanted her to start on the Altace again. Not sure what happened between this advice and the advice he received from the nurse practitioner over the phone.)

Anyway, physically she is slowly improving. You can tell that she is improving by her physical appearance and what she is able to do now compared to the beginning. She has no swelling, no breathing problems, has lost about 47 lbs (mostly fluid lost during the first 2 weeks), and fairly active - with no adverse effects.

Emotionally, is a different story right now. She saw another nurse practitioner this time. Despite all her improvement, the nurse practitioner mentioned that they might want to consider having a defibrillator implanted to prevent her from "dropping dead" if her heart stopped beating or if she has a massive heart attack.

Not very tactful! Her husband asked what was the cut off point for recommending this. It is 35%! (Remember she is now at 30-35%.)

My daughter's cardiologist talked with them when first diagnosed. He told them that at 20% heart injection rate, it was HIGHLY UNLIKELY that her heart would just stop or that she would have a heart attack - because of her young age. He recommended AGAINST having a defibrillator implanted even then.

Why in this world would this subject be brought up now?

My daughter fought great fears of her heart just stopping in the beginning, but over the months has greatly improved. Now she is essentially having to start over fighting this fear. Please continue to keep her in your prayers.

As you can probably tell, I'm still very upset over this last visit. She struggled so much with the fears of dying and not being there for her family. She has done well "conquering" those thoughts most of the time, and now . . .

And guess what, I have an appointment with her doctor next week. I've never been to him before, so I'm sure I'll see the doctor and not a nurse practitioner. Hope I can control my feelings before then!

Thanks for your continue prayers!

Carla

Post edited by: AutumnSunset, at: 07/18/2008 11:19

Gentle Hugs,
Carla



In the midst of your pain, don't forget the blessings in your life.

I will keep your family in my prayers

dragonfly

I hope your daughter gets a little better each day.

Jan

May your troubles be less, Your blessings be more. And nothing but happiness come through your door!

Secondly the nurse practicioner that spoke about the defibrillator---Did she work with the cardiologist that told your daughter that she would not need one with an EF of 20%? It seems to me that there are too many cooks stiring the pot.

If I were you and this is only my opinion, I would take my daughter to a cardiologist that I felt I could trust. That is who would do her follow-up and no one else. That way you are not mislead by different opinions of differnt health care professionals.

I am sorry that your daughter and your family have had to go through this terrible experience. I have kept your daughter in my thoughts when i see my daughters friend who had a very similar experience with the birth of her daughter 2 years ago. Please take faith and peace in the knowledge that she is well with an EF of 60% and recently delivered a healthy baby girl with no complications.

I will keep you all in my prayers,

Your Friend,

Sandi