Claudia S CMSchm@aol.com near Chicago, Illinois age 52 married 35 years to Bob 3 children

Before CHF

I have been married 38 years this Christmas Eve to my high school sweetheart Bob - a wonderful husband and father. We are blessed to have 3 great children and a grandbaby due soon! <g> We just moved 3 years ago to a ranch style house because stairs became my enemy, even though I did not know why. I do now!

My Health

My health never was very good, but the odd thing is that I always thought I was a healthy person. I was diagnosed in the Spring of 1999 with cardiomyopathy and CHF. This was after a year of steroids for what they said was asthma. My EF at that time was 15%. I also have diabetes, hypothyroidism and the beginnings of kidney failure.
     For having an EF of 15%, I was doing rather well. My pulse at the time of diagnosis was about 108 and now it is near 80. I had my cardiac cath and most of what I remember is the tech saying to the doctor, "Wow, what a big heart!" and the doctor agreeing. This was a little unsettling. The first 2 cardiologists talked about a heart transplant, but by advice given here at Jon's, I found a CHF specialist and he is more optimistic, and he is now my doctor.
     My first echocardiogram was done April 21, 1999, and the angiogram was about a month later. I mostly struggled with everything on a good day. I was feeling confused and a little in denial. I am being very good with my lifestyle and have not had to be hospitalized for any reason.

My Meds

Coping

I would like to know what to expect on down the road. I would like to know what is working for others who have maybe been diagnosed 3-5 years ago and what they think is the reason for their success with this disease. Right now I am feeling better than I have in maybe 15 years. I would love to hear from anyone who likes to chat. I have a goal - I want to live at least to the date 11/11/11. I would be 65 that day. I am extremely grateful to Jon for this wonderful site. I wonder if he will ever know just how many lives he has helped. Thank you, Jon! God bless.

Update Update Update Update

July 14, 2000 - My EF has improved to 25%. They said my heart has shrunk to near normal in size, which is also very good news. I am feeling really very well. If it weren't for all the medications, I would hardly know I had any problems. I get tired from time to time if I have done too much but guess that is pretty typical! I am still wondering what the future holds and am still dealing with the emotions on a daily basis. God bless!

Update Update Update Update

September 4, 2002 - I came to Jon's Place a little over 3 years ago, I might add, scared to death. I had been diagnosed with idiopathic CM and CHF. My EF was 15%. I remember a sentence in Dr. Marc Silver's book, Success With Heart Failure about how important it is or could be, to find out what caused your heart failure. I was sure then that besides high blood pressure, mine was caused by an undiagnosed thyroid problem for over 20 years, or I possibly inherited it since my father died from CHF.
     After a year on medication and some weight loss, my next echocardiogram showed some increase of my EF to 30%. The cardiologist thought it should be more and he seemed confused. My husband than suggested that I have a sleep study done. I am a large person and did snore some, but what the sleep study found was that when I fell into REM (rapid eye movement) sleep, my oxygen level dropped to 78% - not good at all. When a person is in REM sleep they have no control over their body's functions, like how deep I was breathing. It was not a result of snoring, which was considered minor.
     I was put on the CPAP machine without oxygen and it has been 4 months now. An echocardiogram this week showed my heart normal in size with normal function, and an EF of 55%! I know I feel better. I no longer feel as if I am dragging myself through the day, and have much more energy.
     I know this is not everyone's answer but thought it was important enough to share for those that may think it could be their cause of CHF and CM. I am not sure what the next step will be for me, but as most of us do, we take each day as a blessing and move along. God bless.

Claudia S -- November 28, 1999

All information on this site is opinion only. All concepts, explanations, trials, and studies have been re-written in plain English and may contain errors. No one here is a doctor. No information on this page should be used by any person to affect their medical, legal, educational, social, or psychological treatment in any way. This web site and all its pages copyright © 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 Jon C.