Congestive Heart Failure

Post Reply New Topic

Anybody out there with a medical background or special interest???

I have inherited the care and feeding of my father-in-law. Since my Dad died last year and I kind of blame myself for it, I'd like to redeem myself in my own eyes by doing a good job this time. Selfish and idiosyncratic, yes, but I'm an Aspie, so whaddaya expect?? At least I can use it for someone else's good.

His medical issues are as follows:

Congestive heart failure, which seems to be what he's having the most trouble managing. The docs in SWFL are really stupid-- they keep putting him on so many diuretics that he gets dehydrated and then taking him off all of them so he retains a bunch of fluid. I think they're trying to kill him-- and this from a person who comes from a place where the answer to AS is heavy sedation.

Coronary artery disease.

Acute kidney failure. They OD'ed him on antibiotics a couple years ago, and his kidneys shut down. They have since resumed functioning, but not 100%.

Type II diabetes. He's had it for decades and did not take very good care of it. He has a bad habit of eating whatever he pleases and messing with his insulin to make up for it.

Diabetic neuropathy.

I'd try posting about this in the Health and Fitness forum. Since you are in PA, though, have you contacted your local Area Agency on Aging to see if you guys would be eligible for the Caregiver Support Program or a program like the PDA Waiver? Under those programs, he would be assigned a case manager and your family would have resources made available to you to help care for him. Eligibility depends on a number of factors, including his finances, current health and medical situation and his ability to perform his own ADL's or Activities of Daily Living, ie. dressing himself, bathing himself, cooking, cleaning, etc.

Well, right now we're in Southwest Florida. I'm hoping (planning, actually) to move them to PA when my mother-in-law retires (3 years if she doesn't get laid off or have to retire early due to her own medical issues). They consent to this idea because they know they are going to need help (temporal and financial) and know we can't move down here.

I will check into the FL Agency on Aging-- I know WV has one too, so hopefully it's a national thing. WV's was very good for the short time I was taking care of my stepmom so maybe something will turn up. Don't have too high of hopes for it though. Florida's whole system is a bloody mess.

They need something like that though-- something to help them navigate the whole medical mess instead of just getting fed up and doing things like increasing/decreasing/discontinuing meds on their own. Thanks for the tip-- will definitely check into it. A case manager would be very helpful because Hubby is still in PA and I am not going to be able to deal with it myself without some serious assertiveness training and heavy reading.

I know a little about congestive heart failure and CAD-- my grandfather had them when I was a teenager. Unfortunately my grandmother managed it all by herself and did not teach me very much-- she still labors under the delusion that I am 12 (I was 19 when Grandpa died and now am 33).

Renal failure and complications of diabetes I don't know dick about. Never had to deal with RF and all my people with diabetes manage it well enough that they have few to no complications.

Other than the Agency on Aging, where do I go to start getting educated??

Hey Mods-- if y'all think this post belongs in Health and Fitness, can you move it there or tell me how??? Other than copy and paste I don't know how and do not want to double-post.

moved from Random Discussion to Health, Fitness, and Sports

Thanks. Sorry I stuck it in the wrong place to begin with. I do that sometimes

Note to self: If you cannot accompany him to Dr. visits, type up a list of questions beforehand. Ask him to give it to the doctor and have the doctor write answers and send it back.

If that doesn't work, hire a sitter and insist on tagging along.

Is that rude and an imposition?? Or just insistently giving a damn??

Next question: Can fluid retention cause diarrhea?? My mil thinks the runs is an early symptom of too much fluid retention that we need to worry about. I'm seeing diarrhea listed as a common side effect for the majority of his medications, and it seems to me that retaining fluid would be more likely to cause constipation than diarrhea.

Or would it?? IRRC (Anatomy and Physiology was 15 years ago, and I haven't used it a lot), fluid absorption in the digestive tract occurs through osmosis, which relies on a concentration gradient-- things like fluid move from areas of greater concentration to areas of lesser concentration. Therefore excessive fluid in the body= less fluid absorption in the digestive tract= diarrhea.

'Course I also worry about the coupling of diuretics (Lasix) and diarrhea causing dehydration. Which is exceptionally bad news for anyone who's ever had kidney failure. Other than dry mouth and reduced urinary frequency (which are going to be masked by medications in various ways-- dry mouth is a side effect and diuretics keep you going... and going... and going), what am I looking for?? MIL says irritability is an early sign of dehydration/beginning kidney dysfunction-- but DAD'S BEEN IRRITABLE SINCE I MET HIM!! !!

I seen this article on Halloween

http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2011/10/31/halloween-health-scare-beware-black-licorice-overdose/

It basically says that eating at least 2oz a day of black licorice for 2 weeks has been shown to cause problems with the heart, including congestive heart failure, for older people. If he doesn't eat it regularly, now you know to keep him away from it completely.