looking for answers

[Spring15-3]

81 yr old husband got covid at physical therapy, ended up at er where they said he also had pneumonia, they also found (and removed) a quart of fluid from around his right lung. Said he had atrial fibrillation and he also needs an angioplasty. Took too long but finally got everything treated and surgery done.

He has always had lower than normal blood pressure and it can change rapidly from scary low to his normal low in minutes. He's type 2 diabetic and takes metformin and glipizide for it.

After the surgery we have been having a hard time with really low blood pressure, like 105/30 and up. He was in icu for 2 weeks after surgery as they tried treating it with midodrine which doesn't seem to be helping. Surgeon decided he was lying down for too long (3 weeks at this point all told) and shipped him to rehab except he's not getting any rehab because his blood pressure stays so low he can't hardly hold his eyes open most of the time. He can't stand up, hell, he's too tired to eat. Their solution is to keep on doing what hasn't been working. Yesterday I convinced them to stop the Lasix and metformin since they're checking and giving insulin when necessary 4x a day and a side effect of it is lowering blood pressure. Today he was 90/45 which is better than yesterday but he still just wants to sleep. I'm at my wits end here. This man hiked 3 miles in Texas in June and today can't stand up. Any and all suggestions most welcome and if anybody knows of a really good doc that specializes in this kind of thing in the Raleigh area, please share. I would be willing to take him anywhere but right now I'm don't think I could get him on a plane

[jeanjeannie50]

Once when in hospital a nurse told me to drink more water to bring my BP up and it worked. So he could try that.

Jean

[Mrsvemb]

Jeannie is right about drinking more water. It really does bring BP up. My BP goes low when in AF and for a day after. I stop my BP meds and drink even more water than usual. It works!

[Spring15-3 in reply to Mrsvemb]

Thanks. He's too tired to even drink much

[Timetraveler67 in reply to Spring15-3]

I.V. Fluids brought my b.p. up could you ask them to do this for your husband as he’s not able to drink water please ask them love

[Qualipop]

I was exactly like that when I was given bisopralol. I simply can't tolerate beta blockers. I spent all day asleep in a recliner because it dropped my BP far too low. I don't know if any of yoru husband's meds are a beta blocker but it may be worth asking.

[Vonnegut in reply to Qualipop]

Snap! The lowest dose of Bisoprolol was too much for me too. We all know how different we all are and how differently we respond to drugs and it would be great if the medical profession realised this and adapted to it so they could be more helpful to us as individuals.

[mjames1]

It's a very hard question to answer without knowing a lot more details Plus none of us are medically trained .,

You did mention that he had atrial fibrillation. Was that resolved or does he still have it and what drugs did they give him? Having atrial fibrillation and/ or some of the treatment drugs, can lower blood pressure as well as make exercise difficult.

Are you in the US? If so and you don't feel he is getting the treatment he needs, I would definitely get a second opinion from a large teaching hospital with a high cardiac rating. Often this can be.Done via a televisit where he would not need to travel.

Jim

[Spring15-3 in reply to mjames1]

They're giving him pacerone which apparently is quite a dangerous drug. It would love any recommendations for which teaching hospitals to contact first?

[mjames1 in reply to Spring15-3]

health.usnews.com/best-hosp...

[Hidden]

The amazing beauty if the internet is that you can get a video consultation from anywhere in the world! Where are you- Raleigh in Tennessee is near where my family live, and Memphis has a good heart unit. Email several places and see who responds!! Good luck.

[execz1]

Sorry to hear about your husband’s medical issues.

If you are in North Carolina you can try either Duke university or University of North Carolina at chapel hill. For best heart try Cleveland Clinic in Cleveland, Ohio.

Good Luck

[AussieHeart]

I don’t have diabetes but suffer with super low BP. Did they put your husband on a beta blocker? I was given Sotalol. I couldn’t get up! After four weeks of extreme fatigue my GP convinced the cardiac electrophysiologist to switch me to Bisoprosolol… it was better but only in small doses (1/4 tablet) combined with 1/2 Flecainide helped me most until I had my cryoablation. Hope you and the team can get on top of this and soon. Sending a virtual hug.