Newly diagnosed

[Quita55]

Hello my name is Briana and I'm newly diagnosed with heart failure and I'm looking for support and understanding my condition. I'm also a diabetic and a dialysis patient. Is there anyone else who has heart failure with dual diagnosis? Where you scared? What lifestyle changes did you have to make?

[iwannabeabear]

Hey! I have HF and also T1 diabetic if you're a dialysis patient, be very careful with the meds and keeping an eye on any ill effects ... I was put on a few different medications (bisoprolol, eplerenone, Entresto, dapagliflozin, ivabridine) and the Entresto has helped soooo much! My EF has gone up to 60% which is amazing. However now my kidneys are starting to get affected so I've had to stop the eplerenone (will be restarting at some point maybe) and dapagliflozin. Feel free to give me a message if you wanted to chat more!

[Quita55 in reply to iwannabeabear]

Were you scared when you got diagnosed with HF? I'm scared being a diabetic type 2,dialysis 3x week and now hf. It sounds so scary. I know there will be changes that I will need to make it just feels like so much at one time. And I don't know where to start. I also had a cardio test done a it shows that I have 2 blockages on the left side. So I feel like my plate is full. Thank you for chatting with me. Quita55

[iwannabeabear in reply to Quita55]

Honestly? Yes. I was terrified. However the more I engaged with my HF team, the less anxious I was! They've been absolutely incredible at explaining everything and putting my mind at ease (as has this forum!). I can't comment on the dialysis as I have no experience, although I can definitely understand that adding to the anxiety! With my diabetes, it's caused quite a few issues (neuropathy, retinopathy etc) so when I was diagnosed with HF it was more anger as I blamed the diabetes (and it's recently been confirmed it like was T1 that caused my HF!).

The best thing to do is have a chat with your HF nurse or the BHF nurses (I haven't spoken to them, but I've heard good things) and explain your concerns. The first thing I did was asked how my diabetes affects the heart and vice versa and it was a very helpful conversation and put my mind at ease.

[TracyAdmin Partner]

Hello and welcome to the Forum, I am positive that the other members will welcome you and offer advice based upon their own experiences. If you would support or information relating to heart failure, please visit:

US: heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/...

UK & International: heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/...

Or alternatively, contact our Patient Services Team:

US: heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/...

UK & International: heartrhythmalliance.org/aa/...

Kind regards

TracyAdmin

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