Heart failure

[Yasyass]

As some of u know I have been diagnosed w hf stage one since Covid my last ph call w cardio was April where he said they may look into a icd which I doubt will be done due to the Covid I need advice I have been eating more th I usually do how do I know the weight around my stomach is just from eating or if it swelling from hf I otherwise feel fine and it’s difficult to explain my symptons over the ph some things need to be seen by face to face apt I hope we can all go bk to normal but I think it’s a long way

[Sunnie2day]

I think you're right about it being a long time before things get back to normal - but I know a face-to-face is possible even now if needed.

As for telling the difference between oedema and genuine weight gain, at the stomach area it's a little difficult to work out - but if you push and hold your finger into your upper thigh for 30 seconds then watch to see how long it takes for the resulting indentation to go away, you should be able to tell if you're retaining water or not - if it takes more than 2-5 seconds for your skin to 'pop back up', it's a pretty good indicator you're retaining fluid and should let the doctor know.

Also helpful in judging if it's water or weight is the 'fat finger' thing - do your hands swell to the point you notice a difference when you make a fist? Your fingers will feel 'tight' if it's water, and you may feel you want to remove rings. Another way to tell is if the skin swells noticeably around the jewellery in the mornings or mid-late afternoon.

[ahk59 in reply to Sunnie2day]

That's a good tip thanks

[Yasyass in reply to Sunnie2day]

Thank you so much for your reply I will try that

[Kwagmire]

Hi yasyas I had hf ha 2 years ago this week there was talk of an icd but nothing since iv put on waight a lot but that’s down to my unhealthy diet when I’m happy I feel much better and when I’m depressed I go down so I try to stay positive about it all hope it makes sense to you but I suppose we are all different I’m not much of a writer sorry but good luck to you and god bless kwagmire ..

[Yasyass in reply to Kwagmire]

Thank you for your reply yes I can understand wh u mean I try to eat healthy alwaz did but sometimes I’ll just eat wh I like like u say thinkin positive helps also I believe stress plays a big part of health issues it’s like I tell my gps I don’t look for stress it comes to me good luck to you u should try looking after uself more at least u tried don’t stop the things u like just limit them good luck to you