So please excuse in advance what will look like a lack of response here, and very short posts elsewhere on the forum.
Short although not sweet - I'm fighting off another acute flare of my recurrent pericarditis and am being shoehorned in for an echo tomorrow to check for increased pericardial effusion (I always have a little but they - and I - worry it's increased owing to symptoms I've feeling).
Not the nicest start to the Christmas season, drat it all!
UPDATE TUES 1 DEC 1520HRS:
Home, quite tired out. Official - acute flare, and I'm on our old friend furosemide (sigh) as Colchicine is a no-go for me. My aspirin dose has been upped to 600mg every morning and another 600mg agreed as needed an hour or so before bed to keep the chest pain down.
Bloods taken including one vial for a Covid test so I'm in self-isolation until that comes back sometime tomorrow, they'll call me either way. They don't think I have the virus but they figured as long as I was there...
Standard non-invasive echo, cardiologist standing behind the rather nervous tech, lol! Bonus, pericardial effusion is increased but not enough to warrant pericardiocentesis (thank-you God!), just the diuretic. Super bonus: no increase to the pericardial scarring and thickening (caught the flare in time, WOOT!) and super-super-ultra bonus, they checked the aortic valve scarring and there is no increase there - still 'trivial' (and now 'trivial' becomes word of the year for 2020 as well as the previous win for 2019 ).
I can't thank-you all enough for the good wishes - hopefully everything I know from having this recurrent pericarditis the past 20+years will help keep this acute flare to a minimum.
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Sunnie2day
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Hi Sunnie,So sorry to read your having a flare up, it’s not something I know anything about but can sympathise as realise how painful it must be. Glad to read you have a echo booked, fingers crossed it’s not going to be a long drawn out process for you to get back to normal.
Oh I’m so sorry to read this Sunnie.... really do hope that it is not as bad news as you fear tomorrow. Thinking of you and sending you all best wishes.
So sorry to hear that you're having problems. Good luck with the echo tomorrow, hope they're able to sort it out quickly for you. Please update us when you have the time.Russell
Sorry to read that you are not so well at the moment. Hope you get favourable news from your scan tomorrow and that everything settles again before Christmas. Best wishes Jane
Hey Sunnie. Really sorry to hear you're not in a great place and struggling. Hope things improve! Good luck with the echo and hope that things begin to get better for you in the next few days. Nic x
Hi Sunnie, really sorry you are not feeling great at the moment, hope all goes well tomorrow and you get a good result. Get well soon, sending love and hugs. Ruth x
I know what the pain of pleural effusion is like. If pericardial effusion is anything similar, I’m so glad you’ve been quickly squeezed in for an Echo and wish you a very speedy recovery.
Oh my goodness’s so sorry you’re feeling so unwell 🤗🤗 everything crossed for your test today and getting better ASAP, you’re always such a support to everyone on here, so lots of support back, we’re all here for you to help you through to getting better.
Look after yourself and let us know how you get on. 🤗🤗
Sunnie - I will be thinking of you today when you have the echo. I hope there would not be a great amount of effusion. I pray that your cardiac health gets better quickly for you, and that you get strength to get over this hurdle. xxx
So sorry you are suffering. You have been a great support to me over the last year. I really hope things are not to serious and that you can are feeling better by Xmas. Sending you a virtual big hug.
So sorry to hear your news and hope you get reassuring result from your echo. Certainly a lot of positive and affectionate thoughts winging your way from this site - I have been so impressed by the positive encouraging messages you have sent to many of us and remain grateful to you for saying just the right thing when its been needed - do let everyone know when you have news. Keep up the fighting spirit.
So sorry to hear you`re suffering.You`re always so kind and supportive.I`ve just seen your post and I do hope by now you might have had some reassuring news and are feeling slightly better.Let us know how things are going.Love and a big hug xx
Scroll back to the OP for the update - I'm home, not great but could be so much worse! Off now for a bowl of chicken noodle soup and a wee kip on the sofa.
Strange old world, eh, Lezzers - bit better every day and ready to say furosemide is a wonder drug for draining off excessive pericardial effusion without the need for an invasive procedure. Bonus: I woke up this morning to bony fingers and ankles, haven't seen those for three weeks so I see that as an early Christmas pressie!
Hope your feeling a bit better, missed your posts over the last few days.Love the way you call furosemide a wonder drug, I have been on it since my surgery, and it works so well for me too. My kidneys weren’t playing ball a few weeks ago so I was a bit paranoid in case they started messing with it. But they are behaving a bit better now so very relieved. Have another blood test in January just to check again.
Really hope you can feel better in the next few weeks so you can enjoy Christmas.
I'm beginning to feel the sparks of Christmas spirit so I know I'm on the mend now. I'm being careful to avoid relapse but fingers crossed so far - so good.
And I do put that recovery down to the furosemide, within 48 hours of taking the first dose I was feeling better.
Good to know you're seeing results as well - are you enjoying the re-emergence of bones yet?
I have been on it daily for the last 4 years, it’s so my heart doesn’t have to work as hard to get rid of the the fluid, remember being in hospital and on the drip and waking up one morning to find I had collar bones again 😂
When I was first out of hospital 80mg but after seeing the surgeon for my post op check up he reduced it to 40 mg daily he said my heart was strong enough to pump with just the 40 mags and still on that dose. That’s why I was very nervous when my kidney function decreased, but after the second round of bloods it had come back up. So fingers crossed that next month when I go to the blood clinic they are still behaving. Also put me on iron and folate, my numbers were a bit low. Have 4 months and they will check that again.I was feeling fine they just picked it up at my yearly bloods.
Glad to hear you're recovering & that you now have fingers & ankles, hopefully you'll be fully fit to enjoy Christmas.Kevin & myself are doing ok thank you. Its been a bit stressful as there was a real chance that they wasn't going to treat kevins cancer, oncologist felt it would be to much for him & 'his heart must come first'. But we've just had a very positive appt with his cardiologist & he has agreed that Kevin can have treatment. We now have a face to face appt with oncologist on 4th Jan, it's a bit scary but hopefully we're now moving forward xx
4th January 2021, something positive to look forward to over Christmas Here's hoping 2021 sees you and Kevin getting him through treatment with minimal side effects. Please keep us posted, Lezzers, on you both are doing.
🤗🙏 - virtual hug and real prayers for a happy outcome.
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