Weight gain causing concern

[Violymay]

Since March I have gained 21 lbs and have swollen feet, ankles and knees. Could this be due to taking Diltidium 3 times a day in addition to Ramipril, Moxonodine, Bendroflumethiazide and Atorvastatin? My diet hasn’t changed but I’m not so active now.

[080311]

Could be water retention, you need to have it checked out by your GP or your cardiologist. Swollen feet and ankles usually fluid, give someone a ring as soon as you can.

[Violymay in reply to 080311]

I thought the Bendroflumethiazide dealt with water problems. I am waiting for a cardiologist appointment. Thank you for answering my query. Don’t like to trouble my GP who has enough on her plate with the COVID crisis.

[080311 in reply to Violymay]

Could be your water tablet needs tweaking, mine as been altered a few times over the past 4 years since my surgery.

[080311 in reply to Violymay]

I was in hospital for 7 weeks waiting for my surgery I was on a diuretic drip twice a day to get rid of the excess fluid, I lost 69lbs in weight all water! Now I am a bit paranoid about watching my water in my body. Fingers feet and ankles.

[Qualipop in reply to Violymay]

That's what your GP is there for and that's a big increase. Contact him.

[Ads568]

Hi Violymay,

Do you have a heart failure nurse/team you could call for advice, if not your GP? Swollen feet and ankles, etc, is a side effect of diltiazem, so I think it’s important to see or at least speak to a professional about this. You’re not troubling them - they want to do their best for you & if they don’t know what’s going on they can’t! I think it’s better to get it sorted sooner rather than later, as if it is fluid retention you don’t want it to get to your lungs.

Best wishes,

Ads568

[Violymay in reply to Ads568]

Thank you for your advice. I will call my GP on Monday. I get breathless ‘on exertion’ and she is aware of this but it could be she is relying on the cardiologist to diagnose a problem - as & when!

[lettingoffsteam]

Why are you less active now if you don't mind me asking?It sounds like fluid retention but you are on medication for that .I got swollen ankles with amlodipine but that is a very common side affect. You probably need a chat with the GP.

[Violymay in reply to lettingoffsteam]

Prior to ‘lockdown’ I used to go Line dancing 3 nights a week, shopping, cinema, pub quizzes, theatre, and visiting friends etc. Now I only go for a short 15 minute walk daily but even that makes me a bit breathless, as does walking upstairs. I have regular tests for COVID as part of a nation-wide survey and they have all been negative but my blood pressure is still erratic, sometimes 200/103, sometimes 149/73. The last cardiologist I saw told me “ It is not your hypertension that is making you ill. It’s because you are ill that you are getting high blood pressure”. He is no longer a consultant at our local hospital, so I am wondering what the opinion of the next cardiologist that I am waiting to see, will be! I’m being vaccinated next week.

[lettingoffsteam in reply to Violymay]

Oh dear Violymay, it sounds like you are going through it at the moment. It's good that you are still taking regular exercise, even if it is difficult. But you were very active before, is it your heart health that has deteriorated or lockdown causing this?I had very high blood pressure in 2019, now under control with medication. It can make you feel ill when bp is that high...it did that for me but I feel a lot better now. I recently posted about a useful book I found called 'A Woman's Heart.She talks about this issue at some length.Check my posts for details.

[Violymay in reply to lettingoffsteam]

I will obtain a copy of that book and hope that, like you, I will find a way to feel well again. It could be the enforced lack of activity due to lockdown causing my debilitating symptoms but why the swollen feet & ankles etc? I will ask my GP tomorrow when I can contact her! Thank you for replying.👍

[lettingoffsteam in reply to Violymay]

That sounds like a good plan...let me know how you get on.😀

[Violymay]

I empathise with you, especially with the weight gain. Are you also hanging on to your smaller sized clobber, hoping to get back to being able to wear them one day?🤨

[MelB51 in reply to Violymay]

No. I used to buy expensive, designer clothes and I have given them all away now. I can’t even get my own tights on anymore soI am limited in what I can wear anyway. I also have Cushing’s syndrome so I will probably never get to wear beautiful clothes ever again. I can’t excercise much either because I desaturate quickly, down to about 83% usually so don’t like to push deprivation of oxygen on my other organs. I walked for about 10 minutes today, taking supplementary oxygen but still went down to around 86%. I am waiting to discuss it all once this CoVid problem is out of the way!