Pain & sleeping

Hello everyone, I’ve not posted for a while just wondering if anyone who has HFrEF can help me out.

Since I have be diagnosed back in October 21 I have found I can no longer sleep on my side as it feels like I am crushing my heart, I know I can sleep on my back and there are bigger issues in the world right now but just wondering if anyone else has had this?

I also have constant chest pain not sure if that’s a side effects to Bisoprolol or not, but it hurts to touch and put a seat belt over, anyone had any problems like this?

I’ve spoke to my GP but didn’t really get an answer, he just said you have severe HF but arteries were all clear on scans.

Thanks

Donna 😊

[tavare]

Hi Donna,I don't have heart failure but had a big heart attack in Dec 2020 which was stented and another stent in another blockage in July 2021 and then a pacemaker in Nov 2021.

Since my first heart attack I have had the same problem with sleeping on my side.

If I try to it feels crushing and I feel very sick.

Daren

[Becksagogo]

Me too. I always sleep 💤 😴 on my back now because I feel like my heart ❤ is being squashed if I sleep on my side. I always used to sleep on my tummy but haven't done that for years.

[rizal]

2020, I was fighting my cancer, start2021 I had a heart attack. They ballooned the artery because it was not capable of stenting, then over the following weeks I had a load of tests and so on and beginning of July, I went back in for more stenting. I'll be blowed if the back end of that month I was in more trouble. Woke in the early hours convinced I was drowning. Lungs seemed full of fluid which I could not even attempt to cough out. Managed to dial 999. As always the ambulance crew were marvellous and they got me to hospital connected up to masks, tubes and wires. Yep, heart failure, and pretty bad. When I finally got out, I was a little old man with a walking stick. It's been 6 months and loads of exercise but now - although far from marathon running, I am walking upright and normally, though still get short of breath sometimes.

That's the background, now, to your question. I am in my 70s and as far as I can remember, have always slept laying on my left hand side. I have at times wondered if I am impeding my heart a bit, but the best I can do in that case is roll over to sleep on the right hand side. While in hospital, I had the top half of the bed raised, but even then I would wake up curled up on my side (one time I woke on my side and in turning I had managed to pull one of the tubes out of my arm, the bed and pillows looked like a scene from a murder story.

I do occasionally feel little twinges in my chest, the smallest of these can cause panic - there is no way I ever want to experience that drowning sensation of bad heart failure again - but then I realise that they are only extremely minor twinges (so far)

[FeetheBookworm]

I have HF and was told to sleep on my side. Opposite to where my ICD is so it’s LH side only. Occasionally I find myself either flat on my back or on RH side when I wake up but it’s usually on LH side. When I was first diagnosed I had similar issues to you. Lungs filling with water and I sounded like a frog. I’d had fluid coming up in my mouth for a couple of months but not all the time. We went on holiday to the Caribbean and it got much worse there. Was hospitalised on return and then sent to HF clinic. All good now and discharged a few years ago although now back as referred back by ICD doctor last Autumn who was concerned about the number of palpitations I was having. Seeing the HF consultant in August so obviously nothing serious thankfully.

I know what you mean about the drowning feeling I had that initially and occasionally get it again. Luckily no sounding like a frog again, just a lot of fluid suddenly in my throat from time to time. Once your meds kick in you will improve, it just takes a bit of time. Fiona