Achy-Breaky Heart and Pneumonia

I've been quite busy lately. Work during the week and events all weekend. My husband has been under the weather for about three weeks now.

My husband went to the cardiologist on the 19th. I had started him on a z-pack that day for this persistent phlegmy cough (yum!) and congestion. The PA agreed that was appropriate but wanted to check an x-ray as a precaution. He weighed 240 that day. He was 239 on our home scale.

He takes his antibiotics...on the following Tuesday we get a call that they want a CT of his chest. There was a possible lesion on his lung. WTF? So that was scheduled with his yearly echo on Wednesday.

By Thursday, he's feeling a little better and getting some sleep. Friday about the same. Saturday we go to the heart walk and have to stop after a mile as he is SOB. He goes home and sleeps for 4 hours straight. He feels a little better that evening.

Sunday - back downhill. Th cough is worsening and he feels very tired. He sleeps poorly Sunday night, keeping us both awake a majority of the night. I call the cardiologist Monday morning. They get him in to see the PA again that afternoon.

The results are not good. He weighs 246 now. He's gained 6 pounds in 10 days and has barely been eating due to the nausea. The CT shows no lesion but he has pneumonia. He also has pulmonary edema. I point out the right-sided jugular vein distention I have noticed. The echo shows significant worsening of his heart, A-Fib, pulmonary hypertension. His ejection fraction remains in the 10-20% range.

They feel comfy with treating him outpatient and give him Rxs for lasix and levaquin. He's to have a CT angiogram to explore any underlying causes of the pulmonary htn (as if the total heart failure wasn't enough reason).

He's feeling a little better now. He's down to 232 as of this evening. That's 13 pounds of fluid loss in the past two days! He's sleeping better and the cough is decreasing. he has a little more energy now.

He's been so stable for so long (8 years now). I think I had convinced myself that he was ok and would live a normal lifespan (he's 41 now). This brought all those fears back. The fear of losing my husband...my children losing their father. I'm depressed and exhausted and in pain (having some issues with insurance about getting my RA meds so was a couple weeks overdue on taking them).

I may not post much for a few days so bear with me. Will see how I feel.