Sheba
03-30-2005, 01:53 AM
Hi! My name is Dawn and I am 39 years old. I have 5 boys(19,16,8,5,and 2) and just gave birth in January to a beautiful baby girl. My pregnancies were uneventful and I never had a clue that I was about to become a PPCM survivor this year.
I gave birth on January 23rd to my daughter and exactly 2 weeks later, I was back in the hospital. About 4 days after getting home from the hospital, I started to retain water and had a hard time breathing. My OB said that it was most likely due to edema and that the fluid would eventually leave my body. I was told to rest a lot and it should go away..well, it didn't.:( I woke up on February 7th and had just finished breastfeeding my daughter. I stood up and has immediate chest pain and couldn't breathe. My lungs started to fill with fluid and I heard wheezing and crackling noises. I started to have the sweats and felt like I was going to pass out.The My husband called 911 and I was immediately taken to the hospital and treated for a heart attack. My EF was 20% when I was there and they diagnosed me with PPCM.I had a catherization performed because they thought I had some blockage but the test showed that my arteries were clear but that my heart was enlarged. They were very suprised about the diagnosis because I have always been in great health and never had any heart problems. I was in the hospital for 5 days and I missed my children terribly..especially my 2 week old daughter. I was told I couldn't breastfeed her anymore due to the meds and I cried. My husband started her on a bottle immediately and she has been doing great ever since.
I have been seeing a wonderful cardiologist and he perscribed Coreg,Plavix,Lasix,Aldectone, and Vasotec. I am feeling pretty good right now but do have my bad days as well. I had an echo performed on Monday and my EF has risen to 40-45%...yeah! :) My doctor said that some of the damage seems to be repairing itself but it will still take a long time to recover.He wanted me to start eating better and cutting back on salt and fats and eliminating caffiene. I have done that and in the process lost 40lbs..30lbs was baby and 10lbs was extra fluff I didn't need to have on me. :D
I wanted to find a support group and have been reading through some of the threads here and thought this would be a nice place to meet some survivors. I thank my lucky stars each and everyday that I am here. My children mean the world to me and I am glad I am able to see them grow up.
I hope to get to know everyone better. Take care and have a great day!
Dawn :)
I gave birth on January 23rd to my daughter and exactly 2 weeks later, I was back in the hospital. About 4 days after getting home from the hospital, I started to retain water and had a hard time breathing. My OB said that it was most likely due to edema and that the fluid would eventually leave my body. I was told to rest a lot and it should go away..well, it didn't.:( I woke up on February 7th and had just finished breastfeeding my daughter. I stood up and has immediate chest pain and couldn't breathe. My lungs started to fill with fluid and I heard wheezing and crackling noises. I started to have the sweats and felt like I was going to pass out.The My husband called 911 and I was immediately taken to the hospital and treated for a heart attack. My EF was 20% when I was there and they diagnosed me with PPCM.I had a catherization performed because they thought I had some blockage but the test showed that my arteries were clear but that my heart was enlarged. They were very suprised about the diagnosis because I have always been in great health and never had any heart problems. I was in the hospital for 5 days and I missed my children terribly..especially my 2 week old daughter. I was told I couldn't breastfeed her anymore due to the meds and I cried. My husband started her on a bottle immediately and she has been doing great ever since.
I have been seeing a wonderful cardiologist and he perscribed Coreg,Plavix,Lasix,Aldectone, and Vasotec. I am feeling pretty good right now but do have my bad days as well. I had an echo performed on Monday and my EF has risen to 40-45%...yeah! :) My doctor said that some of the damage seems to be repairing itself but it will still take a long time to recover.He wanted me to start eating better and cutting back on salt and fats and eliminating caffiene. I have done that and in the process lost 40lbs..30lbs was baby and 10lbs was extra fluff I didn't need to have on me. :D
I wanted to find a support group and have been reading through some of the threads here and thought this would be a nice place to meet some survivors. I thank my lucky stars each and everyday that I am here. My children mean the world to me and I am glad I am able to see them grow up.
I hope to get to know everyone better. Take care and have a great day!
Dawn :)