Living and Coping with Congestive Heart Failure

Living with Congestive Heart failure is definitely a different lifestyle for me. Almost every aspect of my life had to change. I had to especially change the way I eat, drink, and pay special attention to changes in my body. Most of all I had to make sure that I took all of my medications at the right time. Any change in this could harm my heart in some way. Let's face it, we all only have one heart and we need to take care of it. This is the regiment that I have to consistently stick with on a daily basis.

1. Take my regiment of medication

a. Lasik - water pill once a day to make sure that the excess water comes out of my body.

b. Lisinipril - blood pressure medicine once a day to keep my blood pressure low

c. Toprol- heart medication for my heart once a day

d. Spironolactone- another heart medication once a day

e. Iron - twice a day to help with my energy

2. Sticking to a low sodium diet. I have to watch my sodium intake. Even though I take a water pill, I can't eat more than 2 grams of sodium a day. This means cooking at home and finding alternate spices for my food.

3. My fluid intake has been reduced to 2 liters a day. This is to help my body not to retain water so that there is less strain on my heart. This seems like a lot but it really isn't.

4. Watch my weight. I need to weigh myself daily. I can't gain more than 3 pounds a week. If I do then I need to let my doctor know about it.

As you can see, this is a very strict regiment for anyone who has a heart condition. You have to be tough and stick to it. My daughters are my motivation to stick to my strict diet. I'm happy to be alive and watch them grow up.