Heart Failure Becoming More Real

By armymomred2020

1 min read

Had a mild heart attack 19 yrs ago, but in 2016 I was told I have diastolic heart failure. But lately, within the last 6 months, especially more so in less time, been having shortness of breath every time I walk anywhere. And not even long distances. Had a recent hospital stay with 0 results from tests showing any problems. Even a recent angiogram. Did not need another stent but this shortness of breath is a real deal & frustrating that at 62, I feel much older & I'm bummed about it because I'm not in good shape nor have been for many years.

Taking heart failure more seriously

I hadn't taken it seriously til more recently but I still feel like, what's the point in improving my life when I've tried in the past with various diets and I do not exercise with arthritic knees. Mentally, I'm between a rock & a hard place & trying to wrap my head around what the heart specialist told me at my hospital stay that if I don't change, I might have 5-8 yrs left of my life. I get that but I'm in a mode of just not caring. If I cared, I'd have taken care of myself when in my 20's & possibly avoided all this health chaos in my life now. I'm not a depressed person but can see how this can push someone toward that. I truly want to live for my grown adult children & one day, grandbabies but I don't have it in me to care.😟 Thanks for the time to spill my thoughts.

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CommunityMember936342 Member
Hi how are you now?
John Bottrell, RRT Moderator & Contributor
Hi. <inline-mention username="armymomred2020" user-id="3930771"/> Thank you for sharing your personal experience and thoughts about your own health with us. Just want you to know that you are not alone in this community, as others have expressed similar concerns. And you are also not alone in withing you had done things differently when you were younger.. I understand that you did talk to a doctor in the hospital (as you noted above). Although, I am curious as to whether you have your own heart specialist to help you manage your condition? John. <a href='https://heart-failure.net' target='_blank'>heart-failure.net</a> community moderator.
armymomred2020 Member
I do not have a heart specialist but a NP I see for my heart issues. Everything seems to be more stable as I've dropped a couple meds. SOB not as intense as it once was 2 yrs ago. Thank you for your response, care & concern! 😊
GrandmaLynn Member
<inline-mention username="armymomred2020" user-id="3930771"/> Hi There,. See that it's been a couple of months since you posted but hope you are doing better by now. Hope you have found a doc that is caring for you and your needs. Sounds to me like you have given up on yourself way too soon. If we had known what we know now back then we would all have made better choices back in our much younger 20's. Problem with being that young is that we think we are invincible. The next thing you know we find out we're not and we are living with the results of our choices. Just because we didn't know better then doesn't mean we can't start trying to live better lives today. If what you've tried before didn't work then try something new, something that works for you. So what if it's not exactly what or the way you're told you should do it. You must care about your life some or you wouldn't have reached out to this community. Hope that you realize that there is some hope in you and that you work with whatever you have and live the best life today that you can. We have to forgive ourselves as we would forgive others that are in our shoes. Hope you have many better days ahead. .