My late husband was on Lasix for the last 22 months of his life and it wasn't until he started his dying process that he stopped eating. So that brings me to my point. Do you think that your mom's body is now getting ready for its final journey and starting to shut down, and perhaps you should be bringing hospice on board instead of worrying about whether she's eating or not? Just a thought.
In all my years as a cardiac RN on a stepdown unit I have NEVER heard of this particular side effect. Not to say it isn't happening, but it is very unusual.
Not taking Lasix, which should be taken early in a.m. so as not to have your day ruined by emergent trips to the bathroom when you are out doing your thing, is going to mean a fluid build up. Now if we are talking RIGHT sided heart failure, then the fluid usually accumulates in the lower periphery, in the legs, sometime in the abdomen (which DOES cut appetite). I think your Mom may be mistaking this abdominal congestion she feels with its loss of appetite for a result of her medication rather than a result of her heart failure. The more dangerous LEFT heart failure affects the lungs with difficulty with breathing and inability to lie flat and breath with ease. It can happen quickly for some people being then often referred to as Flash pulmonary edema and can be very dangerous, even quickly deadly. Some people suffer from, eventually, both left and right heart failure.
As with all things medical, a Forum of strangers are the last ones to go to for advice. Your Mom should see the MD and discuss this with him/her. And hopefully we are talking a cardiologist, not her regular MD who has about 10 minutes to cover all systems at any checkup.
Thank you so much for your insight ! I really had no idea ! I’ve just put her on hospice, but just before that she was in the hospital with a plural infusion and then of course pneumonia… she’s recovered from those but is still occasionally swelling… I just want to do everything ican to help her , ya know !! Thanks again !! 💚🙏💚
Try giving her milkshakes and other "decadent" foods she likes. With Alzheimer's/dementia at play, their tastes normally run to sweets so if you're trying to give her meat and veggies, switch over to small snack like foods such as yoghurt with berries or a blueberry muffin 6x a day instead.
So that brings me to my point. Do you think that your mom's body is now getting ready for its final journey and starting to shut down, and perhaps you should be bringing hospice on board instead of worrying about whether she's eating or not?
Just a thought.
Not taking Lasix, which should be taken early in a.m. so as not to have your day ruined by emergent trips to the bathroom when you are out doing your thing, is going to mean a fluid build up.
Now if we are talking RIGHT sided heart failure, then the fluid usually accumulates in the lower periphery, in the legs, sometime in the abdomen (which DOES cut appetite). I think your Mom may be mistaking this abdominal congestion she feels with its loss of appetite for a result of her medication rather than a result of her heart failure.
The more dangerous LEFT heart failure affects the lungs with difficulty with breathing and inability to lie flat and breath with ease. It can happen quickly for some people being then often referred to as Flash pulmonary edema and can be very dangerous, even quickly deadly.
Some people suffer from, eventually, both left and right heart failure.
As with all things medical, a Forum of strangers are the last ones to go to for advice. Your Mom should see the MD and discuss this with him/her. And hopefully we are talking a cardiologist, not her regular MD who has about 10 minutes to cover all systems at any checkup.