Why would Mom's condition suddenly change?

Hadnuff, wishing you peace and support from those who are physically around you. You have support from here, too.

Sorry for your loss.

Hadnuff, just now reading this thread as well. I'm sorry for your loss. Wishing you all the best during this difficult time.

Wow Barbara I'm so sorry! I didn't think my post would be a prelude to this or at least I had hoped it wouldn't. It's just when I read it I thought uh-oh I just went through this. Please take the time you need to do what's needed. Just take a step at a time and try not to multi task too much if you can. I can imagine your mind and emotions might be all over the place. The anxiety can take over in situations like this so please please please get some help when you need it. And keep things as simple as possible to minimize your stress level. I'm not just saying this but I'm going through the aftermath of it too. You'll be in my prayers sweetheart.

Hadnuff: So sorry for the loss of your mother.

For those of you who have not been following Hadnuff's posts, her mother has died.

CHF needs to be monitored because it can worsen.

Great news. She will feel better soon and sleep through the night. I hope you can as well.

Barbara, I'm glad they are sending mom to the hospital. They will be able to tell what's going on. Keep in touch with the rehab, they should be able to tell you what hosptal and then you can call and speak to the unit she is admitted to.

Hadnuff, Start sharing the other stuff too-just to get it out-whatever you need! This is your thread, your question and we are here for you.
Take a look at all the stuff you can ignore or put on hold, then rest a few moments.
You can even ignore our answers, then keep checking back until you are better.

I just got a phone call that they are sending mom out to the hospital
tonight. I dont know how much more stress I can take. It's not just
her. But other stuff in my daily life.

Barbara

Is your mother bedbound? If so, does she have the pressure cuffs on her legs? They help reduce swelling, as does elevating the legs above the level of the heart. When she's laying down, a wedge could be placed beneath her legs to elevate them.

This rapid amount of swelling could indicate CHF, but it might be something else. I don't know what her co-morbidities are so I won't even try to guess.

There's another med that's used for eliminiation of fluids; it's Bumex and is from what I've been told multiple times as effective as Lasix. It also acts more quickly.

Barbara; I'm with everyone above. I would insist that the rehab call 911 and get your mom to the ER right away, unless she is on hospice/palliative care. From what I recall of her history, she is not. Also, I seem to recall that she is still competent to make her own decisions, so you might call, speak to her and ask her if she wants to go to the ER to have this treated.

The X-ray will show if she has fluid in her lungs or pressing around her lungs, which with labored breathing sounds like it.
That's one of the signs. It (fluid) probably has been inching up. That's why I asked you about the weight. When she has an episode it will take a while to recover. It's hard work to get the fluid off. Unless she has a foley it's a lot of getting up all hours to go to the bathroom. Make sure she has a bedside commode if she is able and someone to watch her so she doesn't fall. If she's in diapers they won't hold it. It's not easy getting up several times a night to pee. Ask what they plan to do to help her.
I get the impression that you aren't there so you'll need to push for help. Learn about CHF so you know how to stay on top of her symptoms. You can't trust others to do it. Your mom needs to be weighed daily. It's much easier to monitor than to recover. When she gets it off make sure she sticks with a salt free diet. That you have a clear action plan on when to increase the Lasix. That she figure out just how much liquid she needs. If she is on warfarin she needs a consistent diet so that her blood stays at the right viscosity to prevent a stroke. A person can live a long time with CHF but it has to be monitored. Stress can aggravate it so you can't be thinking well I ate this before and it didn't bother me, etc. She has to weigh. It's very difficult to buy food that doesn't have salt. Eating in a rehab is hard. Eating almost anywhere but at home is hard. Even there it's hard because things like raw chicken has had salt water added. If someone brings her a hamburger that can be really bad. Usually it what's you do 80% of the time that matters with your diet. With CHF it's more like 90% of the time if not more. First thing every morning, after peeing, weigh. When the weight goes up, usually 2 lbs in one day, 5 lbs in a week, go up on the Lasix. Some people are more sensitive than that. Everyone is a little different. Work out guidelines with your dr. If there is a heart transplant center in your area they generally work very well with CHF patients over the phone ( after initial consult of course). If I were you I would insist on a trip to the ER. If I had her home and she had these symptoms I'd drive her to the best ER I could get to. In my mothers case it was 3 hours away. That's where we went to a leading cadio hospital. Saved time in the long run. The symptoms and the treatment are pretty much the same but the level of care and attention paid make a world of difference. I don't mean to make erroneous assumptions but you can't fool around with CHF when the patient is in failure. There are blood tests that show the level of saturation. Ask them what they are doing and then what next. Ask if they are restricting fluids. Ask if it is posted in her room or on her door.

They are going to do a chest xray or ct scan to see what is happening. I was surprised that she could go from pretty good to having a lot of problems in one day.

I just went through this with my mom and we had her funeral on Friday. I'm sorry I don't mean to scare you but I would get her to the ER asap. I had to stay on the rehab as they were not following the prescribed orders. I know they weren't with her dinner meals because I was there and had to keep sending them back. I think they only called me after I kept asking them about her overall care and my concerns. I don't want to see what happened with my mom happen with anyone! The others are right! Get on it pronto!

CHF can happen like that. One minute she is fine and a few hours later in trouble. Too much salt or trauma or too much intake of fluids. It's hard to know what is the tipping point. What is the plan? It sounds like she is filling with fluid. I would ask what she weighs in comparison to yesterday. What is her dry weight? What degree of swelling in her legs. Have they called her cardiologist with this information? She needs the fluid off. Too much can't be taken off easily with pills ( how much Lasix or diuretic did she take today vs yesterday?) The cardiologist will want to know. She will probably need an IV or at least a shot to get it off. If it's in her back sounds like she is lying down? Is the rehab treating this as an emergency?
I would be. If it isn't treated it will get worse. She needs to be peeing a lot to get it off. That's hard on the kidneys so it's a catch 22. Best to not let it get built up. That's why she should weigh everyday.

Sounds like you need to have a consultation with the doctor asap.