21 lbs in just over 3 days! Imagine if you could market that.

I spent most of the week in a CCU at the local hospital, Built up fluids were restricting my breathing and damaging my heart. A bunch of IV diuretics (12 liters of urine!) later have got me back to my fighting weight and I'm back at home.

My point is - If your body is trying to tell you something - pay attention. I pretty much didn't. "Stuff" can creep up on you.

I started with a little shortness of breath, but nothing too concerning at my age (right). I gained weight (including a beer belly which I've never had) that I couldn't lose even though I cut way back on calories. Then one morning I noticed my feet were a bit swollen - the heat no doubt (not) I thought. A couple of days later I had reached the point where I had to stop at the top of the stairs to regain my breath, a trip to the mailbox took forever and my feet/legs looked like tree stumps. At least twice their normal size.

A trip to the ER to find that my body was retaining fluid that my heart could no longer pump. Now it's long term medication to compensate for the damage.

 

Well at least you caught it rather than ignoring the warnings altogether. Hope you respond to treatment.

 

Sorry to learn of your illness. Like all of us here on DIY happy to learn of your recovery too!... Welcome back.



Mind providing some details? Hope so.

As I did not read specifically what it was you had...
Care to specify with some details. Doing so might help others too.

Nor where you got it? Nor how you got whatever it was.

Can you relapse back to it?...

How to avoid whatever it was???

Hopefully not from excess amounts of coffee or beer...

 

Was at the funeral of a friend a few years ago with whom I had not stayed in touch well and also spent some time talking to his dad, whom I also had known very well. While he had always been a big man (over 300#) he was much smaller and told me the story of how a hospital visit two months earlier had relieved him of a hundred pounds of fluid in a week. He knew he had been given a new lease on life.

 

At 39 just after birthday I noticed that I've started gaining weight and it worries me a lot. I have acid reflux and adds up to my worries. I'm looking for ways to lose weight, with my busy schedule I can't seem to find time to exercise.

 

Welcome to the forums Eva! ,,,, Pay attention to what and how much you eat!

 

Glad to see you are back in the saddle. Similarly I had an episode while visiting in Denver. I wasn't paying attention to input versus output, so to speak. Wound up in the hospital with an NG tube pumping my stomach for 5 days, and finally laparoscopic surgery for a bowel obstruction. As Mark says, keep an eye on your functions and your input.

 

Acid reflux is definitely more common in overweight people. I weighed 170 lbs +/- for most of my life. In the last 2 years I gained 40 lbs mostly because I quit my daily exercise and started eating everything that didn't move. Not only did I end up with acid reflux but I also ended up with serious heart issues.

I found out that I could eliminate acid reflux completely by not eating things like chocolate or drinking alcohol (especially red wine) before bed. I also found that taking an acid reducer like ranitidine really works.

As for losing weight you really have to make a commitment. I lost a bunch of weight in the hospital, but I have also lost 20# at home. I'm back down to 175# with 10 more to lose. I cut way back on how much I eat. I limit myself to 1600-2000 calories a day and I walk a mile every morning. I write it all down, adding up my calorie intake to make sure I don't overeat. IMO that is what really works. I also eliminated a lot of bad stuff from my diet. Now my snacks are all fresh fruit and veggies. It takes a while to get used to it. Being "too busy" to exercise is a cop out. My excuse was that my hips and knees hurt too much. If you can't find a half hour a day to get yourself back in shape you need to take a close look at your lifestyle.

 

I have to agree with CW. That first step is hard but if you make a "game" out of it or keep score, like CW is doing it gives you a goal. If you can't get yourself to do a routine exercise, such as walking or bicycling consider a part time job as a store clerk. Even though I'm about 20 pounds over weight I walk at least 3 miles a day at work and am always active. Plus I get paid.