u/adm388

Non-ischemic, most likely alcoholic cardiomyopothy.

EF was 14% and arteries looked "perfect" during left/right heart cath this morning.

Hopefully, the damage is reversible. Overall, this is really great news.

However, he can't drive or fly to work with the life vest. 3mos in a vest is gonna be brutal for him. Is there any chance we could request he get checked at 2mos instead of 3?

Mentally, physically, financially, this is all going to be really hard. It's only been 5 days and I'm nearing the point of collapse from exhaustion. 😭

ETA: He is home now and doing pretty well on the life vest!

Thursday, I had a major dental procedure and put 5.6k on my Care Credit card. I've had the card for years and always pay the balance before the promo period ends.

Unfortunately, Friday night, my husband went into sudden onset heart failure. He is the breadwinner and will be on disability for a while.

With the sudden decrease in income and increase in healthcare costs, I have to cut what I can immediately.

Should I do a balance transfer to a new card? Any other ideas? The $500+ payments are going to be near impossible for at least 3 months, possibly longer.

Husband travels for work and will likely not be able to return for a while.

He started his regularly scheduled 1 week of home leave today and will likely be hospitalized tonight for acute heart failure. He needs to be stabilized in the hospital, and then he needs some time for appointments and medication management to get back to a functional condition.

He works a very physically demanding job that he travels frequently for. So driving, flying, and day to day requirements involve free climbing wind turbines. It is possible he may be able to return as ground support only but right now we don't know.

He will apply for STD (MAX 12 weeks) and FMLA at the same time. The elimination period is 7 days.

From what I understand his LTD is 2 years max and has a 90 day elimination period. These are fully paid by his employer.

I have several question:

1. Should he initiate filing with HR or the insurance company?

2. Should he tell them he needs leave as soon as he is admitted to the hospital even though he has 1 week of normal home leave, which is paid regular salary? He has not told anyone yet that he will need leave.

3. Should the LTD be filed right after STD approval? To avoid or shorten a gap due to the 90 day elimination period?

4. I've read the certificates but am still unclear of what will happen with health insurance once the STD is exhausted.

Thank you!

Update #2 He was admitted to the hospital yesterday. He has alcoholic cardiomyopathy. EF is 10-15%. He's getting a hearth cath Monday.

ETA: When I pick him up from the airport tomorrow (Friday) should I take him to the ER or Urgent care? Both are part of our current medical practice so can refer him to the cardiologist.

He lied about being told there wasn't enough time for tests.

They did all the appropriate tests, and the DR offered further emergency department management, a formal echocardiogram and cardiology consultation. But he said he'd wait until he got home, and he felt better after breathing treatments. I will strangle him if/when he gets home Friday.

So, my crash course in heart failure via Google tells me this is acute decompensated heart failure. I will be prepared to take him to the emergency room when he flies in. Not much else I can for someone who is being negligent to their health.

From his records, (with added notes from me as I try to understand all this)

Meds given:

DuoNeb updraft x2 for asthma

"Single IV dose of diuretic"

*BNP: 3171 (significant cardiac pressure/volume overload; BNP of 232 April 2026)

*Repeatedly elevated diastolic pressures

*Respiratory rates every 15min: 8br/min, 6br/min and 25br/min

*2hr Troponin 16ng/L, 14ng/L

Chest xray:

-Cardiomegaly

-Slight prominence of central bronchovascular markings/interstitial markings (inflammation or fluid)

-No focal airspace consolidation

ECG:

-Possible left atrium enlargement

-Left axis deviation (QRS axis is −39°)

-Possible anterior myocardial infarction, probably old

CT:

-Mildly enlarged heart

-No pericardial effusion (no fluid in heart sac)

-Pulmonary edema, septal thickening most pronounced at lung bases (fluid in lung tissue)

-Moderate right and small left pleural effusions with adjacent compressive atelectasis (fluid around both lungs causing pressure on alveoli)

*Scattered nodules in the right lung measuring up to 1.4cm* (could be from old infections, scar tissue, or inflammation, must follow-up due to size)

-No acute pulmonary embolus

Bedside cardiac ultrasound:

Demonstrates impaired EF: by estimate about 40%

We're both panicking a bit as he's the breadwinner, and we have 2 teens. He has group life insurance of 200k through his employer. That would cover the mortgage payments for several years if the worst were to happen. But it would be better to pay it off and have something left to live on.

Details:

40yo male

38 bmi

Heavy drinker/smoker

High cholesterol on most recent lipid

High blood pressure, not sure if chronic

Asthma, medicated

Depression/anxiety, medicated

Glucose tests: 111/135/129 so prediabetic or diabetic

Likely heart failure: BNP of 3171

Recent mri revealed congenital lumbar issues, getting an epidural injection soon.

He climbs wind turbines for a living, not sure if that's relevant.

He is going to quit drinking, smoking, change diet, etc. But what are the options now? I've looked around for local life insurance, but I'm not sure I'm using the correct search terms.

I'm panicking a bit. As the title says, he went to the ER due to shortness of breath and chest pain that woke him up. He is out of state for work and doesn't fly home until Sunday. PCP appt is next Thursday.

His BNP was 3171 at ER yesterday! 😭

FOUR months ago, he went to a local ER for an unrelated issue (he fell and cut his face). He never read the labs or test results!

I just found the report, and in April his BNP was elevated, 232. Xray showed an enlarged cardiac silhouette. BP was high 136/70, and glucose was 135.

I'm pissed off that he never read these results as he could have sought treatment earlier. It appears he has diabetes and possible hypertension in addition to heart failure? His labs in 2/2025 showed high cholesterol also. Only meds he's on are Breo for asthma and fluoxetine for anxiety/depression.

Is he going to drop dead before he makes it home? 😭

Details:

40yo male

38 bmi

Heavy drinker/smoker

High cholesterol

High blood pressure

Glucose tests: 111/135/129

BNB 232 -> 3171 in 4 months

I am setting up 2 lines for 2 people that I will manage/pay for.

When I choose "mint kids" or "family plan" it only allows me to start with 3 months. I want to do 6 months. Do I just add both 6 month plans to the cart and worry about connecting them later?

They are both the 6gb plans if that matters. I didn't see the point in starting with unlimited if I'm not gonna renew them at that data plan.

I'm in the middle of switching 2 teens' samsung phones over to Mint and wanting to add the Bark app.

My oldest is newly 18, autistic and adhd, he consents to the monitoring and needs it for dangerous behaviors, poor impulse control, etc. His psychiatrist and psychologist agree that this is needed for his safety.

Bark says no monitoring over 18. Am I able to set his age to 16 when registering, or do I need to look into a different app? Am I able to adjust the controls so that I am not notified of every little questionable thing?

Husband was tipsy, tripped in the kitchen, and hit the trashcan face first. He had 2 small cuts. We went to urgent care first, but they didn't want to deal with facial lacerations, so we went to the er.

Billed for:

Metabolic panel, 1 bill from hospital, and 1 from pathology. I assume this is normal? But insurance did mark 1 duplicate service, even though all of the labs were duplicates. Alcohol test from hospital, drug test from lab. He did tell them he had been drinking when he fell.

Tests:

Cat scan, head

Xray, chest

Ekg

The er billed hospital services as code level 4 and physician billed code level 5, yet they both charged for "12011 repair superficial wounds less than 2.5cm"

I think level 3 is more appropriate. He walked in fine, filled out paperwork, was oriented, answered questions, normal speech, etc.

Once they went through the battery of tests, they spent 2 minutes gluing his tiny cuts shut and sent us on our way.

So what should I dispute here? Thanks!

I'm using Good Molecules gentle retinol daily and looking for a stronger product to use before I start .025 tretinoin. Preferably drugstore with a pump! So many of them don't list strengths, so idk how to compare.

Good molecules is only .1%. I used Cerave prior to this one, which I believe is comparable in strength. I'm looking at The Roc and No7, but welcome any suggestions in a pump bottle and no more than $30-$40!

The pillows that come in 2 packs from Ross, Marshall's, Homegoods, etc. Usually serta, sealy or beautyrest brand that can never be found again. I like the ones with a knit cover and a gusset.

I'm so sick of trying pillows, I feel like I've tried them all, purple, coop, layr, always too firm, too soft, too high or too flat. I cannot do shredded or solid memory foam, shredded or solid latex, down or down alternative, cervical pillows, layered pillows, etc.

None work expect these damn poly batting pillows. I dont mind switching to a new pillow every 3 months when they inevitably go lumpy, I just want consistency in the quality. Anyone have any recommendations? I will include a list of pillows I've tried below...

Solid talalay latex 5.5" and 6.2"

Utopia hotel collection down alternative

Serta hotel collection down alternative

Casper essential down alternative

Accuratex shredded memory foam

Purple harmony medium

Purple dreamlayer

Purple freeform

Coop eden

Coop original

Coop orthopedic

Coop latex (shredded)

Luxome layr

Pacific coast arcticlayer

Tempur-cloud

Serta solid memory foam

Bedsure 3in1

Nuzzle adjustable

Royal therapy + various other cervical pillows

We have an older model sleepnumber p6 with 3" comfort foam and another 2" in the quilted top. Would adding 2" of tranquility foam under the quilted top noticeably soften it up? I've only ever tried memory foam, which I don't like, and those cheap egg crate foams that flatten immediately.

I am a back sleeper, cannot sleep with a high loft due to neck issues. But I also need it to be soft behind my head or I'll get a headache. Trying a latex pillow right now and I don't think it's gonna work. Have also tried the purple harmony, luxom layr, bedsure adjustable, nuzzle, various shapes of ergonomic and gusseted pillows.

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Wondering if the Coop crescent shape or toddler sized pillows help keep the fill from shifting? Same question about the freeform, with the neck rolls stuffed?

I'm reaching the end of my rope with my newly 18yo son. Level 1 autism and adhd. He has always been addicted to tech, stealing any device he possibly can. I was able to mostly keep him off social media when he was younger but he's surpassed my tech skills at this point. We have a router that allows individual control of devices but he's able to get around that on a laptop.

He is sexting with strangers on discord, sometimes minors. I keep taking his electronics away but he always starts up again. He knows the consequences, he knows the severity, he has no impulse control.

He is supposed to start community college in August so idk how to handle this without taking away his laptop. He is medicated, sees a psychiatrist and a psychologist and is currently waiting for OJT through vocational rehabilitation.