Hello everyone.I am a newbie to the cardio forum,but have been on the crohns forum a few times.I am 34 years old & was dx'd w/crohns & heart failure in 2004 shortly after giving birth.I had symptoms of cd for 8 years before the dx & had never had any heart issues prior to both dx's.I went into premature labor because of serious complications from the cd,& had to have an emergency resection 9 days after giving birth.I also had 2 abscesses,peritonitis,& severe swelling from the tips of my toes to the tops of my thighs(swelling did not occur until the day after my daughter was born).After spending a month in the hospital recovering from surgeries,I finally got to go home & I was actually starting to make some progress,then a few weeks later I ended up in the ER w/shortness of breath,I figured that I possibly had pnuemonia from spending so much time in the bed after surgery.Anyways,I was dx'd w/heart failure a few days later.
Now it has been 3 years & I have asked my cardiologist several times if the cd & 2 major surgeries could have caused the heart failure,but he insists that it was from having a baby.I've made major progress w/my heart & have kept the cd symptoms at bay ever since both dx's & I can't help but wonder if one illness led to the other.Has anyone ever heard of this?I am not sure what to believe.After all,I do have crohns & one thing I have learned over the past 11 years is that docs are not always right.Anyways,I have a 3 year old child so I take all my meds & follow my low-sodium diet & basically do everything my cardio says(except getting a defibilater).I really don't want to abandon my daughter for the hospital again.
Thanks everyone for taking the time to read this & I am sorry for the long post.Btw,the low-sodium really stings because I spent many years not being able to eat anything from the cd & I finally got an appetite after starting meds then I was zapped w/ the low-sodium diet.It's probably for the best though,because I would eat everything in sight & I've also learned to become a much better cook! -Jennifer