Patients and Caregivers Forums

My husband has a LVAD and unfortunately is now on dialysis three days a week at our local dialysis clinic. We can't be the only ones dealing with this! I have had to quit my job so that I can go to dialysis with him and sit beside his chair in order for them to do dialysis on him. They had to be...

Hello all, first off thank you for being here ! My girlfriend and I are the primary caregivers of her 50yr old father who just recently received his LVAD. We understand thats a big undertaking and we are totally down for the job. We / he has had a few bumps along the way but i think we are finally...

2 days after his 5th year anniversary with the LVAD my husband passed away on month shy of his 61st birthday (which is next week). I have the wall plug, the battery charger with 8 batteries and the harness. I am in NC so please let me know if anyone needs any of these items. Contact me if these...

I want to thank everyone for looking and responding to my posts. It makes me feel better to know that I am not alone in this. Good news my husband is coming home today from the hospital, he was denied a rehab facility because he walked 160 ft. He is still very weak and I'm not gonna lie but I am...

My husband had Lvad surgery 6/2/22. He has the Heartmate 3. Today finally he got up and walked a little. But he is having excruciating pain at the drive line site when he stands and sits. He says it hurts all the time but not as bad as when he stands and sits. He says it feels like someone is...

My husband received the HeartMate3 6/2/22. He is has been in the hospital since 5/12/22 and now they want to send him to a rehab facility. It seems that his 30 day hospital stay is approaching and they just need to discharge him. Has anyone had a similar situation ?

I learned that the entry site for the heartmate2 gives less problems because the cable is more flexible. this got me thinking and experimented with the allevyn , doubled it over and cut a slot in the centre. This was an improvement but still not happy, folded the allevyn to opposite corners and cut...

How long does it typically take to do this process correctly? I have different nurses telling me different procedure steps! I’m so frustrated! How many times must you have completed the correct sterile protocol before you can be released from the hospital?

Possibly relocating to Grand Forks North Dakota. I’m not finding any facilities closer than Minneapolis. Anyone live in the ND area? Winnipeg has a hospital, but the locator says only for Heartmate II and I have a III. I also don’t know if Medicare will cover me if I use a Canadian hospital. Thanks...

I am looking for a grief support group specifically for us caregivers that have lost our LVAD loved one. I’m in the Phoenix area so I’m person groups or online groups would work for me. thanks

Hello everyone! My husband is getting the LVAD this Friday. We knew about his heart failure but getting the VAD this early was a surprise, his condition has declined quickly. I'm nervous about a lot of things but would love advice from younger couples/families (older couples too if you have advice!)...

My Husband had LVAD surgery on Friday 1/8/2021. About 10 pm that night they had to put a tube down his throat to see what was going wrong. By 1:00am Saturday Morning I had to consent again for them to go back in him because the right side of the heart wasn't strong enough. Well Sunday the nurse told...

My husband has a lvad and his dementia is getting worse. Has anyone gone through this?

My Uncle has been living with his LVad for many years. He has recently been having complications. He's been in hospital over a week with a GI bleed they can't seem to find. He's had two colonoscopy and swallowed a pill that had a camera in it. They went in today and cauterized three spots that could...

Hello All, My father just had the LVAD surgery on October 12, 2017. I was wondering if anyone experienced weight loss or loss of energy after the surgery. If so, how long did it take for your weight loss to level out.

My dad had an Lvad implanted exactly 6 weeks ago today, However the doctors are saying his right side simply is not doing its job, and being that he has been in the hospital so long he is not strong enough to be considered for an Rvad surgery making it a Bivad. Due to his age AND undiagnosed spot on...

My husband, Michael had his LVAD implanted in August 2019 after much discussion and lots of defib shocks. He has been in heart failure since his heart attack in 2017... well as of June 2020 it has been determined by his team that a heart transplant will not happen for him. He hasn’t been able to...

First time posting but I’ve been lurking for a while. My husband had his lvad surgery today and although the left side of his heart is responding positively, his right side is functionIng worse than before surgery. He spent a week in the hospital with a balloon pump and his right side responded well...

My husband started on these two recently. Seroquel last Thursday and the Gabapentin on Saturday. They are to help with his delirium/encephalopathy. I have heard negative things about this drug combination- especially Seroquel. Anyone have experience with either of these working or not working? Thank...

My husband experiences involuntary shaking like he had a fever or something. He doesn’t have a fever so I’m wondering what could cause this?