First hiking trip after surgery

[William]

Hi Folks, I just came back from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and my first hiking trip after the replacement. I've been up there many, many times hiking in the past hiking and wanted to see if there was any differences. Well, this trip DID have some differences to it. For starters, is was harder going uphill this time. That never was a problem in the past and actually looked forward to going uphill for the workout, but this time I could really feel the effort. The miles were longer too. The lungs and breathing seem to work fine, I just got fatigued fast. I did all my hikes, but was sure glad to see the car at the end. I've got another trip scheduled in May, maybe I'll be a little stronger by then. Will

[tommy]

Congratulations. You are progressing nicely. The Smokey's are beautiful.

[gadgetman]

I'm sure it will take time to get your stamina back. I did a lot of hiking (and jogging too) while I was stationed in Alaska in the 80s. As a matter of fact, my Cardio, when he discovered the two heart blockages, said I had probably had a mild heart attack about that time frame. I did suffer from a lot of "heart burn" but as we only had a medic at the remote radar site he treated me with antiacid. We had one hiking trail off our mountain that we called "7 mile run". It was 7 miles down and 22 miles back (all uphill). Other than having to make a lot of noise to keep from surprising Grizzlies, I really enjoyed the hikes.

Keep it up and I'm sure things will get back to normal.

May God Bless

Danny

[BillCobit]

Hi Folks, I just came back from the Great Smoky Mountain National Park and my first hiking trip after the replacement. I've been up there many, many times hiking in the past hiking and wanted to see if there was any differences. Well, this trip DID have some differences to it. For starters, is was harder going uphill this time. That never was a problem in the past and actually looked forward to going uphill for the workout, but this time I could really feel the effort. The miles were longer too. The lungs and breathing seem to work fine, I just got fatigued fast. I did all my hikes, but was sure glad to see the car at the end. I've got another trip scheduled in May, maybe I'll be a little stronger by then. Will

Hang in, Will. It may take several months before you turn the corner. Meanwhile, glad to hear you're back to hiking.

[Barry]

Well, 2 years post-op for a mechanical mitral valve, and gotta tell you that my stamina still hasn't come back. How much of the fatigue is meds, I don't know (on Beta Blockers, fairly notorious for making you feel lethargic and a bit down).

I figure you only get to play the hand you get dealt, and slog along anyway. Given that I'd be dead without the mechanical valve, I've no complaints.