After valve repair or replacement surgery do you still need to be on beta blockers

[AJC62]

My boyfriend is going to need surgery and he told me they will probably give him a fake valve - so I'm assuming it is the metal valve and would that be a repair or replacement? If it is replaced, will he need to be on beta blockers for the rest of his life or if someone can give me their experience with this type of surgery? Will he get back to his normal self, not being depressed, tired, feeling lousy?

Thanks,
AJC62

 

[Duffey]

I had my aortic valve replaced about 7 years ago, and I'm not on a beta blocker. Others who have had replacement, are, so it's an individual issue.

Hopefully, after he completely recovers from repair or replacement, he won't be depressed, tired or feel lousy.
If he receives a "fake" valve, then he will have undergone valve replacement.

If you want an idea of what to expect, you can browse through the pre-surgery and post-surgery forums. They contain literally hundreds of accounts of people's experiences with valve repair and valve replacement.

Good luck!

 

[tprice54]

Welcome! I just got back from your fair city. No, beta blockers are not ALWAYS necesasry, they are usually part of the recovery process but can be stopped if no other problems exist. You have a couple of great hospitals in Boston to have this surgery at, so your boyfriend is in luck there.

 

[AJC62]

Hi Tom,

You were in Boston? Did you go to the Marathon? That is wonderful - hopefully he won't need to be on the beta blockers. He may actually have his surgery down at Duke Medical in NC since he is down there helping his mom out. I know that Duke is also a great place!

AJC62

 

[tprice54]

Duke is also very good. Boston is among the best. No, I missed the race as I didn't get there until Monday evenong. I did run the race in 1996 (the 100th), what a blast! There is nothing like it anywhere!

 

[AJC62]

Yes, it is. I know Boston has the best but for some reason he didn't end up calling to make an appointment there and I'm not sure why. Too bad you missed the race. At least you had some good weather here. That must have been awesome running it in 1996. My daughter ran it 2 years ago.

AJC62

 

[neil]

dont always need beta blockers but even if he did there not to bad

 

[AJC62]

Hi Neil,

He feels awful on the beta blockers - nauseous sometimes and then sometimes chest pains and forgetful and I know he is depressed. He will be having the surgery so hopefully he won't have to be on them once he is recovered.

Thanks,
AJC62

 

[Bryan B]

AJC62,

Your boyfriend will be in good hands if he has his surgery at Duke. I had both of my surgeries at Duke and they are top notch. They are ranked the 7th best heart hospital in the country. Mass General is ranked 5th and Brigham & Women's is ranked 8th, so I don't think he can go wrong either way. I lived in Nashville, TN during the time I had my first surgery and thought about having my surgery at Vanderbilt, but my parents live 30 minutes away from Duke so it made more sense for me to go there than for them to travel to Nashville. Part of the decision making process is where the best spot for recovery is, especially those first few weeks. He is lucky to have the choice of three great hospitals for his surgery.

Here is a list of the top 100 heart hospitals for 2011-12: http://health.usnews.com/best-hospitals/rankings/cardiology-and-heart-surgery

Hope all goes well for him!

 

[AJC62]

Hi Brian,

Yes, I know Duke is a great place. What surgeries did you have there? I reall hope he opts to have it at Duke - he is in NC visiting his mom who had knee replacement surgery a few weeks ago and I'm pretty sure his uncle drove him down. At least his mom will be able to help him out. When I spoke to him Sunday he said he was moving at a snail's pace - I'm worried about him.

Thank you,
AJC62

 

[Bryan B]

Hi AJC62,

In 2004 I had my aortic valve replaced using a technique called a Ross Procedure. In 2011 I had my aortic valve, aortic root and ascending aorta replaced. My dilated aortic root and ascending aorta damaged my replaced aortic valve, that is why it had to be replaced again. Having my parents there to help me after surgery was a huge help. After a couple of weeks I was able to do most things for myself. But I wasn't allowed to drive for 5-6 weeks, so even though I was able to do more things on my own I still needed someone to drive me to doctors appointments and do things like go shopping for groceries. Also I couldn't lift anything heavy for awhile so it is really helpful to have someone around for about a month or so until you are cleared to drive. I would think that he would be able to come home after he has a followup appointment with his surgeon and is cleared to do so. But if he wanted to come home before his driving restrictions are lifted he would have to fly or have someone drive him back.

 

[AJC62]

Hi Brian
Thanks for responding. He needs valve repair or replacement - not sure but there may be calcification of the valve so I guess it depends on what surgeon says. It will be good for his mom to help out and I'm sure he will recover quickly - he is 36 and was very active before he was diagnosed. Lately he has not been doing anything, very exhausted, sometimes has chest pains and nausea, sleeps a lot, can barely make it to work and doesn't want to see me or his friends. I know he is depressed also.

AJC62

 

[Bryan B]

Hi Brian
Thanks for responding. He needs valve repair or replacement - not sure but there may be calcification of the valve so I guess it depends on what surgeon says. It will be good for his mom to help out and I'm sure he will recover quickly - he is 36 and was very active before he was diagnosed. Lately he has not been doing anything, very exhausted, sometimes has chest pains and nausea, sleeps a lot, can barely make it to work and doesn't want to see me or his friends. I know he is depressed also.

AJC62

This is fairly common after being diagnosed. A lot of times we are having symptoms we really don't notice until after we are diagnosed, I felt the same way. Also it's hard for "us" to talk to others who don't understand what we are going through. You are doing good to come to this board and gain insight into what he is going through. He would probably gain a lot from coming here and talking with people who have gone through the same thing and understand. Waiting for surgery was the hardest part for me and it was a big relief to get it behind me. Not fun but a relief. I had my surgery date a couple of months in advance and I became more anxious, moody, and had more symptoms during that 2 month wait. Luckily I found this board about that time and it made the wait bearable (just barely lol). If you went back and read my posts during those 2 months you would probably get a laugh out them...I was a basket case lol. Just try and be patient and hopefully this will all get better after the surgery.

 

[AJC62]

Hi Brian,
It is really that common? He has had the symptoms since probably right from the start of the beta blockers back in Dec. I haven't seen him in 3 months - is that common for someone not to want to see their girlfriend and friends? Maybe since he doesn't feel well and probably thinks he looks awful - I told him I didn't care but I'm sure he doesn't know from one day to the next how he will feel and even if he did make plans who knows what would happen that day. I mentioned to him that he was depressed and he denied it. Thanks for getting back to me - you have been a tremendous help and I hope he will be back to normal after his surgery/recovery. do you take beta blockers now?

AJC62

 

[Julian]

Hi Brian,
It is really that common? He has had the symptoms since probably right from the start of the beta blockers back in Dec. I haven't seen him in 3 months - is that common for someone not to want to see their girlfriend and friends? Maybe since he doesn't feel well and probably thinks he looks awful - I told him I didn't care but I'm sure he doesn't know from one day to the next how he will feel and even if he did make plans who knows what would happen that day. I mentioned to him that he was depressed and he denied it. Thanks for getting back to me - you have been a tremendous help and I hope he will be back to normal after his surgery/recovery. do you take beta blockers now?

AJC62

This is a tough thing for both of you to go through. Take it day at a time, sometimes minute at a time. Some people bounce back after surgery like if they were reborn, others take years to recover fully mentally and physically.

I'm almost 9 months post op 29 years old and people tell me I look great now, but inside I don't always feel this way. Its always something, strange chest pain, sensations like I cant take a full breath, thumping from the mechanical valve i got, strange heart sensations, forgetful, brain fog, strange vision occurrences. Some days are worse than others. Through all this I'm able to jog/run over 12 miles a week, something I've never been able to do before surgery!

I was on the beta blockers until 2 weeks ago, I felt a bunch of weird symptoms even on a really low dose. I thought they were causing most of my weird symptoms, well after 2 weeks off the beta blockers some symptoms have improved while others remain sooo....

If these beta blockers he's on are making him feel bad then maybe he can try some others. There are many options out there.

He could also be feeling unwell because he may need the surgery sooner than later, I don't know the details. I remember I was feeling especially bad for 3 years before I got the surgery and didn't know why and the last year was hell on earth and especially the last month before surgery, it was BAD! I couldn't wait to get the surgery at that point, I was looking forward to how great I was going to feel after surgery but even after surgery I didn't feel that great. It almost seemed like I traded bad problems for lessor problems.

Heart surgery effects people in different ways, for some its a slam dunk, for others its a long hard marathon. Again, that's why I say take it day at a time. People usually start to feel well 4 weeks to 12 months after surgery. Furthermore "full" recovery doesn't come till about 12 months to 3 years according to some people on this forum.

 

[Jkm7]

Depression and anxiety are extremely common during the waiting time before our surgeries.
He should speak with his doctors for possible medication to help him through.
The delay in him scheduling and going forward with his surgery is doing him no good at all.
If a surgeon tells him it is time, the sooner he moves, the better. There can be permanent heart damage by
delaying and the depression will not likely improve on its own during this waiting period.
Hopefully someone will encourage him to seek help from his doctors.
Perhaps they can try a different beta blocker that may agree with him better. There are a great many of them
and if the one he is on is giving him side effects, it would be good to ask if he could try a different one.

Good luck.
Let us know if there is some way we can help you to help him and yourself.

 

[AJC62]

Hi Julian,

Yes, it is a tough thing to go through for us both. I am trying to take it a day at a time but sometimes my mind thinks other things - as in maybe he doesn't want me in his life any more and that is why he isn't in touch like he used to be but then after reading a lot of these forums I realize it is the meds and what he is going through facing surgery!

I'm sure you do look great and it must still be a struggle for you since sometimes you don't feel well with symptoms but I think it is great that you can run. Rich used to run and hopefully he will be able to again once he is recovered. I know that beta blockers have changed him and he definitely is not the happy, outgoing and funny guy I am used to. But I also realize that he is very scared about surgery and I'm not sure why he is waiting so long because he is only getting worse the longer he puts it off.

I agree, I also think he feels worse because he should have had the surgery already. I hope he will be feeling ok after surgery and once he is off the beta blockers. I hope you will continue to improve and feel back to normal.

I appreciate your help with this!

AJC62

 

[AJC62]

Hi Jkm7
Yes, I am sure that depression and anxiety are common with people facing surgery.
I do agree - he should have had the surgery done a month or more ago. His cardiologist gave him the list of surgeons
back at the beginning of March. He is in NC now and I am praying that he will end up having his surgery there so his mom can help out.

Thank you and I will let you know if I need any more help and advice.

AJC62

 

[Boston Tiger]

Hi Brian,
It is really that common? He has had the symptoms since probably right from the start of the beta blockers back in Dec. I haven't seen him in 3 months - is that common for someone not to want to see their girlfriend and friends? Maybe since he doesn't feel well and probably thinks he looks awful - I told him I didn't care but I'm sure he doesn't know from one day to the next how he will feel and even if he did make plans who knows what would happen that day. I mentioned to him that he was depressed and he denied it. Thanks for getting back to me - you have been a tremendous help and I hope he will be back to normal after his surgery/recovery. do you take beta blockers now?
AJC62

Being told that you need surgery to mend your heart definitely can play games with your mind. I always wondered how many of my "symptoms" were actually being caused by my MVP and how many were simply psychosomatic after reading about the different problems that severe MVP could cause. All I know is that I felt much better when I came to in the ICU than I had for weeks leading up to surgery.

I'm still on beta blockers (75gm metaprolol) more than a year and a half after my surgery. I'm hoping that I can get off of them (or at least cut back to a lower dose) when I go in for my next cardio visit, since there are some side effects that I really would like to be rid of. But these side effects are a small price to pay to still be around, which probably wouldn't have been the case if I hadn't had my surgery.

 

[Bryan B]

Hi Brian,
It is really that common? He has had the symptoms since probably right from the start of the beta blockers back in Dec. I haven't seen him in 3 months - is that common for someone not to want to see their girlfriend and friends? Maybe since he doesn't feel well and probably thinks he looks awful - I told him I didn't care but I'm sure he doesn't know from one day to the next how he will feel and even if he did make plans who knows what would happen that day. I mentioned to him that he was depressed and he denied it. Thanks for getting back to me - you have been a tremendous help and I hope he will be back to normal after his surgery/recovery. do you take beta blockers now?

AJC62

Hi AJC62,

As you can tell by the others that have posted it is fairly common, but everyone handles this situation differently. It does sound he may be putting off the inevitable, which in turn may be why he is avoiding those who are closest to him. To answer your other question yes I am still on beta blockers. Each situation is different but since I have a tissue valve and a dacron tube for an aorta my surgeon wants to keep my heart rate on the low side. The beta blocker is doing this well but when I do certain activities where my heart rate would naturally speed up the beta blocker keeps it from doing that. I believe that is why I feel more tired and fatigued now even though my heart is working better than before. But the beta blocker should prolong the time before I need surgery again so I take them.