AVR Surgery 1/17 - Home on 1/21

[Sean L]

HI all;

Some of you may remember me freaking out on this site when I was diagnosed just a little over 5 years ago.

I had my surgery at Sacred Heart in Spokane and my experience there was excellent despite some early hallucinations on Oxycodone. I am 49 years old and chose a tissue valve because I felt it was right for me. Since I'm prone to anxiety issues and a light sleeper, I felt an artificial valve might exacerbate those issues. So, despite the probable need for another procedure in 10 years or so, I went with percardial.

I arrived home on the 21st feeling pretty good, even with some shortness of breath at times and low energy levels. The docs put me on Metoprolol (beta blocker), Lasix (if you enjoy peeing, this one's for you) and kept me on most of my regular meds (Lisinopril, etc). I'm off all pain killers, which is great because I hate that stuff.

I am a little emotional at times and am a little depressed. Some dizziness here and there. Not sure if that's related to my new beta blocker or just an after effect of the surgery.

I'm nervous about the future but, very hopeful that I can use this as a "re-boot" to get my health better than it's ever been and have some great adventures with my family. I'll keep you posted and I look forward to hearing from YOU as well.

--Sean

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Sean - welcome back to the forum ! And welcome back from AVR ! Low energy levels are quite natural after this kind of surgery, you've been through a lot ! And being emotional and some depression too - it's all to do with the way the brain reacts to what you've been through. The dizziness could well be to do with the beta blocker or even indeed the diuretic - do get checked by your GP asap - when I felt dizzy three days after discharge it turned out that my sodium levels had got too low due to the diurectic and I was taken off it immediately. I had bad side effects from the pain meds, from tramadol and dihydrocodeine, and among the side effects hallucinations too of little red things crawling on the walls and my skin, and smoke coming from my computer, I could tell they were hallucinations and wasn't scared but I took myself off the meds due to the other very bad side effects and the fact they didn't help with pain.

I have a pericardial tissue valve (Magna Ease) knowing I'll need another AVR in some years' time.

Keep up with the walking and breathing exercises, but take it easy on yourself and have a little nap during the day to get your strength back. Look forward to the great adventures with your family

 

[Warrick]

Hi mate, I found for a week or two after the surgery I would just start bawling my eyes out for no good reason, a fellow zipper work collegue reckoned it's cause your hearts been handled, I think it's more likely the anaethetic and whatever else they use takes a long time to work it's way out, I still find I tear up at dumb things on tv.

Here's to a smooth recovery !!!

 

[honeybunny]

Welcome to the other side, Sean! You received some good advice above. My post-surgical shortness of breath (SoB) was due to pleural effusion. You can search for that term on the forum to find my posts about it. Not saying you have it. Mine was discovered because the SoB was getting progressively worse as the first few weeks went by. After that was resolved, I became a bit depressed because I wasn't ready to run around the block after six weeks, which some other folks seemed up to doing (or walk at a fast clip ). Wishing you a speedy recovery~

 

[epstns]

Hi, Sean, and welcome back! I think I had all of the side effects and after effects you are having. Mine pretty much resolved in time. One thing I remember is that I had a lot of trouble dealing with the beta blocker. At first I was given metoprolol, timed-release, at 100 mg/day. The first side effect was that it caused me to have really weird, vivid dreams. I actually remember thinking "I'm going to bed now. I wonder what's playing." Once my body got used to the beta blocker, the dreams lessened but remained. After I finished cardiac rehab (started 12 weeks out, finished 24 weeks out), I realized that I was just tired. It was like I was dragging a sled full of rocks around all day. I discussed this with my cardio and he agreed to try cutting my dosage to 50 mg/day. Instant help, but not back to normal. He wanted to keep it there for a while to be sure I was stable, but finally at about 12 months out from surgery we reduced my beta blocker to 25 mg/day. No more dreams and I could actually do exercise again. Felt much better. My point here is not that you should call right now and demand a reduced dosage. My point is that you can plan to have that discussion with your cardio as your healing progresses. Maybe you won't need the beta blocker long term, or maybe your dosage can be reduced.

I also took Lasix for a few months. I didn't mind having to go so often, because without the excess fluid I felt so much better. What I did mind was the huge potassium pills I had to take along with the Lasix. I usually gagged on them and had to cut them into pieces to get them down. Then a great friend of mine, the late Ross Young of vr.org, told me to ask my doc for a prescription for Micro-K. This is a capsule version of the potassium supplement, and they slide down your throat like noodles. If you are going to need a potassium supplement and can't tolerate the huge pills, ask for the capsules. It will require a new prescription, as the capsules are only available in a lower dosage, so they give you two caps daily instead of one golf ball.

Your emotional surprised sound about normal, too. I had those, too. My wife got used to it, and we made jokes about it. Mood swings, depression, crying, worrying. . . these are all common after any heart procedure. I had a minor recurrence of these last summer after I had to have surgery to replace my pacemaker and one of its lead wires. For most of us, things eventually smooth out. For many of us, things change and we become more tolerant of others, of imperfections and the sort. We summarize it as "Don't sweat the small stuff, and by the way, it is all small stuff." You have been through a life-changing event, and that's what is important. The rest is just so much less important.

 

[Zoltania]

What I did mind was the huge potassium pills I had to take along with the Lasix. I usually gagged on them and had to cut them into pieces to get them down. Then a great friend of mine, the late Ross Young of vr.org, told me to ask my doc for a prescription for Micro-K. This is a capsule version of the potassium supplement, and they slide down your throat like noodles. If you are going to need a potassium supplement and can't tolerate the huge pills, ask for the capsules. It will require a new prescription, as the capsules are only available in a lower dosage, so they give you two caps daily instead of one golf ball.

Great advice, Steve -- I wish I had known that when I had my surgery! Those giant potassium pills were hard to swallow even when I cut them in half. Is there a sticky topic you can add this information to?

Sean, what everyone else has said above was true for me too. Your body and brain have gone through a lot and you'll be going through emotional pendulum swings for a while. Also, physical recovery is often a matter of two steps forward and one step back, so don't be discouraged if you have a day that's not as good as the one before. The days will keep getting better.

 

[Sean L]

Thanks for your replies everyone...Means a lot! While I don't have vivid dreams on the Metoprolol, I do feel it makes me tired. Overall, I feel very lucky to be here - and amazed.