Hi and Welcome
Hi and Welcome
So glad you found this site. You will find a treasure trove of info. and support here.
I just told my husband that I think I found his almost twin. However, my husband is scheduled for his 3rd heart valve surgery on July 18.
I'll give you a little background.
Joe had rheumatic fever as a teenager also. He's 70 years old now. He has a mechanical aortic valve replacement which is 24 years old, a mechanical mitral valve replacement which is 2 years old. The surgery coming up is for a redo on his mitral valve and also a "look-see" for his own tricuspid valve. Both of these are regurgitating. He also has a pacemaker which was implanted after he had 3 fainting episodes caused by afib and low heart rate, In addition to the low heart rate and afib, he also had periods of rapid heart rate. So the pacemaker acts in combination with a calcium channel blocker which slows his heart rate and the pacemaker which doesn't allow it to go too low. The pacemaker has the other advantage of having converted his heart rhythm to normal sinus rhythm, at least most of the time.
He also has had two lung surgeries, one for a benign tumor and the other on the other side for scar tissue which had caused a partial lung collapse and fluid backed up into his lung.
Right now he is experiencing extreme fatigue, edema which is controlled with Lasix and short bursts of Zaroxolyn, and shortness of breath. The fluid is backing up into his throat causing hoarseness, his lungs, causing shortness of breath and if it goes too far, his legs and ankles. He watches his weight religiously for any sudden gain and when the weight starts to get into a 5-10 lb. gain, he calls the cardiologist for med. adjustments. In addition to the diuretics, he is on a ton of meds. He's also on a salt free diet which he hates!
He was also anemic, but iron 3 times a day and folic acid took care of that. Otherwise he couldn't have the surgery.
I know what you must be feeling. It's a terribly tense period. Feel free to do a search on my member name which is Nancy (not NancyMVP), for other posts of mine which might be helpful. If you can find your way back to the old forum, there are posts there also.
If you want to email me, you can send an email through this site or directly to
[email protected], just mention Valvereplacement.com in the message title, so I don't think it's spam.