I'm NEW... in more ways than one!

[jwilliamsr]

Hi, Folks! I'm new to this site. This is truly a wonderful place. I've been reading a lot of posts over the last few months learning from many of you about what I should expect from my surgery.

Well.... My surgery was last Tuesday (6/13/2006) and I came home yesterday (6/18/2006) with a new aortic valve (St. Jude Mechanical) and a new Dacron ascending aorta. Today is my best day so far and I just had to post a note and say "THANKS" to you folks who post so much helpful, practical, supportve information for all of us.

Apparently things have gone very well so far! I know I have a lot of recooperating to do and I will have questions along the way about excercising, (running in particular), warfarin, vitamin K, back to work, etc.

But for today, I'm just thankful to God first, and to my supportive wife, the skillful surgeon (Hazim Safi) and informative places like this!

Jimmy

 

[LadyBlue]

Welcome, in both ways! I'm glad everything is well for you!

 

[geebee]

Welcome, glad to have you aboard and posting. Here's hoping the rest of your recovery is just as smooth.
Let us know if we can help in any way.

 

[Karlynn]

Welcome Jimmy! I'm glad you found us.

The best thing to remember is that right now your only job is to walk, sleep, eat and breath. Not the easiest tasks when you're just home. Keep using your insentive spirometer, that will help a lot. Don't push yourself in any activity to the point of exhaustion. If you push, your body will push back harder to show you who's boss.

Now that you are on Coumadin, one of your best resources is a member here. Al Lodwick and his site www.warfarinfo.com, will be a big help to you. He checks the Anti-coagulation forum here often. The key to your diet on Coumadin is to be consistant. You really don't have to give up anything you love, just be consistant about eating it. If you love salads, go for it. Just don't go 3 weeks without a salad, and then have a week when you eat a dark green salad every day. There are lots of myths out there and so if you have been told "Absolutely don't ever.... while on Coumadin." run it past us. Someone was actually told to never eat green Jello! One of our sayings is "Dose the diet, don't diet the dose."

If you have any questions about how you are feeling, of if you feel something is "not right", don't hesitate to call your doctor. They need to earn that big fee they charge!

 

[Cooker]

Welcome

Welcome

Hi Jimmy,

Welcome to our little home away from home. I got my St Jude 17 weeks ago
and all is well. My AVR went great but pushed way to hard and paid the price. It was suggested to take it easy.....take it easy.

Wishing you the best

Cooker

 

[catwoman]

Jimmy:

Glad to hear that you're home.
BTW, did you get home in time to enjoy any of the rain that came through Fort Worth on its way east?

Karlynn is right -- keep using that blasted spirometer. That was not stressed to me -- either that or the meds made me forget it!

Pretty soon you'll be dating everything as BVR (before valve replacement) and AVR (after valve replacement). In your case, it could be AAVR.
Trust me: You will find that time flies once you recover. For up to 6-8 months post-op, it seemed that I would never be back to "normal," (whatever that is). But here I am, 3 years post-op, and my surgery and recovery seem like a very distant memory.
I will be flying to St. Louis this weekend for a cat show (taking my Norwegian Forest Cat named Ellen Degeneres), and my friends & I will celebrate my 3rd "birthday" Saturday night.
You too will come to appreciate and celebrate your new "birthday." All of us do here.

 

[Georgia]

Welcome, Jimmy! The other thing you need to know about recovery is that it proceeds in fits and starts; you'll have a good day or two and the next day you'll feel like the stuffing's been knocked out of you. Roll with it and don't let it worry you - just take more naps, breathe, and do your walking. After that you'll probably have another good day.

Your healing heart pretty much rules your life for a few weeks. Be sure to follow your doc's restrictions on lifting; weigh yourself every morning first thing (you really want to watch for fluid retention); don't worry if you can't remember what you just read or watched on television - it's called "pumphead" from being on bypass and it'll subside, altho you'll probably notice problems with memory and concentration for a while; your sense of taste will come roaring back (along with your appetite); and enjoy the cosseting - it won't last that long!

Glad to have you with us. Feel free to ask if you have questions or concerns.

 

[Der Biermeister]

Welcome!!!

 

[jwilliamsr]

Thanks to you all for the warm welcome and good tips.

Karlynn, I will definitely check into Al's website on warfarin.

Marsha, I did not get to see the rain here in Tyler, but our yard definitely benefited from it. Thank goodness we got out of Houston about 12 hours before the flooding started down there.

_________________
Jimmy
Bicuspid AVR Ascending Aortic Aneurism Repair: June 13, 2006

 

[Superbob]

Jimmy,

Welcome! Glad you are doing well.

You might want to ask your cardiologist about getting into cardiac rehab when you are ready for it. Some insurance companies cover it (I was lucky -- mine covered 36 sessions of it). I found it very helpful to get monitored help in getting back into an exercise program.

Best wishes! (Wish we could get a little -- stress, little -- of that Houston rain here. It's terribly dry around here right now.)

 

[Perry]

Welcome to the other side. I received my ON-X mechanical 3 months ago.

I agree with the spirometer use entirely. It seemed that on recovery days that I felt sickly I could not do much with the spirometer. When I felt good I had good numbers with it. I don't know which was cause or effect but that gadget is quite important to open up and clear your lazy lungs.

I just tried to walk a bit more each day after surgery (though there were good and bad days). At 6 weeks I was told I could begin running and I have been trying to run a bit more each week since. I think it was assumed my fragile, sore body would not like running prior to 6 weeks (though I can't recall anyone specificaly saying "don't run"). At 6 weeks the surgeon told me I would not harm anything he had worked on and to just ease into it.

They tell you not to lift over 10 lbs, then 20 lbs. Be wise and listen. For the few months of restriction just let things heal as they need. At three months I no longer had any restriction.

In general - ease into walking more and more and try to be aware and observant of the restrictions and such. Don't push it - what's the rush? Recovery isn't bad when it gets easier each day.

Perry

 

[jwilliamsr]

Jimmy,

Welcome! Glad you are doing well.

You might want to ask your cardiologist about getting into cardiac rehab when you are ready for it. Some insurance companies cover it (I was lucky -- mine covered 36 sessions of it). I found it very helpful to get monitored help in getting back into an exercise program.

Thanks, BionicBob. I've wondered about cardiac rehab, but no one has mentioned it yet. I will definitely ask about it at the first follow-up visit. Since my resting heart rate is now about twice what it was before the surgery ( 55 --> 105 ), I would really like to be monitored as I try to get back into excercising.

Jimmy

 

[msiwik]

Welcome

Welcome

Hi Jimmy: Congratulations on your successful surgery and welcome to the site. Be sure to check the various threads in the "active lifestyle" forum for information on rehabbing and exercise. Welcome aboard!

Mark

 

[jwilliamsr]

Welcome to the other side. I received my ON-X mechanical 3 months ago.

I agree with the spirometer use entirely. It seemed that on recovery days that I felt sickly I could not do much with the spirometer. When I felt good I had good numbers with it. ...

... At 6 weeks I was told I could begin running and I have been trying to run a bit more each week since. ...

They tell you not to lift over 10 lbs, then 20 lbs. Be wise and listen. For the few months of restriction just let things heal as they need. ...

... In general - ease into walking more and more and try to be aware and observant of the restrictions and such. ...

Perry

Thank you, Perry. And congrats on your return to running! I am encouraged by that. Did your pain increase or return when you began to run? What kind of distances are you able to run at this point?

I can already identify with your spirometer comments. Sometimes it seems easy and I make progress; other times I fall back.

I hope I am following the sternal precautions okay. I am certainly trying.

Thanks again for your help.
Jimmy

 

[mntbiker]

Since my resting heart rate is now about twice what it was before the surgery ( 55 --> 105 ), I would really like to be monitored as I try to get back into excercising.

Jimmy

Hi, welcome to the site. I just had my aortic valve replaced less then 2 weeks ago. My resting HR was 45 presurgery and also came up quite a bit. It was staying in the 80's in the hospital and since I have been home it has slowly been coming down. It is now down to the upper 60's with one 58 thrown in yesterday. I am looking forward to getting the approval to rev the heart up and see what this puppy can do.

 

[jwilliamsr]

Hi Jimmy: Congratulations on your successful surgery and welcome to the site. Be sure to check the various threads in the "active lifestyle" forum for information on rehabbing and exercise. Welcome aboard!

Mark

Thanks, Mark. I have looked around just a bit over there and I saw a lot of interesting stuff. I'm sure I will find it most helpful to connect with some of the folks who have been through the rigors of returning to running or other fitness activities.
Jimmy

 

[jwilliamsr]

Hi, welcome to the site. I just had my aortic valve replaced less then 2 weeks ago. My resting HR was 45 presurgery and also came up quite a bit. It was staying in the 80's in the hospital and since I have been home it has slowly been coming down. It is now down to the upper 60's with one 58 thrown in yesterday. I am looking forward to getting the approval to rev the heart up and see what this puppy can do.

Thanks, mntbiker! And congratulations on your successful surgery. Shoot, if you had waited 6 days, we would be twins!
Jimmy