Philip B
Well-known member
Hi folks!
Well, I'm now at three weeks post-op and the recovery and rehab processes seem to be progressing okay.
The only glitch I've encountered with working ½ days this week was an interesting round with a nose bleed as I was heading out the door on Tuesday morning. I felt it coming and got it packed with tissue before it turned into a gusher. A quick call to the cardiologist got me a trip to the worse lab on the face of the planet for an INR check. Honest to God, the techs in our local hospital lab average two to six sticks on me before they can hit a vein. I got lucky on Tuesday; between the two who worked on me it only took two.
The INR check revealed I had jumped from a 3.3 to a 5.8 so the doc took me off the "thinners" for a few days. I'm really looking forward to visiting the techs at the lab again on Friday.
The nose bleed stopped in two hours.
Rehab class seems to be going really well. My physical activity level had to be increased substantially this week to get my heart rate into the target zone defined by my cardio doc. Recovery time improved dramatically as well. I've had no repeat incidents of being attacked by the physical therapist this week. Last week, she was determined to do some kind of assessment on my upper body, and got a hold of my right arm. Whatever she did felt like she was ripping chest open. Never underestimate the power of swearing at someone to make them stop inflicting pain. There was something said in her apology about needing to read my chart as she didn't realize I was only one week post-op at the time. I readily agreed with her assessment.
I've really only had two incidents where I know I over did things. Both were last week. I've noticed that my body tells me when I'm on the verge of over doing with back pain where my ribs connect with my spine. One incident involved getting trapped at work too long and the other involved too much exercise during rehab class. The nurse got busy with some other folks and didn't notice when my heart rate got way too high. I heard him whisper something to the physical therapist about the resulting irregular heartbeats being the same kind he's seen when people are having heart attacks. I didn't feel a thing. I was really tired when I got home that day.
Pain meds are still necessary for the pain associated with the split sternum, but the dosage has substantially decreased and time between pills has increased. My little pillow from the folks at Mended Hearts doesn't seem to get the same workout on a daily basis as it did a couple of weeks ago.
I have cheated a couple of times on the driving ban and drove myself to the hospital during my recent nose bleed incident and drove a couple of blocks to work once this week. Needless to say, Colleen jumped my butt when she figured out what I had done. I'm back to passenger status now.
I'm not quite ready to trade my bed on the couch and return to our regular bed yet. I still sleep better propped up on the couch and there's less chance of one of our two 100 lb labs deciding to land in the middle of me in the middle of the night. They do have a habit of attempting to move onto the couch if I get up in the middle of the night. Since I can't drag them off the couch I've had to get creative to get them to move. That's not always easy after a 3:00 a.m. trip to the bathroom. At least they keep my bed warm when I'm not in it.
My inspirometer still gets a workout several times a day. I hit 2800 ml this week. That's probably not bad for a 5'6", 150 lb, scrawny guyat three weeks post-op. I keep one at home and one in my school office. Several of my high school kids have dropped by to ask about the one at school. They really want to try it out, but I really can't afford that kind of exposure to any "bugs" they may have.
Hopefully, progress will continue as I prepare to see my surgeon next week. I've got some questions about chills, night sweats, feeling cold most of the time, having ice cubes with fingers where I used to have hands, when it's okay to start clicking during sex, and more.
Based on how I feel when I get up in the morning and get moving, maybe what my cardio doc told me about not realizing that I was not feeling as good as I should have before AVR is true. I feel really good and it's only been three weeks. Today, one of my teachers, who had a quad bypass a few years ago, commented that if you think you feel good now, just wait until you're twelve weeks post-op. I hope my cardio doc and teacher are both right.
Overall, if you're in the "waiting room" and encountering those moments of sheer terror like I did before AVR, that's okay. Rest assured, once you come out on the other side of the surgery, things will get better. Recovery and rehab speeds will vary with individuals, but if you follow the directions your docs give you, I really believe your trip will be tolerable. I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks and hopefully, the progress I'll make.
-Philip
Well, I'm now at three weeks post-op and the recovery and rehab processes seem to be progressing okay.
The only glitch I've encountered with working ½ days this week was an interesting round with a nose bleed as I was heading out the door on Tuesday morning. I felt it coming and got it packed with tissue before it turned into a gusher. A quick call to the cardiologist got me a trip to the worse lab on the face of the planet for an INR check. Honest to God, the techs in our local hospital lab average two to six sticks on me before they can hit a vein. I got lucky on Tuesday; between the two who worked on me it only took two.
The INR check revealed I had jumped from a 3.3 to a 5.8 so the doc took me off the "thinners" for a few days. I'm really looking forward to visiting the techs at the lab again on Friday.
The nose bleed stopped in two hours.
Rehab class seems to be going really well. My physical activity level had to be increased substantially this week to get my heart rate into the target zone defined by my cardio doc. Recovery time improved dramatically as well. I've had no repeat incidents of being attacked by the physical therapist this week. Last week, she was determined to do some kind of assessment on my upper body, and got a hold of my right arm. Whatever she did felt like she was ripping chest open. Never underestimate the power of swearing at someone to make them stop inflicting pain. There was something said in her apology about needing to read my chart as she didn't realize I was only one week post-op at the time. I readily agreed with her assessment.
I've really only had two incidents where I know I over did things. Both were last week. I've noticed that my body tells me when I'm on the verge of over doing with back pain where my ribs connect with my spine. One incident involved getting trapped at work too long and the other involved too much exercise during rehab class. The nurse got busy with some other folks and didn't notice when my heart rate got way too high. I heard him whisper something to the physical therapist about the resulting irregular heartbeats being the same kind he's seen when people are having heart attacks. I didn't feel a thing. I was really tired when I got home that day.
Pain meds are still necessary for the pain associated with the split sternum, but the dosage has substantially decreased and time between pills has increased. My little pillow from the folks at Mended Hearts doesn't seem to get the same workout on a daily basis as it did a couple of weeks ago.
I have cheated a couple of times on the driving ban and drove myself to the hospital during my recent nose bleed incident and drove a couple of blocks to work once this week. Needless to say, Colleen jumped my butt when she figured out what I had done. I'm back to passenger status now.
I'm not quite ready to trade my bed on the couch and return to our regular bed yet. I still sleep better propped up on the couch and there's less chance of one of our two 100 lb labs deciding to land in the middle of me in the middle of the night. They do have a habit of attempting to move onto the couch if I get up in the middle of the night. Since I can't drag them off the couch I've had to get creative to get them to move. That's not always easy after a 3:00 a.m. trip to the bathroom. At least they keep my bed warm when I'm not in it.
My inspirometer still gets a workout several times a day. I hit 2800 ml this week. That's probably not bad for a 5'6", 150 lb, scrawny guyat three weeks post-op. I keep one at home and one in my school office. Several of my high school kids have dropped by to ask about the one at school. They really want to try it out, but I really can't afford that kind of exposure to any "bugs" they may have.
Hopefully, progress will continue as I prepare to see my surgeon next week. I've got some questions about chills, night sweats, feeling cold most of the time, having ice cubes with fingers where I used to have hands, when it's okay to start clicking during sex, and more.
Based on how I feel when I get up in the morning and get moving, maybe what my cardio doc told me about not realizing that I was not feeling as good as I should have before AVR is true. I feel really good and it's only been three weeks. Today, one of my teachers, who had a quad bypass a few years ago, commented that if you think you feel good now, just wait until you're twelve weeks post-op. I hope my cardio doc and teacher are both right.
Overall, if you're in the "waiting room" and encountering those moments of sheer terror like I did before AVR, that's okay. Rest assured, once you come out on the other side of the surgery, things will get better. Recovery and rehab speeds will vary with individuals, but if you follow the directions your docs give you, I really believe your trip will be tolerable. I'm really looking forward to the next few weeks and hopefully, the progress I'll make.
-Philip
I was exhausted just doing the walking and stretching exercises. 
