6 months post op , having problems.

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SarahL

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 12, 2008
Messages
46
Location
Newport News, virginia
Hello everyone,
I know its been awhile since ive been on here. Sept 12th is my 6 month mark since the surgery, and i have had a hard time since the surgery. Sometimes i wish i had never had the surgery, but i know i had to have it done to save my life. But For the past 3 months, i stay tired all the time, I get short of breath, dizzy spells, my ankles feet and hands fingers swell all the time. I sometimes cant even bring myself to get out of bed. I saw my doctor last amonth ago and he said he didnt know why i was feeling so bad, and he put me on 4th blood pressure pill along with all my other medications. My blood pressure now stays at around 90/53 which maybe im wrong since im not a doctor, but i dont think it should be that low all the time. For the past 4 days my chest hurts me so bad, and under my ribs and breasts and my scar stings all the time and it hurts to touch my chest. I took a shower last night, and was shampooing my hair, my arms felt like a ton of weights, starting hurting in my chest shoulders and back, and under my ribs today.and i could not finish shampooing my hair i felt so bad. so i went back to bed where ive been since this past friday. I finally called my doctors office today because my 6th months check up is still 2 weeks away, they told me to come in in the morning at 11:15 to be seen.

I went back to work 2 months after i had the surgery, but felt so bad i had to quit working. My cardiologist told me to quit also. I have a lawyer helping meget approved for disability for awhile. I tried yesturday to walk up to my sons bus stop which is near my house, and i didnt even get half way there, got out of breath and gave out, i had to sit on the sidewalk a few times to make it back home. Ijust dont understand why i feel so bad. Its been 6 months, i should be up and feeling great and i feel absolutely lousy. ive been to the Er a few times the past 3 months, but they take exrays, and do an ekg, says everything looks fine, and sends me home with pain meds.
I came here because like I read in a previous post, go to the experts.

Has anyone else had the same problems at this stage. I have been having alot of kidney problems lately too, i thought maybe that would effect how bad i feel. I have a 9MM kidney stone in my left kidney. The doctor wants to do lithotripsy, but since i feel as bad as i do, they want to post pone it for a while until the doctors find out why i feel the way i do.

any advice would be greatly appreciated.
I had Aortic valve replaced with the St. Jude Mechanical valve.

Also i have never set off any medal detectors since the surgery except for for past 2 weeks now, everytime i go through one i set it off and have to show my card to them. ITs never ha ppened before, its wierd that it now starts to happen.
 
Sarah, I am so sorry to hear you have been having a rough time. I am by no means any expert, but that blood pressure sounds rather low to me and I wonder if the doctor has got you on the right meds or not. (I've never heard of being on four BP meds at same time, but maybe that happens.) Any chance of getting evaluated by another doctor?

I was told recently by my GP that they want the BP as low as you can tolerate in order to keep stress off the replacement valve. Mine is occasionally as low as yours but usually a bit higher than that. Could be the low BP is making you dizzy, and the meds need to be adjusted.

Again, this is only my very inexpert observation. Hope you can get it all together and feel better soon.
 
What meds are you on? This doesn't sound normal to me. I think your cardiologist should be running more tests than just an x ray and ekg.

BTW, my son's blood pressure is that low usually. the question seems to be if you get dizzy when you stand up, then it's too low.
 
I can't help you w/your complications but I sure do hope someone finds out what is wrong with you. I am by no means any expert, but what you are describing I do not think should be. Maybe another opinion would be needed. Best of luck to you.
 
Sorry to hear you're having such a hard time post-op. At 6 months I was still plenty tired and didn't have the stamina I had pre-op. Personally, I'd consider getting a second opinion as it doesn't sound like the current treatment is working. Best wishes and good luck.
 
Quote:

For the past 3 months, i stay tired all the time, I get short of breath, dizzy spells, my ankles feet and hands fingers swell all the time. I sometimes cant even bring myself to get out of bed. I saw my doctor last amonth ago and he said he didnt know why i was feeling so bad, and he put me on 4th blood pressure pill along with all my other medications.

End Quote

Sounds like Excess Fluid Retention to me.
Are you taking a diuretic (such as Lasix)?
If not, why not?

You should be seeing your Cardiologist for heart issues.
It sounds like your GP is not up to speed on heart stuff.

If you can't get a better diagnosis from any of your Doctors, I highly recommend a Second Opinion, preferably from a Different Cardiologist.

Good Luck !

'AL Capshaw'
 
So sorry to hear how unwell you are feeling.

It isn't unheard of to take four bp meds. Some people need small dosage of several rather than a larger dose of one.

Has your cardio done an echo recently to check on your valve?

Hopefully, your docs will be able to help you soon.

Let us know how you are doing.
 
Sarah :

I think you need to get to get to the bottom of this. In my opinion, your BP sounds low, your swelling sounds like it could be water retention, and if you are staying in bed, not doing anyof the things you usually enjoy, the first thing I think of is depression.

2 reasons for me thinking depression right off the top : 1. I have it, it is awful .:( and I recognized a few things you said as typical "depressed" behaviour for me . . and 2. it is common post-OHS.

Can you talk to a nurse, another medical professional about this? Do you have any wellness-type clinics? Can you get an appointment to talk to your surgeon maybe about how bad you are feeling? I am sure he would not want his work and effort not enjoyed to the fullest.

If you want to e-mail me or PM me, please feel free to do so.
 
I hope you feel better soon! My husband felt pretty decent at 6 months post-op. I would consider another opinion on why you are still feeling so poor. Have they ruled out infection? I seem to recall one of our members becoming very sick after having kidney issues.

Take care,

Ann
 
I agree with Al and the others. It sounds like you need a real work-up with
an echo, bloodwork with a metabolic panel,etc. I agree depression is very
common with us, but if you can't walk to the bus stop(I'm assuming its only
a couple blocks)without becoming short of breath-something is not right.

I am at 7 months myself and am doing so-so.I am not working yet ,I still
have fluid which comes and goes(and I take Lasix), I also get SOB when
I go up stairs etc. I have noticed that the more inactive I am, the worse
I get. My cardio and I know why I am not doing better--I have some
dilation on the rt side of the heart which causes most of my symptoms
in spite of my valve doing fine. But I am not a norm. Most are much better
by now.
You should find out what it is , it may be something that can be
easily fixed.
My best to you--Dina:)
 
Sarah,
I am on what I consider a high dosage of metroprol, 100 mg, and I feel tired and sometimes dizzy (& I can't lose weight, but that's another story! :D) . I will say after my surgery it was even more important for me to feel confident in my cardiologist. I ended up changing from a cardiologist I had been seeing for 13 yrs to my current cardiologist. I don't always agree with him but I do like that he pays close attention to any symptoms I am having and doesn't overlook or downplay anything. Make sure you feel comfortable with your doctor.
 
thank you everyone. I am on metopropolol 25mg twice a day, itake 40mg of lasix twice a day, comadin, micardis hct onece a day, potassium, clonidine, Klonipine, celexa for depression, prevachol, etc. I am suppose to have an echo on the 19th of sept. I do see the doctor this morning so i will let you know wh at he says. but im not leaving his office until i get some answers today. My chest hurt so bad last night my daughter brought me over one of her vicodins and it helped. I only took the metopropolol yesturday and not the other BP medications, and i did feel a little better.

But i will see what he says today. Ill post and let you know what he says.

Thanks for all the support.
sarahL
 
Sarah, I think you are taking a lot of drugs that can make you feel very lethargic when taken alone, much less all together. I would push your cardio hard to do alot more testing than he is. I would also contact your surgeon's office and go to him for a check as well. If you still aren't getting answers, I would go to a different cardio.

I also think that as bad as you may be feeling, you should try and get moving as long as your cardio hasn't put any restrictions on you. Start out with what you can do reasonably, even if it is just walking 2 or 3 houses away and back, then try and add a little every day.

I'm sorry you are feeling this way this far out, but hopefully you can start getting some answers and start feeling better.

Kim
 
Thanks for all the support everyone. I went to see my cardiologist this morning. My blood pressure was 92/50, and she could barely find my pulse , she finally did and it was 49. My cardiologist said that i am on way too many blood pressure pills, so he took me off all but one. He said that when my blood pressure starts going up i should feel alot better. He said my heart sounds great and my blood work came out ok. just low on potassium so he told me to double up on them for a few days.

as far as my chest hurting, scar stining etc. he said that it has not been quite 6 months yet, and that some people dont heal as well as others. Plus he said i was so sick before and after the surgery that my body is having a hard time bouncing back. He told me to give it more time. But that he wants that 8MM kidney stone removed asap, and after that is done he wants me to start going to the gym 3 times a week, to start slow on treadmill and work into it slowly, but he says i need to be more active. after the stone is removed tho of course.

He wants to see me on the 19th and do an echo , but he says alot of the way im feeling is due to the very low blood pressure. he told me to call him in a few days and let him know how im feeling and to check my blood pressure a few times a day, which ive been doing. so hopefully soon ill feel better.
sarah
 
Gald he took you off some of those meds. Hope that helps to get your pressure and heart rate up. That would make anyone tired! Best of luck to you!
 
Hopefully you will begin to feel better off some of the BP meds. I take metoprolol to slow my heart rate down - so it's no wonder your rate was low - way too low.

I also agree that you should look into your other meds for side-effects. The doctors had my brother on Celexa and he could hardly walk around. Even if you've been on these drugs a while, your body has been through the wringer and may begin to react differently to the drugs.
 
So good to hear that your cardiologist adjusted your meds. Just an FYI - some people experience a sort of bounce-back when they go off their meds - pulse and BP will go higher and then drop and level off as their systems adjust. Hopefully you won't have to experience that.

Also, when meds cause the body to mimic depression symptoms, the mind has a tendency to follow. Works in the reverse, too, though - as you feel better, your mood will greatly improve. Here's to an easier time of it for you.

Cheers.
 
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