Please help

[R&N Brown]

Is it possible that the 12+ hour days contributed to the demise of your husbands heart in the first place?

I am one of those self proclaimed work-alcoholics and after having OHS this summer I am coming to the realization that I may have been my own worst enemy in how I previously ate, overworked, and slept only on what little time remained!

I have reduced my workweek to around 45 hours and now I have a whole lot more time to argue with my wife and kids! LOL!

Actually, I've filled the 20 hours or so with play and I really feel it is one of the reasons for my soft landing.

I wish you and your husband well.

Rob

 

[Bina]

No offence, but maybe that is too much work. No R and R at all may be taking its toll on him.

 

[caterb85]

Rob, I see that you are only a couple months out from ohs. How have you been feeling as far as energy level and strenght?

 

[R&N Brown]

I feel like I am the poster child for the soft landing!

I may not post often although I read this board regularly. I witness where some folks have had a real tough go of it. After going through this I can see where just a slight move one way or the other and you can slide into a valley. I don't know what to say so I just quietly pray for their recovery.

I never realized how sick I had become before my surgery I guess.
I immediately noticed a difference post surgery. Mostly out of boredom I started back to work part time 19 days after surgery, sore, but with more energy. At my one month mark I was pretty much back to 40 hours.

I coach footbal. Now, I did not at first chance contact, but I coached my first practice on the 18th of August. Yesterday we played and won our first game of the season. When my surgeon told me to not resign my position I thought he was a bit off but I'm glad I listened to him, coaching football is one of my passions.

For the most part I feel good. It was three weeks before I could go the day without a nap. I still have to push my self through some days and I do crash and burn on occasion. On those days I go home and take a sleep. I listen to my body everyday and do what it tells me to.

I am living with a few ticks but nothing substantial. I have an irregular heartbeat that they say is easily corrected, we are in the process of scheduling that now, other then that,... I was quick to stabilize on Coumadin,... I take about 25% of the meds I had been taking pre-surgery,...I'm not sure what else to add other then to say I kind of feel a little guilty for being the poster child for the soft landing.

I wish the best for you and your husband. it sounds like he has slipped down one of those slopes and I hope his climb back to level is soon.

Rob

 

[PairoDocs]

My husband and I have both posted about the post-OHS depression. He is also 9 months out from his surgery, and he has good days and not-so-good days. As Nancy says, before everyting can be blamed on depression, you need good objective info. It sounds like you're getting it. As far as the 12-hour days-does he love his work? Or does he just "make a living?" It makes a difference. The cardiac rehab probably helped his mood, but he needs to continue with the exercise as both an anti-depressant and to improve his heart. My husband has had issues with depression for a long time, but the OHS just pushed him over the edge. Many of the medications he had to take for his heart worsened the depression. Metoprolol (Toprol) really sent him spiralling down, as did the verapamil, diltiazem, and digoxin. It took a long time, but he is off all his heart meds except for the aspirin and he is much better. He also was able to get off the Wellbutrin after a long struggle; it helped his depression but increased his heart rate and caused insomnia. He has been greatly helped by a natural compound called SAM-e.

I would seriously think of other causes for his fatigue besides his heart. How about obstructive sleep apnea? Does he snore or stop breathing at night? OSA causes a lot of daytime fatigue. He should get his thyroid checked and be checked for anemia. Even kidney problems can cause fatigue, so if he had some kidney issues after his OHS, these need to be investigated. As always, cardiac problems need to be ruled out.

My heart goes out to you. If you could talk your husband into counseling, it would be useful. Also, not a bad idea for you. Perhaps you have a pastor to talk to, or a good friend to spend some time with. I still cry about all this and the profound effects of Chris' OHS on our lives. It is getting better every day, though. Our prayers will be with you.

Beatiful clear night n Idaho,
-Laura

 

[caterb85]

Thanks Laura, We are trying to rule out all possible health causes on his fatigue. It may be a little of alot of different things, I know he is frustrated that he isnt feeling better then he is. He had blood work done to rule out thyriod and anemia. Had liver and kidney function also done. Creatinine is still at high normal, that has been like that since a month after surgery was normal before surgery. Found a few spots on his kidneys after cat scan but were to small to say what they were. He does have a constant sinus drainage problem that they are treating with nasonax. This has been a problem for him even before his surgery.
Thanks so much for taking the tim to care it is so nice to have someone whohs been there to talk to.

 

[Guest]

Nasonex can cause heart palpitations. My husband was prescribed nasonex for his sinuses. He got so bad that he thought he was having a heart attack. We took him to the emergency room. He was kept overnight, all bloodwork normal, stress test normal. He was having multiple PVCs. We went over all the meds he was on, and he doesn't take many aside from vitamins and a cream for rosacia, what changed, etc. He quit the nasonex, his cardio put a heart rate monitor on him, monitored over the next couple of weeks and everything settled down. He has had no more issues to date as to when he was on nasonex.

Ask your husband's doc to change him to rhinocourt aqua just to rule out nasonex as contributing to his issues. Rhinocourt aqua helps with allergies without drying out nasal passages. It is a steroid.

I can't use nasonex either so just a thought.

 

[WayneGM]

Wayne, Do you remember how long it was until you didn't feel so tierd anymore?

It was pretty much a year before I had my full stamina back. When I went back to work, at week 12, I found it exhausting even though it was essentially an office job with no real physical labour. However, the more I did, the better it got over time so I think you need to gradually raise the bar so you body can get accustom to the effort and get to the next level. What you don't want to do though is over do it. I did that a few times and found it would set me back and hinder rather than accelerate my recovery.

 

[briansmom]

I didn't see a list of meds that he is taking.
I do want to say that my son has had ongoing problems also, but his heart is still quite damaged. He has mood swings, but I have attributed most of it to being a teenager. this post was a good reminder that even the adults have a hard time after surgery.

I hope both of us survive our loved ones recoveries.

 

[Ana]

My husband's mood was altered there for a while. In 12 years of marriage, he rarely lost his temper, always very good with dealing with emotional stressors and then he had this surgery and it was like living with a 16 year old boy part of the time - all hormones, odd humor, infrequent but volatile flashes of temper over the littlest things. He knew something was going and had asked me more than once, "do you think I am a different person?" And I had to be honest in that, sometimes yes, it seemd as if he was. I didn't know whether to attribute it to his meds, pump head, or just the whole experience.

Carl had been prescribed Ambien just prior to his surgery - he had terrible apnea and felt like he was drowning when he slept (which, he slowly was) and this led to an aversion to sleep. When all that resolved five months post-surgery, Carl tapered off the Ambien and BAM! he reverted to his old self within a day or two. I couldn't believe the change.

I really commiserate with what you are going through. And the unfortunate part of it, is that you don't know WHAT is causing the issue. So many physical symptoms can cause emotinal disturbances like depression, which flashes as anger. I don't know what to say, other than going to the cardiologist, with a list of all the medications he is taking, and the dosage (don't assume they have that info in his chart), relate the problems, and ask if anything can be done.

If it's not a medication issue, perhaps it is depression about the situation. In that case, I would recommend seeking the help of a psychologist who specializes in treating anxiety and depression due to medical issues.

Good luck.

 

[caterb85]

Thanks you all so much for all your help. He goes today for his heart monitor to ware for 2 weeks, the cardio took him off his zocor and beta blocker and moved up his echo in 2 weeks at which time he will see him again to review all the test. He is also doing some blood work I think a sed rate. How important is it for bav people to stay on statin if chloresteral(spelling??) is good?