Laura R
Well-known member
Hi. My name is Laura.
I'm facing mitral valve replacement surgery and I'm scared. Im hoping you can help.
My medical history is that they tell me I must have had rheumatic fever as a child which I don't remember. I live in northern California and three years ago, Dr. Alan Yeung at Stanford Hospital did a valvuloplasty to open my narrowing mitral valve. But my most recent echocardiogram on 8/15 showed that it's getting worse and I'll probably need valve replacement. I'm going to have another echocradiogram on October 21st to confirm.
After the 8/15 echo, Dr. Yeung added Lasix to my usual Toprol, flecainide, coumadin and vasotec, but I had bad reactions to it, got a throbbing headache and dizziness, and a dark purple circular bruise on my arm that hasn't cleared up. He said I could stop the Lasix on 9/2, and then I felt much better. On 9/11 my INR was 3.9, much higher than my usual 2-2.3. I was told not to take coumadin this past Friday, and my dosage was lowered. I'll be going back for my next INR check in two weeks rather than 4.
So, that is my basic story medically. I joined this group and have been reading your wonderful informative and supportive posts. For some reason, I can't seem to get emails from this site, so I just come back and check regularly.
I'm writing now because I woke up in the middle of the night feeling a bit off balance, kind of dizzy more on the right side of my head, and I got worried that it might be a brain bleed. I called my cardiologist and his answering service woke him up, which I mention because now I have one more worry, that I don't want to be seen as a patient who calls and wakes him up for nothing. He told me that a brain bleed would have much worse symptoms.
I feel frightened. I've been trying to feel more in control by educating myself but it doesn't seem to help with the growing fear. I don't want the fear to grow to the point where every little thing has me worried. Did others feel like this? What can I do? I just feel like crying.
Thanks.
Laura
I'm facing mitral valve replacement surgery and I'm scared. Im hoping you can help.
My medical history is that they tell me I must have had rheumatic fever as a child which I don't remember. I live in northern California and three years ago, Dr. Alan Yeung at Stanford Hospital did a valvuloplasty to open my narrowing mitral valve. But my most recent echocardiogram on 8/15 showed that it's getting worse and I'll probably need valve replacement. I'm going to have another echocradiogram on October 21st to confirm.
After the 8/15 echo, Dr. Yeung added Lasix to my usual Toprol, flecainide, coumadin and vasotec, but I had bad reactions to it, got a throbbing headache and dizziness, and a dark purple circular bruise on my arm that hasn't cleared up. He said I could stop the Lasix on 9/2, and then I felt much better. On 9/11 my INR was 3.9, much higher than my usual 2-2.3. I was told not to take coumadin this past Friday, and my dosage was lowered. I'll be going back for my next INR check in two weeks rather than 4.
So, that is my basic story medically. I joined this group and have been reading your wonderful informative and supportive posts. For some reason, I can't seem to get emails from this site, so I just come back and check regularly.
I'm writing now because I woke up in the middle of the night feeling a bit off balance, kind of dizzy more on the right side of my head, and I got worried that it might be a brain bleed. I called my cardiologist and his answering service woke him up, which I mention because now I have one more worry, that I don't want to be seen as a patient who calls and wakes him up for nothing. He told me that a brain bleed would have much worse symptoms.
I feel frightened. I've been trying to feel more in control by educating myself but it doesn't seem to help with the growing fear. I don't want the fear to grow to the point where every little thing has me worried. Did others feel like this? What can I do? I just feel like crying.
Thanks.
Laura
ing so whats bugging me is the
