TakeStock
Well-known member
Since I've enjoyed reading the stories and ongoing adventures of so many of the members here, I thought I'd introduce myself.
My name is Bill, I'm 43 and I have severe mitral valve regurgitation. I did not have MR before last November, not a heart murmur, not a single indication of a heart problem. In fact, I was fortunate to have gotten my life insurance renewed and a critical illness policy in place last June as I had switched careers from a software engineer working in an office to working at home as a fulltime stock trader (I had been doing both for several years). I thought things couldn't get any better, and I was right -- they got much worse. In November I got a lowgrade fever and what I thought was an ear infection. I went to see my PCP and she asked if I knew I had a murmur. No, but she didn't seem alarmed so I assumed it was an innocent one. She gave me some antibiotics and told me to come back when I felt better to check on that murmur. The antibiotics got rid of my symptoms within 48 hrs and I forgot all about it, until the fever came back a few weeks later. This time I developed a bad cough -- very much like bronchitis, which I've had a few times. I waited a few days then went to see the doctor again, worried that my cough was turning into pneumonia. She wasn't in but a nurse saw me and immediately panicked when she heard my loud murmur. She immediately got the other doctor in the office to take a look at me. He had an EKG done right away -- everything looked fine, although my heart rate was over 120 bpm. I assumed that HR was from being freaked out about the murmur I had ignored, and from feeling ill. They took a normal blood test and scheduled me from an echocardiogram the next week. I also got some antibiotics, which once again cured my symptoms quickly. The blood results were normal. The echo wasn't -- it showed a severe leakage which the doctor explained likely meant I would need surgery in the near future. My heart sunk (literally?). Only days earlier I thought all my problems would go away with another dose of antibiotics.
The doctor referred me to a cardiologist who I met a few days later, a week before Christmas. He did not put my mind at ease, telling me I should start planning for surgery. "But not until next year -- we won't do anything more in 2008". yay.
He scheduled a TEE for Jan 6. I asked how did I get this damage? The only possibility was endocarditis. Did I still have it? He wasn't sure -- the echo didn't show anything, my blood tests had normal white blood counts and I wasn't showing symptoms. But he figured the TEE would tell us if I still had something in a few weeks -- but not until 2009. Except a few days after Christmas I got the fever again. Still only around 101-degrees, and this time with some sinus pain. The cardio told me to get a blood culture this time, just in case, before I started on more antibiotics. Good thing because on New Year's Eve Dec 31, I got a call from him telling me the next call I get would be from the hospital -- I had a strep infection and I needed to get on IV antibiotics right away.
I spent the next 3 days in the hospital hooked up to gentamicin and penicillin. They also moved up the TEE to Jan 2 to confirm the strep infection was in my heart. The TEE was a bit unpleasant as the doctor gagged me several times trying to see if my throat was numb yet. <spray> "Feel numb? Here let me stick a tongue depressor down there and see what happens." <gag, cough, gag> "Ok" <spray again>. I think he was in a hurry to get going. The actual procedure was no big deal and I was awake, I think, for all of it.
I spent the next 4 weeks with a PICC line and an infusion pump at home. That wasn't too bad, except for the nausea I started to get from the gentamicin after the 2nd week. The ID doctor kept me on that stuff for 3 wks (the penicillin for the full 4 wks). I later asked how long do you usually give gentamicin? "Oh, 1-2 weeks." I guess they'll keep dosing you for as much and for as long as you can tolerate, just to make sure they get all the bacteria out. After 4 wks I finally was done, had the PICC line removed and got to shower without saran wrap again! Yippee. They took blood cultures a week after the dosing stopped, and confirmed the strep was gone.
After finishing endocarditis treatment, I saw a cardiac surgeon, recommended by my cardio. I like the guy but the first thing he told me was we need to do this surgery "in a few weeks". His worry was not that my heart would give out but that I might get re-infected now that I had a damaged MV. But my ID doctor thinks a sudden relapse is very unlikely though, at least in the next month or two. The surgeon also says I should get a replacement instead of a repair because a repaired valve would be more likely to get another infection. Were any of you with MVR after endocarditis told you should get a replacement instead of a repair? I definitely would prefer a repair but not if I might have to go through that treatment again.
So currently I'm waiting to get some final dental work done (waiting for a permanent crown), an angio on Feb 20, and all the prep work at home (e.g. visit rent-a-center to find a good recliner to deliver to the bedroom). I'm also fighting various ailments that have plagued me lately, mostly from the stress and bad luck. Some IBS symptoms to go with occasional nausea, sinus/allergy headaches, pinkeye (believed caused by the allergies but the PCP gave me eyedrops just in case), muscle soreness, and several minor anxiety attacks relieved by lorazepam (ativan, my new best friend). But at least no fevers. After the angiogram, if it goes well, the doctor will be ready to schedule. I'm shooting for March 12, but we'll see.
-- Bill
My name is Bill, I'm 43 and I have severe mitral valve regurgitation. I did not have MR before last November, not a heart murmur, not a single indication of a heart problem. In fact, I was fortunate to have gotten my life insurance renewed and a critical illness policy in place last June as I had switched careers from a software engineer working in an office to working at home as a fulltime stock trader (I had been doing both for several years). I thought things couldn't get any better, and I was right -- they got much worse. In November I got a lowgrade fever and what I thought was an ear infection. I went to see my PCP and she asked if I knew I had a murmur. No, but she didn't seem alarmed so I assumed it was an innocent one. She gave me some antibiotics and told me to come back when I felt better to check on that murmur. The antibiotics got rid of my symptoms within 48 hrs and I forgot all about it, until the fever came back a few weeks later. This time I developed a bad cough -- very much like bronchitis, which I've had a few times. I waited a few days then went to see the doctor again, worried that my cough was turning into pneumonia. She wasn't in but a nurse saw me and immediately panicked when she heard my loud murmur. She immediately got the other doctor in the office to take a look at me. He had an EKG done right away -- everything looked fine, although my heart rate was over 120 bpm. I assumed that HR was from being freaked out about the murmur I had ignored, and from feeling ill. They took a normal blood test and scheduled me from an echocardiogram the next week. I also got some antibiotics, which once again cured my symptoms quickly. The blood results were normal. The echo wasn't -- it showed a severe leakage which the doctor explained likely meant I would need surgery in the near future. My heart sunk (literally?). Only days earlier I thought all my problems would go away with another dose of antibiotics.
The doctor referred me to a cardiologist who I met a few days later, a week before Christmas. He did not put my mind at ease, telling me I should start planning for surgery. "But not until next year -- we won't do anything more in 2008". yay.
He scheduled a TEE for Jan 6. I asked how did I get this damage? The only possibility was endocarditis. Did I still have it? He wasn't sure -- the echo didn't show anything, my blood tests had normal white blood counts and I wasn't showing symptoms. But he figured the TEE would tell us if I still had something in a few weeks -- but not until 2009. Except a few days after Christmas I got the fever again. Still only around 101-degrees, and this time with some sinus pain. The cardio told me to get a blood culture this time, just in case, before I started on more antibiotics. Good thing because on New Year's Eve Dec 31, I got a call from him telling me the next call I get would be from the hospital -- I had a strep infection and I needed to get on IV antibiotics right away.I spent the next 3 days in the hospital hooked up to gentamicin and penicillin. They also moved up the TEE to Jan 2 to confirm the strep infection was in my heart. The TEE was a bit unpleasant as the doctor gagged me several times trying to see if my throat was numb yet. <spray> "Feel numb? Here let me stick a tongue depressor down there and see what happens." <gag, cough, gag> "Ok" <spray again>.
I think he was in a hurry to get going. The actual procedure was no big deal and I was awake, I think, for all of it.I spent the next 4 weeks with a PICC line and an infusion pump at home. That wasn't too bad, except for the nausea I started to get from the gentamicin after the 2nd week. The ID doctor kept me on that stuff for 3 wks (the penicillin for the full 4 wks). I later asked how long do you usually give gentamicin? "Oh, 1-2 weeks." I guess they'll keep dosing you for as much and for as long as you can tolerate, just to make sure they get all the bacteria out. After 4 wks I finally was done, had the PICC line removed and got to shower without saran wrap again! Yippee. They took blood cultures a week after the dosing stopped, and confirmed the strep was gone.
After finishing endocarditis treatment, I saw a cardiac surgeon, recommended by my cardio. I like the guy but the first thing he told me was we need to do this surgery "in a few weeks". His worry was not that my heart would give out but that I might get re-infected now that I had a damaged MV. But my ID doctor thinks a sudden relapse is very unlikely though, at least in the next month or two. The surgeon also says I should get a replacement instead of a repair because a repaired valve would be more likely to get another infection. Were any of you with MVR after endocarditis told you should get a replacement instead of a repair?
I definitely would prefer a repair but not if I might have to go through that treatment again.So currently I'm waiting to get some final dental work done (waiting for a permanent crown), an angio on Feb 20, and all the prep work at home (e.g. visit rent-a-center to find a good recliner to deliver to the bedroom). I'm also fighting various ailments that have plagued me lately, mostly from the stress and bad luck. Some IBS symptoms to go with occasional nausea, sinus/allergy headaches, pinkeye (believed caused by the allergies but the PCP gave me eyedrops just in case), muscle soreness, and several minor anxiety attacks relieved by lorazepam (ativan, my new best friend). But at least no fevers. After the angiogram, if it goes well, the doctor will be ready to schedule. I'm shooting for March 12, but we'll see.
-- Bill
