Recent content by Jan1948

Thanks, everyone. Brad, I slept in a recliner for the first two weeks.

Hi everyone, Thank you so much for all your thoughts and prayers. Open heart surgery on December 19th went well. I don't remember much about the prep and nothing at all about the surgery. Thank goodness. My first memories were of blurry visions of people looking down over me and speaking to...

Hi all, My mom is a recent member on this website and has been in touch with several of you. She requested I post the outcome of her surgery to you all. It was successful and she is now breathing on her own. Thank you for supporting her during this difficult time. Kind regards, Anisa

Thanks, Jen. Would love to meet you. registered name is Janis Ghrairi

Bill, I'm taking between 0.25 and 0.5 mg of Clonazepam. It's fast-acting. 0.25 in am; again in afternoon, if needed, and 0.5 at bedtime. I got it mainly to help me sleep. I've only been able to sleep sitting upright on the sofa in front of the TV. If I tried to sleep in bed, I tossed and...

Thank you for the well wishes.

All systems are ‘go’ for my open heart surgery on Monday morning, Dec. 19th to replace my aortic valve and ascending aorta. I had my pre-op last Tuesday and received a tour of the operating room, CVRU, and a private room. A cardiac nurse sat with me for about an hour going over what will be...

I won't tell. LOL

Thanks for the info, Greg. It's good to know that a few of you have experienced this. I sure hope it goes away after the surgery. Thank you for all the responses.

I've never seen 'inability to yawn' as a symptom of aortic valve stenosis, but I've been like that for several years. It creates a lot of anxiety, because you really feel the need to yawn - but can't. So you are constantly going into the 'yawning motion' without producing a yawn. It leaves me...

Hi Jordan, I'm also scheduled for an aortic valve replacement on 12/19. They are also going to replace a large part of my ascending aorta. I'm almost twice your age - 63. I've chosen a tissue valve after originally choosing a mechanical valve. My lifestyle was a major consideration - I like...

Forgot to mention that I changed my mind on the valve type after discussing the pros/cons of each with my surgeon. I'm going with a tissue valve. I like to build things for the house and yard - window boxes, trellises, etc. and I'm an avid gardener and cook. Too many sharp instruments in my...

Hi, Dr. Mark Stiegel is my surgeon and we just scheduled Dec. 19th at CMC-Main.

I had an appointment today in Charlotte with my heart surgeon, Dr. Mark Stiegel of Sanger Heart & Vascular. After discussing the pros and cons of tissue vs. mechanical valves for people of my age and lifestyle, I'm ditching my original choice, the mechanical valve in favor of a tissue valve...

Thank you all so much for the warm welcome. In answer to several questions, I don't have a surgery date as of yet - my first meeting with the surgeon is Wednesday. I have chosen Dr. Mark Stiegel with Sanger Heart in Charlotte as my surgeon, too, Jen. I would imagine the surgery will be...