Recent content by Kristian

I was only told to take it at about the same time each day. I switched from evening to morning after missing a few doses (not in a row!). Haven't missed one since!

Wait - the wires will set off the metal detectors? I asked about it after my surgery and was told that I wouldn't set them off.

Is it a multi? Suppose there could be some hidden ingredient that's caused it, or it's just a little spike. Mine dropped from 3 to 2, I think because I'm weaning off amiodarone.

I went with replacement but I needed an Aortic Valve replacement anyway. Asked surgeon to take a look to see about repair and they got about halfway through before they discovered some more damage and lopped off the valve :) In the pre-surgery consults Dr. Sundt seemed confident that chances...

My own pain increased a bit over time before lessening. I had almost no pain at all in the hospital, a very welcome feeling! When I got home the pain increased, both because I increased my activity and from previous surgical experience, from regaining feeling. When I had my ribs worked on 20...

So - before surgery I was on Atenolol, only 25mg daily. Post surgery I was placed on Metoprolol, 50mg daily (2x day). In the hospital, my pulse was it's normal 60-70 range. Lately, it's crept up into the 80-90 range resting. I'm not terribly worried, as it doesn't really ramp up much when...

I have had various episodes with atrial flutter and fibrillation post-op. I would check with your cardio and consider getting an EKG to see what's going on. My pulse at the time was stuck at about 120 and was classic afib on the EKG.

Regarding the ticking - I did give my surgeon pause when he asked what I do. I'm a musician. Luckily, I'm mainly a composer and an infrequent performer. I'm skinny so I have a very clear ticking that nearly everyone around me has commented on. I hope that it does lessen a bit over time...it...

Actually, I'm glad to see this. My LVEF went from 58% to 35% post surgery. Doc told me not to worry, that the remodeling of my heart would probably see that increase, although it might take a year or so. I've been worried about it but my doc was pretty ok with it.

My story is similar. I went into pre-surgery consults hoping for repair. My surgeon is quite experienced in this area, but I discovered that my aortic valve was probably not repairable. That meant at least one mechanical valve (I am 35 and would like to avoid multiple OHS). I gave my...

I have had the pounding since my surgery - just over 6 weeks ago. It doesn't seem to be lessening but my blood pressure isn't high. Just feels like it is :-) I had an enlarged heart and was warned that I might feel this way. I mainly just wish it didn't feel like it was my throat that was...

I was on atenolol before surgery and metopralol now. They are similar, although the metoprolol is released faster (which is why I have to take it two times a day rather than the once that I took atenolol. I don't really feel like it is doing as much as the atenolol did before, but my heart's...

You got your sternum wires out? I was told that they'd just leave mine in. Oh, and yeah, get retested. INR of 1 seems like an odd result. Mine creeped to 6 after about a week of being on only 3mg about 4 weeks post op! Now it's in the 2.6 to 3.0 range and I'm managing it much better, mostly...

Well, I was told in the hospital that I could have pretty much anything in moderation. Then I skipping teh internets and found all sorts of odd interactions. The biggest for me were soy (love tofu), beer and ice cream. All three were said to have a potential interaction beyond excess vitamin...

I'm so sorry for your loss. My grandmother went into the doctor for the flu, which turned out to be a mild heart attack. 3 weeks later she was dead from a massive infection, likely picked up at the hospital. The toughest part of my own surgery for my family was when I gave them my end of...