Recent content by Ray Norsworthy

I was a vigorous, otherwise healthy 61 year old when I had my surgery & I thought the choice was easy (but that's me, I'm not saying it would be for others). There is no way I'd have a mech valve, with the clicking and coumadin. Most tissue valves nowadays last upwards of 15 years in a person...

There is also a probability of residual side effects from the anesthesia. I was seeing stars, floating nebulae, & so on up until about a month ago. Aug. 22 will be a year since my surgery.

The human body is made up of billions & billions of individual tiny creatures, each one fulfilling its destiny & then dying off. Yet the whole remains. My belief is--& this is shared by a lot of scientists--is that all of us individuals make up a whole creature called the human species, & are at...

That's fantastic progress, Brian! You have a right to be proud.

Absolutely, it's a personal decision, but for me I never hesitated in choosing a tissue valve. I hate coumadin & I don't even like the sound of a ticking clock. It's been almost 9 mos. & if I want to do something physical (lifting weights, hiking up mountainsides, leaping tall buildings at a...

Karla is absolutely correct, I think. Stoicism at the risk of mental & emotional impairment is lamentable, to say the least. I'm not the least bit religious--quite the opposite, actually--but I do think meditation or concentrating on a hobby project, etc., plus the right MEDS can make an...

As much as I hate to, it looks like I'm going to have to go back to a daily NSAID. It's gotten to the point where I can't do some of the things I want to do because of the stiffness & pain. The worst is my lower back & shoulders. My poor joints are just bone grinding on bone. I know NSAIDs are a...

I would be exceedingly careful about doing pushups. Better off using a machine at your health club, concentrate on reps for now. If you do pushups, don't go too wide or it will pull on your sternum.

Amiodarone is poison (even my cardiologist said so), but it's one of only a couple of drugs prescribed for A-fib. I had to take it for 3 mos. & man, was I thrilled to get off it.

Greetings!

A few weeks after surgery the Coumadin caused a pericardial infusion & almost smothered my heart. My symptoms were very similar to what you describe. Get him to the cardiologist right away.

I expected to feel much better, but in fact, I'm amazed at the transformation, now going into my eighth month since my AVR. I do everything full tilt boogie without restrictions now, including weight-lifting. My only lingering annoyances are the side effects from the anesthesia & an occasional...

Glad you got your situation taken care of, Okielady.

never mind

Greg, I'm fighting arthritis, too, & of course with this weight gain it makes it a lot worse. Guess I'll just keep pluggin' & chuggin' until my next cardiologist appt in June.