Search results

Valve Replacement Forums

Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
  1. TomD

    Is it possible to travel internationally for six months of the year while on Warfarin?

    At 57 I would definately go with mechanical. We travel a lot and I just bring my home testor with and plenty of testing supplies. It's easy to adjust your own warferin level once you start to get comfortable with the test readings. I am so normal that I just take 4mg per day don't test more than...
  2. TomD

    I don’t know what to do anymore

    I don't notice my valve ticking at all now. And main thing to remember is that the 1 or 2 years you have left in high school is only 2% of your potential 90 years. Once you get on into college the peer presure you feel will melt away. One idea to try if it's bothering your sleep is a noise...
  3. TomD

    Mechanical vs Tissue - need help deciding

    after 13 years of my mechanical valve the ticking sound is a complete non-issue. After about a month my brain just tuned it out and you will find that the only people that can hear it are grandchildren with great ears. At your age the valve decision is a tough one. I was 64 and knowing how long...
  4. TomD

    46yrs old male in UK with BAV / Aneurysm - advised today that surgery needs to be within next 2/3 months. Scared

    I had mechanical valve and complete aorta replacement 14 years ago and I am doing just great. I would not wait 2 to 3 months. if possible I would get it done asap. My surgeon told me that my aorta was paperthin and it was very fortunate that I got the operation four days after meeting with him...
  5. TomD

    New to Warfarin

    , The only answer for managing warfarin without going crazy is to get your own home tester and manage it yourself. I have been on warfarin for 15 years and I never go to the lab
  6. TomD

    Mechanical Valve

    Plus I forgot to mention that I have a Saint Jude valve
  7. TomD

    Mechanical Valve

    I have had my mechanical valve for almost 15 years now and I am so glad I got it and don’t ever have to worry about going in again for another operation. And the concerns about warfarin are completely overblown. You just get your own home tester so you can test at your leisure and you convince...
  8. TomD

    St Jude Trifecta failure

    I have had my Saint Jude mechanical for 13 years and I got it at the same age you are. I am so glad that I don’t have to worry about another surgery so in my mind it’s a no-brainer. Go with mechanical because you don’t want to have another operation in your 80s.
  9. TomD

    Aortic Valve Choices

    After 13 years with my mechanical valve I can say that the sound completely disappeared after about one year. The actual sound is still there but I no longer hear it because my body has gotten so used to it.
  10. TomD

    Tissue vs Mechanical

    At age 66 it was a no-brainer for me to choose a mechanical valve. I had read enough about bovine valves to realize that they could fail within 10 years and probably for sure within 15. In no way did I want to go through the operation again in my late 70’s or 80’s. Ten years later now I am so...
  11. TomD

    New Coag-Sense meter

    I use Coag-Sense and about once a year I go in and do the test in my doctors office and then they do the test on their machine and we compare results. They have always been within 5%
  12. TomD

    Operation #2

    I am 11 years on St Jude mechanical with zero issues. I am so glad I don’t have to face another operation. Yes warfarin is a pain but with my home testor it’s pretty routine. I do my own dosage management.
  13. TomD

    Confused about valve choice

    Vale decision depends on lot on age. Vale decision depends on lot on age. I did not see your age so not as easy to make suggestions. But if over 60 I would definitely go mechanical as you don't want a second operation in your late 70's or early 80's. The other thing to know is that a much...
  14. TomD

    Thumping Heart Beat and PVC's

    Well it's almost two years now since aortic mechanical valve job and the thumping feeling from by heart is getting slowly worse. When I go to bed it is really annoying and just as I am sitting here typing this I can feel the constant thump thump thump. And recently have just started to have...
  15. TomD

    This swollen abdomen!

    I gained 20 lbs in the hospital, mostly in my stomach. All went away within 3-4 weeks and I actually ending up losing 20 lbs from normal weight. That was good.
  16. TomD

    Heart Thumping

    Well it's been about a year now and I was hoping the feeling of my heart thumping would be gone by now. But now it seems to be more noticable in the past 3 weeks. In general I can ignore it but in a quiet room it really bugs me and when I take a deep breath it really thumps. Would appreciate...
  17. TomD

    So bummed...

    I purchased my own and then fought with Cigna for 8 months and finally got it all paid for. Key is your Doctor prescribing it which is probably a given or they won't even sell it.
  18. TomD

    Erectile Dysfunction pre and post surgery?

    One year later with no problem in this area but I am only on Warfarin.
  19. TomD

    Blood pressure up

    Craig Miller was fantastic Craig Miller was fantastic I was soooo glad I went to Miller at Stanford. Great guy, super staff and hospital recovery team. He is a real pro and spends lots of time with you as necessary.
  20. TomD

    Target inr levels

    I have been doing home testing for about 9 months and love it. I use Excel to record results and plot the changes. I make my own decisions on dosing because what the doctor's nurse recommends usually is dead wrong. My question is to target INR level. My surgeon from Stanford said that with my...
Back
Top