2 weeks after AVR

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I

Igor

First of all, I want to thank everybody who got back to me on my first postings with lots of support and encouragement.
To make the long story short, I had my AVR done in Houston Methodist Hospital where I had a second opinion by Dr. Debakey who actually said that the he strongly recommended the surgery. The surgery was performed by Dr. Noon, started at night on 5/15 and was completed at around 1:00 AM on 5/16.
According to the doctors my recovery was not bad at all, I spent around 14-15 hours in ICU and then spent almost a week in the hospital due to the fact that I was not a local patient.
I am back home in FL now, feel definitely better that I was a week ago, but not as strong as I was before the surgery.
I spend almost all my day on my feet, either seating or walking around or inside the house. After the lunch I'm taking a half an hour - an hour nap.
The biggest problem is slipping at night. I constantly wake up every 2-3 hours, changing slipping position, and sweating.
Never had it before. Just wondering if that is common thing during first few weeks.
Also, my hemoglobin is kind of low, because during the surgery they did not give me any donor's blood. What is the best thing to do to get my hemoglobin higher?
Also I went with St. Jude and am on coumadin now. I found the web site on coumadine.com that gives you some information on vitamin K content in common foods:
http://www.coumadin.com/consumer/INT_VitaminK1.asp

However it only covers some common foods. Does anybody know of a web site that covers more foods.

And the final question (at least in this email), I used to ride a bicycle seriously, at least 80 miles a week and sometimes up to 140 miles a week.
Now being on coumadin, it does sound kind of scary. I used to have more than a few scratches once in a while.
Does anybody here is biking now and taking coumadin? Any suggestions or experience?

Thanks again to all of you. This is a wonderful web site.

Igor
 
Hi Igor, great to see your return.

Check the .PDF file at the bottom of the page at the link below:
http://www.valvereplacement.com/coumadin/coumadin_information.htm

I think that list is more complete then what you get in the information packet with Coumadin.

The sleeping pattern is somewhat normal. You should adjust in the near future, if you don't or haven't by your 6th or so week of recovery, tell your doctor about it. He might get you something to help you sleep.

As for your Hemoglobin, I think time is all that will take, but if anyone else has a suggestion, speak up.

The bicycling should be fine. You might want to try to avoid any major mishaps, but you should enjoy it as before.
 
hi igor!
ross is right, seems you are right on the mark.
my husband, joey, had terrible night sweats after his surgery. i joked about it with him, saying that i was the one who was going through this, not him!!!lol!
no, really, sounds like ross summed it all up for you. keep on biking, but don't do anything that may cause major damage.
wishing you all the best and an easy recovery. be well, sylvia
 
Thanks Jim!

I knew there was a long, good one and as usual, couldn't remember where I saw it. :)
 
Hey Igor - nice to see you and know that all is going well. Think your sleeping will adjust itself given some time. Maybe the soreness wakes you when you move a bit. As to the blood - when I saw my primary for the first time after bypass, he took one look and said 'you look pale - anemic' so he looked here and there to check, gave me a rx for iron, sent me to hosp for blood test for confirmation and sure nuff he was right. He often says "I remember how pale you looked" - anyway, there are rxes for iron that may help. God bless
 
Yes the night sweats are normal and should go away soon. The waking up every two hours is normal as well. I could only sleep for two hours and only on my back or right side. Any other position was to painfull. Took Tylenol most times when I woke up (Tylenol 3's sometime but had heard they caused constipation so used them sparingly.) The low hemoglobin seems to be a part of the surgery and causes shortness of breath when you exercise. Vitamins with iron may help.
 
"It gets better!"

"It gets better!"

Hi Igor:

I know you have probably heard that line a hundred times since your surgery. I am in my seventh week post-op and I definitly feel better than I did at 2 weeks! I too felt week but the iron supplements seemed to have helped that. Stay tuned to these forums to get lots of info regarding coumadin. The people here are both knowledgable and friendly! I also had the constant help and companionship of a loving wife to get me through the rough spots :)
 
Thanks everybody for your very supportive messages. It does help me when I read these messages and realizing how many people have already recovered after the same surgery. Any way, tomorrow is going to be three weeks since the op. and it feels definitely better than a week ago. The biggest problem is still sleeping during the night. It becomes most unpleasant part of my life these daysJ Last night was the first night I did not sweat but I was waking up every 1.5 hours. I also have moments during the day pretty often when I need to take a deep breath. Just wondering if that is normal during the first few weeks.

Thanks again for all your support.

Igor
 
Hello IGOR,

Sounds like things are really looking up for you! Congrats on your successful surgery.

I too was very cautious, in fact, I think scared might even be a better word for it when I found out that I had to take Coumadin for the rest of my life. Well, 2 years from my surgery, and I am still very active, I ski, cut wood with a chain saw, hunt, fish, all the things I used to do. I do exercise some caution as to how agressively I do some things, but still attack all with vigor.

The site that I have used for Vitamin K information is provided by the United States Dept of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Human Nutrution Information Service, WHEW!

The site is:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/Other/pt104.pdf

Also checkout the home page at:

http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/Data/index.html

The other useful info that I use it, Well,, Just how much is too much, or too high in Vit K?

High = anything greater than 150 ug/100g
Med = 30 - 50 ug/100g
Low = below 30 ug/100g

I think if someone combined all the Vit K information from all the resource sites onto 1 Excel spreadsheet, you would have the best of all!

Good luck on a very healthy, and full recovery,

Rob
 
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