8 weeks post-surgery

[alpage]

Today marks 8 weeks since my surgery. I saw the cardiologist and everything appears to be fine. He agreed I could start more intensive exercise, such as Stairmaster or stationary bicycle and suggested a target heart rate of 130 for now. He still wants me on the Metoprolol for another month and suggested it would make it harder to reach a heart rate of 130, so I'm curious to see how that goes. In any case I won't try to overdo it.

I was on 325 mg coated Aspirin each day but it was upsetting my stomach so I've switched to the mini-dose (81 mg) daily.

I was perhaps a bit too optimistic about recovery. I thought that I would be back at work four weeks after surgery but instead it was seven weeks and I think that any earlier and I would have been just too tired. Not to mention the back and neck muscle pain that plagued me for a few weeks.

It's great to be able to walk long distances at a brisk pace and no worry about angina. Note: the angina was purely due to the valve as my coronary arteries were in good shape.

Alan

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi al!
i'm so glad to hear you're doing so well. please take it slowly and don't rush your recovery. i remember joey being so disappointed that he couldn't do more sooner. it will all come in good time.
i wish you a continued uneventful and speedy recovery. please keep us posted.
be well,
sylvia

 

[Nancy]

Congratulations Al-

Sounds like you're doing very well. Continued good health!

 

[Jean]

Take it easy!

Take it easy!

Hi Al and congratulations on navigating the past 8 weeks. I think you did fantastic going back at 7 weeks. When I say I felt so great even a few days after surgery, you have to remember how close to totally down I was prior to surgery. I waited for 11 weeks at the six weeks grade break before going back to teaching and I'm glad I did. You will be looking back in a year and see how far you have come.

 

[Perrster]

Great News!

Great News!

Way to go Alan!

What's next? A marathon? 5K or 10K?

I know a mechanical valve patient who actually does the Chicago Marathon! I hope to do so in a few more years. He trained for a very long time to get into it. How about joining us?

Has your angina completely disappeared now?

Best regards.

 

[Johnny Stephens]

Congrats

Congrats

Congratulations, Al! I'm happy to see we have another success story in the group. FYI the beta blocker does seem to limit my ability to achieve the higher heart rates, so I'll be curious to see how this goes for you. I get sort of a vague feeling of "don't go any faster" when I push it too hard, but no angina.

 

[hensylee]

Sounds so good, Alan - just keep on walkin. Glad to hear you are progressing so well. Your strength will come so not to worry. God bless

 

[MarkU]

It sounds like you're doing okay. I had heard that four weeks stuff from my doctor too, but like you it took me 7-8 weeks to really get functional again.
I started back to the gym after about 10 weeks, but took it slow for quite a while. It probably took me 6-9 months to fully get my stamina back. 15 months now, and I've never felt better. I never realized how BAD I was really feeling prior to my surgery.

 

[Ron K]

Hi Al,

Congratulations on your continuing recovery. You sound happy to be back at work.

I'm in a cardio-rehab program 3 times a week and I get to use stationary bikes, treadmills, rowing machines, etc. They started me off with a boringly slow workout, but increased the resistance of each machine and the time I use it. I am now at 10 minutes per machine for 4 machines per day. The workouts feel pretty good now. My heart rate can go up to 150.

If you're going to be exercising on your own, you may want to use this same approach. If you overdo it, it can set you back.

'Glad to hear that your back and neck pains aren't bothering you any more. Keep up the positive mental attitude and keep on improving!

Ron K

 

[alpage]

I'm definitely not going to rush into exercise. I've started taking a brisk walk in the early afternoon. I seem to have more energy then and the office is north of Toronto, so less pollution in the air than downtown.

My angina was completely related to the stenosis and thickening of the left ventricle. Pre-surgery it was very much aggravated by cold weather, but even three weeks after surgery I was able to walk outside in quite cold weather and not be bothered at all.

My doctors didn't really feel that I qualified for the cardio rehab program - more for people post heart attack or with serious coronary artery disease.

Alan

 

[Mb]

Just a quick note Al.

My husbands cardio thought the same thing, until the second visit post op. Got him into rehab. I think it is because most of the people there ARE older, and you are right, they are by-passers.

90% of all heart surgery in this country is for by-passes, the rest are for a variety of heart issues. So, of course there would be lots of by-passers there.

Just take it easy, and do what you can. Best wishes for a continued uneventful recovery.

Marybeth