Afraid of Surgery

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D

Dodi

Hi Everyone,

I am very glad I found this sight. I am currently waiting for replacement of 2 valves. I have been putting it off for several years, but recently there has been some change in the pressure and the doctor is suggesting that it is time. I keep setting a time of year and when it approaches I don't follow through. I wish that I wasn't so afraid.

I have read several stories on this site and one keeps sticking with me about doing the surgery while you are well or without major symptoms which makes me realize I should. My latest is that I am going to ask my cardiologist to set me up with a surgeon for a consult, I have been putting that off since mid January, but after reading all the info on this site, I am going to promise myself to do that next week.
 
Jodi..

Jodi..

Hi Jodi,

It is best that you do go and become educated and informed about what is going on with your heart. You don't want to wait until you become really sick. It is the unknown that scares us, but knowledge is power, remember that! The more you know about it, the less scared you will be. It really is not as bad as you think. Everyone you talk with says that the waiting period before surgery is the most difficult.
We all have been where you are today and all of us were scared, believe me! But we will all support you and help you over "the mountain" as we call it. We will hold your hand step by step until you get there.
Please come by often and ask any question you need answered, and someone will come to answer you.
Together we are strong!

Christina
________________________
AVR's 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
Tucson, AZ
 
Welcome Dodi

Welcome Dodi

I think thats a great idea. Dont put it off any longer. You will do just fine. Which 2 valves are effected? How long have you known about the problem? Tell us somemore about yourself. You will find a wealth of information and support from this great site.

I've had 2 open heart surgeries with the last one being 6 weeks ago and Im doing much better. I finaly get to drive tomorrow!!!!
I hope you find an excellent cardiac surgeon and please keep us informed.
 
Welcome Dodi

Welcome Dodi

Dodi - You have come to the right place. A lot of the people you will hear from here know a lot more than I do, but I guarantee that you are not alone in having fear about surgery. It affects each of us a little differently, so you will have to explore the site a little bit to see if current discussions help your situation. If not, start asking those specific questions, and you will be amazed how quickly you will find some answers. Two discussion threads that come to mind are: heart talk/mental problems about heart problems, and pre surgery/anxiety. In my case, I had a real bad hang up about tubes down my throat, and losing control over breathing, etc. I feel a lot better about it now. Not that thrilled about future surgery, but at least I'm over some of the hurdles. Chris
 
Hi Dodi and welcome to a wonderful place. Matter of fact, it was the only place that kept me sane when my husband went through open heart surgery in June and had a St. Jude's valve inserted. You probably read one of my threads about a pathologist friend of ours who said what you mentioned.

EVERYONE IS AFRAID!!! I can tell you, however, that if you look at the stories on this list, most everyone comes through heart surgery ok. I personally do feel that it's better to have it done before there is a major problem. It seems as though your cardio thinks it's time---that would be an indication for me to take action. When Tyce went into afib, our cardio said----"that's your sign." He was operated on about a month later. He is now 8 months post and doing fantastically.

Please continue to look at the old threads.....you have nothing to lose by a surgical consult, or by two surgical consults; you have everything to lose by waiting.

Please feel welcome here, and don't be afraid to be afraid. There is a wealth of knowledge on this site and an unbelievable amount of love and caring, too.

Evelyn
 
hi Dodi, and welcome


This is a nice place. Lots of info, help, advice, and general chat with people that have a common burden, cardio stuff, all kinds.

I also had trouble getting the ball moving, but decided it was time to put away denial and take at least one step. and so I did, and then I took another step, and now I'm on a mission and that is to take good care of myself.:)

My latest moves have been to tour Brigham and Womens in Boston and I have an appontment with a cardiologist. I have discussed my situation with 3 cards at Catholic med. ctr. in N.H.
and talked with a surgeon from there. B.W. does three times as many valve ops. and have a trauma ctr. and Drs. 24 hrs a day. Private rooms, and places to stay nearby.
My only problem has been the BIG DIG>driving in and out:D

Grit your teeth and take at least one step, you can always stop, change course if you want, nobody can make you follow their plans, ITS YOUR LIFE.

I wish you the best, and hope I have given you some encouragement to move forward to getting things behind you.
 
Hi Dodi

Hi Dodi

Of the 600 odd folks.......no wait, let me re-phrase that. Of the more than 600 people using this forum, most will tell you it's normal to be apprehensive about surgery. I wonder if that's of much help when it's YOU facing the procedure.

If however you are so afraid, that you decide not to have the surgery (and ultimately it is YOUR decision) then you will have to be afraid of something else.

It a choice of the lesser of two evils.

Surgery or an untimely departure. Which are you more afraid of?

For what it's worth, my surgery was a piece of cake.
 
Hi Dodi and Welcome

Hi Dodi and Welcome

Hi Dodi-

You'll love this site. There are very wonderful people here and we all understand about this surgery.

I read your profile, and you have many problems in common with my husband. He is 71 years old now, but he had rheumatic fever as a teenager. He has an aortic and mitral valve replacement, he also has afib and pulmonary hypertension. Sound familiar??

His first surgery (aortic) was 25 years ago, and he still has that valve, his mitral valve was replaced in 1999.

He just got out of the hospital for treatment of his pulmonary hypertension, CHF and anemia. He's on a new medication for the PH, Tracleer. It's is working very well for him. He feels the best he's felt in a long, long time, and he is on the starting dose.

The surgery you will be having is a life saver. The surgeons who perform this type of surgery know all about hearts. They operate on the heart a couple of times every day. Everything that you have inside your heart they know about and know how to fix.

They will have the very best surgical team to work on you, and after surgery you will be taken care of with expert nursing care in a one to one situation. You'll only be in the hospital between 5-7 days. It's really amazing that you will be able to go home that fast. You'll probably be up and walking within two days. So you can see that it's a short time in a long life and it will give you back your life.

Most everybody is scared prior to surgery, it's very normal. So go with it, but don't let it rule you. Use this time to educate yourself about your conditions, even though it might frighten you at first. The more you read about, the less you'll be frightened. Medical science has come a long, long way.

I hope you will become our cyber friend and post here often.

Wishing you all the best.
 
Surgery

Surgery

Hi Dodi

Welcome to the wonderful world of VR .com

What you are feeling is how we all felt before our surgeries

the waiting is the hardest part,

as others have said you will receive support from the people here

so ask any questions you may have and you will get honest answers from people who have been in the same situation as you are now

Keep smiling

Jan
 
Hi Dodi!
You have definately come to the right place. I do not know what I would have done without this site and the wonderful people here. I was completely freaked out when I found out about my problem. Almost didn't want to believe it. I felt like I had one foot in the grave when I found out. I most certainly was WRONG!
Finding out about the problem and taking care of it was the best thing that could have happened. It didn't feel like it at the time and I was so so scared. I have two little girls that I swore I would never see grow up. Now that everything is taken care of, I realize if I hadn't had my surgery, I most definately wouldn't have been around to see them grow up. It is completely normal to be frightened right now. It really is the scariest part. I never thought I would ever really be able to say that, but I can and it is true. Please rely on us here, we are here to help you.

Take Care!
Gail
 
hi dodi

don't be afraid of the surgery. it is a quality of life versus being sick the rest of your life. you will go into CHF if you don't replace the valves. i had my surgery 6 weeks ago and so far everything is real good. i had the minimal invasive procedure done. they go in thru the right upper chest and work between your ribs. this is great because then they do not have to crack your chest open. it make the recovery much smoother. i am not sure if they can do two valves. you will feel soooo much better after the surgery. your life will change for the better. sometimes people do not realize that because they thing they are fine and have no symptoms but after having the surgery the realize that they were in worse shape then they thought. good luck

rich
 
Welcome!

Welcome!

Hey Dodi!

I am awaiting my first open heart surgery which is scheduled in three weeks! March 10th for the Angio and the 11th for the actual Valve replacement. I will be having a St Judes for my Mytral.

This site is terrific! Everyone here has helped me through the jitters of pre-op. I have gotten some great advice here. As I get closer to surgery I am finding that my fears are actually subsiding. Now I'll be the first to admit that the night before surgery I will probably be climbing the walls, but thats normal... nothing a pill or two cant solve LOL :D

Please follow up with your Doc on everything and keep in touch with us here! It is so much easier with the support of others who have experienced the same thing.
 
I didn't have the surgery when I should have...

I didn't have the surgery when I should have...

I now have a heart that will forever be enlarged. I will forever have atrial fib. I will forever take more meds than I would have other wise.....
 
Welcome

Welcome

Hi Dodi,
Only you and your cardiologist, and surgeon, can make that decision. If they both recommend immediate surgery, don't put it off any longer. It could be the difference between your heart returning to a relatively normal size and good functioning heart, or not. If the heart is showing enlargement. don't mess around, listen to the surgeon. Get a second opinion if you are uncertain.
Because I didn't mess around, after my surgery, my heart actually returned to a pretty close to normal size heart.
One thing is certain, you will find support from all of us, and a 'ton' of information. God Bless you ... Mark:cool:
 
Hi Dodi,

I knew from an early age that I would eventually need AVR, but almost put it off too long. I guess I thought that I could ignore my symptoms because I was relatively young and otherwise healthy. I was lucky that I only did some minor damage to my heart muscle by delaying things.
You are facing some very important decisions. My suggestion would be to do all the research that you can about your condition (this site is a great place to start). Remember that your doctors are working for you - make sure that you are able to ask all the questions that you want to and that everything is explained to your satisfaction. You have to make sure that you are making informed decisions.
My surgery not only extended my life, but also restored my quality of life, and for that I will be forever thankful.
Good luck to you,
Mark
 
Dodi

Dodi

You procranstinated on this surgery? Guess what I had to got through. One cardiologist concentrated on my blood pressure, when there was nothing wrong with it. I was fortunate that a few years later, got with the right cardio, I had known since age of nine, that I would have a valve replacement surgery. I was so relieved that the doctor said it was time, I was slowing down, harder to walk a block, much less get my apartment cleaned. So I was better healthwise to have surgery. I just have weight to lose that I gain a lot of during the time I should have had the bypass done. The surgeon work with me and so did the cardio. I am now much more better and walking as much as possible. Had one major cold and better now. You take care and make the appointment and get everything ready and get that surgery done. Time of year does not matter. Just get it done and get healthy again, you will come out fine. I had two bypasses in my lifetime. First, when I was eight years olds as a repair on the aortic valve. The second one when I was 36 years old for a replacement aortic valve. You will be fine. Surgery is smoother than before. You come here when you need to. Take care.


Caroline
09-13-01
Aortic valve replacement
St. Jude's valve
 
Thank you so much for all the encouraging words. I did move forward and make an appointment with a surgeon. Believe it or not after getting up the courage it was canceled until next Monday 3/17. I think I am ready. I enjoy reading all the info on this site. I am trying hard to stay positive so I have been slowly reading comments. Now I am concerned about the TEE that they take. My questions is - Is the information from this procedure the same as a cardiac cath? I think I would rather that than having to swallow something. Also, The hospital I will be entering is a large teaching hospital and I do not want students doing the surgery, can I ask that students not take an active part in the surgery?

I have made a list of questions for the surgeon. Does anyone have any suggestions or advise of particular questions.

Thanks again for your responses.
 
I Know the Feeling

I Know the Feeling

Hi Dodi,

I too only recently discovered this wonderful site. And I am somewhat in your situation in that I was not symptomatic but six years of echo showed my heart enlarging, especially last year. I KNOW what will happen if I do nothing. It's hard to admit I need surgery when I think I feel great - then again I do get fatigued. Heart-caused?:confused:

I had my appointment with the surgeon a few weeks ago. Here's what I asked (condensed - I hammered him for an hour and a half):

*What are the pros and cons of tissue vs mechanical valves?
*Do I need to do anything differently before the surgery?
*What will be my short and long-term limitations after the surgery?
*Can you show me a mechanical valve? (He did - looks like an 89-cent gizmo from Ace Hardware:)
*How many of these surgeries have you done?
*Should I donate my own blood?

And many others that I'm sure others will contribute. Best of luck to you. Let us know of your surgery date.

Paul
 
It?s your body, Dodi!

It?s your body, Dodi!

They make you sign a whole arm load of papers saying its okay if they kill ya. I wouldn?t think it would be too much for you to ask them to sign something saying your surgeon will do all the work! I darn sure would.
 
Dodi

Dodi

I was at a teaching hospital too, I would mention your concerns to the surgeon, it's important that you feel 100% sure and confident when you go into surgery that everything will go as well as possible.

I've never had a conscience TEE, they do it during surgery, just to double check their work, I heard a lot of comments good and bad about the procedure and the gag reflects, but every test has it's problems.

Others will comment on this,

Best of luck on your 3/17 dr apt.

Terry40
 
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