aprox.3 weeks post 2nd surgery

[virginian777]

well surgery was 2-14-13 left hospital 22nd feb stayed at home for a week and all most went completely crazy so i went back to work.i work in a office and don't do much so i was safer there then home because i am in the process of remodleing my house and i would have over done it for sure.had my follow up wish yesterday dr said all looked good don't like the pacemaker they put in but i guess i will get used to it.

 

[epstns]

What's wrong with the pacemaker? Not enough chrome? Just kidding. Give it time. Once the settings are optimized for you and all the wires and wounds heal, you will eventually not even think about it. As I've said before, I only really realize I have mine when I look in a mirror with my shirt off. Otherwise, it has become just "part of me."

 

[virginian777]

i have a follow up appointment monday with the pcemaker dr we she adjust it then and if so how.

 

[epstns]

I'm not an expert on pacemakers (yet), but I think it is important that you tell your pacemaker doc about the lifestyle you led before surgery and how you plan to live after. Tell them about your physical activities, intensity, plans, travel plans - be sure they know what demands you want to place on the pacemaker. They should then be able to tell you the specific adjustments that they can do with your device. All of them have ways to adjust minimum and maximum paced heart rate. (If your natural pacing sometimes works, and if it goes higher than your pacer goes, the pacer lets natural pacing take over.) Most also have "rate responsive" features that can sense when extra demand is placed on your heart and increase your heart rate accordingly. In the early stages of recovery from valve surgery they may want to set things low to allow healing to take place. This is OK as long as they will readjust things once your heart has healed more. Also, if you are going to do cardiac rehab, the rehab tech's can often see when adjustments are needed to your pacer. The tech's monitor your heart rate and rhythm as you work, and they can tell if your pacemaker is holding you back. As an example, when I was in rehab, I was able to work on a treadmill just fine. The bouncing of walking caused my pacer to increase my heart rate, allowing me to exercise to my allowable limits. Once I moved over to a stationary bicycle, though, the exercise no longer caused me to bounce up and down as I rode, so my heart rate did not go up. The tech's recommended to my pacer doc that he turn on "rate response" so that the pacer would sense when my breathing rate increased, and increase my heart rate then, too. It made a world of difference, but it never would have come up if I had just accepted the default settings when my pacer was implanted. (I think they set them all as if you are a chari-bound 80-year-old at first, just to see what you really need.)

The other thing to keep in mind is that getting to the proper settings for your individual needs is not a one-visit event. It will take some time and some trial and error to get what you want, but it is worth the effort. I am 2 years into the process and I'm not finished yet. I am, however, much happier with it now than I was earlier in the process.

 

[ottagal]

Wow...good for you...3 weeks and already back to work. Take things easy and wishing you continued recovery. Steve has provided you with some great info: re the pacemaker.

 

[njean]

Glad to hear that you are doing so well after your 2nd OHS and already back to work! Wow! Amazing! Good luck with your appointment on Monday!

 

[virginian777]

thanks but i figured if i have to set around i might as well go back to work and set at my desk and at least keep my mind active i go crazy seting at home for more then a week.

 

[virginian777]

thanks epstns

 

[virginian777]

well today i'm 30 days home from hospital been back to work about 3 weeks now so far so good a little tough getting used to pacemaker but epstns has been a great help and answering a lot of question right when they are now my mind.doc did change one of my bp meds droped listinopril and added losartan 25mg listinopril made me cough alot at night.so only been on the other a couple of days so we will see how it works out.

 

[epstns]

Good to see that your doc is willing to listen to discussion about meds. I've heard that most of the drugs whose names end in ". . . pril" can cause cough. Others may have different side effects, but since not everyone gets the same side effects, you may win the coin toss and do fine.

 

[virginian777]

ya well most of the people i have talked to that have talken listinopril have had the same cough my cardio doc even joked that it's called the coughing pill but he did say that about 70 % of his patients do fine with it.however i am concerned that he didn't tell me to stop taking the potassium pills since the new drug is high in potassium might be because i'm also on a water pill and one balances out the other.

 

[epstns]

Depending upon which diuretic ("water pill") you are taking, the potassium may indeed be needed as long as you take the diuretic. There are some that are known as "potassium sparing" diuretics and others, such as lasix, that cause you to lose so much potassium that supplements are almost always given along with the diuretic. After my valve surgery I had a lot of trouble with fluid retention. I was taking lasix for a couple of months, and had to take potassium supplements along with it. The potassium was pure torture (tablets were HUGE, liquid and powder tasted so bad I couldn't get them down) until another board member told me it was available in capsules (called "Micro-K"). After that, no issue, until I no longer needed it.