Back from surgical follow up!

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fisher6476

Had app't with surgeon today for follow up. Everything is great...got to drive...went back to work this afternoon. Only 5 more days on the ameoderone, March 4th am done with warfarin.
Go back in June for CT scan to follow up on anuerism repair.
Obviously I am pleased, and somewhat amazed that I feel this good six weeks post op. It sure helped my mental outlook to be able to go back to work and to be able to drive again.
I hope all those who are waiting for surgery will remember what a lot of people here told me, and what I now know is true. Even though these are major surgical proceedures, each day post op is better than the previous day and as time goes on each day is Much better than the day before. It is SO important (and sometimes very hard) to remember that .
Just found out my Insurance company will participate in Cardiac Rehab so I go in for stress test on the 20th so they can get baseline for rehab. I hope this is a good program!
Regards Everyone,
Steve
 
Look out world! The new and improved Steve is being unleashed! :D

Congratulations. Don't overdo at work tough guy. Take it slow at first and don't let them push you into stuff that you cannot or should not be doing. ;)
 
Great update. Steve!:)
Glad to hear that you'll be starting the rehab. You'll be amazed what it will do for you not only physically but mentally too! It really helps to build up your self confidence and helps you to reclaim your "normal" like!:)
 
Yup, at 6 weeks isn't it amazing how far you have come ! You will hit other benchmarks along the way as well. At three months you will look back and say "OK, now I am all better", then at 6 months you will be better still! For now untill you at least hit 3 months, don't push yourself too hard. You are still healing and recovering. The best gift to give yourself now is time.
 
Great to hear, Steve. Be careful not to overdo the "I'm all better". You want to keep folks waiting on you at least some of the time (especially when you are tired!). It's amazing how soon they forget when you start doing all the regular stuff. I suggest a relapse at least once a week to keep them on their toes. :p

Marcia
 
Hey Steve,
Glad to hear how well you are doing. Just watch yourself so you don't over do it. Rehab is very good.
Take Care
 
Great Idea

Great Idea

Hey Marcia,
What am i thinking about? I will immediately start having at least one "tough day" a week at home. I almost squandered the perfect opportunity to get a little extra "TLC" out of this. By the way, it is amazing as the first few weeks goes by and people begin to realize that you are going to survive, all of a sudden "you're on your own" . PS ( Just kidding honey if you happen to see this post. My wife still takes very good care of me.)
Steve
 
Steve,

Your wife sounds like mine! She's already told me in no uncertain terms that I'll get little sympathy at home and better not try to "milk" the OHS to get waited on. She thinks that pumpheadedness is all B.S. and reminds me that I already forget stuff (usually things she asked me to do:p ); she says I'd better not try to us OHS as an excuse for forgetfulness after the surgery.

She'll be kicking me out the door at two weeks post op to get back to work, I'm sure!

But that will be good, because the last thing I will need is to sit around and wallow in self-pity or pain. I need to be active and get up and take care of myself, as I'm NOT a very good patient.
 
Raverlaw,
Make sure you get her to read some of the posts where everyone says " walk, breathe, nap... make sure you get plenty of rest... don't overdue even whe the doctors turn you loose" Maybe we can get you set up before the surgery so you can milk it for a long time afterward. !!! ( do you think any of the significant others in here will get wise to our plot? )
 
Yea, you got to be careful not to set too high a standard, or let anyone else do it for you. I did the company billing two weeks out and was toast by the end of the couple hours it took. No clients have complained yet, so I'm thinking I didn't mess up too bad. I was glad I had the weeks around Christmas, it would have been way harded any other time of the year.
 
CONGRATULATIONS STEVE!

PLease let your body not your mind be the judge of when you can do stuff! Don't try to do everything as once because you do feel somewhat better. Each day, each week, each month you will be feeling better and better.

I don't call if you get fatiqued by the end of the day at first, milking it. Let your loved ones know when it's been too much. Trying to do too much too soon, will take it's toll on you. That goes for you too, Raverlaw!

You're body has been through a lot and it's going to take some time for it to adjust. I'm glad your insurance has approved you for rehab! That will help you a lot plus your being monitored. I wish you the best!
 
Glad for you

Glad for you

Im happy for you steve and jelious at the same time. Going back to work. I wish I could it drives me nuts! I feel worthless anymore.
Med
 
Thanks

Thanks

Med,
I appreciate your comments. Wish you could go back to work if that is what yoiu want, but I don't think you should feel worthless
You have helped and are helping many people every day get through some very difficult times with your input here and I know that you are touching peolpe lives every day in ways that we don't know about. I am lucky so far to have no majjor problems so far, and financially speaking it is a good thing I can get back to work but I have to tell you that my view of life is altered since my surgery. It is still important that I support my family, that I earn a good income etc. But now those things are far from being the MOST important things in my life. Before the surgery I thought to myself how would I survive if I lost my job.
How would i ever find another job at the same level of pay so that I can pay my bills etc.etc. Now , if something happened to my job or my income...well it would not be the end of the world because I have fixed a problem that would have significantly shortened my time on earth. Well, enough preaching to the choir...just remember part of the reason I am doing well is that I finally got some rest after surgery nad that was because you told me "take the damn meds" which I promplty did and was finally able to rest.
Later,
Steve
 
Milking it...

Milking it...

Steve & Bill,
I think you'll find all us SO's are already wise to your plot, but we're such lovely people that we're prepared to put up with it (at least for a few months) 'cos we love our SO's SOOO much ;).
Besides, if the shoe was on the other foot I know I for one would hope to get exactly the same care and attention for myself:D
It's all about give and take....
Gemma
 
Steve,

Just saw your post (work really interferes with vr.com!)

Glad to hear you are cleared for "life". You will find that work and rehab will bring you up to speed quickly.

Good luck!
 
I guess I will just have to see what I can get away with! Seriously, I want to get back to work and will probably have to watch out not to do too much.

I had an appendectomy a little over a year ago and was in the hospital for four days. I couldn't wait to get out of the ward and go home. I felt so much better at home that I started back to work and doing stuff - and a week later I had a HUGE case of pneumonia that really kicked my butt! It took weeks to clear up. My Doctor really chewed me out for not resting.

I would have been much better off to just nap for a couple of days and take it easy... I hope that I will be a little wiser this time around.
 
DO WHAT THE DOCTOR SAYS

DO WHAT THE DOCTOR SAYS

Hey Bill,
It took me 6 weeks to get well enough to get back to work at a desk job. Just before I had the surgery I asked my surgeon if things went well and I felt really good if I could go back to work sooner than 6 weeks. He said to me you can do anything you want and if you want to be an idiot you will go back to work before the 6 weeks is up.I decided NOT to be an idiot so I waited the 6 weeks. So make sure you give yourself plenty of time to rest and heal after the surgery. That is the most important thing. Then whe the doctors say it is time to go back to work you can go.
Steve
 
Congrats, Steve

Congrats, Steve

It's terrific that you got such a good report.

Hey, boys - recovery time is really idiosyncratic, and whereas you'll never have problems taking an extra week or two or month or two to recover, you could certainly make yourselves miserable - or worse - by pushing too hard.

In case you think that ohs is comparable to appendectomy or anything else, think again. The worst you can do is expect too much of yourself after surgery and then get depressed when you can't measure up. It's truly better to set the bar too low and pleasantly surprise yourself than to try too hard.

Your first priority for a good long time after surgery is getting better; everything else can wait. This includes family and job. It's not a popular thing to say, but this is all about you.

You will look great long before you're able to do all you did before you got sick (remember? about 5 years ago???;) ) You must toe the line and go to rehab and allow the healing to become complete.
 

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