Colds and Recovery

[cbdheartman]

I may be a bit paranoid, but I am worried I might be catching a cold 15 days post surgery. (I am hoping that it is just the change in weather.) Is there anything special I can or should do if this is in fact happening? Is there any special worry about a cold during recovery? Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[zipper2]

Hope not ....seems these darn colds like to creep up close
to surgery for lots of us
Have you gone to see your doc? to determine,if not it might be a good

idea,i know i was starting something like a cold and my surgeon said they
prefer to keep me off antibiotics so close to surgery at least i recall i was
on antibiotics but only so many days fore my surgery i couldnot be.
Put on the vicks and cover up and pray cus you wanna get surgery done
if you can,something like this can be a bummer all right,waitings the hardest as is for a cold to let us down.....All the best

 

[tcopel]

Assuming what you feel is a little sinus congestions, sniffles and perhaps a mild cough, then I am not aware of anything particular that you would do. But I would not hesitate to call your doc just to make sure. I believe I would consider avoiding nasal decongestants that have stimulants in them such as pseudoephedrine or similiar products. I'm guessing the last thing your heart needs is more stimulation. If you are coumadin, avoid certian cold preparations that have aspirin in it. These are just guesses of mine so give your doc a call.

 

[urrgghh]

I had a similar experience. Just a couple of weeks after my AVR, I felt like I had caught a flu bug but was fighting it off. I had cough and congestion, felt really fatigued, and just felt like I had the flu. What I didn't realize was the obvious. I was in congestive heart failure (CHF). The water had gone from the area around my heart into my lungs. Thus the coughing. It started out small on a Monday and sort of waxed and waned. But by Saturday I figured I had better go to the urgent care as Friday night was the worst. I was up all night coughing and being very productive, getting lots out of my chest. I thought for sure it was a chest cold.

I ended up in the hospital for 5 additional days. I also had a-fib and a-flutter. They waited a couple of days for me to respond to the meds before deciding to give me the shock and that worked like a charm. I instantly felt better!

Most people probably just have a cold, but it's definitely something to have checked with your doctor. Make sure you rule out the possibility of chf together.

 

[netmiff]

This soon after, I would certainly talk to your doctor, there are probably meds you should be avoiding (even OTC stuff). At the worst, a pharmacist might be able to steer you in the right direction for getting some releif.

 

[dick0236]

The common cold will not cause any unusual problems. Since you are only two weeks out of surgery, I would call my PCP to see if he/she thinks you might need something other than "chicken soup" and tylenol.