Depression after surgery...

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Yeah, Joy - some of those cowboys....well, wow. That town has been around since the Spanish occupied Florida - and think some of the families that lived there founded it. They wore the oldest lookin work clothes, looked just like their neighbors, but had more money than God. But daughters chose not to make them our family members.

Bonnie - I'll bet you truly enjoy your wilderness - I know I enjoy mine. And when we include all of us who posted we have to conclude......aren't we a wonderful and varied bunch!
 
My my, this thread has certainly evolved! From post-op depression to cowboys "...filling out their jeans." I pronounce you all cured!

--John
 
Quit stalking us John

Quit stalking us John

come out from behind the bushes. We won't embarrass you that much..:D :D We were never depressed..just a little down in the dumps..and speaking of cowboys..We are having a real Rodeo in Helen next week...Got a glimpe of some of the boys in town this past weekend.(rained out) Man..am I'm going down to see those pretty blue eyes..;) ;) ;) Bonnie
 
I look very studly in my loaned catchers vest. Thanks John!
I still feel like a hammered nail though............
 
Hey Ross,
There is this rodeo I heard about...I'm pretty sure if you showed up wearing the catchers vest, some tight jeans and a pair of cowboy boots you'd get a lot of attention. Oh, even better, put on some knee pads under the jeans, since I hear the ladies like 'em well filled out (that IS what they meant, right?);) :p

And about that catchers vest, once you're all healed up, maybe there will be someone else who needs it...seems to have some good luck embedded for us "close call" guys!
 
Those long legged Levis.....

Those long legged Levis.....

Bonnie, you come right on over, girlfriend. We can swap homesteads for a couple weeks. I would love to spend some time in the Smokey Mountains with your bear. :) There?s more to our scenery than just mountains you know. You can also spend some time admiring the deer and animals ........ including the two legged ones in Levis! :)

Hey, Mr. Rossman...... You know what ?hammered? means where I live?? lol ........ plastered. Some of those pain meds can sure make you feel that way. Hope you?re feeling better each day.

John... my favorite psychiatrist. Rodeo baseball?? :eek: You bringing the ?balls??? :D (I didn't say that!)

Rain
 
Yeah Rain, there's hammered, as in stoned out of your mind, and then there is hammered as in feeling like you've been run over by a steam roller.

Between you and Bonnie, I've come to the conclusion that John better get his Zodiak built, come pick me up, and we come check out your landscapes! What da ya think John? :D We can disregard the 50 mile limit right? The FAA won't mind if 2 valvies cruise through the airspace on a "good will mission" would they?
 
Hey, come and pick me up! Got room for a seattleite? Then you'd have three valvies cruisubng the country for a good will mission!
 
Hey, come and pick me up! Got room for a seattleite? Then you'd have three valvies cruisubng the country for a good will mission!
Click to expand...
Well, we'll have to change aircraft. The Zodiak is only a 2 seater, but if the FAA would let us, I'm sure we could rent a Cessna 172 or Skyhawk XP, then we'd have room. :D

Darn great dream anyhow!
 
Joy and Ross,
I better get riveting! My plane-building activities got put on hold during my "vacation" but I'm feeling like getting back to it soon. Joy, Ross is right, it's a two seater, but I could always strap you under my wing ;-) I'm looking forward to finding out what the FAA's medical folks say about my valve job in relation to their position on valve replacements. In the mean time, I'm awaiting the new sport pilot category, which would take care of needing a 3d class medical.

Once this gets resolved, and we're healthy again, a cross-country trip in my flying club's Cessna 182 to visit some of the valvies would be fun, Ross! Maybe we can turn Joy into a navigator?

--John
 
I'd settle for a 172, but if you've got access to a 182 (Turbo?) that would be just fine. I never got to fly in a 182. I have 150, 152, 172, 177 Cardinal RG, 310 Twin and that's it. Maybe we should hook up to a Stationair or Caravan, so we can pick up Nicole too. After all, it's her thread! :D

center_photo_01.jpeg


Sounds like the perfect valvie aircraft. Read the last line!

The sport-utilty vehicle offers the best of both worlds - luxury and ability. That's why we think the Cessna Skylane takes the idea of the SUV to the next level. Look through the gallery and see for yourself. It'll keep going, long after the road ends, and keep climbing, long after it's reached the mountaintop.
 
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Hey that would be pretty neat! John, I am from MN too, you know. Most of my family lives there in fact. WE came from Rochester, my brother lives in Cottage grove, and everybody else lives in Roch. I am the only one out in WA. I would love to be the navigator! WE could fly to GA and meet Bonnie, then hop on down to Florida and meet Hensylee, then we could go to Colorado to meet Rain! Sounds fun, doesn't it?

I think it's sort of funny, we turned this thread into something totally different that depression stuff! Sorry Nicole!
 
Pick a Long Term Goal & Focus on it !

Pick a Long Term Goal & Focus on it !

Hi Nicole,
I know the feeling all to well. I'm 3 years post-op and still totally pissed off. I was 6 months away from My final Dive Master rating and was almost retired and packed to live in Cozumel when, WHAM! ---You never know what's going to happen.
What I did, which helped a little was to pick another course in my life, as closely related to Mexico as possible, but not exactly the same dream.
No, I can't go down to 125 feet any more, but can snorkel and Dive to 30 feet. No, I can't go to Mexico, I don't think Cardiology is medical job #1 down there, but I can go to Florida.
I have a wife who's great and lets me rant and rave, that helps. To this day I'm furious about what happened. I don't think that will ever go away but, I'm getting to accept the fact that I'm not going to die next week and that I can still pump iron and be active in my job and private life.
One dream might die, but there's plenty more out there. I'm starting to believe my Cardiologist PA - "Your heart is in better shape now than it has been for a long, long time".
Yours is too. Keep trying to put the bad feelings in the back of your mind.
Smile,
Rich (Fellow Queens Guy - Belle Harbor)
 
Rich,
What a true statement that is about dreams. I don't believe one can be really healthy without at least a dream or two in hand.

The anger you mention is something many of us share. But, as part of our grieving process (we have all lost something through these experiences) it is important to get past the anger and achieve an acceptance of who we have become. I'm certainly not there yet, but each day is a little better. One thing that has been a tremendous positive about this experience is a full acceptance of our mortality, and the resulting appreciation for life each day.

--John
 
Hi Nicole!

Hi Nicole!

I'm so very sorry that you are very so low right now. I have suffered from anxiety disorder which led to depression before I went through my experience with AI and AVR. This whole situation has thrown me through a loop. I have found that now that the surgery is over and I am getting better, I have more time to really think about what just happened to me and question everything. I have two beautiful little girls and I wonder "why me" all the time. Some days are better than others. I do take Prozac every day, but I took that before all this started for me. I analyze everything and I keep wondering what I could have done to prevent this from happening to me. The doctors say that my pregnancies contributed to my problem, but that I may have had a congenital weakness before the pregnancies. I try to look at the situation like this, everything happens for a reason, whether it bad or good. We may not know right now exactly why things happen, but that it may become clearer in years to come. I have two beautiful children and I possibly wouldn't even have known about the problem if I wouldn't have had my children. I may have had a harder time with the problem if I was older when the aortic tear and valve insufficiency occured. Just today, I found myself getting very anxious and depressed about everything that has occured recently. I know that this doesn't really help you very much, but I just wanted to let you know that others are going through similar situations and feelings. Just try to take one day at a time and realize you are in a better place now than you were before your surgery. Please post here and rely on your friends and family for support. It really does help. I'm sorry for rambling on here. Take Care and God Bless! You are a beautiful young woman and have a wonderful life ahead of you, even though some of your plans may have changed.

Creed3
 
Check-up

Check-up

Hi Everyone,
I want to say thank you all for responding. It's reassuring to know I'm not alone and it's hard for non-valvies to understand my concerns and fears. I sometimes feel the people close to me don't understand when I get into my little "mood swings" because I go through such a wide range of different emotions.
Today I saw my cardiologist for my almost 6 month check-up (The 24th will be 6 months). Unfortunately no echo. She says my heart sounds good, but put me back on 25mg of Toprol XL for my fast heart rate. She also ordered blood tests to test for hypothyroidism when I go to my PCP for my INR test tomorrow. As my check-up didn't go the way I had hoped, I know it's not that bad. But it just sometimes feels like it doesn't stop. I wish someone could just give me a break already. I'm still having a lot of trouble stabilizing my INR. I'm all over the place. I plan on seeing a cardio closer to home so my PCP doesn't have to monitor me because he obviously doesn't know how to manage coumadin patients. Well, I've rambled enough. I'll keep you all updated and I hope everyone is doing well. Take care everyone!
 
Mornin, Young'un - you sound somewhat down, so prayers for things to get better for you.

My brother's cardio is about 75 mi away. I take my bro to local little hospital where they take his blood, run the tests, notify his cardio office the same day and the cardio office is back in touch with changes/no changes by late afternoon. Can this be done for you? It's so much easier than having to go there as the round trip is killing (he is a Parkinson's patient as well as heart) for both of us.

Hang in, little one.
 
Hi Nicole,

Hi Nicole,

I too have a battle with the "up downs" as my wife calls em. I think it is mostly because of the changes we have went through. You know that it is said that change is good and in our case it sure beats the alternative. I wake up every morning and think where I could be. But instead I am thankful of where I am. I know that you are young but life has a way of taking things off our minds. It has been 15 months since surgery and getting back to as normal a routine as possible has helped a great deal. There are the little things that I still have to deal with. Like going to the lab every 2 weeks for a visit with the needle. The itching that I still have around the scar and the incessant clicking that can be so loud sometimes that it is really can be annoying. Just to name a few. The realization that I will never be the same. But better than I was before surgery.

I know you said that you were that you are not a real religious person, but if you don't mind me saying that letting God take over in my life, the depression has greatly diminished. Like I said I do still have a battle or two every now and then. But a little talk with the old man upstairs gives me the peace I need to get through.

Hope this helps;
BOOMER
 
Suggestions??

Suggestions??

Hi Boomer...Have you applied for your own Protime. I just took my finger prick(barely feel it) this morning. First time in 2 weeks. Perfect in range..Was woried I may be a little high because I bled a little heavy when I hit my arm on a storm door...but I am age 62 and skin is getting thinner..:D O.K. now..I was planning on eating some cabbage tonight. but I know my INR is in range..Even if your insurance won't pay..if you could work out something to buy it yourself..a LOT of freedom....Also, have you tried Vitamin E cream on scar. Helps with itching..and I found sleeping with a fan humming helps a lot..Just some suggestions for a fellow valver.:) :) Bonnie
 
I've slept with a fan running since I was 14. Now, I can't sleep without it! It definitely helps.

Nicole, I will once again extend my ears and eyes to listen to you if you want to talk. You've been going through a lot and I think you deserve a large hug and pat on the back. You know how to reach me and I think you even have my email address, so please, if you want to vent, talk, whatever, I'm here. I got no where else to go anyway. That's the plus side to being disabled. ;)
 
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