diagnosed in october

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hello to all.

im new here and im sure you have read a post like this many times but im hoping ill get a few answers anyway.

ive been diagnosed with a 5cm dilated ascending aorta.it was found by accident.i was referred to a heart surgeon and he said"the benefits of waiting outweigh the risks of surgery at the moment".and he said to come back in 6 months for another ct.im 36 and to say im anxious and worried is an understatement.
id love to hear from people in the same suituation male or female it doesnt matter.i have loads of questions most of which i wont even post for the moment but heres one or two for now.

1: should i get a second opinion?(i live in ireland and the heart surgeon is one of if not the best in the country)
2: are there any symptoms with a stable 5cm dilated aorta?(im not at work for the moment my employer has advised to me to stay out for now)
3: one doctor referred to it as a timebomb in my chest.it wasnt because of what he saw or anything i guess he was just an insensitve ***hole.but is he right?is it that bad or can you live with it?

well i dont want to bore you all but i need someone thats been through this or going through it to have a chat with.

thanks again for reading.

gerry

I was just rereading your post so sorry I didn't catch this part earlier.
"2: are there any symptoms with a stable 5cm dilated aorta?(im not at work for the moment my employer has advised to me to stay out for now)"

I know you said you will be meeting with the surgeon to discuss things maybe plan schedual surgery in Jan, did he or your cardiologist say you couldn't work? I don't know how it works in Ireland, but does your employer (since you are a mailman is that the government or your immeadiate boss?)want you to not work until you have surgery -even if they want to wait 6 months? IF that is the case unless you are getting paid to stay home, I would consider IF you can afford to not work for the next year or so if they decide you don't need surgery yet. FWIW I've never heard of an employer saying someone can't work for a medical reason, unless a doctor specifically told the person (and wrote a letter) either that they can not continue to work at that job, OR gave so many restrictions that it would be almost impossible to perform your job..for example when I had hand surgery I couldn't lift more than 10 pounds for quite a while, the job I was working involved quite a bit of lifting things about 20 pounds so there was so much I couldn't do they pretty much had to pay another person to work with me..it is was better just to stay on the short term disability until I COULD do my job.
IF for some reason your are not allowed to work until you have surgery, I'm sure that would add alot of stress to your life, so I would be sure to discuss that with the surgeon. I hate to say someone should have surgery earlier than they should, just because of their job, but in your case it makes a difference. IF your doctors don't think you need surgery yet and think you are fine being a mailman, maybe you should ask them if they would write a letter saying you can work. If you are one of the mailmen that walk alot and deliver the mail to people, not work in the post office, I think not working would make it hard to keep in as good shape you are and going into surgery in good shape, helps alot in the recovery process.
Most of us here are not medical personel, just patients or family members of patients, so really can't say why your doctors say the risks outweigh the benefits right now, especially since we don't have much information. BUT maybe we can give you some idea of questions you should be asking your doctors to help you understand and make decisions. For example, the different trigger points are based on the average person, but there are reasons that really each person is different IF the person is pretty small all of their body parts are smaller too, if all of the other measurements of their aorta are about 2cm except one buldge that measure 4.5 would be pretty big for them, so they might need surgery before the average size person. On the other hand, someone large probably has bigger parts, so a 5.0 might not be as big of a buldge compared to the rest of their aorta..if I'm explaining that well enough. Do you know all of your measurements, or just the ascending aorta?

Either way since you are pretty young and do have 5.0 you most likely will need surgery sooner than later. I would ask the surgeon what exactly would make him decide it is time for surgery. Is he waiting for a certain measurement, or symptons etc and IF he still doesn't think it is time for surgery, is there anything you should or should NOT be doing until then. I don't know how old your kids are or if this even matters at their age, but is there any problem lifting or carrying your kids, a mail bag (If he says you can still work) and things like that.
I also would ask what is the average time frame in your hospital between when the surgeons says you need surgery until the date of your surgery, is it usually weeks or a month or so. I don't think you mentioned it, but I would ask how your Aortic valve is, does he plan on replacing that or is it fine? IF you do need a valve there are more questions to ask and decisions to make.
As most others have said, even tho this is a very serious surgery, the success rates are very high, especially in the hands of surgeons who have alot of experience w/ aortic surgery.

PS have you been able to find those post Greg mentioned?
 
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lyn
the surgeon said i could go back to work.he said nothing else at all.the company doctor said they would prefer not to have me on the bike delivering mail for now.they have to cover their own backs to.and i suppose i agree with it.so they put me in a van delivering mail.this involves a lot of pulling and dragging of bags of mail and im sorry but my head couldnt take it.i was all the time wondering if my heart would explode and every second person was asking should you be lifting and dragging bags of mail etc.so im now out of work and im paid up to 6 months.
i go back in january to see the surgeon and he has said we can schedule the surgery then and i dont think ill have to wait long to be honest.
all i know is my aorta is 5cm and the rest of my heart if perfect.
but getting back to work.there isnt a person on this planet that can tell me when this aorta will dissect or rupture.and whats going to do it.so should i just throw caution to the wind and take the surgeons word and lift bags and deliver mail and work like theres no tomorrow?i dont think so.
i hope ive answered your questions.
if i was totally honest id say im worrying to much about it all but i cant just go to work and put it out of my head.im afraid of the consequences.
 
thanks greg those work fine now.
i have another question.does having a dilated aorta cause indigestion?might be a weird question but i cant eat a full meal now without getting it.
and should it cause any mild aches or pains in chest or left shoulder area.
these are all questions i should have asked the surgeon but like i said it was all a shock at time.

thanks.
 
Gerry, welcome to the waiting room.. the wait might be the hardest part of having an aneurysm, in my opinion. At 5cm you're in a spot where some surgeons would recommend the surgery right now. I personally would want at least one more opinion, because 5 or 5.5 cm is where we start to have a dramatic increase in the number of "events", which means the our cohort could've benefited from surgery if we'd already resectioned the aorta.

There are some cases where they actually will "go in" sooner than 5.0, such as with marfans, or if they're already in there for a valve replacement, or other extenuating circumstances. Like others have said, there are a lot of variables and I think one more opinion might clarify things for you.
 
thanks greg those work fine now.
i have another question.does having a dilated aorta cause indigestion?might be a weird question but i cant eat a full meal now without getting it.
and should it cause any mild aches or pains in chest or left shoulder area.
these are all questions i should have asked the surgeon but like i said it was all a shock at time.

thanks.

Gerry -

Do you mean indigestion (as in upset stomach) or Heartburn (as in GastroEsophageal Reflux)?

IF your esophageal sphincter is weak, it can allow stomach acid to come up into your esophagus which can cause chest pain similar to heart pains. CAFFEINE (Coffee, Tea, Chocolate) and Peppermint are known to cause the esophageal sphincter to 'relax' resulting in heartburn. Tight pants / belt is also a contributor. So is a "full stomach" (i.e. large meals).

'AL Capshaw'
 
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