Driving again!

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Johnny Stephens

Johnny Stephens

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 20, 2002
Messages
1,140
Location
Seattle, WA
I'm free! I got handed off to my cardiologist last week, during my 6th post-op week. The visit went very well, and he has already started cutting back on my cocktail of meds. I'm still fighting fluid retention, but he feels the need to wring the last remaining bits of excess fluid out of me is not that urgent, and we should just be patient and go with my current diuretics which are doing the job very slowly.

The best news was that I was cleared to drive. I noticed, however, that driving REALLY tires me out. It has made the muscles in my back a tad sore, but the fatigue thing surprised me.

Did anyone else notice this once they started driving again?
 
I sure wasn't going to tell anybody, but I felt very marginal when I was first allowed to drive. I suppose I felt a little bit of a desire for self-preservation, so I consciously drove more slowly, and on the backroads. What especially disturbed me was the difficulty concentrating on driving -- something that had always come so naturally. Now, of course, six months after surgery, driving is as it always was, and I'm just as reckless as ever.
 
On the road again

On the road again

Johnny,

I'm glad I live in the midwest...nyuk, nyuk!

I don't recall many details of the return of the driving experience. I was fairly spoiled for 6 weeks riding in my co-worker's red Corvette everyday.

Good to hear it's going well for you.

Congrats.
 
Hey Johnny-

Driving is a BIG step. Welcome to the world again. It was always a major thing for Joe. He never did drive too far for several weeks though, so he probably was feeling much the same as you do. His back bothered him also.
 
Dr said to me 'Be very, very careful when you start to drive' and I asked why - all he said was "you have had MAJOR surgery" --now I think it must've been the pumphead thingy he was referring to!!! LOL
 
Freedom

Freedom

Hi Johnny:

Looks like we had our surgerys on the same day. I too was cleared to drive last week. My back does not hurt but twisting from one side to the other to look for cars comming from behind does start to be a pain :eek: The other problem is the shoulder belt. I slip it behind me because it would rub on my scar. I suppose I will use it properly eventually. I wonder what the air bag would do to a weak sternum? :confused:
 
To prevent the shoulder belt from rubbing my scar, I place my (foam rubber) chest pillow over my chest and under the belt. I think I did something similar following my bypass surgery several years ago. The surgeon reluctantly let me drive after 4 weeks to reach my followup appointment but encouraged me to limit my driving for 2 more weeks
and to be very careful.

'AL'
 
Johnny,

Congrat's on being able to drive again. It drove me crazy having Tina drive me around for 6 weeks. I felt a sense of freedom being able to drive again.

I noticed a bit of soreness when I first started driving, but that went away pretty quickly.
 
Driving Freedom

Driving Freedom

I can remember driving the first time. I drove 17 miles to school to touch base with my sub. And back home. I too was tired and found my left arm going numb on the backside as well as my my pinkie and ring fingers on that hand. But things came back pretty fast. I had very weird visual happenings though as I have told the others back then...like in a rain storm, going around even big sweeping curves...it was like I was skipping frames rather than a big continuous motion...really freaked me out on the motorcycle when summer came. I didn't ride too much that summer. Luckily it is all ok now and I am enjoying the curves!
 
Tingling

Tingling

I am 10 weeks post-op and today is the first time I have really felt tinging and numbness in fingers..I have been driving around inside our gated community (down to pool, ect. for last few weeks...but it is really HOT here in Georgia and I may have gotten a little over-heated...make that a lot over-heated. Just hate staying indoors....Bonnie
 
Posture

Posture

Hi Johnny,

I may have mentioned this here before...but...if your back continues to bother you, would ask your Doc about Physical Therapy...They help with proper 'stretches' to improve posture and breaking up scar tissue. We all tend to 'hunch' over a bit..protecting our sternum..and it becomes a habit that can create prblems in other muscles. I waited til I was almost a year post-op...but I think it might be beneficial sooner if your Doc approves.

Congrats on the freedom of being able to drive...I remember that!

Zipper
 
Congrats Johnny! I can't believe it's been 6 weeks! Wow!

I noticed muscle soreness and it was hard to turn the steering wheel at first, even with power steering.
As with everything involved in this recovery, it gets better with time.

-Mara
 
Not bad

Not bad

Dear Johnny,

May this be the worse thing that you encounter. I am glad to hear you are driving. I had trouble moving my neck. I'm sure everyone has some pain until they get into it again.

Take care and good to hear you are on the road again!!
 
Hey Johnny, congratulations on this milestone! I remember when i started driving again, we had a little mitsubishi galant that had the automatic front shoulder belts, and that really bothered my scar. Now I have the adjustable not automatic seatbelts, and an automatic transmission. It hurt to shift when I started driving again. We have taken two long road trips since then. One from Rochester, Minnesota(1900 miles) and one to Milwaukie Oregon(about 300 miles round trip) I just wanted to say, congratulations!
 
Hi Johnny,

Glad to hear your Mobile! It does give you a sense of freedom when you can drive your car again! Your weariness will go away with time! I have a Ford Explorer with no running boards. That wouldn't have been a problem except I'm only 5 feet tall. So when I first drove post op it hurt just to try and climb into the vehicle. I also had soreness when I turned the wheel and tried to look both ways! Shoulder Strap I wouldn't even consider, even when I was a passenger for the first six weeks. I just slipped it behind me. At least I still had the belt part on. Hey Greg I'm with you! I wonder how an air bag would have effected the sternum at that time! :eek:
 
I can't wait!

I can't wait!

Hi Johnny,

I'm happy for you! It's amazing the things you take for granted until they're taken away from you.

My surgeon told me before my surgery, that I would be able to drive in 1 month. I hope that's true, I've heard of others having to wait 6 wks also.

Mine driving career will be short-lived though. Unfortunately I need to have a hysterectomy ASAP, so my keys will be taken away again for a while.

BTW, I did get your post before my surgery, Thanks! I know you didn't know if I'd get it before I left, but I couldn't sleep and went online at 3am, just before getting ready to leave for the hospital. It's so nice to know there are so many caring people out there. And you never know what time they'll be wandering around and online in the wee hours of the morning. Jean
 
Airbag

Airbag

My docs told me to put the seat all the way back and adjust the wheel all the way forward to minimize trauma from the airbag if I got involved in an accident. Whatever injury it would cause to the sternum, I'm sure it would be preferable to that caused by the steering wheel :eek:

We took a really long drive in the mountains over the weekend, and I wound up driving about 200 miles. Guess I can still do it.

It sure is great being able to get around on my own. Now I get to drive myself back to work next week. :D

weekycat: Glad you got the message. I know what you mean about those late-night sessions!
 
Greg,
An airbag would fracture your sternum, and you would have to have it opened up and sewn back to gether again. OUCH! Along with the infection that can be caused by opening up your sternum so soon after open heart surgery, and it isn't a good idea.
 
RECOMMENDED WAIT BEFORE DRIVING

RECOMMENDED WAIT BEFORE DRIVING

I've seen different numbers of weeks to wait before driving.

Assuming no complications, I'd be interested in a survey of recommended delays before driving.

'AL'
 
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