Freaked out newbie with questions!

[ScottB]

Thanks goodness for this forum and the people here! Yup... I'm a newbie and I'm a little freaked out right now so I hope I make some sense here. I'm 39 and was told I had Mitral Valve Prolapse (MVP) a few years back when I was on active duty in the Navy. My new my Doc ordered a Echocardogram (sp?) to see how it looked because I said I am out of breath quite easily. I use to run 2 miles 3 times a week but that has been getting less & less frequent. So anyway, he runs the tests and tells me I have Aortic Stenosis and an enlarged Left Ventricle. He said I wil be looking at a valve replacement and I have to go back on the 28th and see a Cardio specialist and find out how bad it is and how it'll affect my life. I feel like a time bomb until I get in there in 3 weeks and see what's what. Right now I'm very concerned with my standing in the Navy reserves and how'll affect my career there (I have 8 yrs left to retirement)... and all the timeoff from my job. I just got back from a year military recall to fight the war on terrorism and now the prospect of missing even more time at work really brings me down. I do have a few questions hopefully someone will help me with... I have heard that after the surgery you can no longer lift more than 50 lbs..EVER? Huh?! That would be terrible!! What can you tell me about the recovery from this? How long are you out of work? If I have to get this done at 40 and a valve lasts 10 years, that'll mean I have to get it again at 50, 60, 70,.... Seems like a lot of times to get "opened up".

**sigh** I'm scared, pissed and freaked out all at once!! I will continue to read the forum and hopefully pull some peace out of it and Thank You for listening...and if you hav any advice I'm all ears!

 

[Jack]

I am sorry to hear about your concerns and your career with Navy reserves, if you have a desk job the valve replacement will not affect your performance but I would be very careful lifting more then 50 lbs regularly unless you don't mind living with surgical hernia.

If you receive a mechanical valve it will last you a life time, tissue valve will last between 10 to 20 years. The recovery time is about 3 month, that is, you can return to your desk job in 3 month, I don't know how long it will take to return to the field.

I wish you all the luck and being on this side is preferred to being on the other side, try to make the best of it.

Good luck and God bless,

Jack.

 

[Ross]

Hello Scott and welcome to the VR family.

You've come to the right place for your answers. Read through the threads that sound like they may apply to you and most of your questions will be answered. If for some reason there is something that is not addressed, just ask, someone will eventually answer.

I don't know about the Military point of physical well being so I'll leave that to members that have some Military experience under their belts.

While it's easy to tell someone not to freak out, just don't. It's not as big of a deal as it all may seem at this point. The surgery itself has become highly refined, the recovery period can take awhile. 6 months or more before your really back into the normal swing of things, but you can return to work in as little as 4 weeks or as long as 6 months. It just depends on how well you do.

Choice of valves-If you go with tissue the life expectancy is 12 to 15 years. If you choose mechanical, generally it's good for life but you'll require anticoagulation with Coumadin/Warfarin for life. You don't necessarily get your choice in valves. Sometimes the surgeon cannot use what you want because of biological indifference. It's kind of a wait and see what he gets into thing.

Read about and settle your mind some. If you have more questions, we are at the ready for them.

 

[Mark Wagner]

Your going to be okay man! Will life change somewhat? You bet it will, but their are no gaurantees in this life things will work out the way you wanted. Their are over 600 people right here that will tell you valve replacement was not in their plans
Now here is what you can do with that valve, if you have the heart and the guts to move forward. Click on my home page. Les Barrett and myself are both marathon runners, and belong to this fine group. Good luck and God Bless. ... Mark
PS by the way ... Army rules!
My home page ... their are three pages, and you can get to them by going to the bottom and clicking on the links.


http://hometown.aol.com/beatfeet26pt2/myhomepage/index.html

 

[Nancy]

Hi Scott-

It's always a shocker to hear that you need this kind of surgery. But, years ago, people with valve problems didn't have a chance at life. The surgery has changed all that. It is marvelous life-saving surgery. The mortality rate is low, the surgery is highly perfected, and the best thing is that you will only be in the hospital between 5 and 7 days. You'll be up and walking in about 2 days after surgery and the rest is just your body healing, like it would from any major surgery.

My husband has had 3 valve surgeries, plus 2 lung surgeries and a whole boatload of very serious medical problems. But he's still here and chugging along. He's 71 years old. His aortic valve is 25 years old and still in working order. He has 2 mechanical valves, aortic and mitral and had a repair on the mitral for a minor leak. The mechanicals do last for a very, very long time. Coumadin has not been a problem for him at all.

This is a fantastic site, just chock full of information at every turn of the page. Take a little time to read, even though you might not want to at first. Trust me, it will help chase away some of your fears.

As to your work related situation, I'm sure there are many who have some great ideas for you.

Wishing you all the best and hope to see you here often.

 

[Dave M]

Scott,

I can tell you are concerned somewhat about the issue of strength and endurance. Since you are already in generally good condition, chances are after surgery you will have the opportunity to return to at least near normal.

I had aortic valve replacement, mitral valve repair, and aortic root reconstruction in July 2001. My conditions resulted in left ventricle dilatation and atrial fibrillation.

I now run about 15 to 20 miles a week and can lift weights like I did well before surgery. Because of the aortic aneurysm repair, I have to be cautious about straining when lifting weights.

The key for me was taking things slow the first few months. I allowed time for my left ventricle to decrease some in size. After my one year echo, when everything looked good, I became more aggressive with my workouts.

I hope this helps you feel better about your situation. You have found a great source of encouragement, insight, and wisdom at this web site!

 

[joy]

Hey Scott, welcome to the sight! We are a pretty close knit family, and the people here ae all wonderful, and honest.

If you go to personal stories, I am Joy Paulson, and you can see what all happened to me, so I don't have to get into it...it is a long story.

As for your career in the navy, I can make no promises...my husband is in the navy, and I don't believe they keep people in after they have had a prosthetic valve put in. Um, you would have to ask your doc or your chain of command about that one, but if you do get discharged, they will give you a decent pension depending on your rate, rank, and how long you've been in. You will also get social security, and I think you still get to have tricare, I am not sure. Where are you stationed? We live on Subbase Bangor, in washington, but my husband is the watch commander at Keyport. He is in charge of night security. I don't know how they handle these things with the reserves. I do wish you luck in that. Let me know how it goes!

 

[hensylee]

Pissed off, freaked out, scared - you better believe it! Not fun. You must go and read some of the original posts from some of our members - they had your same emotions big time, just like you. However, by the time most of them reached surgery date, they had settled down because of the information gleaned from this site. It is a great place to be while facing what is ahead and you definite won't feel so alone. That's the best benefit of VR. And you might even find a chuckle here and there. God bless

 

[epstns]

I know how you feel

I know how you feel

Hi Scott,

I think I know how you feel. I'm a little older than you are (I'm 55) and last December I found out for the first time that I have aortic stenosis and mitral regurgitation. If you look back at some of my posts (One comes to mind, titled "Newly Diagnosed and Scared Spitless.") you'll see that we all follow the same path to understanding and acceptance of our condition.

I'm not a gym rat, but I have been working out and running 3 to 4 miles daily for 20+ years. One of my major fears has been the question of whether I will ever return to my present level of physical conditioning after valve replacement. The wonderfull folks here at VR.com have shared many experiences with me to help me realize that, barring unusual complications, I will be able to do *at least* as much after vr as I can now. The critical variable is how I manage my recovery.

If you want a quick primer to get up to speed, try reviewing my posts and ccrawford's posts since about December 2002. We both are in the "Waiting Room" knowing we will need surgery but not knowing when. We both are confirmed "control freaks" and wanted to know as much as possible about what is in our futures. The family here came through many times over.

Visit often -- people here have been down the paths we face and are more than willing to help us negotiate the uncertainties.

Above all, welcome to the family.

 

[ccrawford]

Easy does it

Easy does it

Hi Scott - Welcome to the site. You couldn't have found a better resource for what you are dealing with. The initial realization of all of this is quite terrifying, and its happened to just about everyone on the site. Slow down, and start to wind your way through all the various posts that appear to pertain to your situation. Feel free to ask questions as you go along. I guarantee you will start to get more comfortable, the more you learn. All of us here owe something of a debt to the rest of the group for helping get through the tough times, so don't be bashful with your concerns or questions. The collective expertise of the people here is truly amazing, and also unique, because they have all felt what you feel. That's different than the view you get from a physician. You'll get through this stuff just fine, and you'll have a bunch of new friends cheering you on as you make progress. Chris Crawford (Aortic Stenosis-waiting for surgery sometime)

 

[ScottB]

Thank you to all of you for your information and your compassion. It's all so much to deal with mentally now that I'm trying to slow down and deal with things day by day. I have read through alot of the posts and I cannot tell you how great it is to know there are all you wonderful people out there to help make this journey a smoother and less "freaked out" one! I know in the comming days, weeks and months I will be a frequent visitor to the site. I'm trying to be patient and wait until Mar 28th when they run more tests and I determine what my options are. **sigh** I'm such an "impatient" patient!

 

[Ross]

Scott we all are/were impatient. It's part of the package! There is no sense in driving yourself nuts over it. It is totally out of your control and that is what makes us all go nuts. We have this inbred need to be able to control things. Not so with this surgery and it scares the stuffing out of people.

Your already doing the best possible thing you can, learning more about what to expect. Rest easy until all your tests are done, but please discuss those with us as well.

 

[Bob]

Hi Scott. First off that post that suggests that Army rules is just not true. It's Navy all the way!. Now about lifting. I am 67 and have been lifting for quite a few years. The lifting limitation is not due to the heart valve itself it is a combination of healing of the heart and sternum. Once the heart has healed your lifting is limited to prevent the sternum from seperating. My doc has a 5 pound per month rule for the sternum and biceps. I am now 7 weeks out from surgery and he has OK'd bicep curls, treadmill and leg work. NO pecs, presses,abs,swimming or arm work that pulls at the chest. Light weight and moderate reps. He said a 50# bench press would rupture the sternum. If all goes well he will let me resume a full workout at six months. He sees no limits on my workouts other than common sense. Do lifters have common sense?

I cant help you with the navy. My experience with the military is that they are always out of date and want to err on the safe side. CYA all the way!
Best of lick to you. Be sure and ask questions as they come up.

 

[ScottB]

Thanks again for all the warm responses and advice. I'm trying to see if I can get in to the Doc before the 28th. Three weeks will last FOREVER until then. I forgot to ask him if I should cut out the running until then. I was just getting back into the swing of running and the weather is getting nicer outside and I'd love to be out running in it.... but my wife told me not to "push it" and to wait the three weeks. **sigh** I have to become more patient......