Jim P
Well-known member
I have had only wonderful things happen over the past week or so, and I thought I would catch everyone up on the news.
1. The culture from my chest wound came back negative, so it was not infected. About ten days ago, a bright red area starting forming and spreading from the top of my incision. Finally it came to a head (literally) in the form of a rather ugly fluid-filled bubble. A nurse from the heart surgeon?s office lanced the bubble, drained it, and sent a sample to the lab. I was already on 10 days of Keflex, and then they started another 10 days of Cipro. The surgeon saw me Monday, told me the lab reults, and thought everything looked great. Unfortunately, my wife still needs to repack the wound (about 1 inch deep) with mediacl packing tape every morning after my shower. The surgeon wants the wound to heal from the inside out and not to form a scab over this air pocket in my chest.
2. I did a 24-hour Holter Monitor test last week, and the results came back to show a normal rhythm. No palpitations, no A-fib, etc.
3. I did a PFT yesterday, and the Pulmonolgist said that all my pulmonary functions, including lungs, are back to normal. He also said the X-ray showed that fluid in my chest cavity had all been absorbed ? no longer something to worry about.
4. I had been having big trouble sleeping at night ? I think it was the antibiotics that were driving me crazy. The heart surgeon told me to cut a 10 mg Ambien tablet in half and take the 5 mg right before bedtime. That really did the trick for me, and I have slept all the way through the night the past 2 nights ? for the first time since surgery 8 weeks ago. I will probably keep this up until I am finally off the Cipro.
5. Unfortunately, I have had to put off starting cardiac rehab until my chest heals up from the problem I described in para 1 above. Nevertheless, I am walking at least 30 minutes per day in the hot Florida sun, so that is good exercise anyway.
All in all, I am feeling very happy today and wanted to share the good news.
1. The culture from my chest wound came back negative, so it was not infected. About ten days ago, a bright red area starting forming and spreading from the top of my incision. Finally it came to a head (literally) in the form of a rather ugly fluid-filled bubble. A nurse from the heart surgeon?s office lanced the bubble, drained it, and sent a sample to the lab. I was already on 10 days of Keflex, and then they started another 10 days of Cipro. The surgeon saw me Monday, told me the lab reults, and thought everything looked great. Unfortunately, my wife still needs to repack the wound (about 1 inch deep) with mediacl packing tape every morning after my shower. The surgeon wants the wound to heal from the inside out and not to form a scab over this air pocket in my chest.
2. I did a 24-hour Holter Monitor test last week, and the results came back to show a normal rhythm. No palpitations, no A-fib, etc.
3. I did a PFT yesterday, and the Pulmonolgist said that all my pulmonary functions, including lungs, are back to normal. He also said the X-ray showed that fluid in my chest cavity had all been absorbed ? no longer something to worry about.
4. I had been having big trouble sleeping at night ? I think it was the antibiotics that were driving me crazy. The heart surgeon told me to cut a 10 mg Ambien tablet in half and take the 5 mg right before bedtime. That really did the trick for me, and I have slept all the way through the night the past 2 nights ? for the first time since surgery 8 weeks ago. I will probably keep this up until I am finally off the Cipro.
5. Unfortunately, I have had to put off starting cardiac rehab until my chest heals up from the problem I described in para 1 above. Nevertheless, I am walking at least 30 minutes per day in the hot Florida sun, so that is good exercise anyway.
All in all, I am feeling very happy today and wanted to share the good news.
