Hit a Little Bump in the Road to Recovery

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harleygirl528

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 24, 2007
Messages
225
Location
Silverdale, Washington
hello all,

Thought I should take a minute to let everyone know that although I was feeling so wonderful and progressing at such a wonderful rate the inevitable did happen....I hit the proverbial "bump in the road." Starting on Sunday I started having a lot of sharp pain with deep breathing, particularly on my left side, and as a result I was doing a lot of shallow breathing to avoid this pain. I also started to avoid a lot of activity since it was painful to take deep breaths and sleeping became really hard. Funny thing is if you shallow breath long enough your body will actually force you to take a deep breath all on its own....and ouch...that was painful....it was very hard to get comfortable and move around in bed. Anyway, on Monday my mother took me to the emergency room. My surgeon in California spoke to them ahead of time and told them the tests to run, including a chest x-ray, echo and EKG. The ER doctor came in after all the tests were back and said that I had pneumonia! I was shocked but did feel relieved as I knew something wasn't right. I went home with antiobotics and basically continued to suffer and count the hours and minutes until I could take another pain pill. I did talk to Dr. Raissi later that night who said he had looked at all the tests and I did NOT have pneumonia but I was kind of out of it and really didn't catch the drift of what he was trying to say. After all, I sure was hurting with each inhallation so it made sense to me. Went to the cardio on Tuesday (yesterday) and she also reviewed all the tests. She concurred with Dr. Raissi that I did not have pneumonia but rather had pleural effisions (very common after OHS) and very painful! She put me on a regimen of taking a high dose of Motrin (800 mg) every 6 hours around the clock and told me to continue the antibiotics. Anyway, 24 hours later and I feel like a new woman. The Motrin did the trick! In fact, I went 12 hours without any othe pain meds at all and I have gotten off the Percocet completely (I was kinda nasty on the Percocet....as in not a very nice person). So, I am feeling much better and have already walked a mile on the treadmill today. I did find out that when I started to feel bad the inclination to be less active and lay around was the worst thing I could have done. Staying active not only increases lung function but helps boost your immune system and helps you heal faster. It's kind of a catch 22 though...the worse you feel the less motivation you have for walking or doing any activity.
I also have some issues with the drain tube holes ( I call them my bullet holes..that's what they look like right now). The steri-strips they put on them were not my friend.....they did not hold the incisions together and instead seemed to provide a warm, moist environment for infection. When I finally peeled them back there was tons of nasty white puss and the holes were totally open. I am now leaving them open to air as much as possible and cleaning with diluted peroxide twice a day. They still look bad but the cardio said yesterday that they were healing okay and the initial culture reports were fine. So, as good as I was doing, I guess I was not immune to the setbacks that many of us face. I am still happy to be looking at this whole thing from the other side of the mountain and am hopeful that the worst is behind me and that I am firmly on the road to recovery.

Thanks everyone for your continued support and encouragement!
 
I was going to post asking if anyone had heard from you. I awoke in the middle of the night and realized either you had not been posting or I had not heard from you.
Sorry to hear about your bump in the road but happy that you're on your way back. Wow a mile that's pretty impressive. Keep up the good work.
Earline
 
Keep getting better

Keep getting better

Although I'm very sorry that you had to go through all that, it's been a help to me to see that not everyone comes through with no problems. I'm afraid I would have thought I was imagining it if I had any glitches. This helps me know what to be aware of.
Thanks for putting it out there.
Trish
twelve days to surgery, OY!
 
I think you should forget the treadmill for now and just concentrate on deep breathing techniques until the fluid resolves.
 
lorie setback

lorie setback

Hi Lorie, I'm glad you posted for us all, I was going to start a post to tell everyone you wer'nt feeling well, but was waiting to hear from you. Glad to hear your up and walking again. talk to you later. Debbie
 
I hope you feel lots better each day, don't get frustrated with the little bumps, we all had and have them. I had fluid around my heart, enough to make the cardio call my surgeon, common occurrance after OHS, and on my repeat echo a couple weeks ago, all gone.

Isn't it just wonderful to have this forum to talk things out and know you're understood and you're OK?:)
 
Lorie, sorry to hear about the bump in the road, but sounds like you've got a great attitude about it and I bet everything will smooth out soon.

For whatever it's worth, I agree with Ross about laying off the treadmill right now. Gradually increasing regular walking is good, but not sure a treadmill isn't somewhat risky right now. (On the other hand, using a treadmill and other exercise equipment in cardiac rehab a few months down the road can be very beneficial.)

There are probably others here who disagree with me about using a home treadmill so soon after surgery, but I am just offering my two cents worth.
 
I too commend you on your Great and Accepting Attitude Lorie. I suggest you put all of your posts / threads in a book on 'How to Approach Open Heart Surgery'. You may even want to publish it. What a Great Example you are to Newcomers.

I am also extremely impressed with Dr. Raissi continuing to follow your care post-op from afar. He has been exemplary in his service to you and a credit to his profession.

'AL Capshaw'
 
Sorry you had this setback, Lorie and hope everything goes well now. Take it easy- just rest walk and breathe and that should make for an easier recovery.
 
Not too many people get by without a bump or two. If you brought your incentive spirometer home with you, keep doing that. It's a good idea for anyone to use it at home for a few weeks post surgery.

I agree with Ross - there's activity - then there's activity. If your activity causes you to be tired or experience pain - it will also alter your breathing and lead to problems. It's not always good to push through the fatigue.

If you have that spirometer - give it a good workout!
 
Thanks everyone for the encouragement and advice. I will say that my surgeon, who I now have entrusted with my life (literally) has encouraged me to continue my walking and so I feel that I must follow his advice. I have scaled back a bit and am listening to my body...when I feel tried I rest. In terms of the treadmill, I understand your concern but without the treadmill I was finding exercise very difficult. You can only walk around the house so many times...it is bitterly cold here and snowy and I can't walk outside...and I live on a hill. Getting a ride to the mall to walk (since I can't drive yet) has been too cumbersome so it turns out the treadmill has been a good way for me to ensure that I can exercise without any excuses. I am walking at a fairly slow/moderate pace at no incline and I am sure to hang on to the handrails at all times. I also am trying to cut my sessions down to 20 minutes instead of the 40 I did a few days ago. And at no time during my walking sessions do I experience pain or unusual fatigue.
Oh yes, I am continuing with the incentive spirometer....and I can do it without the intense pain I was experiencing so I guess I am getting better! Who would have thought Motrin would be the answer!
Every day brings some small improvements and the most noteble last night was my ability to sleep for about 5 hours straight without waking! I also am able to sleep without being at such an incline, but not quite flat on my back yet. My next hurdle will be to start sleeping on my side again. Any ideas from you veterns on how long this takes...to be able to sleep on your side that is?
I am in a continued state of gratitude as I realize how fortunate I am to have this second chance and to have found such a wonderful and skilled surgeon and for the ongoing support of my friends and famiily! God is good!!
 
Hi Lorie,

Glad to hear that your are doing well and overcoming your "bumps". Please keep posting. Its nice to know you are doing well and for those of us about to climb the mountain it helps to read your posts when we are freaking out. Sure calms me down when I hear how you and other Veterans are able to handle the surgery.

God Bless,
 
Der Biermeister said:
yep --- bulllet holes


right Marguerite?

Right, John!! Those dastardly bullet holes!!!! ;) :D

Lorie. My drainage tube incisions were disgusting. I was really worried about them. The surgeon refused to stitch them up. NOW, I can say, he was right. Mine hardly show at all. They're like two little white cat eyes. Keep an eye on them, but don't worry. They'll probably heal just fine.

Glad you got yourself straightened out with the plerual effusion thing. Sorry it was so painful. I never had those troubles, but with any bump in the road, it's so hard to know what you are supposed to be feeling in recovery, and what isn't okay. I'm so glad you were in communication with your doctors and got to the ER.

Hope you are over the worst of it now.

Best wishes.

Marguerite
 
Hi Lorie,

Sorry to hear you have been in pain and probably worried about the cause. Really glad you have found out the cause and are feeling better. Yes, it all takes time. I went to the ER the second day I was home because the top of my incision was a bit red and oozing. They put me on antibiotics and it was resolved quickly. Sounds like you are on the mend...again!

I am 9 weeks post op now and just about able to finally sleep on my side. I so wanted to before, and did try a few times, but found I was on the edge of not feeling pain, and would sleep on my side for a while, then it would be painful later. So I encourage you to just get used to sleeping on your back for a while, and then when it really doesn't hurt or feel uncomfortable you will know it. Not fun, but c'est la vie. Not being able to sleep on my side was one of my biggest bummers!

You will feel better every day! I am back to work already and really feeling great. Don't forget to take it easy and keep up the great attitude!

All the best, Betsy
 
What a drag......I'm glad it's improving now!!
I started to lie on my side a bit at around 8 weeks....put a pillow at your back and kind of lie back on it. Do this for a short time each day until you get stronger.
I also had an infection under a couple of steri strips that did not fall off. Nurse had me flush it with saline based solution, not peroxide. Then put on antibiotic cream. Best wishes.
 
I feel your pain!!

I feel your pain!!

harleygirl528 said:
hello all,

Thought I should take a minute to let everyone know that although I was feeling so wonderful and progressing at such a wonderful rate the inevitable did happen....I hit the proverbial "bump in the road."

Hey Lorie.

When I started reading your post, I immediately thought you had what I had. On day six after I got home from my valve repair, I woke up around 3:30 in the morning and had crushing chest pains that went all the way across my chest. It actually went into my left arm a bit. I also could only take very short breaths. I had no idea what it was but it scared the crud out of me.

I woke up my wife, and since my parents were at my house to help out, I woke up my Dad to drive us. We immediately drove to the ER at Vandy.

When I got there they immediately started running tests on me. They wanted to make sure the valve hadn't failed. They also did a scan to see if I had a blood clot in my lungs. Long story short, everything looked fine.

They finally determined that I had Pericarditis, which is inflammation of the sac around the heart. They said that this normally happens in about 20% of patients after OHS. They gave me indometicin to reduce the inflammation. I felt better about an hour after they gave me the meds. They ended up keeping me for 24 hours.

I was sure you were going to say you had the same thing. So much for that.

Glad your starting to feel better. For what it's worth, I ended up having 3 bouts total of the pericarditis. If your pain comes back, you may want to ask them if it might be that.

Take care Lorie
 
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