Home Care Questions

[Travler]

As I have just a few days before surgery, I am trying to get everything in order and prepared for my return home.
I have talked with my surgeon about what takes place after surgery. He said he would give me a list of do's and don'ts before I come home.
What I would like to hear from you who have had surgery is:

1. During the first week-what is normal as far as the way you feel, what you can or cannot do for yourself?

2.In the second week-is it much different from the first week, if so in what ways?

3. The doctor has said no driving or going back to work before I see him again in 4 weeks. In your experience if things are normal, will I be able to drive or am I looking at more time.

I do not want to rush the recovery, as I want a complete one.
But by the same token I don't want to over baby myself and make the recovery time longer.

Thanks for your help and encouragement, you are a super group!

 

[wlaldridge]

My recovery has been pretty remarkable and uneventful, thank goodness. Some discomfort and problems getting totally comfortable. No Pain to speak of, except when coughing or laughting, dang that is a little more than just uncomfortable.

There are a number of pre-surgery threads with posts about your questions. Do a search under my username wlaldridge. I will see if I can find and quote some of the really great advice I got from some of the others, Walter Weir (wweir) and Charilie (cmcherry) both especially gave extensive advice to me. I do not know right now if it was in email or just posted, I will try to locate and get them to you. Everyone has been just SUPER helpful here. There was also a thread about returning to work in as little as 4 weeks, maybe under NashvilleDave (not sure). The consensus, I think was that it is possible but somewhat unlikely. My surgery was just 11 days ago and I came home a week ago tomorrow. I really feel pretty great. Walking makes me short of breath after 5 or 10 minutes but it is getting better and I live with very high temps and humidity. The advice of walk, walk, walk breathe, breathe, breathe, nap, nap, and nap is really good. Granbonny has been my big cheerleader(along with many others who have been there, done that) when it comes to that.

I am going to go looking for some of the stuff I mentioned. Will get back to you. My experience has been better than many, I think.. Much of it is luck of the draw but the upbeat attitude everyone here forced on me has been a big help. Konw you will do very well, this thing is a miracle-truely.

Bill

 

[EVELYN]

Hi Travlr....

Bill is absolutely right, go back to some of the old threads---there's lots and lots of good info on them. Here are a few more things we were told that definitely helped.

1. Go to Walmart or some store like that and buy a long body pillow. It's great to help you prop yourself up in bed. Tyce slept propped up for quite some time, so you might need some additional pillows, but the body pillow worked wonders.

2. As was told to me, the adage of "walk, walk, walk, breathe, breathe, breathe, nap, nap, nap" worked wonders. Tyce took lots of naps during the day, even if only for 20 minutes. He also used the spirometer quite a bit during the day, too. He didn't mind the coughing so much, but the sneezes were a killer, he said. We went from walking around the house once, to up to 3 miles on the beach---about 5 weeks post.

3. Driving---Don't push yourself to drive. Those muscles were definitely cut through and need time with no pulls to heal---believe it or not, Tyce still is not allowed to pull a power mower cord or lift bottled water. He's presently 12 weeks post and doing very very well, but I do think it's because we listened to the cardio's advice. I know it was 6 weeks before he was told by the cardio-thoracic surgeon that he could drive. His regular cardio let him drive at 5.

Hope this is a help and that you're up and going very soon. Whatever you do, don't push it, it's just not worth having problems.

Good luck.

Evelyn and Tyce

 

[ALCapshaw]

Hello Travler,

It is a good idea to have someone with you around the clock for at least the first week, preferably two if you can arrange it.

You will most likely find that you sleep no more than 3 hours at a time,
so get up when you have the energy, and take Lots of NAPS. Naps are GOOD. For the first two or three weeks, you will most likely find it uncomfortable to sleep on your side. Some recommend a recliner, or a (rented) hospital bed, or the couch. Others report good results with a Body Pillow in their regular bed. You will tire easily for awhile and may be a bit of a 'grouch'.

Pain pills will control your discomfort as long as you take them on schedule. Many people are able to get by on (extra strength) Tylenol. Most of my discomfort was muscular (around the shoulder blades) rather than the chest. Massage helps a LOT with muscle pains. A firm pillow held tightly helps to minimize chest discomfort if you sneeze or laugh heartily.

I drove (cautiously) at 4 weeks, putting my chest pillow under the shoulder belt. VERY few people go back to work at 4 weeks. MOST patients who experience a smooth and uneventful recovery wait until 6 to 8 weeks. Complications such as (walking) pneumonia can delay that by several more. Use your Incentive Spirometer (Breathing exerciser) OFTEN (say 10 minutes every couple of hours) to prevent pneumonia and restore your lungs to full capacity. IMHO, the minimal recommended schedule is inadequate. I developed walking pneumonia at week 3 following Bypass Surgery and had other (chest tube related) breathing problems following my Valve Replacement.

Bottom Line:

Walk, Walk, Walk, Nap, Nap, Nap, Breathe, Breathe, Breathe !

See the REFERENCE section for some good books and websites on what to expect following Heart Surgery. Review the PreSurgery and Post Surgery sections of this Forum for more recommendations / experiences.

Keep a POSITIVE MENTAL ATTITUDE. Success rates are VERY HIGH (~98-99% for uncomplicated first surgeries) and minor complications are quickly recognized and successfull treated. Get to your Dr. or the ER if any you experience any unusual discomfort or breathing problems. They will know what to do.

'AL'

 

[hhardt]

Driving

Driving

Q #3 says you were told not to drive until after you returned to the doctor in 4 weeks. You may be told then to wait longer. The problem is not how well you feel and what you think you can get by with. The issue is that those feelings assume nothing goes wrong. Reality is that if a "close" call happens, you now have to take quick action. Even that can spell big trouble with your still healing stuff. An accident can can cause even bigger major problems. Better someone else drives and you use your pillow, than you start the healing process over. As you will learn about pillow use, don't leave home without it.

 

[Nancy]

Hi Travler-

Remember that your sternum will be sawed through (if you ever had a broken bone you know what that means, same thing) as well as your chest muscles cut, your ribs will also be sore because they will have been spread apart. This will cause some soreness and stiffness, not only in the front of your body, but also your back and neck muscles will be tight and crampy feeling. You'll be on pain meds, although you'll be more uncomfortable than in horrible pain. You will also not be mentally "sharp" after your surgery for several weeks. It takes a while to get the body attuned to the new you and to get your heart and lungs working well again. As one of Joe's doctors from years ago said, you won't have much "air going to the squash" for a little while. These are some of the reasons that they don't want you to drive. As was already said, you cannot react swiftly to things and turning the wheel in the car will be painful. You have to let the sternum bone heal and that means not much torquing movement.

Joe has a shower chair which he's used after all his surgeries. It is plastic and folds up. It has a high back which he could hold on to if need be, and he could also sit if he wanted. You might look for one of those.

Stock up on ice pops and juices. Food won't taste too good for a couple of weeks.

If you don't have a recliner, get a footstool or hassock to put your feet up on. Sometimes you can pack a lot of fluid right after surgery. Elevating your feet helps.

You will not be able to speak loudly because your throat will be irritated from the tubes and your diaphragm might be sore. I got a set of personal walkie-talkies for Joe, so I could go outside and do yard work if it was needed. A two-way baby monitor (one where you can talk as well as listen) might work as well. If you are getting a mechanical valve, look into a sound machine. It takes a little time to get used to the valve noise. It's not terrible, and you'll eventually get used to it, but it might be annoying when you try to sleep.

Someone should be with you 24/7 for the first week and as was already said the second week as well, if possible.

Your surgeon will give you a list of the things you can do and the things you should watch out for.

Most of all, know this forum is filled with success stories, and you'll be one too. Soon you'll be helping others go through this surgery.

Good luck.

 

[JimL]

It feels SOOOOOO good to be able to drive again after surgery! It's well worth the wait.
Even after my surgeon gave me the go-ahead to drive (perhaps three weeks after surgery), I found turning to either side to look for traffic was uncomfortable. I also noticed that it was more difficult for me to keep my attention on the road. In other words, even though I didn't tell anyone, and fortunately didn't get in any accidents, it may have been too soon.

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi travler!
everyone here has pretty much covered it all...
i would sooner see you "over baby" yourself than try too hard. this is truly the time to do it_ rest, relax, nap as you need (sleeping is the hardest part), gather your pillows around for cushioning and support,
and let others do for you. your body will need the rest to heal.
best wishes and please have someone post for you so we know how things go.
be well, sylvia

 

[LUVMyBirman]

The only thing I can offer, nottoo much discomfort in my chest. Think I was more worried that I was going to hurt myself, than it hurt. My pain was mostly muscle related in other parts of the body. Maybe the positioning during surgery? Mind you, it did feel like I had been ran over, but without pain. Soarness and stiffness. Felt similar after giving birth to my daughther.

Nancy described a lot of pain in the chest like a broken bone? Have broken a bone prior to surgery......that leg felt much much worse than my chest did, believe me.

Hang in there,
Good luck

 

[hensylee]

Week one - be a baby as much as you can. Take really good care of yourself. Sleep when you can, walk around the house if you want but not outside alone. Do the exercises they give you in the hospital - Hunt a spot that makes you the most comfortable.
Have someone know when you are in bathroom or taking a shower and make sure they are close by. You will be weak so it is necessary to have someone not far away, if possible. Wear loose and comfortable clothing.

Second week - you'll have found your feet by now and can figure out what you can/can't do and will be feeling stronger and better able to look after yourself. The rest will begin to fall into place.

If you have questions or feel something just isn't 'right', call your doctor.

As to driving - listen well to your doctor. What they say about driving is very important.

God bless

 

[joy]

Hey there Travler! Lets see.....week 1, my mom and my husband were there round the clock. I slept in my own bed with my mom(hubby slept on an air mattress) and I doubt SHE'LL ever want to sleep in the same house with me again! (she said I grind my teeth LOUD!

Week 2, my husband went back to work, but my gramma came out to spend days with me so I didn't have to lift Erik. SHe went to her hotel room at night( she wanted her privacy)

Week 3, my husband took an additional week of leave so he could be with me to help with the boys.

Week 4, Ian went to a friend's house during the time Kevin was at work, Erik stayed home with me. My gramma and I had worked on ways of getting him around without lifting him, as he was over my weight restriction.

Week 5, Both boys were at home, but I had to take it easy. Kevin was just a mile away at work and all I had to do was call

Week 6, surgeon said it was ok to drive again, but I only drove around base and didn't go on the highway until I personally felt comfortable with it.

SOOOO...... basically it's best to go by what the surgeon says and your cardiologist says, BUT take longer if you are not comfortable doing something yet. Good luck!

 

[Kevin M]

Rest more than you think you need.
Walk more than you want to.
Deep breathe until you roll your eyes from boredom.
Let people take care of you.

You will feel very tired and it will be difficult to sleep.
I slept on our chez lounger with a ton of pillows propped all over my body.

I found with both my surgeries that I had some awful muscle aches in my back and neck for about a month.

The first day is the worst. The second day isn't as bad.
After day three, it gets much easier.
After the first week, you'll notice your strength will increase dramatically, but be careful not to get overtired.

You are going to do great!
Kev

 

[ALCapshaw]

MUSCLES CUT ?

MUSCLES CUT ?

Nancy and Bill both mentioned having some chest muscles cut through during surgery. Is that right?

I was of the opinion that there was only SKIN and BONE (sternum) at the center of the chest with the chest muscles being to each side of center. Anybody KNOW for sure?

'AL'