How Long Until Back To Normal

[greggo32]

I am close to 10 weeks post op and I am wondering how long it is going to take me to get back to normal. I had a mechanical valve installed in the aortic position and I am wondering if those with biologic valves (porcine & homografts) recover faster as the valve is real tissue. The physical therapy really tires me out and combined with work I am quite tired at the end of the day. I notice that my pulse is faster and I feel fatigued. Kind of feels like I did before the surgery!!! If anyone can offer suggestions, I would appreciate it as I am trying not to get upset over the fact that I still feel fragile. I was hoping to have significantly more energy.

Thanks

 

[Christina]

Greggo.....

Greggo.....

Hi Greg,

You are only 10 weeks out, and it'll take about a year to completely feel back to normal.
You had major surgery not long ago, and your body went through major trauma. You must give it a lot more time.
You will have many days that you will feel on top of the world and other days when you barely can get one foot in front of the other and will feel very tired, but it does get better.
As you remember from my story, I had two surgeries very close together and am almost 2 years post-op. (August)
Like you, I also looked forward to feeling back to normal and was very impatient about it, but it did not go as quickly as I wanted it.
I think that I feel good most of the time now, but it took this long. I don't know if it was because of the second surgery, no idea, but it just took a long time.
Greg, I still have days that I feel more tired than other days, and I struggle through these days. At times it feels like it is not much different from before surgery.
Has it all gotten back to normal? No, I don't think it ever will be but it is close.
Greg, I believe one day you will feel back to normal because you have age in your favor. Just give it much more time and let everything heal. You also need to heal mentally. If you feel depressed you might seek some help. This surgery does quite a number on us physically, mentally and emotionally.
I think you are right on track. Just pace yourself and when you feel tired, take a little nap or just lie down and close your eyes for a few minutes. That always helps me.

Please take care of yourself.

Christina
Congenital Aortic Stenosis
AVR's 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
St.Jude's Mechanical


'BE THANKFUL FOR EVERY HEART THAT TOUCHES YOU AND GRATEFUL FOR EVERY HEART YOU CAN TOUCH".

 

[Ross]

I need say nothing here, Christina covered the whole gambit.

Hang in there Greg, it does get better, but you have to give it LOTS of time.

 

[sylviayasgur]

hin gregg!
i wish i could give you a better answer, but christina said it all. i think i mentioned to you that joey couldn't believe that he didn't feel better after his surgery! he is finally now saying that he is actually feeling stronger and more fit and better than he did pre-surgery or ever before!!! it's been 9 months though...
please, please try and be patient. at 6 months, joey _prior to his 6 month echo_ was convinced that something was wrong and that his valve was leaking or not as "fixed" as it should have been. he didn't feel great and truly thought that it was because of something physiological. fortunately, all is well and even after 7 months, he still didn't feel great.
neither of us could believe it would take this long to feel this good, but i've read on this forum that it can sometimes take up to a year! so, again, we're here for you.... tell us a million times that you are not feeling the way you had hoped you would by now (are you kidding? 10 weeks?!)... give it some time. i know it's hard to be patient, but trust me (and the rest here) the end is in sight...
stay well, sylvia

 

[Nancy]

Hi Greg-

Christina's right. It takes about a year to feel your old self again. In addition to your heart healing, your body is going through some transformations. Usually before surgery your body is in terrible shape. Your heart isn't working right and that makes everything else in your body not work right. If you have had a period of time when you've been inactive, your muscles can be diminished. So everything has adjustments to do. When you are able to exercise a little bit more, and get your muscles working better, you'll start to feel much better.

Being tired is par for this type of surgery, but it will improve.

10 weeks is still a short amount of time. If it were an appendectomy, you'd be flying by now, but this surgery is different, not like any other that I know of.

You'll be fine eventually, I promise.

 

[greggo32]

OK, I'm back to reality

OK, I'm back to reality

Hey Christina, Sylvia, and Ross-

I didn't want to hide my feelings in private e-mails to each of you so I figured that I should just let it all out. First off, Christina's story has had a tremendous emotional impact on me. What happened to her (needing a reoperation within 8 days I think it was) was my worst fear. She went through this and I cannot imagine how I would have reacted had it been me. I remember that my first day in ICU (post op) was rough. They were transfusing me and my temperature was up to 101.5 due to a reaction to the blood. I was very scared that something bad was going to happen to me and that I was going to have to return to the O.R. I had nobody there for me. It was the night time and the nurses were overworked. I felt so scared. My nurse couldn't articulate a plan of care to me. He was a young kid and he was quite "green". He didn't even know that I just had a valve job. He thought I was there for coronary artery bypass surgery. And he was my nurse!! I phoned my mother and yelled at her to get to the hospital ASAP. Anyway, after reading the responses to my posting, I just started to cry. I still have that fear that something isn't right and it is such a relief to get some reassurance. Overall, I am doing pretty good; yet, there are times that I feel just like I did before the surgery and I say to myself, "What the hell did I go through all that for". So, enough said. Thanks for the support.

 

[Ross]

My first experience was somewhat similiar to yours. (ICU)
The vent kept spitting water into my lungs and choking me. I couldn't talk, obviously, and I was so drugged that no one could read my writing, then they tied my hands down cause I was trying to tell them by showing them. I thought sure that I'd be found dead and the cause would be drowning. I fear that happening again and I've already told the Doctors about it too!

Greg there isn't anything wrong with showing your emotions on the board. I call that therapeutic and you need to remember just how serious the operation was and how long it's going to take to return to a more normal status. Heck, I still cry for no apparent reason on occasion. You'll get there buddy, in all due time.

I've got a discharge paper here somewhere, where everything that went wrong is listed. When I find it, I'll send you a copy. At the very least, it should make you feel better.

 

[hensylee]

Dear Greg - Your post above says it all - this is the reason we are all here - to offer and receive support from others who have been up and over the mountain and it ain't easy to climb and sometimes even when we are 'over' it still isn't easy. Hope you always feel confident about expressing your fears and joys here as all of us need to hear them and most of us can relate. And cry, if we feel like it. Hank has given us this and we are ever grateful to him (and Michelle). God bless

 

[Perrster]

Just hang in there...

Just hang in there...

Greetings Greggo,

I'm sorry if my reply here sounds like another "just hang in there and you'll be ok" echo. But, I think I've been where you are at this time so I hope my little story helps.

Two years ago I was freakin' out over many of the same things you are going through. I was literally possessed and obsessed with what had happened to me. I felt like crap for many months and was very frustrated. My monthly Protime tests were unpleasant experiences (they kind of still are). I floundered around, uncertain of what the heck I was doing or where I was going. I was totally ignorant of my medical condition and the surgery I had just encountered. (I did not discover vr.com until at least 8 months post-op.) During my first 6 months post-op, I went to the emergency room twice which didn't turn up a thing other than my shirt sleeves and wasted hours.

Nevertheless, it was a learning experience. I wish I had kept a log or something. However, I did get a copy of one of my X-Rays. I framed a portion of the film that shows two large clear holes where my valves are located. Weird, morbid, strange...yeah, so what! It's kind of a cool graphic.

Cardiac Rehab was my first experience of anything positive toward the lifestyle change I was heading for (I was told to expect a year for FULL recovery). Slowly my obsessions started to take a turn and my maintenance program took control. It took a hell of a long time to get to where I am today. I haven't met Rain yet, but it sounds like she is over her "obsession" period too. And, I'll bet there are many other "veterans" here that have also been though the same thing.

I owe much of my success to my wife who always seems to have solutions to many of my stupid issues, and for her constantly re-directing me when I get off course. Secondly, I set personal goals (lifestyle changes) that I focused on. i.e., increasing exercise (walking/running in a couple of 5K's every year), golf, diet, quitting coffee and alcohol (still a few beers now and again ain't going to kill me!), getting my own Protime unit, and helping others (I tried the Mended Hearts, but valvereplacement.com is better). It's great to be alive and "click because I care." All that took my mind off my medical condition.

Right now my chest feels like an idling Harley Davidson (you know that deep blub-blub, blub-blub sound). It's not going to go away and I have accepted it as the norm and really don't give it much thought anymore. I have a new obsession which is my golf game that I have been able to get back to after so many idle years.

Greg, about all I can suggest is that you keep educating yourself about your situation and try to set personal goals. Take this as an opportunity to think about your lifestyle changes. You will soon discover how amazing (I didn't say easy!) it is to accomplish them.

BTW, your t-shirt is definitely in the works. Sorry for the delay.

Regards,

 

[ALCapshaw]

Hi Greg,

I can still remember feeling VERY disappointed with my recovery 6 months after my CABG. It was closer to a full year before I felt I had regained all that I was going to.

I'm now 6 weeks post op from my AVR and just beginning to feel some improvement. The first 3 or 4 weeks were a real BEAR (polite B-word) and I've deliberately refrained from being too explicit until I can offer some hope for the long run. My heart and valve seem to be doing just fine. It's all the other reactions / side effects that have been a problem. I just keep telling myself it will all work out in time.

'AL'

 

[Marty]

How long?

How long?

Greg, I don't know whether this will make you feel better or worse. I was 72 when I had mitral valve replacement four years ago. I now feel great and have a lot of energy but my recovery took almost two years. I have a young friend 30 who had AVR with a St. Jude. He is very fit and a marathon runner now. He said his path to full recovery also took almost two years. So hang in there and work hard at rehab and stay with it.

 

[JimL]

I'm almost eight months post-op, and if it takes two full years to full recovery, that's just fine; I had much less than that left to full termination.
I think of my recovery as constantly moving up and down; there are good days and bad days. But the positive thing is that they are all tending in the right direction. I now peak well above what I used to be. It amazes me now to be working at a task and to feel plenty of energy to continue at it.
I still think back fondly to those first months after surgery when I had more of an excuse to rest and nap and sleep whenever I wanted to...

 

[Peachy]

Hi Greg

I'm six months post op and feel great. I chose the biological valve and am not on any medication. Right from the start I went out walking every day. If it was raining I would exercise by going up and down the stairs a few times. At three months post op I started back at work. I also took up cycling and since then try to cycle most days. I can now do around 30 miles. The cycling has brought my heart rate almost back to where it was before the op. It has come down from 100 to 55. My energy has certainly come back and I don't feel tired any more. I owe a lot of my recovery to my Partner who has been very supportive throughout and has always encouraged me to do daily exercise and was good at stopping me from worrying post op about every little thing. Best wishes and hope you feel better soon.

 

[Bill Hall]

Greg - Maybe I am an exception, but my symptoms were not very noticeable before surgery. After about six weeks after surgery, I felt about the same as before surgery. No improvements since then and it's been 18 months. I was hoping for additional energy, but it just didn't happen.

 

[Johnny Stephens]

Hang in there

Hang in there

Hello Greg

I asked this same question to a lot of my docs and nurses, and got varying answers, similar to what you're seeing here. I do think you may be expecting too much too soon...this is a major assault on the system and the repercussions last for months.

In my own situation, I was sick enough from a lung standpoint before surgery, that I already feel better than I did pre-op. There are lingering effects in other areas that are going to take a year or so to work out, such as back pain, endurance in my legs (from 8 days unconscious in the ICU), etc.

I have good days and I have bad days. Friday afternoon seems to drag on forever, I get exhausted, and my sternum starts to hurt...I think pushing yourself too hard contributes to the "bad days."

I hope this helps.

 

[Mb]

Hi Greg:

My husband's recovery has also been slow. He had two valves installed in October of 2001. He was dx'd in April with a third, leaking tricuspid valve, and he is in chronic a-fib. We have thought all along that there are other factors influencing his recovery. He has had a couple of bleeding events, since the surgery, from the coumaden. Through all of this though, for the most part, he has been good emotionally. We just take each day at a time. We both think he has been better, more energy, since about mid-May....although he did have a minor setback last week from a really really bad hematoma.
The message we have gotten from everyone...his cardio's, here on this stie, etc., is that everyone is different, and recovers at their own rate. My husband, for example, could not walk 50 feet without being SOB, and that was walking slowly. He climbed a flight os stairs and was SOB at the top, where he had to rest.
I would recommend that you go in to see your Dr. - You might need, emotionally, to have a follow-up echo done, to reassure you that everything is AOK, and that you are making progress. Just an idea. And, take it easy on yourself. You are not a by-pass patient, who usually recover very quickly, and do NOT let anyone think you are. A valve job takes much., much longer to recover from.
Finally, to quote someone else on this site......Where does God fit into all of this?

Best wishes.

Marybeth

 

[BillCobit]

Great site, great discussion. I've been struggling with lack of info and guidance as I try to resume an active life after valve repair. My cardiologist can't really help me here. These posts have really help me put things in perspective.

After correction of my valve leak, I thought I could expect an immediate horsepower pickup. I'm struggling to get back to pre-op performance after 6 months (though I'm almost there). Sounds like I'll have to wait a while longer. That's fine w/ me, now that I have a better understanding of what I should expect.

 

[Ross]

Welcome to the group Bill

You'll find a lot of answers, nice people, support, you name it, here.

It does take what seems to be forever, to get back to normal or as close to it as possible. We know it isn't forever, but we all expect things to happen rapidly and it doesn't work like that.

Look forward to more of your posts.

 

[McCln]

To Gregg and Bill

To Gregg and Bill

I am at nine months, soon to be ten months post op, and still have problems with my chest still healing. I still have good days and bad because I am still healing. It takes some people longer thatn other so recover. No two people receover the same way, no matter what surgery they have done. It just take time and give your body time to heal. Even if you do anything in exercise, walk, and plenty of it. I just recently purchased a treadmill so it would be easier for me to get the walking in, even in the winter. I have lost soem weight since getting it and am happy in the needed lose of weight. You take care and take your time. I will be better after my year passes. Hang in there. Things will get better through time.

Caroline
09-13-01
Aortic valve replacement
St. Jude's valve

 

[greggo32]

Still Frustrated!

Still Frustrated!

I started this thread as I was wondering how long it would take for me to feel better than I felt before my surgery. I have received a lot of helpful responses and I appreciate all of them. I don't want to beat a dead horse on this issue. I still have difficulty with things like talking in a louder voice. I get palpatations when I do this. I continue to feel very tired at the end of the day (mind you I've gone to physical rehab and worked as well). Here's my question and I don't want to call the cardiologist or surgeon about it because I know what they are going to say.

Here's what happens-I get these strange fears like...."There is a scar tissue obstruction in the aorta near the valve and this accounts for my symptoms" or "The surgery wasn't a complete success and there is something wrong", or some other fears including the "I'm gonna die!" I'm not depressed and I'm not having panic attacks. I'm just plain frustrated. I know it has only been 3 months but I get a little down when I get smacked in the face with these limitations.