Husband's 8 day post op

[anutherbuddy]

Hi all - my husband had both the MV replace and Bentall procedure to replace bicuspid AV and fix the aortic dilation (porcine) on Sep 12. The surgery was 10 1/2 -11 hours long - he had some coagulopathy stuff going on for awhile. They kept him on the ventilator and sedated until the following morning. Day one was great - he was up walking in a few short hours, visiting, eating, drinking, and following directions. Day 2-5 were downer days. Apparently he wasn't registering pain and when asked about his pain level he would say it was 0-1 so they didn't give him any pain meds. Those of us who knew him could recognize his discomfort, though, and finally I was able to explain to him that "discomfort" meant "pain" and then he was able to ask for meds. Unfortunately, by then he was so uncomfortable that he was miserable and very nauseated - he couldn't/wouldn't eat or drink anything. The narcotics they used to make him "more comfortable" just made him more sick at his stomach and dizzy - therefore no eating/drinking/walking. We helplessly watched as he became weaker, more confused and less communicative. Finally, on day 5 the doctor recognized that he was having hallucinations so they stopped all narcotic pain meds (morphine and percocet) and started controlling his "discomfort" with tylenol and motrin. Within a few hours he started coming around, his appetite gradually improved and he was able to start following directions to use the incentive breathing device, walk, eat and all the other basics. He got out of ICU late that same day. He had some fibrillation and rapid heart rate on day 6 but they were able to get it under control by upping his dose of lopressor and amiodorone. He came home yesterday, day 7. He's still really weak and his appetite is still improving. He has had trouble swallowing pills because his throat is sore and he has a dry, persistent cough. Tylenol or motrin helps with the sore throat. He also finds that leaning forward, pressing his chin to his chest and taking pills with milk seems to help get the pills down. He still takes lots of cat naps and was up a couple of times last night but he seems ok with that. Guess he misses all the activity in the hospital. haha. It's all a learning experience, isn't it? He starts cardiac rehab next week - 2 x/wk for 12 weeks. We love this forum. You answer questions we have (and some we haven't had yet) and give us hope for better days ahead. Thanks to all!

 

[Jkm7]

Sorry to hear your DH has had a hard time but it sounds like he is now on a good course.
Some of us are able to handle the pain meds better than others and for some, they present a real problem. Good his doctors acted to get them out of his system.

The exhaustion and weakness many of us feel in the days and weeks post op can be very extreme. I was very healthy going into my second OHS but the weakness was remarkable. I regained by strength day by day, rather rapidly, but it is very, very different for all of us. The most useful, helpful thing for me, both my surgeries, was walking. I followed the instructions Mass General Hospital gave me and it was immensely helpful.

Just my opinion but given what you have described about your DH, maybe cardiac rehab next week might be a bit soon for him. Maybe if he is faithful about doing his walking several times throughout the day and holds off on rehab for an extra week or two, he might be stronger when he starts. Perhaps discuss that with his cardiologist or PCP?

Sounds like your DH is now on a good path to recovery and hopefully you will continue to see steady improvement. Don't you or he be discouraged if he takes a step or two backwards during his recovery........ that is quite usual for most of us.

Please let us know how you and he are doing.

Take good care.

 

[Cageman24]

I had bentall 4 weeks ago today and have to agree with Jkm7, that although we are all different I too would wait another week or two before starting cardiac rehab.

The difference for me between week 1 and 2 to now at week 4 is remarkable. I considered myself quite fit and active for a 42 year old ( regular sports / gym etc.) but for the first week or two my cardio and strength had diminished to levels that really surprised me, not able to take a flight of stairs without resting at the top and small walks were very tiring.

You really do improve on a day by day basis, rest plenty, take naps as needed, use breathing exercises and take it slowly and you will be amazed how quickly you get back to normal. Your husband might not be able to see light at the end of the tunnel now (I definitely didn't) but it is there and with time, rest and small steps he will back to normal very soon.

Good luck and my thoughts are with you both.