Jerry?s Home!

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Jerry?s Home!

The rapid heart beat (138-145 bpm) which caused Jerry to have an anxiety attack on Sunday night was resolved when his doctor increased his LoPressor to 50 mg Monday morning.. He was released from the hospital on Monday around 5 PM after his Echo proved that all is well. His heart rate was at 95 bpm during the Echo

I went to a nutrition class while waiting for Jerry to return from the test and learned about the low sodium diet he is to follow for the next 6 weeks. We made the 2 hour trip home with one stop midway for him to stretch his cramping legs and shoulders. Unaccustomed to being a passenger in a vehicle, I suspect he was doing a little secretive back seat driving too ;) He was surprised how much the ride took out of him and was feeling somewhat light headed when we got in the house. After a quick supper, he took 2 Advil was more than ready for bed. I was amazed that it was more comfortable for him to sleep in our bed rather than in the recliner. He was so happy to be able to sleep on his side again and slept all night.

Yesterday we both got up around 6 AM and I meant to post an update but had so much to do with settling Jerry in comfortably, doing some grocery shopping, laundry, unpacking, picking up our black lab Abby, and fielding a steady flow of phone calls. Jerry was ready for a nap around 3 PM and bed around 9 PM. I was ready for bed too! Again, he slept all night and woke up this morning feeling much more rested than when in the hospital. He does tire easily however and even taking a shower is draining. Jerry has a long history of lower back problems and says that sitting in the recliner for long periods bothers his back. He hasn't taken any of the pain pills since coming home but has had to take Advil a few times for the shoulder and lower back soreness. The incision is healing nicely and some of his bruises look a little better.

Jerry?s lost some weight, going from 210 lbs. to 200 lbs. since his surgery, but his appetite has not been affected much. He says food still tastes just as good as it always did. He really wanted to lose 10 lbs. anyway ;) In 7-10 days he will see his cardiologist here in Eau Claire for a check-up.

It?s so good to have him home and on the mend!
 
That's great news Carol and I'm happy to know all is going well. It'll be hard on you, but make sure he doesn't try to over do stuff now that he's home. Exert authority if you have too! :D

Sounds to me like he's escaped some of the unwanted side effects like loss of taste, sleeping in a bed and not a recliner, etc. All of this is great. Look forward to his posting when he feels like it. :)
 
Hooray for Jerry! We ALL know how getting home means instant improvement. He may be weak but I'm sure so much more comfortable and relaxed. How's the old saw go? "Hospitals are great places to be sick in, awful places to get well in."

Make sure he does his breathing and walking; the napping, somehow, seems to take care of itself!
 
Hi Carol

Please give Jerry our best wishes.....he certainly seems to be doing wonderfully!!!! Naps are wonderful for both of you; do them often, even if it's only 20 minutes. I remember when Tyce had his surgery, I used to watch him sleep to make sure he was ok!!! Now I still like listening to him snore.

We weren't sent home with any pain meds at all....our surgeon told Tyce to take 2 extra strength tylenol if he had discomfort. If I remember correctly, he only did that for about 3 days and that was about it.

Keep up the great recovery---both of you, because you BOTH play a huge part in it!!! You're off my prayer list----isn't that a good thing!!!

Evelyn
 
Hey Carol, thanks for the update. He will mend quickly now but will be tired and sore for awhile. Sounds good.

I think most if not all of us lost weight, but alas it came back after a time. So, if he needs to lose it, tell him to watch his intake of those delicious foods you are preparing for him.

God bless
 
Hi Carol!

Wonderful news! I'm so glad you are both back home and getting back to "normal"! Nice, too, to hear that all is well with his heart and that the fast heart rate wasn't any sort of setback. I bet you are relieved to have that week over with. Be sure to get your rest, too, as the others have said here. Kick back when you can and don't try to take on unnecessary projects. Best wishes for a full and speedy recovery!

Thanks for your posts and emails too!

Jennie
 
Hi Carol and Jerry!

Great to hear that Jerry is home and on the road to recovery! Keep using that incentive spirometer!

Here are some links regarding the aspirin, ibuprophen, and genetics issues related to bicuspid aortic valves.

The first link discusses how different aspirin doses supposedly works related to clotting; the second one deals with ibuprofen (Advil) negating the anti-clotting effects of aspirin. Jerry might want to think about switching to Tylenol.

http://www.warfarinfo.com/aspirin-platelets.htm

http://www.startribune.com/stories/670/3653690.html

A study of more than 250 people showed that most of those who took low-dose or coated aspirin in fact saw no reduced blood clotting, researchers told a meeting of the American Stroke Association in Phoenix.

Full-sized, uncoated aspirin seemed more effective, according to a measurement of platelet function, according to Dr. Mark Alberts, director of the Stroke Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...roke_aspirin_dc


I do know that many heart patients (homografts) from the Mayo Clinic are prescribed the 81 mg dose of aspirin; my surgeon put me on a 325 mg dose, but 3 months post op, my cardiologist said the 81 mg dose was fine.


These next links shows the conference at which a report on genetic links to bicuspid valves was presented; the second link goes directly to the article itself.
http://www.faseb.org/genetics/ashg/...2/sess-57.shtml
http://www.faseb.org/genetics/ashg02s/f239.htm

The key phrase is that their findings call for periodic screening of all first degree relatives in families where a bicuspid aortic valve has been found, including those whose valves appear normal. What they are finding is that the valve does not have to appear malformed - there is still a risk of this genetically-based condition affecting the aorta.

Best wishes for a speedy recovery,
--John
 
Advil effect on Aspirin

Advil effect on Aspirin

Hi John,

Thanks for the sound advice and links to sites regarding the possible counter effect of Advil on the benefits of taking aspirin and genetic predisposition of bicuspid aortic valve stenosis. Jerry has been taking a 325 mg aspirin dosage since he came home simply because I asked the doctor if it would be okay since we had regular Bayer aspirin on hand anyway. I was told it was okay if it didn't bother his stomach.

A couple of the links you gave me didn't work, but you gave me enough information to do a little further searching. The bad links could just have been due to my sometimes flaky cable modem. Anyway, Jerry switched to Tylenol this morning and actually found it did a better job with the back pain. I also discovered some Tylenol PM in the far recesses of our medicine cabinet if he has trouble sleeping.

As far as bicuspid valve stenosis and it being genetic, our oldest son (28) was told he had a heart murmur a couple of years ago and has on occasion had brief episodes of tachycardia. He did go in to see a cardiologist last summer and wore a monitor of some type for several days. An Echo was also done at our suggestion, but nothing abnormal was found. We'll mention it to him so he keeps on top of it.

Thanks for keeping us informed.
 
Hi Carol,
I'm so glad to hear that Jerry is home and seems to be doing very well. Once you get home, you start to steadily improve. It is much more comfortable than being in the hospital. Regarding the fast heart rate while in the hospital. The same thing happened to me. My heart rate was a little fast, over 100 and when I saw that I started to get upset and it went up and up and up...to about 130. By then I was just about ready to have a panic attack. I rang for the nurse and she said everything was fine and that I shouldn't be watching the monitor. She said my rhythm was fine and if there was a problem an alarm would go off at the nurses station and there would be a lot of nurses in there then. Well, needless to say, when the nurse went to turn off my call bell, she accidently hit the code button and I didn't know it and all of a sudden all of these nurses came storming into my room. I'll tell you what, that really made my heart rate go up. Scared me something terrible, but it was all a false alarm.
Regarding the Advil. I was told by the doctors that I shouldn't take meds like advil anymore (IBP) and that I should only use Tylenol.
I'm glad to hear things are going well. Please give Jerry all my best and I pray for an uneventful recovery.

Take Care!
Gail
 

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