Less fit since surgery

[Paleowoman]

I've been complaining about being not so fit as I was prior to surgery since my aortic valve replacement last January. Not just not so fit but also getting breathless on stairs and hills that wouldn't previously have made me so breathless.

Two weeks ago I saw my endocrinologist for review. My endo is a fantastic doctor who is able to think outside the box and is a great generalist as well as specialist. He thought my post surgery problems could be due to respiratory problems set off by surgery intubation and post surgical pleural effusions etc and urged me to see my respiratory consultant. I did yesterday. A chest x-ray showed I had air trapping in my lungs which would be causing both the breathlessness and the not feeling fit ! I will increase my dose of inhaler and see how it goes.

BUT I am so pleased to have found the reason for this. I was beginning to feel that my cardiologist and GP must be thinking it's all in my head, but it isn't !

Writing this to let people know that if they don't feel so fit as they feel they should after OHS, or if they have any other problems, complain away till someone helps find the reason for it. Sometimes it may truly be due to needing more time to recover, but if you know yourself you'll know whether it is that or something else. None of us are just a heart or aortic valve - other things can go 'wrong' and this kind of surgery can also set other things off.

 

[river-wear]

That's great you've been able to track down a cause for your intuition of something not being right. Thanks for sharing! I hope you're feeling back to your old self very soon.

I still feel less fit too, but I can see from my fancy scale that I'm still short several pounds of muscle I lost by laying around in the hospital. (Not that I actually lost weight overall.) I've shifted some attention from cardio workouts to weight training now.

 

[Paleowoman]

Thanks Michele ! I certainly feel relieved to have found a reason for not feeling so fit !

I do both cardio workouts and weight training - I love weight training and the cardio workout I do involves lifting weights too, lighter weights with lots of reps, kind of interval training for the heart. And I do a lot of walking, did a five mile brisk walk today as the sun was out

 

[LDM251]

I'm so glad to read your post. I've had some shortness of breath that's been getting a little worse and was wondering if it was just the way things were going to be, or if it was in my head. I had a pretty bad case of bronchitis a few weeks ago and I've noticed the major difference since then. So I'll keep asking questions and pushing for answers because I hate the way this is making me feel. It's frustrating after having had the surgery!!

 

[Paleowoman]

I hope you find an answer to your shortness of breath issue soon, LDM, as, I agree, it's very frustrating after surgery to not feel so good. I'm now feeling much better, no shortness of breath and I feel really strong again - just this last week actually. I'm really pleased, but it has been almost a year since surgery. Just keep telling the docs how you're feeling becasue there's nothing worse than feeling rough but also feeling that it must be in your head. I had almost stopped complaining but am glad i didn't !

 

[epstns]

For the first month or so after valve surgery, I didn't have the lung capacity that I had pre-op. My doc's found it to be caused by adhesions in my lungs. Apparently during surgery they deflate our lungs, and sometimes the lung collapses and "sticks together" so that when we regain consciousness the lung remains stuck together and does not fully inflate. Mine took weeks to return to full capacity, even with frequent and aggressive use of the spirometer. Sometimes it just takes a while.