Major Complications

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BillG

I am new to this forum so bear with me.

I had Aortic Valve Replacement (mechanical valve) on June 30th of this year. I had MAJOR issues from the start. 8 1/2 hour surgery... Followed by Double Pneumonia and TWO A-Vibs (heart racing)... I was in the ICU for 16-days and total visit for 23-days.

Now its been 7-weeks since I am home. I am cleared for Cardiac Rehab but I still can't sleep (more than 3-hours)... I have little appetite... I can barely walk more than 5-minutes. I am on 12 different meds daily... some 4-times a day. I can't feel my ring finger and pinky on one hand and the pinky on the other.

I know this is abnormal... but what is still causing all this? My meds?
Any ideas?

I have read most of what is on t he forum... Alot of success stories. My only success is I have lost 45 pounds since I went into the hospital.

Anyones help would be greatly appreciated.

BILLG
 
BillG welcome to the forum. We may not have all your answers but as you'll find there is a lot of great supportive people here. I'm sorry to hear about your complications.
After my surgery for many months I had a lot of problems with my shoulders and arms from surgery.
 
Hi Bill,
Sometimes it is hard to read all the success stories when your story isn't nearly so easy. There are plenty of members here that have gone through things similar to yours. They will be along shortly to give you some ideas. You are not alone. This is a great place for support and encouragement.

My son also had major complications, but not the same ones as you so I don't have a lot of advice, but wanted to welcome you here.
 
Sorry you've a rough time Bill, hopefully things will be better from here on out. What does your cardio say about your issues?

My first AVR went smoothly but based on what I'm hearing from the cardio and surgeon, I'm not so sure I'll be as lucky this next time.
 
Bill - I'm glad you found us. Your body went through the ringer and it will take quite a while to recover. Cardiac Rehab will be good because you will be monitored and they will be able to catch anything that really should not be happening.

Don't ever hesitate to call your doctor with your concerns.
 
Welcome, Bill. It sounds like the truck that hit you backed up and did it again a couple of times. I'm sorry you had such serious complications.
More knowledgeable people will show up, but it would help to know how well you were when you entered the hospital, and which medicines you are on.
A lot of us had sleep problems. If you can bear another medication, and have no contraindications with the 12 you're taking, consider a sleeping pill. Sleep will definitely help you feel better.
 
My Son had MAJOR complications following a couple his surgeries. but different than your so I don't have many helpful answers except agree with the other posters. Not being able to sleep is pretty common for almost everyone post OHS, if that helps.
AS for the walking, how are your lungs recovering from pnuemonia? I've had pnuemonia a couple time with out OHS and it pretty much wipes me out. I think going to rehab sounds like a good place to get alot of your answers.
Also a bad appitite is pretty common after surgery, but it's been awhile, I wonder if that is related to any of your meds.
 
Bill, I would agree that the first place to look for the issues, including the hypoaesthesia, is in your meds.

Some meds warn of hypo- or hyper-asthesias (loss of or excessive feeling in the skin or extremities) as major warning signs. Are you, for instance, on Amiodorone? It's often prescribed for Atrial Fibrillation (the AFib you had) these days. There is a new, less toxic version called dronedarone that has been approved.

The best place to start is to call or visit your pharmacist with your prescription information. Pharmacists are more knowledgeable about the medicines than most of the doctors who prescribe them. He or she can quickly determine if you are likely to be having interactions between the drugs, whether certain drugs are most apt to be causing your reactions, and whether those reactions should be considered serious (in which case the continuation of the prescription should be questioned with your physician).

List out the drugs and dosages for the pharmacist, and describe any side affects you believe you are feeling.

Best wishes,
 
Bill I can relate. I was in for a total of 60 days. It's very difficult to make a come back when you've been down that long. If you could, please list all your meds so we can see if anything sticks out as something we've dealt with before.

I myself, had surgery to replace my aortic valve, remove a cyst from the apex of my heart, then the surgeon had to go and monkey with my diseased lungs and caused issues there too. Top it all of, I got a staph infection from an IV line. I should not be here to be writing this to you, but I am, because not everyone has a picture perfect, text book surgery or recovery.

I had to relearn how to walk and write. I too had numbness and tingling in my hands and fingers. Still don't know if it was from nerve damage or what, but it resolved. The Pneumonia alone is enough to slap you down for months. I'd say your pretty much on par for all you've been through.
 
First of all, welcome to the forum! Hang in, there will be plenty along to tell you their stories, but I feel that after what you went through, you are probably doing OK. Sleep is tough, I think the general concensus is bursts of 3 hours is about average; if you have to, get a prescription to help you sleep, it will help your recovery no end.

I went home with something like 13 new prescriptions - some as banal as iron, aspirin and so on. A lot of them did not have repeats, and my cardio said I could come off most of them whenever I felt like it, after about 6 weeks. 2 years later, I am only on a BP and a beta-blocker, and even the beta-blocker has been halved from the original dose.

I had a mini-fight with pneumonia or fluid round/in my lungs - my family were never that specific - and was kept sedated for 2 full days after the surgery, but after that, nothing could hold me down!

At cardiac rehab, there are generally nurses there that are very knowledgable about heart recovery, so go ahead and go, it may be one of the best things you can do at this point.
 
Do/did you have any neck or finger numbness prior to surgery? I had a double cervical fusion with titanium plate 1 year prior to my OHS because of numbness and tingling in my ring finger, pinky, shoulder blade pain, etc on my left side. I had ruptured discs (C5, C6) in my neck with arthritic changes. After my OHS, my right side of my neck gave me lots of problems and the doc said the rib spreader causes a lot of problems for folks so I attributed my neck issues with that. It took a while but the pain in my neck settled down.

It's possible that nerves in your neck are irritated from the surgery and rib spreader.

Give your recovery time, if you notice any type of increase in symptoms, let your doctors know. Try ice on your neck, this helps more for disc and nerve pain than heat. If it is muscle pain, a heating pad will work wonders too.

Keep us posted on your recovery, we are all different in how we heal, the road does get smoother with time. :)
 
BillG said:
I am new to this forum so bear with me.

I had Aortic Valve Replacement (mechanical valve) on June 30th of this year. I had MAJOR issues from the start. 8 1/2 hour surgery... Followed by Double Pneumonia and TWO A-Vibs (heart racing)... I was in the ICU for 16-days and total visit for 23-days.

Now its been 7-weeks since I am home. I am cleared for Cardiac Rehab but I still can't sleep (more than 3-hours)... I have little appetite... I can barely walk more than 5-minutes. I am on 12 different meds daily... some 4-times a day. I can't feel my ring finger and pinky on one hand and the pinky on the other.

I know this is abnormal... but what is still causing all this? My meds?
Any ideas? BILLG
Click to expand...

I suffered carpal tunnel damage to my right hand as a result of the way they had me set up for surgery. A nurse at my cardiac rehab said I wasn't the first patient she saw with a similar injury.

Tell your primary about your hand. I was sent to a neurologist who confirmed the carpal tunnel, and then handed off to the hand doctor. Good luck.
 
Hi Bill and Welcome. Just wanted to say I hope every day is a little better for you. I remember thinking, something is wrong. I took over a year to feel somewhat normal. (whatever normal is.) If your worried, call the doctor. Best of luck to you.
 
Welcome and I understand your frustration. I didn't have any complications after surgery, but at the 8th week I got pericarditis and fought it for years. However, I did get better and I hope you will too. I recommend Cardiac Rehab. They will monitor you and I think any exercise will probably make you feel better. Could the numbness be caused by a pinched nerve? They bend you backwards during surgery and then after spending that long in bed, it seems possible.
 
Wow! I have several thoughts:
1. You've been through alot - the good news is, the hardest part should be behind you. You're on the other side of the mountain now.
2. Numbness - I too have numbness (I am only 3 weeks Post Op). I have a spot on my right pectoral where they went in, and my right wrist. I met w/my cardio yesterday. He assured me this is common. It can be a result of the surgery hitting a nerve, or swelling pinching a nerve - he was pretty confident time will heal this.
3. Sleep - this was brutal for me too. For the first week or so out of the hospital, I was lucky to get a 1-2 hour stretch of sleep 2-3 times per night. After a fews days being home, my sleep continued to improve. Things that helped me were - not napping during the day, and taking some ibuprofen before going to bed....not I am getting 3-4 hour stretches and even got a 6 hour stretch this past week. So there is hope.
4. Not being able to walk long. Not only has your heart been through the ringer, but so has your lungs. You have some serious rehab'ing to do for both organs. I got winded walking the flight of stairs in my house for the first 1-2 weeks post op...but that continues to improve....rehab will help you there.

Celebrate small successes (ie. being able to walk a little longer, or a little further each day or week).
 
Welcome BillG! I am glad you are finally here!

I cannot speak to many of your problems (though problems are ever so common after OHS). I have had the inability to eat big meals since my surgery--sort of like the stomach involvement you mention. I was overweight going in so I tell people that they must have stapled my stomach while in there. But, really, it HAS helped me not to be able to eat big meals. I eat lots of little nutricious "meals" (snacks) and continue to lose weight. The loss is more gradual now, but I am totally amazed that I need to buy smaller and smaller clothing (though still in the plus sizes at this point). I don't know your size, but for me the stomach stuff has done nothing but good for me.

Best of luck to you!:)
 
Just wanted to welcome you to the forum & to tell you how sorry I am about your complications & issues after your OHS. But, you are not alone my friend.

After my 3rd OHS, I honestly never thought I was going to live thru my recovery. I was so weak for so long that I would cry all the time because I could hardly do anything without feeling like I was going to collaspse. Thank God my hubby was able to take off of work for about 2 months to help take care of me because I don't know how I would have faired alone.

I went back to work 3 months post up but I found out I couldn't last the day & I was beginning to be a burden to the dept so I decided to take an early medical retirement. I actually didn't start feeling like I had finally made it for at least a year & then some.

So be patient because as others have said, we all recover differently & someitmes have lots of bumps in the road to contend with.

May you start feeling better soon!
 
So sorry to hear of your bad recovery! I think everyone comes home with tons of meds and after a while they take you off of a few of them anyway. I know the AFib meds can really have alot of side effects, along with beta blockers can make you tired feeling. Rehab is great and you need to go it really helps you get back on your feet, I know I would not have done as well without it. I remember when I started walking at home I started going around the couch and then to the kitchen down the hall then to the mail box and back. It takes a lot of time to get your strengh back and like Robin Williams said a big three month nap, I took a lot of naps and watched alot of movies and TV, also read did puzzles. It will get better! You might not sleep all night but naps are good also, take it easy and when you feel like doing whatever do it. Just takes time!
 
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