MVR what valve type to choose

[pellicle]

Hi

Well it's been and busy couple of weeks. ... I have still not convinced myself that a mechanical valve is what I really want, but I have decided after much discussion with my doctors that it is the best choice for me at this point in my life. So that's where I'm at...I can't decide if I want the next 7 days to drag by or fly by.

personally I have wished for a native valve that never needed surgery. I was happy and relatively care free for nearly 20 years on my homograft, but could definately feel the degeneration of the valve becoming "incompetent" in the last 2 years

I know that agonising over decisions is tough ... I'm going through something like that for totally different life decisions right now.

I keep telling myself that each decision branch just leads to a different path ... who can be sure which path is the best for making us who we become

Best Wishes

 

[rnff2]

@ pellicule
Thank you for all of your insite throughout my decision process.
Wouldn't it be nice to not have a care in the world when it comes to your heart! ♥

 

[rnff2]

Here I sit...I made it! Can't believe I had surgery on Tuesday and just was home Sat late afternoon. Wanted to thank everyone for the support. Ended up with mechanical mitral valve and tricuspid repair. Didn't see the tricuspid repair coming. But doing well aside from nausea and being awake at this early hour of the day. I will try to stop in from time to time the next few day depending on how things are going. I think short walks and sleep are my immediate future of things.

 

[pellicle]

Hey, glad to hear from you. So, take a deep breath and think - it only gets better from here. Its been 5 years since my surgery and already it seems like another lifetime

best wishes

 

[Trinalovescats]

Do you find the clicking of the valve disturbing?

For me,it's security knowing that I have a second chance at life again.Im 31,so I know I have a lot to look forward to.If taking Coumadin and 3 other medications for the rest of my life is a small sacrifice then I will do it.

 

[Trinalovescats]

Glad to hear your back!
I also had MVR and Tricuspid Repair(sounds like a chocolate candy!)

But I was in the hospital for 2 weeks!

 

[rnff2]

Trinalovescats. I wish it was chocolate candy. Lol.

I was showered and dressed in my own pajamas on Friday. I think that is what helped me get out so quickly. I'm not a very good patient and really like my own home and bed.

I find the ticking of my valve annoying. I'm not going to sugar coat it and say it's not, because it to me it is. I also feel it in the back of my throat at times which increases my annoyance of it. But like my cardiologist and I discussed I had two choices and neither choice was perfect. I made the best choice I could for my situation. It's not perfect and never will be, but I'm here and living my life and that's what is most important.

Hope your doing well!!!

 

[Trinalovescats]

Rnff2-

Well,I was in the hospital for 14 days;6 of those I was sedated.

it's almost 6 months since surgery.It takes getting use to hearing the ticking.But I love it,I really do.If being on Coumadin and 3 other medications is a small sacrifice then I'll take it.

I'm grateful to have the mechanical there is nothing wrong with that,just think
Everytime you hear it tick,you know the blood is going through it.

 

[rnff2]

Trinalovescats

You are absolutely correct it's a small sacrifice to be happy and "healthy" and maybe some day I'll be OK with my tick. It is way better to tick then to face a 4th OHS.
Happy 6 months.

 

[D1GGY]

Hello, I am new to the forums here. I just had my OHS for an Aortic Valve replacement on Aug 31 here in Vancouver Canada. I had a huge infection on the valve and needed to be changed. I was given the option and he told me if I went tissue id be back in there 10 years later.. The bad part of me going mechanical he told me I would be on Warfarin probably forever.

The ticking you do here has already became second nature to my brain and it barely bugs me anymore. I had to take sleeping pills when I first got home so I could sleep. I am only 42 years old and didn't like the thought of another surgery in the future. I hope you make the best decision for you and good luck with everything. I was also released from hospital with no food or drink restrictions.. I was worried cuz I would hear other patients discharge plans and think oh no i cant go without steak or ribs hahah.. I am now 2.5 months post op.

 

[neil]

great to hear all the positive news

 

[dick0236]

Welcome D1GGY. You will find this a great forum for advice and support from others who have been down this road. It's really good to have the input of young guys like you. Glad you've already found that most of the "ghost stories" are only fiction.

 

[rnff2]

D1GGY, welcome. Warfarin is a minor inconvenience vs having another surgery, although it doesn't seem like it at first. That was a main focus for me when I made my valve choice. Although you are lucky that you're used to the ticking I'm almost 11 months and it still drives me crazy sometimes.
Glad you are doing well!

 

[pellicle]

Hi

...Although you are lucky that you're used to the ticking I'm almost 11 months and it still drives me crazy sometimes.

I just wanted to say that there are times when hearing it is a reminder of everything bad. It does not acutely or poignantly bother me but there are times when hearing it is a reminder of all that went wrong. Myself I don't think that is in itself a "bad" or "wrong" thing ... it just is.

I have felt (back some years ago now) that I need to just accept that it is and reduce the significance I place on associating that with the bad things of that time.

Its an active process and as I approach my 5th year with my new "ticker" I'm overwhelmingly down on the side that its just something which bothers me ... like getting older. Being unable to do what I could when I was 30 ... stuff like that.

I think that for us who have had OHS we have more than the general population a milestone which we can look to that makes us aware of the changes ... rather than them just blending into a featureless spectrum.

I wish you peace with your ticker

 

[Agian]

For me it's not the ticking that brings it all flooding back, it's the ongoing need to have echos and see the cardio.

I had an echo last week. The results were all good, but you should have seen me carry on, during the test: Squirming, sighing. I just couldn't keep still. It brought back bad memories. I'm sure the tech found it entertaining.

I'm hoping the ticking will get quieter, but it is what it is. I've heard of two people who got depressed by it.

 

[dornole]

I think it's just natural. As grateful as I am to the NICU staff who saved my twins . . . I can't go into that hospital, or even get off the same exit where I traveled every day for four months to get to them, without also having a feeling of dread, avoidance and not wanting to be there. It is a reminder of a very difficult time.