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[shirleyj62]

Hi,

My 66 year old husband had open heart surgery on 2/27. He had a bovine aortic valve replacement. There were no other blockages involved.

The surgery went well but it was long. They found additional problems with the aorta itself that needed to be fixed (ballooning and leaking). He spent 7 days in the hospital, 4 in ICU and 3 in cardiac care.

Since he's been home its been a real roller coaster ride. Because he has Factor V Leiden (blood clotting disorder), he is on Coumadin. He's had several problems/reactions to the various medications he is on, particularly the pain meds.

The information he received prior to his surgery about post-surgery recovery was pretty poor. Basically it said to walk and after a specific time period you will be starting rehab. Nothing was said about the emotional and physical roller coaster he would be on. He feels at this point he takes one step forward and two back. His energy level and his food consumption is worse now than what it was when he came home from the hospital. I'm pretty sure a lot of the downside is from depression.

Prior to the surgery the only time he knew something was wrong with his heart (or valve) was after the results of the echocardiograms. He never showed any of the "typical" signs of his condition. He was walking and biking (his love!). Now he gets out of breath walking from the family room to the kitchen.

Anyway, I've been reading many of the posts and trying to convey that he isn't alone with his recovery. Not sure how helpful they have been to him, but they have helped me tremendously.

Thank you all,

Shirley

 

[escargome]

Welcome Shirley,
A big hug for you and your husband. I'm pretty sure that you both asking yourselves, "what did we do". Well, just tell him to give himself a little more time. The surgery put his body through the mill and getting split open like a Xmas goose isn't the easiest thing to recover from sometimes. Yes, walking will certainly help, does he still do his spirometer to help expand his lungs?, Also, tell him that he also needs to eat a good variety of foods to help him get his strength back up. Has he been back to his surgeon or cardiologist for follow-up appointments? I know that after my surgery I came home a little on the anemic side and had no energy for a while There are many folks here who didn't have symptoms before surgery (I'm sure they will be along shortly).
All I can say is try to hang in there. There is no set time for feeling 100% better. It starts out slow, but it does progress. Feel free on come on here and ask questions or just vent. In one form or another we have all been there.

 

[onset]

This video might be helpful to both you and your husband
http://www.heart-valve-surgery.com/heart-surgery-blog/2011/02/10/cardiac-depression-marc-gillinov-video/http://

 

[Bill B]

I had a similar experience in that I was essentially fine right up to the day of surgery and I could barely walk after, but I expected to feel like I got run over by a truck from the surgery. I had a long operation with a lot of aorta patching too. I'm not sure anyone made it clear to me either how debilitated I would be, but I accepted it for the most part. Like Chris said, this is some serious hacking on your body, and extra procedures used in doing some of the aorta repair takes an additional toll on the body.

So, we're saying this is, uh, "normal". HOWEVER, it's important to recognize that sometimes things aren't all normal - maybe common, but not normal. Depression is common after OHS, although usually a bit more delayed. Your husband's apparent depression may be just a temporary reaction to being incapacitated or it may be more. All of his issues, including this and his medication reactions should be professionally evaluated. It is routine to have a follow-up appointment with his primary doc and cardiologist very soon (within 2 weeks) after surgery. If that has not been scheduled, you should call the office. They can evaluate him and give better guidance. It may be just fine, it may not. It's certainly common and often just part of the early recovery period that needs to be given time and rehab. I gradually regained my strength and had a very successful rehab, but during those first few weeks I was rather weak.

 

[Mentu]

Hi, Shirley, your husband is still in the early weeks of recovery. Yes, he does need to walk and if his lung capacity has not returned to normal then he should still be using the spirometer as Chris mentioned. I was fortunate to have a family doctor that discussed the possibility of depression with me. Depression after heart surgery is common and needs to be treated if it interferes with one's recovery. No one knows why this happens but it is a common problem after open heart surgery. If your husband is not eating & sleeping well and walking every day, it is less surprising that his recovery may be slower. That said, if he is short of breath a month after surgery, I would suggest that he speak with his doctors. There could certainly be physical problems causing these symptoms and you will only know what it is by checking.

Larry

 

[shirleyj62]

Thanks to everyone who has posted so far.

We have seen both his cardiologist and surgeon. They added iron to his meds as he was quite a bit anemic in the hospital. They gave him 3 liters of blood, but his blood count was still quite low.

He started off on vicadin for pain but that made his heart skip beats continually. Since then they changed his pain meds to tramadol, and other than having a "drugged" head, he seems to be fairing better on that.

He had 2 other health problems prior to the surgery: cataracts and a very arthritic hip. He was suppose to have his cataracts removed prior to the surgery, but it kept getting postponed due to this surgery. Now we have to wait until after this surgery. That in itself bothers him as he is having problems seeing to read. He had been in a college class (as student) and had hoped to return, but he recently cancelled the class as he is having problems seeing and concentrating.

The surgery also seems to have aggravated his hip and he is having a lot of difficulty with that. That, along with the shortness of breath, limits his ability to walk (or at least want to walk).

I keep stressing to him and it will get better and to just give it more time. Maybe someday it will sink in. Or maybe the Paxil they have started him on will eventually take hold (for the depression).

Shirley

 

[dcc617]

Shirley - sorry to hear of his problems but they will get better. As everyone has said, he's been through the mosh pits and needs time to climb out. Is he using his spirometers? If he's having lung issues, it will help. Did they test him prior to surgery? Make sure he has a goal. Longer surgeries and more time on the heart/lung machine will take a bit of a tole out of you. So a 7 hour surgery will take a little longer to recovery from.

I had read about the cardiac depression prior to my surgery and so far, knock on wood, it hasn't hit me. Also should mention that I developed a GI bleed right before my surgery. An endoscope revealed a big problem and I ended up in the hospital for 2 units of blood and a 3 week suspension on the surgery. Although blood is replaced, it takes a bit of time before the body can replace all those little red blood cells.

Appetite. The joke here is I should just order from the kid's menu. I'm still not eating much. But I've lost weight and feel great! (although my clothes are sagging a bit)

Is he someone who would create an account or use yours? We're all here to lend support. Hang in there!

Dave

 

[Ovie]

I had my surgery just 4 days before your husband. I'm 25 and I'm still exhausted during most of the day, have issues sleeping, and am easily winded but getting better. I can't say anything that somebody hasn't already said. It really is a process. I can't tell you how many people have told me how great I look if they see me out to dinner or what not, and they'll say something like "looks like you're all recovered and looking good" and I just think to myself, 1) it's amazing how uneducated people are 2) you should see how I look and feel inside. 3) I can't just sit bottled up inside my house all day and night.

I will however say, I had real breathing issues after surgery, alot of trouble catching my breath, week after week nothing was improving, I found this strange. My doctor put me on Singular, and it's really helped. Has your husband developed asthma, or something similar, do you know? That could be an issue. Maybe something you want to run by the doc if it hasn't been addressed.

I'm also surprised he's still on painkillers, that's quite some time and they can do a number on you. My best advice is have your husband research post surgery issues with you, it's not too late, and the more educated, maybe it'll help with depression.

Each day is different, good, sometimes bad, you can only cross your fingers and hope for the best and pray that in time things will get better. I know first hand that's not always so easy (as others I'm sure) but you've got to start somewhere.

Good luck and welcome, youre amongst friends, please don't hesitate to ask anything.

 

[Bill B]

Thanks to everyone who has posted so far.

We have seen both his cardiologist and surgeon. They added iron to his meds as he was quite a bit anemic in the hospital. They gave him 3 liters of blood, but his blood count was still quite low.

Shirley

OK, that and his arthritic hip are certainly enough to make recovery much more difficult. I too was very anemic post op but I only got 1 unit of blood. I think your husband has been through the wringer more than the average AVR patient. He will get better, but with what he has been through it is probably going to be a more difficult and longer recovery. Help him all you can and reassure him that he will get better but expect it to have some ups and downs. I feel for him. It can be discouraging to be so impaired if he was in good shape prior to surgery, like I was, but he should know he had a condition that would have killed him had they not done the surgery. He had a time bomb ticking away in his chest. Now that is gone and he has the same life expectancy as anyone else without a bad valve and aorta, and once he gets through recovery, he should be able to resume a completely normal life, get those eyes fixed and back to his classes.

 

[Bev]

This surgery knocked the hell out of me. The first month was basically awful. I was so weak, emotional, anxious, unable to sleep, you name it. Some people progress so quickly post-op, (sending emails from ICU etc.) but I was not one of those people. Tell your husband to give himself LOTS of time to recover and not to get discouraged. It took me over six months to start to feel "normal".
Give it time. We all heal at a different pace.

 

[Sarah_Louise]

Hi Shirley and welcome to te boards
You need toremember OHS is one of the biggest opperations anyone can under go, and he's only a month post op, it can take up to 6 months to full recover from OHS that has no compliations, and can take up to 3 months just for the anesthetic to fully et out of your system,
After my OHS's i never wanted to eat or drink, it took me weeks, infact my last op it was nearly 2 months before i was eating properly again because i was put on e-sure drinks to ensure i was geting all the nutrients i needed.
Hope the Iron tablets help-sometimes the anemia can make recovery slower too!
love Sarah xxx

 

[shirleyj62]

Hi everyone,

Thanks to everyone who has replied.

I had ordered and received, The Open Heart Companion: Preparation and Guidance for Open-Heart Surgery Recovery
Maggie Lichtenberg. Maggie talks about how hard it was for her after her surgery and the emotions involved. He has read that and to some degree has put his recovery into scope and he feels a little bit more comfortable with his advances. He doesn't seem quite as bothered by his bad days, but they do discourage him.

I'm currently waiting for the book, Coping with Heart Surgery and Bypassing Depression: A Family's Guide to the Medical, Emotional and Practical Issues. It has shipped but hasn't arrived yet. I'm hoping that book helps also.

I have tried to get him to read and respond to this board, but unfortunately this isn't his "thing." He's willing to listen to what I tell him, but he doesn't want to do it on his own.

As far as updates, he has gone a couple of days without the pain pills and that has helped. His eating is still problematic and I have been willing to cook/buy anything that he may want to eat just to encourage him to eat. He's lost some weight since the surgery, but I'm worried about the anemia. The doctor has him taking the iron pills twice a day and I've been trying to make sure he eats protein and iron rich foods.

He does has spring allergies that set off of asthma, so his breathing currently isn't the best. He uses his asthma inhaler at least once a day and that helps relieve some of the problems.

I will say he's definitely ahead now of what he was even a week ago, but I don't think he's happy with the advances. He believes they are going way too slow. I keep telling him, slow but sure can win the race.

I keep reading these boards and telling him others have problems just like him. He will get back to what he was prior to the surgery, its only a matter of time.

So, thank you everyone for your replies.

shirley

 

[Just ASK]

This surgery knocked the hell out of me. The first month was basically awful. I was so weak, emotional, anxious, unable to sleep, you name it. Some people progress so quickly post-op, (sending emails from ICU etc.) but I was not one of those people. Tell your husband to give himself LOTS of time to recover and not to get discouraged. It took me over six months to start to feel "normal".
Give it time. We all heal at a different pace.

I could describe my experience with the exact same words as Bev. I also did not eat "normally" for 2 or 3 months post op as nothing, and I mean nothing, tasted good. Even my lifelong favorite foods tasted like the inside of a tin can. I found myself emotionally down at times and then within minutes feeling fine. I found walking short distances to be completely exhausting. BUT...as time passed, all these events slowly, steadily, and consistently waned. It feels like eternity during, but looking back it was really only about 90 days. Tell your hubby it will all improve albeit in a time frame that may stretch ut longer than he wanted, expected, or planned for. Once he wraps his head around the fact that recovery from being "cracked open like a 6 pound lobster" (Robin Williams made this quip after his OHS) takes a while, he will be able to relax and simply let his body heal.

 

[sarahsunshine]

Has anyone mentioned cardiac rehabilitation? People usually start about 1month post surgery. It's as much social as exercising, and might help him get out of his funk.