questions about energy level

[Kathy]

Many people have mentioned that they felt much better after 6 months. At this point I am 4 1/2 m. post-op, and am able to do quite a bit. I just finished with rehab and was able to exercise for 45 minutes with no problem. After about 3 hours of moderate activity (i.e. housecleaning) I begin to tire. If I overdo things I usually feel it the next day as well.

I am thinking of going back to work in January. I am going to put in a few days of hard work in the house before I call in and give the five days notice required to go back. I am nervous that it might be too much as there is no part time option.

I know that I still shouldn't do heavy lifting. Some people have said that they overdid things and ended up back in the hospital. Was that at an earlier point in recovery? What exactly happened to those who had a lapse in recovery?

Thank you.

 

[Kevin M]

Kathy, it sounds like you're hitting that frustrating stage where we are "supposed to feel normal by now" but we don't.

I know what you are going through. After my first operation when I was in my early 20's, I bounced back. I think young people are part elastic band. I had no problems recovering.

After my second procedure a couple of years ago, it took me a very long time to recover fully. I would say more than six months. For the life of me, I could not understand why I wasn't operating at full energy levels. It was very frustrating.

Try your best to be patient. This is likely just a normal recovery. Some of us take a little longer than others.

Pretend you are only 2 months post-op and operate on that level for a while. It's important not to get yourself overtired too often or push too hard. Not because it will harm your heart at this stage, but because you'll just stress yourself out needlessly and make yourself more frustrated. Stress can be a dangerous thing too.

I'll spare you the "talk to your doc if you're worried" speech. I think that's a given.

Maybe try to slow things down a little? Unfortunately, you are only human and we don't want you to get sick from stress.
Kev

 

[Vicki448]

I read everyone's posts about feeling great - some said right after surgery; some said 6 mos. after surgery. For me, I didn't feel really "great" until approx. one year after my mitral valve surgery. I was 48 yrs. old at the time of my surgery and I was in great shape prior to surgery. I didn't have any symptoms - just knew that I had a murmur that needed fixing! But, my mental attitude was all the way to zero. I had only been in the hospital once before my surgery (to give birth) and the entire surgery procedure, from preadmitting to being released from the hospital sent my head spinning. I believe your mental attitude has much to do w/your recovery time also. My dr. told me that when I was doing too much, my body would tell me and he was right. Perhaps you might consider going back to work on part-time basis and then work into a full-time work schedule when you know you're up to it.

I took one year off from teaching and I was so glad that I was able to do that. My brain fog took awhile to go away and no telling what would have happened if I had gone back into the classroom sooner than I needed to. Also, I believe my surgery escalated perimenopausal symptoms and I had/have that to deal with also.

Good luck to you. You will feel better before you know it. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours.

~Vicki

 

[Georgia]

It kindof depends on your definition of feeling good. I was really symptomatic when I had surgery; so the fact that I could take deep breaths and walk across the street without sob was a big plus. The bar was set really low for me.

At 9 months out I'm still getting better. And I still have up and down days. I'm still doing a little better every month in cardiac rehab. I still have to recharge on weekends even tho I have a desk job.

It was more than 7 months out that I could really sit down and read a book like I used to; I had a short concentration span and it took me forever to get through a short trashy mystery.

Take comfort in the fact that without surgery you'd be feeling a whole lot worse right now. Be patient and do the best you can. Don't despair; things truly do improve.

 

[Kathy]

Thank you for your responses. It seems I need to work on patience! Ironically enough, I teach orthopedically handicapped children and I can be infinitely patient with them.

Ken, I think you are right about slowing down. There is no one who is pushing me to accomplish more. I don't have to return to work, and my family understands that I can't do as much as usual at this point.

Vicki, I wish I could go back part time, but it is not an option under our teaching contract. I hate to take off the whole year because I will use up all my sick time, but I am grateful that I am able to do that if I need to. I went through menopause early, so I know it's no day at the beach! I can't imagine combining that with recovery from OHS.

Gerogia, I've been able to get through several novels. I was reading "Split Second" by Baldacci and couldn't keep track of the characters, so I wrote them out on an index card. My daughter asked what I was doing and couldn't believe that I couldn't remember the characters.

 

[Heather Fisher]

Kathy,
I am 4 months post op (almost) and have been back at work for almost 2 months. I had a great surgery and great recovery. I still go to bed between 8 or 9 at night and am up at 4 to get on the treadmill for a couple of miles. It has been a struggle to do this and some mornings I have been cursing at my husband when he makes me get up. (I did tell him to make me though)
I'm a Speech Language Pathologist and work on an Indian Reservation outside Albuquerque. I imagne you might have more physical requirements for your job with orthopedically handicapped children. Do you have an aide that can do most of the lifting?

At first it was hard getting back to work and I was a little bit breathless when going to get the kids. No probs now though. Each individual is different in recovery. If there is a way you can get back and have the family pick up more duties at home then try it! If you are not ready then just take time off till you are. I would say if you can do 3 hours of housecleaning then you may be ready to go back. Maybe go visit your classroom for a day first and let that help you decide.....

Best of luck!
Heather

 

[catwoman]

Kathy:

Three hours of housework??? Told my husband about your post and he said, "Hey, housework is hard!" And he should know -- he does about half of the housework (laundry, dishes, mopping, vacuuming) and feeds/waters our cats PLUS does the litterbox detail.
I has surgery 6/24, went back to work part time (20 hours/week) Aug. 11, full time Sept. 8. The first day or two back was difficult each time (part time & full time). I did not go through rehab; my doctors said to do a little more each day.
I hated the hassle with the FMLA and short-term disability insurance company. When I went back part time, I had to get my PCP to fax a note to the STD company saying how many hours I'd work the next week in order to get paid. STD paid 60% of the time off, 40% came out of my banked sick leave. I had 40+ days sick leave still left, but I couldn't touch it unless it was through STD. (My employer's corporate owner changed sick leave policy in early February 2003, switching all accrued sick time to STD time. Good things and bad things about it.)

I've had many people remark at how fast I have bounced back after surgery. I had some projects that were "rudely" interrupted by the valve surgery, so I worked to finish some projects ASAP, as well as my body would let me.
Last weekend I was at a big 3-day cat show in Houston. Quite a few people remarked at how great I looked, that I had color in my face and that I smiled all the time. Had no idea how much the valve problem had affected how people perceived me pre-op!

I have hit a plateau, but I will continue to improve. I sometimes tire more easily than I expect to. My friends remind me that even people who haven't had heart surgery get tired, too.

 

[Birky]

energy level

energy level

I was reading CatWoman's posting and she could have been talking about me. I have had more people tell me how good I look. I must have looked pretty bad prior to the surgery. My kids were really worried about me. I have also been told that I sure do a lot of smiling these days. I do feel great at 9mos. postop but it is correct in saying that I am still not 100%. I have been doing stuff at home that hasn't been done in 10 years. Never had the energy. I have to remind myself to slow down that it can wait a little more to be done. I even sleep better since the surgery with only 1 pillow. The coughing during the night has stopped too:
Give it time and and you will feel great, like 150% .

 

[medtronic of borg]

work

work

Kathy,
I too had a no pt option...I went back to work out of bordum...to soon...I lost my job. Now on disability. So think twice about it.

Med