Recovering from Aortic Valve Replacement Surgery

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L

Laura

Active member
Joined
Oct 12, 2011
Messages
26
Location
Massachusetts
Hi All:

This is my first post on your forums. I'm really looking forward to talking with others about recovering from heart surgery. I'm happy to help others in any way that I can. I'm 56 years old and my surgery was on 10/3. I had my surgery done at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA. I had a unicuspid aortic valve with stenosis that they now say was a birth defect. I've read some of the posts and the first thing I noticed is that I need to get up to speed on all the acronyms everyone is using! Also, I don't know what brand heart valve my surgeon put in but I do know that it is a bovine valve. I hope it lasts, because I sure don't want to go through all of this again anytime soon :wink2:

So far, I am up to two 20 minute walks a day. I guess my only real concern is sleeping or I should say lack thereof. The nighttime is not my friend. I'm only sleeping a couple of hours at a time and I'm up between 4 - 5. I'm still taking pain medication at night (Dilaudid). I'm taking Tylenol during the day. I'm on the generic version of Toprol XL once a day and that's it.

Thanks for listening,

Laura
 
Welcome Laura!

I think you will find this forum very encouraging and informative. There is a vast amount of experience here and you can usually find several people with very similar situations as yourself.

I envy that you are "on the other side". My AVR is in less than 2 weeks.

God bless your recovery,
-Steve
 
Hi Steve:

Thank you for responding to my post :) I appreciate the support. I wish you the best of luck with your surgery. I kept myself very busy in the weeks prior to my surgery in an effort to take my mind off of things and to get ready. It helped, but the day of the surgery I was very nervous! Everyone at Mass General did everything they could to allay my fears. I'm sure your doctors will take very good care of you.

Best regards,

Laura
 
Hi Laura,

Good to hear you are doing well.

I had two OHS at Mass General in four years - the last was about 3 1/2 years ago.
Mass General was wonderful to me both times and I am grateful for the great care I had on Ellison 8. What a great staff they have.

Your post brought back memories. :)

Great you are doing the walking. I am convinced it makes a huge difference in our recovery. DH and I still walk almost every night after dinner. Keeping up with the walking and it has served me well.
My valve is in the mitral position but I also have a bovine replacement. I am thrilled I made that choice. For me, it was the absolutely right one.

The difficulty sleeping is very common and most of us suffer some of it. It does get better in time. For being three weeks out from surgery, sounds like you are doing very well.
Wishing you a bump free recovery.
 
Hi Laura, and welcome.
For 3 weeks out it sounds like you are doing very well....I was still under the bus at that time. ;)
I do remember having a little nap in the late morning and late afternoon to help make up for the disturbed sleep
at night time.
It will work out over time.
 
Bina said:
Hi Laura, and welcome.
For 3 weeks out it sounds like you are doing very well....I was still under the bus at that time. ;)
I do remember having a little nap in the late morning and late afternoon to help make up for the disturbed sleep
at night time.
It will work out over time.
Click to expand...

I'll join Bina in her thoughts
blah-blah-blah.gif
 
Dear Jkm7:

Thank you for your kind response. Yes, Mass General is quite the place and I'll never forget the staff's help and kindness. I think the nurses in Intensive Care must have a particularly challenging role in assisting in your recovery. Basically, all I can remember of my day there is a kind voice and the face of angel asking me if I needed more pain medication! I'm glad you are happy with the choice you made to have a bovine valve implanted. It was a hard decision for me to have my surgery, because I felt perfectly fine. The tests said otherwise though! No regrets now. I still have a son in High School and I need to be here for him for a long time to come :)

Namaste,

Laura
 
Hi Bina:

Thank you for the list of acronyms and your support! I have been taking naps planned and otherwise, but I do seem less tired than a week ago. I fall asleep reading a lot!

Again, thank for the encouragement!

Laura
 
Hi Greg:

Thank you for your support! I like your motto! I actually have a Bob Dylan shirt that my husband gave me that says, "It's all good". I've been wearing it a lot lately because it's warm and comfortable.


Laura
 
Welcome Laura,

Good to hear you arre doing well. I had AVR surgery 10/17 and I too have had trouble sleeping. So far I have tied moving my last walk later in the day, then trying to make sure I spend little time in my bed as possible until it's bed time. The last two nights, when I was ide awake in the middle of thr night, I tried moving to another room to try to go back to sleep and that has worked well for me.

Besrt of luck to you on your recovey,

Dan
 
Hi Dan:

It sounds like we are in very much the same place right now. I too have slept in a comfy recliner that we have in our living room. Thanks for your support and I wish the best of luck to you as well!

Laura
 
Hi Laura,

Welcome to the site, and congradulations on a successful surgery.
I hope you have a full and speedy recovery. Don't over do it. Follow the docs guidelines, and you will be back to yourself before you know it!

There are some real helpful folks on here. Ask away with any questions or concerns that you may have.
Also, use the "Search" feature here to look up things.

I grewup in Boston, but living down south these days in the hills of Tennessee.

Rob
 
I also slept on the sofa in a reclining position for about 6 weeks. Seemed like I could not breath in a nice soft bed. It all gets better!
 
Sleep was a big problem for me for about 1.5 weeks post-op. I needed something to knock me out to get any sleep, but that cleared up and sleep was soon relatively normal. You seem to be doing about par for the course. Continued good health.
 
Hi Laura,

Welcome to the forum! Echoing everyone, it sounds like you're doing well, and are in good spirits. I took Ambien for several months after surgery because of sleeplessness. It did get better, especially after rehab (which I didn't start until after 3 months).
Wishing you continued improvement.

Debby
 
Hi Rob:

Thanks for your support! This is a great site. I can tell already how valuable it will be in my recovery :)

Laura
 
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