Diane
Well-known member
Well, its hard to believe, but it has already been a year.....my valve's first birthday is tomorrow!
My surgery and recovery was pretty smooth compared to some of the stories I have seen here. Even so, I was terrified going into the surgery and I never did get to experience that calm that most of you say you got about one day prior to the surgery.....I hope I never have to face that again! One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't have the surgeon cut me across my chest rather than down my chest. Even though I have TOF and have had a scar all of my life from the repair, that scar goes across my chest so it was never it visible.....if it had been, a couple of other things on my chest would have been inappropriately visible too! Its not like anyone has run from me screaming because my scar is showing or anything but it still makes me feel self-consious.
Other than the fact that my chest still hurts when I sneeze and somtimes when I am getting out of bed or rolling over in bed, I am fully recovered now. It took me a good 7 or 8 months after the surgery before I felt like I had my stamina back. I would go home from work and crash just about every day.
I really don't feel any different physically than I did before the surgery.....but the doctor told me that I probably wouldn't because my heart had been without a pulmonary valve for so long (45 years) that the damage was most likely not going to reverse itself. The purpose of the surgery was just to prevent further damage from occuring.
I led a pretty sedentary life before the surgery. I have tried to be more physically active this past year but have not been as successful at it as I know I should be. Its hard because by the time I get home from work, usually around 6:30, and I eat dinner and clean up the kitchen, all I want to do is relax and watch a little bit of TV before I go to bed. Its cold and dark outside and I don't have any motivation to go walking in the cold and dark. I am not a morning person.....I can barely get up in time to get ready and get to work on time so I don't have any motivation to get up early to exercise either. I did my walking after surgery while I was off from work but did not keep it up after I was released to go back to work. I swam laps several days a week last summer but I felt like I was struggling and SOB most of the time. After it got too cold to swim last fall, I have walked off and on (mostly off...) and I have made it a point to use the stairs when the opportunity presents itself. I usually even ride the elevator down and then walk back up the stairs again. I have been trying to start walking again. We had a little taste of spring here so I got out and walked on 3 days in the last week.
I haven't called and made an appointment for my one year evaluation yet. All things considered, I am actually very healthy.....I have allergies, mild asthma, and hypothyroidism but I do not have high blood pressure or diabetes and my cholestrol is slightly elevated but not enough to treat. But I am dreading going for my one year evaluation because I know the doctor will fuss about my lack of consistent exercise. Also, my thyroid got off-kilter during the year and I wound up putting on about 8 pounds that I haven't been able to get rid of (not that I've tried very hard....). He will not be very happy about that either because I was already quite a bit overweight. Oh well, at least I know he won't fuss at me for smoking or drinking because I don't smoke (never have) and I drink very little alcohol.
My surgery and recovery was pretty smooth compared to some of the stories I have seen here. Even so, I was terrified going into the surgery and I never did get to experience that calm that most of you say you got about one day prior to the surgery.....I hope I never have to face that again! One of my biggest regrets is that I didn't have the surgeon cut me across my chest rather than down my chest. Even though I have TOF and have had a scar all of my life from the repair, that scar goes across my chest so it was never it visible.....if it had been, a couple of other things on my chest would have been inappropriately visible too! Its not like anyone has run from me screaming because my scar is showing or anything but it still makes me feel self-consious.
Other than the fact that my chest still hurts when I sneeze and somtimes when I am getting out of bed or rolling over in bed, I am fully recovered now. It took me a good 7 or 8 months after the surgery before I felt like I had my stamina back. I would go home from work and crash just about every day.
I really don't feel any different physically than I did before the surgery.....but the doctor told me that I probably wouldn't because my heart had been without a pulmonary valve for so long (45 years) that the damage was most likely not going to reverse itself. The purpose of the surgery was just to prevent further damage from occuring.
I led a pretty sedentary life before the surgery. I have tried to be more physically active this past year but have not been as successful at it as I know I should be. Its hard because by the time I get home from work, usually around 6:30, and I eat dinner and clean up the kitchen, all I want to do is relax and watch a little bit of TV before I go to bed. Its cold and dark outside and I don't have any motivation to go walking in the cold and dark. I am not a morning person.....I can barely get up in time to get ready and get to work on time so I don't have any motivation to get up early to exercise either. I did my walking after surgery while I was off from work but did not keep it up after I was released to go back to work. I swam laps several days a week last summer but I felt like I was struggling and SOB most of the time. After it got too cold to swim last fall, I have walked off and on (mostly off...) and I have made it a point to use the stairs when the opportunity presents itself. I usually even ride the elevator down and then walk back up the stairs again. I have been trying to start walking again. We had a little taste of spring here so I got out and walked on 3 days in the last week.
I haven't called and made an appointment for my one year evaluation yet. All things considered, I am actually very healthy.....I have allergies, mild asthma, and hypothyroidism but I do not have high blood pressure or diabetes and my cholestrol is slightly elevated but not enough to treat. But I am dreading going for my one year evaluation because I know the doctor will fuss about my lack of consistent exercise. Also, my thyroid got off-kilter during the year and I wound up putting on about 8 pounds that I haven't been able to get rid of (not that I've tried very hard....). He will not be very happy about that either because I was already quite a bit overweight. Oh well, at least I know he won't fuss at me for smoking or drinking because I don't smoke (never have) and I drink very little alcohol.
