Shortness Of Breath

[Guest]

Howdy,
have been home from the hospital for 11 days now after having my aortic and mitral valves replaced with mechanical ones. Everything physically seems fine but l can`t even walk 10 feet without being short of breath. Anybody else have this issue? Thank-you..

 

[harrietW]

Hello
Glad you are over the worse and home recovering. I am waiting for both AVR and MVR see my Surgeon Sept 22 / 15. I have been waiting for almost 3 yrs.
I can't address your shortness of breath post surgery, but l am sure someone on here will have some knowledge or experience with that. My question to you is what was you level of Breathlessness pre surgery was it as bad or worse ?
I stuggle everyday to breathe it's awful.
Also what kind of / brand vales did you go with.

Thank you.
HarrietW

 

[Paleowoman]

Welcome to the forum ! Eleven days out of surgery you will still not feel great so it's not surprising you may be short of breath. I remember that I couldn't even stand at the wash basin to brush my teeth it was so tiring - so I had a chair by the sink. Climbing stairs was exhausitng for the first few weeks too. Your body has been through major surgery. However, you should get checked out by your GP or cardiologist right away to make sure that healing and everything is proceding on course. All the best !

 

[carolinemc]

Have you called the cardio office to see the cardio? Or call to the Regular Doctor. You need to talk to someone, if you are worried about the fatigue from surgery. You may still in recovery mode which can take some time and energy to get over. Just work yourself up on the walk. Just take it one day at a time. Walk outside, just the walk from the house to the street. Then up the street and down the street, then half around the block till you can walk the entire block around your street, You have build up. Take your time walking. You can do it. Hugs for today.

 

[epstns]

It has been a few years now. but I still remember the first couple of weeks after surgery. Before surgery I was a gym rat, working out and jogging 5 days a week, not overweight, non-smoker -- you get the picture. I tried to do it right. Immediately after surgery, I was "weak as a kitten" for several weeks. I could "operate" my body to get around the house, but stairs were slow and tiring. I was so weak that I remember when I took my first walk outdoors after surgery, I had to stop and catch my breath at the corner before I could walk back home (1/2 block).

For me, I felt bad for most of the first month. After that I got better more quickly. I wasn't ready for cardiac rehab until 3 months out, but after that I quickly got back to almost normal. Even after the first year, I was still seeing improvement, and now even though I am 4 1/2 years older, I feel better than I did prior to surgery.

By all means, if you feel badly get to the doc for verification that all is well. In the beginning, many of us lose confidence in our bodies and need the re-assurance of our doctors that things are OK and will continue to heal. Also, remember that we all heal at different rates. Some folks are back on their bikes and running at 3 months, others of us take longer to get back to it. But also remember that almost all of us end up in better health than before surgery. That's why we do it.

 

[Vincent63]

Hi ... Breathlessness was the biggest surprise I have had s post surgery ... Had a mechanical valve fitted as an AVR 4 weeks ago today and I had no breathlessness until about 11 days post surgery. This could happen when I was sitting doing nothing, trying to sleep or walking. I went to my GP (doctor) who did a thorough examination and confirmed my chest / lungs appeared to be in good order but had me have a chest x-Ray to make sure. That x-Ray was absolutely clear ... The breathlessness was sometimes accompanied by feeling extremely cold, even in the house on a summer day. I am not saying we are all the same but mine stayed a problem for about 10 days and even now I still get little bits of it ... But it is definitely way better than it was ... I can now do a 5 mile walk on the flat and feel the exercise is opening my lungs even more. My advice ... Get your doctor to check out your chest, make yourself warm and comfortable and do what you feel you can do when you are not breathless. It gets better.

 

[ottagal]

I ,too recall being surprised as how breathless I was after surgery. Part of this was attributed to my very low hemoglobin post surgery.
Hang in there....things do get better. As others said, if you are concerned, best to check with your cardiologist.

 

[Paleowoman]

I ,too recall being surprised as how breathless I was after surgery. Part of this was attributed to my very low hemoglobin post surgery.

What you wrote Ottagal reminded me just now that I too had low haemoglobin post surgery ! I also had low sodium which can make a person feel dizzy I believe. One forgets these things after a while !

 

[epstns]

Many of us had low hemoglobin after surgery. I was so cold for the first 3-4 weeks after surgery that I wandered around the house with a blanket wrapped around me, even though it was not "cold" in the house. My docs told me that the low hemoglobin was the cause. They didn't prescribe anything for it, just told me to try to eat a normal diet and all would normalize soon. It did. . .

 

[giro]

For those who had low hemoglobin, I am curious what your hemoglobin was when it was considered low? I have a vascular issue causing anemia and my hemoglobin floats between 9&10
Do you know what your hemoglobin was prior to surgery?

 

[Paleowoman]

For those who had low hemoglobin, I am curious what your hemoglobin was when it was considered low? I have a vascular issue causing anemia and my hemoglobin floats between 9&10
Do you know what your hemoglobin was prior to surgery?

Hi Giro - I've just looked up my bloods from prior and post surgery. My haemoglobin prior to surgery was a normal 13.6 g/dL (136 g/L). Ten days post surgery it was low at 9.8 g/dL (98 gL). Twenty days post surgery it was still low at 10 g/dL (100 g/L). Three months post surgery it was back at a normal level of 12.8 g/dL (128 g/L). Lab reference range 11.5 - 16.5 g/dL (115 - 165 g/L)