Six weeks post-op: Is six really the magic number?

[MiraLaura]

Six weeks post-op and:

The good:

• I woke up without pain all this week
• Have not taken a painkiller in almost four weeks
• Can sleep on my left side again
• Am walking 1.75 - 2.25 miles a day - rain or shine. Today it was rain and I'm still cold
• Started cardiac rehab yesterday. I am the youngest by about 20 years.
• Am down 32 pounds- still have to think about what I want to eat and if I really want it
• BP was brilliant at rehab! Maybe no increase in meds!
• The thought of driving my teen to school doesn't make me cry
• All of the "bad" and "ugly" are cosmetic - I'm glad to be alive
• Taking teen to cardiologist for workup/bloodwork/reassurance on Wednesday

The bad and the ugly:

• Scars on both thighs are UGLY.
• Right thigh (bypass scar) is corded and wicked painful
• Surgeon apparently had a sense of humor: He left this accountant/math teacher two division sign scars (from drains/chest tubes) that make everyone laugh
• Some days it is all I can do to stay awake late enough for my PM meds - feel old
• BORED - As a recovering Type A - um BORED - want to go back to work, know it's a ways off
• We still haven't had "Spring" here - it's cold, damp and miserable on healing bones
• Tired - always tired and napping
• Did I mention BORED??????????????????

I can finally imagine getting on a plane for Chicago to see my Mom. Even the walk through the terminals and to the outside world doesn't bother me. It's dragging the luggage that is a worry. Considering mailing off a few days worth of clothes to solve this one.

Other suggestions are welcome!

Oh, and I got my club card from Edwards today - I have a 2700TFX, 21mm aortic pericardial tissue heart valve. D'oh, I knew that.

Moooooooooooooooooooo

 

[Jason]

I am now closing in on seven weeks post op, and for me it was week 5 or 6 when I began to feel normal. I didn't really resume normal activities until then, so I wasn't sure if it was the recovery or the fact that I was getting back to some of the things I enjoyed, but the last few weeks have been very good. Sounds like your timeline is about the same as mine!

 

[Bryan B]

Personally I don't think their is a magic number. I had my 2nd surgery just shy of 7 years after my first one. I have heard that after a Ross Procedure 5 years was the magic number for your autograft to be ok. Five years is when my minor aortic root dilation started getting bigger at an alarming rate. There is a saying that "once a heart patient always a heart patient".

I do know what you mean though. Again this is just my personal experience...I had 3 magic numbers. The first was 6 weeks because I was allowed to drive and I started to feel "human" again. The second was 3 months because I felt like my sternum was fully healed. The third was 1 year because I got a great report from my one year follow up with my cardiologist and had reached a point where I rarely thought about my surgery anymore.

 

[dick0236]

Oh, and I got my club card from Edwards today - I have a 2700TFX, 21mm aortic pericardial tissue heart valve. D'oh, I knew that.

Moooooooooooooooooooo

Wow!!!, that was fast service. It took me 43+ years to get my "club card" from Edwards. I have a UNK-STARREW, 23MM, serial no. UNK-178......it appears that they didn't issue cards when I had the surgery and good records were not kept by hospitals or valve manufacturers, but they THINK they know what I have from the "old" hospital records:tongue2:.

I remember that post-op was boring....but you will get over it:thumbup:.

Keep smiling....it gets better:biggrin2:.


tick-tick-tick-tick-tick:smile2:

 

[epstns]

I'll second that Mooooo! I, too, have the Edwards bovine pericardial valve. I'm nearly at 8 weekd post op now, and I can truly say that the last two weeks have been the best so far. I feel much more like a "normal" self, and can once again enjoy more of life than just sitting waiting for mealtime or meds. TV -- ugh! Especially daytime TV, even with satellite.

I've been working part-time (office job) and driving for 2 weeks. I have also been going to a fitness center to walk, as the weather here has been nasty - 40 degrees (F) and rainy a lot. Walking a couple of miles a day seems to really help - I've noted that over the couple of weeks I've been walking, my pace has gone from the shambling gait of a movie zombie to a normal walking pace of almost 4 miles/hour. Much better.

Hope your recovery beats mine -- that way you should have it well under control before you have to deal with airport mayhem.

 

[Greg a]

Honestly the magic number is DAY ONE as each day gets better and turns to a week, then two and three, soon a month, then two, then three, then the first valversary it all is a blur as you celebrate LIFE !!!!!




,

 

[Allisoninoz]

I will be nine weeks post-op on Tuesday (Ross Procedure, full sternotomy) and I started feeling a lot better about the seven week mark. I had sleeping problems (i.e. getting to sleep and staying asleep) for the first few weeks and quite nasty back/shoulder/neck pain. They have both pretty much resolved now although I still get twinges. I haven't taken paracetemol for about three weeks, except for a headache one day. I try to walk about 40 minutes a day (sorry, don't know how far ... maybe about 3-4km - need to get a pedometer) and do rehab sessions three days a week (but only have two weeks of that left). I do get quite tired by the end of the day and I think I just need to get to bed earlier (I was a night owl before surgery, often not in bed until close to midnight, but I've definitely needed to change that - I'm finding I need a good eight hours' sleep).
My sternotomy scar is reddish, thin and others say it's clean and neater than the expected. The three drainage hole scars are quite red and I don't like them at all.
I'm starting to slowly get back into some work. I'm a freelance journalist so work from home. Unfortunately one of my main clients has given me the flick while I was off (nice, eh?) so I need to chase more work ... but that will take time. Continuing to improve is more important.
Do you have some household things to do - sort out wardrobes, cupboards, photos etc? I'm planning to hit my wardrobe this week and sort out what can stay and go.
Good luck ...
Alli

 

[Michelle D]

8 weeks was my first magic number, and then 4 months was my next magic number in which I put an end to my pity party.