Sternum soreness

[csutherland]

Jerry is 10 days post op and doing great. He does still say the sternum is very sore; in fact now the soreness goes around to his back. Is it normal for it to not be improving and even spreading? As I mentioned before, he didn't even have me get the Lortab (pain med) filled when we came home. He has taken a total of 4 Tylenols.

He's walking LOTS and has absolutely no trouble with the leg where the vein was removed. Surprising to me was the length of the wound on his inner leg above the knee--about 3" or less.

The appetite is good and there doesn't seem to be much problem with taste buds, except that we're trying to get used to eating healthier. He's a tall thin guy who has always eaten whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. This is going to be tough.
Today is his 65th birthday.

AVR (St Jude's) & 1 Bypass 2/12/2002
Springfield MO

 

[Ross]

Well as far as the pain spreading, can he state that it feels more like sore muscles or actually his rib cage?

I know I was sore for a good 3 months or so after surgery. I took my pillow everywhere.

I think his muscles are what is causing the pain rather then the sternum. The muscles are always tense in anticipation of that unwelcome sneeze or cough, that sort hits out of no where.

 

[sylgeren]

rib cage pain.

rib cage pain.

I had my valve surgery about 4 weeks ago today. I to am having difficult breathing and moving about. The sternum seems to be the cause but I can't always tell. Sometimes I need a pain pill for it, but most of the day I can do without it. I'm just so scared I'll hurt it somehow. Doctor said you don't want to go back to surgery to mend it, only 2 wires holding together. Which that alone scares me. To think it takes months to heal. Wow.!!!! I have a 72 Datsun-Z, can't wait to drive, but I have no power steering so I'am really worried about that. I'm going to get some Vit E cream today for the scar. Hope that works better. Talk to you soon. Bye Syl

 

[hensylee]

Think about this one - they sawed you right down the middle, then pulled you apart to get to your heart - probably propped you open while they were at it! Now, that would make anybody sore and when you try to get those muscles back in working order and your sternum used to a new position, nothing's gonna cooperate fully so then you strain them = soreness. Not sure that's what's going on, but makes sense to me. It'll go away, but if you aren't happy, call your dr's office and check it out. I did. God bless

 

[Mara]

Hensylee is right. They sawed open your chest, shoved back your shoulders and then messed around in there a bit and wired the whole thing back up! It hurts. Mine sternum still hurts sometimes. I have a big bone callus at the top where the bone knitted together and that is tender. It really takes about 6-8 months for the sternum to heal completely!

It all takes time. Relax. Go with the flow.
-Mara

 

[Peachy]

I'm almost 7 weeks post op and find that most of the soreness has gone from my sternum. First thing in the morning when I get out of bed it feels a little stiff but once I start moving it is ok apart from the occasional niggle. Just have patience. One morning you will waken up and discover that most of the pain and stiffness has gone. Mara, I too had a bone callous at the top of my scar but that has gone now and my scar is healing up nicely.

 

[sylgeren]

strenum recovery

strenum recovery

I've been reading all of the posts, and so good to hear from different people and all of there own experiences. I've now passed the 4 week, and sleeping is much more comfortable and I have gone to church and even to the movies, not bad. I'm off pain pills for the day time. Moving around sometimes is a little sore, but not bad. I can't tell you how much this web site has helped me. Thank you to everyone. Sylvia

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi sylvia!
my husband, joey, is 5 months post op and still feels some twangs every so often. someone once told me to imagine an empty can of food. cut along one of the sides the length of the can. bend these opened sides back and take a look at what it does to the back end of the can and not just the side you opened (did i say that clearly?)... that was enough for me.
joey is doing great. the only setback in terms of pain was when he went on a golf outing and played every day for 5 days straight. he didn't realize that he would hurt after that.
patience is really the name of the game, we've found. it gets better each day, even if it's a tiny bit at a time.
glad to have another sylvia among us. welcome, i've been away.
hope to keep hearing from you.
be well, sylvia

 

[JenniferO]

I am 2-1/2 weeks post-op and I find that I have a lot of tension aches in the muscles at the back of my neck and in the shoulder blade area. It seems that I kind of lean forward with my neck in some sort of misguided effort to protect my chest which feels like it's wired a bit too tightly and is pulling down. This transfers stress to my neck and results in pain. I also have some tension transfer to the lower back and central back mustcles as well. I have to keep reminding myself not to slouch and to pull my shoulders back. I keep holding myself in an unnatural position and that just makes for weary muscles that have to work in ways they're not used to. Perhaps this is some of what Jerry is doing too.

It does sound like he might be a little stoic with the pain meds; I still take my Tylenols several times a day to deal with the soreness and tightness. It's not a lot of pain, but the Tylenol still helps ease it and I figure that helps lessen my tendency to tense my muscles in response.

I can't wait 'til I can finally sleep on one side or the other; I hate sleeping on my back!

 

[Gail in Ca]

After my surgery I also had pain in my neck and shoulder area. Finally went to physical therapy and they had me get a etha foam round (6") about 3 ft long, and I am to lay on it for 5 minutes daily with my arms just open and palms up. This really helps to open up the sternum that gets so tight. I had rounded shoulders, sort of a protection of that sternum they thought and I hold my neck forward to compensate. I got many exercises to do for all this and it helps.
Gail

 

[deborahj]

The main pain after my op was in my back and shoulders.the back pain was because of the sternum opening-what a surprise that must be for those big back muscles...felt like i'd been kicked by a donkey! The shoulders tended to hunch up to 'protect' the wound, but then gave me gnarly,knotted agony...more so than the sternum wound. gentle shoulder massage really helped, as well as lying on the floor and ever so gently placing your arms,palm up on the floor at right angles to your body and (working hard at) relaxing...i think some kind of pain management medication, (I was on paracetemol every 4 hours) was essential, not for initial pain but as a prophylactic to prevent the ache of
compensating muscles.I think their must also be a reaction to the general anaesthetic that causes problems in the weeks after surgery, I was very tearful and had mad mood swings.the surgery is a violence but a life saving one..
As a proponent of herbs and homeopathy, I took arnica for internal bruising and a homeopathic comfrey ( ancient name knitbone) for my sternum.A couple of years after the heart op, I broke my ankle, and that took about 3 months to heal properly, and about a year before it finally stopped aching and felt as flexible as before.Bones heal really well, but they take a lot longer to feel healed than the initial 6 weeks that the docs say needs to pass before they are fused..The top of my sternum was sore and 'clicky' the longest, but it's all healed up really nicelyand 5 years post op the scar only is noticeable if i get a tan..(not likely in windy old london town)
Further I felt a 'coldness in my bones' for a couple of years post op, but that could just be the English weather!!!(lol)
I hope some of this might be useful in putting your minds at rest
love debs

 

[Nancy]

After all of Joe's surgeries, it was his back that bothered him longer than his front. He also was very hunched up in the protective mode and because he had so many chest surgeries all in a row, he stayed that way for a long time. He's starting to straighten up now, but the muscles do resist and cramp up a lot.

 

[sylgeren]

Re: Sternum soreness

Jerry is 10 days post op and doing great. He does still say the sternum is very sore; in fact now the soreness goes around to his back. Is it normal for it to not be improving and even spreading? As I mentioned before, he didn't even have me get the Lortab (pain med) filled when we came home. He has taken a total of 4 Tylenols.

He's walking LOTS and has absolutely no trouble with the leg where the vein was removed. Surprising to me was the length of the wound on his inner leg above the knee--about 3" or less.

The appetite is good and there doesn't seem to be much problem with taste buds, except that we're trying to get used to eating healthier. He's a tall thin guy who has always eaten whatever he wanted whenever he wanted it. This is going to be tough.
Today is his 65th birthday.

AVR (St Jude's) & 1 Bypass 2/12/2002
Springfield MO

 

[sylgeren]

Soreness

Soreness

How is Jerry , ?? Is his pain any better? Is he moving around a lot more. I remember each day got a little bit better. Some days I didn't even notice that is was better. But the bad days I knew very well. Walking does help. I still take some tyneol here and there. But at night I take my Vicodan to sleep. I seem to have more energy these days , (4 weeks) since my valve surgery. My shoulders still are sore. and my sterum is sore too. Hope all is better with you. Talk to later. Syl

 

[AIDAMENSCHEL]

Sternum pain

Sternum pain

I read these messages now and feel like the old experienced one. (Old is right since I was 77 years old at the time of the surgery.) Some difference from the times I came on regularly. It is now 9 weeks since my aortic valve replacement and bypass surgery.

True for about 4 weeks I had to sleep on my back but now I forget about the surgery. Some times the cuts on my legs (Three below the knee and two above on the right leg plus two near the ankle on the left) let me know that they are there if I try to rest one leg upon the other but that doesn't happen often now. The sternum didn't bother me after about three weeks except of the very top of the chest where my surgeon said they pulled all the muscles together. At the same time I had pressure pain on my left chest just under the center shoulder, Which the surgeon also blamed on the muscles healing. I just took Tylenol every four hours for that and was told, if it goes away with Tylenol, don't worry about it.

After about 4 weeks the surgeon said it was alright to use Eucerin on the scars and they are disappearing nicely.

As I was told, hang in there, and it will all clear up.

Aida

 

[alpage]

I had surgery Feb. 11. Not surprisingly the sternum was fairly painful in hospital, especially when coughing. I also had quite a lot of neck soreness and stiffness while in hospital, but fortunately that wore off in a week or so.

By time I left the hospital I was only taking plain Tylenol, but they gave me a prescription for Percocet anyway. I really didn't think I would need it, but on a few occasions I have taken 1/2 tablet due to generalized soreness late at night. I definitely have some aches and pains in the back muscles and shoulders at times.

Alan

 

[sylgeren]

valve replacement-post op-sternum

valve replacement-post op-sternum

dHi Alan, I just read your post of your surgery on Feb ll. I had mine on Jan 24. aortic valve replacement. I knew about it since early l99l. But never really felt tired or anything. Then had another echo, should severe closing. So in Oct. 200l, he said I shouldn't wait. But I talked him into letting Christmas go by. Set the surgery for Jan 28. Well by Jan 20 I started to have fainting spells and general feeling bad. I was working all this time , in a dental office , chairside. So by Jan 24th I had my surgery. All went well, and like you my sternum was painful in the hospital and got a little better after I came home, 4 days later. Now I rarely take any pain med, but every so often it really is a bother. I'm so active that it really takes a lot to make me sit down and rest. So when I saw my cardio last tues. he scared me about the sternum that could come loose or the wires could come apart. Which he said would mean surgery again. But everyone on this site has been so helpful and have given me a lot of good advice. But every once in awhild I forget. Let me know how you are doing. I'll be waiting, maybe I can give you some advice, like I got. Bye Syl

 

[sylgeren]

Just Checking on you

Just Checking on you

Haven't heard from you lately, how is the soreness.? This is my going on 6 weeks from surg, and I notice it being more sore , but easier to move around. If that makes sense. Sometimes when I get up from the chair or bed I really feel the stiffness and tightness in the chest area, and sometimes even down the sides
of my chest. Have you had that too? Talk to you soon. Syl
P.S. I really don't know my way around this site so somethimes I really get things messed up. This is to for csutherland.

 

[csutherland]

Jerry's surgery was 2/12. He still says the sternum is sore, but turning in bed, etc is getting easier. He was walking up to 4 miles a day outside (1 mi. 4 times a day) until we had a cold spell starting a week ago and continuing. Now he's doing about 3 miles as often as I can get him to a local mall, almost every day. We go back to the surgeon tomorrow. He hopes to get to drive after that. What do you think?

 

[Christina]

CSutherland,

The sternum is an area that stays tender for quite some time. Years ago, long before my AVR surgery, my husband and I were lifting the campershell off our truck and I didn't get a good hold on it and it partially fell on my chest/sternum. I had to go to the hospital because it knocked the wind out of me and hurt a lot. My sternum was painful for a long time afterwards.
I had AVR surgery August of 2000, and was allowed to drive again after 5 weeks. Be careful though, because it sure doesn't feel good looking over your shoulder when you have to change lanes. It gets easier though, and after a few weeks you will not notice any discomfort any longer.

Be well.

Christina
Congenital Aortic Stenosis
AVR's 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
St. Jude's Mechanical