I think they said he was born with the bicuspid valve and I assume the other things occurred because of that. (i need to find out more) He also has high cholesterol, so maybe that is making it worse.maybe you mentioned this somewhere, but do you know the cause of his valve problem?
I'm sorry I hope I didn't offend. I'm still just trying to wrap my brain around all of this and that was just my initial reaction to him telling me that he would have to take some medication for the rest of his life.A prison sentence of bags of medications... I've never heard concerns about taking coumadin put quite that way. Actually, given the kinds of misconcetions about the drug that are out there, your concerns are pretty normal.
Life tends to present all kinds of challenges. We tend to respond by doing whatever we need to do to get by. If getting by means I'll need to pack my bag of coumadin along with me, I'll do it.
-Philip
OK this i didn't know. I really have a lot to research.With additional open heart surgery you keep increasing your risk for various arythmias.
That made me laugh, thanksBTW, the ACT is no big deal. I take my pills, check my INR at home. The best part is you will know when he lies to you; his heart rate will spead up the clicking will give him away.
You are not getting worried for nothing. You are getting worried for love. This we all understand! Fortunately you both have time to get answers to questions (even the ones you have not got enough knowledge to ask yet) so that you can walk into this surgery with confidence. This is a great place to ask questions. What we can do is help you formulate deeper kinds of questions to ask the cardio and surgeon and thus make your understanding more thorough. Keep in mind -- it will all seem dizzying, but you will manage to get your arms around things.So I'm probably just getting worried for nothing.
I know this started out because you were trying to figure out your place, but it looks like it turned into a valve choice thread. There are quite a few strong opinions on valve choice and it is a very personal decision, you can see alot of the different opinions and facts in the different valve threads. But make sure you get real facts. In the valve choice forum, there are many threads that have alot of good information, including links to numerous studies or articeles about the different valves.I am 45 years old, and got a mechanical valve. Wouldn't have it any other way. I would hate to think every time I work out I am cutting life of my valve. I agree with the person who said they don't want to do this again,,, I would not!!. With additional open heart surgery you keep increasing your risk for various arythmias. Once you get these you will be on ACT anyway. People older than 60, those who do things that make you bleed, or women who want to have children are all great reasons to get tissue; to tell the truth I almost did. For me, I am glad I went the direction I did.
BTW, the ACT is no big deal. I take my pills, check my INR at home. The best part is you will know when he lies to you; his heart rate will spead up the clicking will give him away.
It is a great idea and very helpful to write down all the questions you have on mind and do not be shy to ask the Surgeon as many questions as you want...........I think maybe it would be a good idea to just write down things I think he should ask his doctor when we set up his next appt. I thought about going with him, but I think me being there will add tension.
I'm going to set up his kaiser account online so he can write to the doctor as well.
It is both your decisions, as you are the ones who will be living with the outcome of your decision. Just as an example, my husband shared his opinions with me and left the decision to me, though I knew what was his in his heart!I'm still new to this and my initial impression of the mechanical and coumadin therapy just made me feel as if he was being given a prison sentence of bags of medication and still in his 40's. I can see that's not true now, but I know I'm still not keen on the idea. But I know it's not my decision to make.
As Philip responded to you, I like all to emphasize that you can say anything you like...we do not get offended. We will simply understrand how you feel and how fearful we can get. We were there and we understand. My husband has to take Diabetes pills for the rest of his life, my sisters has to take BP pills, I have to take Synthroid in addition to Warfarin and Toprol for the rest of my life.I'm sorry I hope I didn't offend. I'm still just trying to wrap my brain around all of this and that was just my initial reaction to him telling me that he would have to take some medication for the rest of his life.
Thanks, I'm glad you posted because I was afraid what I said bothered you. I'm trying to read about the coumadin as much as possible. The drug sounds scary but watching my mom on it and it didn't seem to bother her much outside of a couple of nosebleeds and having to make trips to the doctor to get some things checked, so maybe I'm making a mountain out of a molehill. I still think that if i were facing this and had to choose that I would go for the biological one. So sometimes I'm confused and amazed that the idea does not seem to bother my husband at all.Ambriz,
Your analogy about a prison sentence with bags of meds wasn't offensive. There are lots of varying opinions out there and even among members here about coumadin. Yes, there are some members here who suscribe to the opinion that it's a bad drug and should be avoided at all costs; those folks are entitled to their opinions. I simply don't share their opinions because My experience with the drug has been positive.
I've been in some pretty bad accidents since starting to take the drug in March 2007 and I'm still here. This said, do make sure to weigh all of the information and opinions you can find. Well-informed decisions require looking at lots of information.
Personally, I wouldn't be honest if I didn't admit that I had concerns about being on a drug for the rest of my life following AVR surgery. Those concerns were resolved pretty quickly.
-Philip
I guess it's just an adjustment I have to make in my mind. I guess I just didn't expect either of us to start on the "bag of medications" for another 10 years or so (if that makes sense) I just expected/hoped that all the illnesses and things like that would not hit us till we had gotten into our late 40's or 50's. I really wish we had found out about this years ago so we could have both had lots of time to get used to the idea like some of the people here I've been reading about..As Philip responded to you, I like all to emphasize that you can say anything you like...we do not get offended. We will simply understrand how you feel and how fearful we can get. We were there and we understand. My husband has to take Diabetes pills for the rest of his life, my sisters has to take BP pills, I have to take Synthroid in addition to Warfarin and Toprol for the rest of my life.
Good luck with making the choice and any choice you make will be the right one for you.
Cheers![]()