15 days post op

[Pat Walter]

Hi everyone

I am 15 days post op from my aortic valve replacement with a mini invasive open heart surgery at the Cleveland Clinic.  I received a bovine tissue valve.  I can say that my hip resurfacing was a walk in the park compared to open heart surgery.  Only in the last few days have I been able to walk without being dizzy.  They dropped some of my meds since my standing blood pressure was low.  I sleep in my recliner since I can get into it and out easly.  I can walk around the house, but that's about all right now.  My chest is very sore like a Mack Truck drove over it.  I can feel I am getting stronger and should feel much better in a few more weeks.

I am just starting to get on my computer again.  I have a ton of emails which I will try to answer over the next few weeks.  It is still diffiuclt to do much work.  Using pain meds mostly at night.

My wish is that your only major surgery will be for a hip resurfacing and not open heart surgery! LOL  Guess I got both.  They are calling me bionic now.

Good Luck to all.

Pat

[Luann]

Good to hear from you... keep on healing. I can only imagine how tough the recovery must be. Don't feel pressure to answer too many emails. We just want you to get better and relax!
 Thanks always for this website, Luann

[sfinrecovery]

Hi, Pat, although a newbie, I have great respect for the help that you have facilitated for all of us.  Wishing you excellent healing!
Juan

[emichel]

Hi Pat -- I, too, am new on here, as I am just starting to think about and go through the project of hip resurfacing.  Shortly after I found this website I read your post about your upcoming heart surgery, and I realized how important a resource you are for all of us dealing with this hip issue.  Of course many people have many health issues.  I personally have been really lucky, I guess, since at age 58 have never had any major health problems, but now thinking about surgery really scares me.  I just want to say that you are truly an inspiration, and that although (somewhat selfishly) I hope you can back to being more active on these boards before too long, mostly I hope that you will take whatever time you need to rest and heal.  Wishing you all the best!  -- Eileen

[Lopsided]

Very glad you are back Pat.

Dan

[Pat Walter]

I am 3 weeks post op from my open heart surgery.  Had minimally invasive surgery with a 4 inch incision - but it hurts like a full open heart surgery.  It has gotten much better and I don't take pain meds any more.  They decreased my meds too qucikly and I went into a-fib where your heart beats twice as fast and irregularly.  I just spent 3 days in the hospital while they got it under control.  I am home once again and trying to read emails and make responses.

I wish the best to all those about to have hip surgery and those going thru recovery as I am.

Will try to be in touch more often soon.

Pat

[Pat Walter]

Eileen

Surgery is not that bad - not as bad as the pain you live with each day.  It never gets better, but after surgery you do.  You will be back to an active, happy life before you know it.  Hang in there.  Read all the wonderful stories about how great people are after their surgeries.  Write me a story after yours and I will post in on the main site.

Good Luck and don't be afraid. Look to being active again.

Pat

[Pat Walter]

I am 5 weeks post op and am starting to have some normal feelings of a normal life.  The fatigue is continuing, but less.  I am able to have periods of activity and then take a nap.  I am walking much longer distances and doing most normal chores like feeding the 9 dogs and easy housewok.  Still can't lift anything more than 10 pounds. Still have stiffness and a few aches in my chest.  Haven't taken pain meds except at night sometimes when I have done something new.  It is amazing how cutting your chest open really slows you down.  I could not even open a prescription bottle top one day.  We don't realize how the muscles in our bodies work. 

I hope to have more of my meds cut down soon.  I was allowed to drop my antenolol to taking it only at night since it was making me so dizzy.  The meds you take for a-fib and to keep your heart beating slowly are very strong.  Normally you don't want to be on them long term.  I am also on warfrin for now.  I have a tissue valve and you don't need long term warfrin treatment for blood thinning.  I had bad a-fib where your heart beats crazy and fast - it is then that your heart can throw off a blood clot causing strokes and other problems.  So they are very careful to keep your blood on a lower clotting level.  You have to get tested every week or so to watch the warfrin level called your INR level.

This open heart surgery is no walk in the park.  My hip replacement was really easy compared to this.  I know not everyone has an easy hip recovery, but I was lucky to have had that.

Again, choosing a really expeirnced surgeon in any surgery is SOOOOO important.  I had minimally invasive surgery with about a 5 inch cut into my sternum instead of a full cut thru my whole sternum. I only had one drain and one scar where most people have 3.  That allows for about a 2 week faster recocvery.  My surgeon has done over 3000 valve replacement.  I still think expeirnce so the most important factor in any surgery when your body is going to get sliced and diced. You can't beat using the most expeirnced hospitals - the ones that specialize in what you need.  The Cleveland Clinic is the number 1 hospital in the US for heart surgery.  I was lucky to only live 3 hours from Cleveland.

I know this group is about hip resurfacing, but I thought people might be interested in aortic valve replacement surgery too.  I will be glad to get back to normal.  At least I can think pretty straight now and get on the computer.  I was pretty fuzzy headed for quite awhile - it is the strong meds.

I am healing and I hope all current resurfacing patients are healing well too.  It is a journey, but we are all looking forward to having active, pain free, happy lives - really soon.

Pat

[Lopsided]

I hope you continue to recover well Pat.

Dan

[lori.36]

Pat,  Very happy to hear that you are recovering well.  Open heart surgery does not sound like fun at all, but beats the alternative. 
I guess you are going to have to start another website for open heart surgery, since you are a webmaster.

[Luann]

Thanks for sharing your experience, Pat, being educated about our bodies and healing options is important...none of us knows what we might have to go through in the future. Hope you keep feeling better day by day. Luann

[Pat Walter]

I am now 8 weeks post op.  Starting to do most normal activities but not very quickly. My chest area still becomes very sore with new activites I haven't done in a while.  Guess there was a lot of slicing and dicing going on during my surgery. 

I start PT next week.  It will be an interesting expeinced.  It is gentle and monitored at all times.  It will let me know how hard I can push without doing any damage. 

Open heart surgery is quite different than hip resurfacing.  If you think hip surgery is difficult with a long recovery, try some open heart surgery!  I am off the heavy meds now and can think again and not get dizzy.  They give you heavy meds to keep your heart in rhythm and beating at a good rate.  I have had bouts, including this morning, when my heart beats fast and irregular.  You sit quietly and wait for things to settle.  In the past it meant a trip to the ER, but my heart is now regulating itself better. Life is slowly getting better and more normal.  I can even answer posts without a fuzzy brain now. Maybe it was better when I was on meds! LOL 

Pat