Recent content by Val

Thanks

Thanks for all the info. It helps hearing from folks who actually experienced endocarditis. Still culturing, cultures reacting to antibiotics. White county slightly high. Still running a low grade fever. If fever doesn't go away, replacing the pacing wires would be the next step.

Thank you for sharing. Sounds like what happened to me. Not sure why they are recommending antibiotics for life.

I'll go home on a picc line.

Thank you for the info. It's comforting knowing I'm not the only one. Info is limited on Dr Google and some what scarry

Just got bad news. Two stains of staph still active in heart tissue. They will suppress it with 6 weeks of IV antibiotics and then try to keep it under control with lifetime antibiotics in pill form. If anyone has a similar diagnosis, I'd like to talk.

Well I made it to the other side.. Thank you for all you support, it made the process so much easier. Surgery was Friday. Now on Tuesday we're looking at discharge plans. Mainly waiting on infective disease to come up with a plan. I'm going home with an ATS heart valve and valsalva graft...

As far as valve selection, I am going to rely on my surgeon's experience and not try to second guess. His first choice is mechanical valve, If there is significant damage from endocarditis then he will use a homograft. He has ordered both for the surgery. My blood culture showed an unusual...

The reason my surgeon would use a homograft is if there is active infection. Unlike mechanical and biological valves, homograft is resistant to endocarditis.

Thanks for your kind thoughts. Surgeon second choice would be a homograph valve which does sound like a great option but the surgery is much more complicated.

Thanks for your good advice. I have Googled my surgeon and he seems well qualified. He's not an OnX fan so it will probably be a St. Jude. He is not sure how much damage has been done by the infection so if the use of a mechanical valve is not possible then he will also also have a homograph...

Thanks

IV vancomycin is the antibiotic. Afib / Aflutter heart ablation 10 days before symptoms. Endocarditis is at least 3-4 months old. The recent ablation plus fever is what sent me to the ER otherwise I would never have been diagnosed so early. No symptoms except maybe high normal fever...

I went to the ER with a fever of 101 F because I recently had an ablation was following discharge instructions. Because I was found to have slightly elevated troponin levels and WBC even though I no longer had a fever, they admitted me. They started culturing my blood and giving me a series...

I do have an update, a CT scan shows that I might have Fibromuscular Dysplasia. Feels like out of the frying pan into the fire.