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I’ll second the good oral hygiene. It’s really important. Use a soft toothbrush. Don’t muscle it … let the toothbrush do the work. Floss at least a few times a week (strive for every day). I always rinse my mouth out with Listerine after flossing. I haven’t really done anything different...

I’ve had them. For me, 2x 200mg Chelated Magnesium Glycinate (one in the morning and one in the evening) fixed it all. My cardiologist recommended this too. May or may not work for you … ask your Cardiologist and follow his recommendations.

pellicle already answered the question you asked of me - why I’m taking “so much” warfarin. I’m not taking so much. I’m taking what my body needs to keep INR where I want it. It’s not dangerous to be on the amount of warfarin that I am on. There are plenty of people who are on a lot more. And...

I self-manage like others here using my eBay CoaguChek meters (yes, plural, because I like to validate from time to time). On-X mechanical valve installed about a year ago. I’m taking about 13mg of Warfarin a day now. I eat a huge salad for dinner about 3 times a week. Other dinners always...

But man o man was that a super tasty snack!!!!! Wouldn’t have caught this so early had I not been the dork that I am and testing mid-week. The rest of these are now in the trash. Thanks pellicle!!!

A common reop for BAV aortic people is due to aortic aneurism. Make sure that you emphasize HEAVILY to your surgeon that if there is any doubt whatsoever that your aorta won’t take the abuse over the next 60 years, then do a replacement of your aortic valve with a mechanical one that comes...

I had an On-X replacement in May of ‘22. I have not returned to my previous fitness levels. My previous fitness levels was benchpressing (freeweights of course) my own body weight 10 times … slow and with perfect form. I would also run 2 miles at around an 11 minute pace. My goal was to bench...

Last week my INR was 4.0 when I tested on Sunday. Oddly enough, I didn’t die. Additionally, I cut my knuckle accidentally while helping my Mom and amazingly the bleeding stopped. I have 3 (three) functional CoaguChek XS meters. Yes, I’m a dork. I don’t need 3. I don’t even need 2. All 3...

I take 400mg Magnesium daily. My Cardiologist agrees (not that THAT matters). FWIW, it eliminated my sporadic PVCs.

Heck yea!!!! Awesome brother! Congratulations. Another plus for the mechanical St. Jude’s valve.

I can’t imagine trusting my life to a clinic or testing service here in the USA. Let me quickly give you an example. One of the premier services for managing INR is a company called Acelis. They market that they keep their patients within therapeutic range 70% of the time. In what world is it...

If you’re getting a new bioprosthetic valve every 10 years then you’re gonna need to have 4 more OHSs in your lifetime. I don’t think that’s a reasonable goal that meshes well with staying alive. I’d recommend changing your path before it’s too late. Just my opinion so take it for what it’s...

It doesn’t hurt to shop around for a cardiologist. Use google and get a list of all the cardiologist offices within a distance you’d be willing to drive. Start your research and narrow it down to a few. Setup an appointment with a doc in each practice and discuss. Make sure to get data too...

They sent me home with Tramadol which is an opioid. So - I guess it depends on the hospital. That said - I didn’t take ANY pain killers since 2 days post op. That includes Tylenol. I didn’t really need it.

I slept on my back propped up SUBSTANTIALLY for several weeks. I’m talking in bed at like at 45d angle using like 3-4 bed pillows. It’s the only thing that worked for me. Plus that made it easier for me to get out of bed. I’m 7 months since surgery and I’m confident I won’t ever sleep on my...

Kudos to you for knowing your choice. You’re definitely not taking the recommended medical path. You’re under 50 - so the medical recommendation is a mechanical valve. I’m sure you know that already 🙂. Just making sure that I state it here for future readers. So why do I give you kudos...

After returning home I had horrible stomach and bow issues. I wasn’t on any pain killers either and only took the IV pain killers for 2 days. I tried everything imaginable to get my stomach back in order. What worked was MetaMucil twice a day. Each time I used a heaping tablespoon in a glass...

I support what Chuck just said … which is what someone else said. I intend to get an echo every year. My next one is in January. I’m currently 6 months post op from receiving a mechanical AVR. Had my first post op echo at about 2 months.

Woohoo! Glad to hear all is going well

@carolinemc Before I had surgery, I truly thought that blood thinners “thinned” the blood. I thought they lowered the viscosity. My cardiologist never told me what “blood thinners” actually were. Naturally, I assumed that they did what the name implies. I think most new people think the...