Search results

I used to get one or two ocular migraines per year for the twenty years or so before my mitral valve repair surgery. Since the surgery I have been getting one or two per month. They don't bother me in any way. What I like to do is look at the clock when one starts. I reassure myself that it will...

My incision was similar to that: under my right breast, about five inches long. Definitely not visible when I have a shirt on.

When I send care packages to surgery patients, I like to send: something fun to read something fun to watch (DVD) something fun to do (crosswords, jigsaw puzzle, etc.) a can of chicken soup (mostly symbolic) candy (depending on what the person likes) a small huggable stuffed animal After my...

Meditation might be useful as a general technique to help you manage your thoughts/mind/consciousness, whether or not it's useful in the moment when you notice palpitations. Having your thoughts be hard to corral when you're trying to meditate is completely normal. I took a class in...

By "home nurse," did they mean someone who comes and stays for hours and hours, or someone who just drops by? After I had my surgery, Kaiser sent a home nurse for a few brief visits, just to check my INR, check how I was healing, and review my medications. Maybe that's all they meant.

Even if you did need another surgery, it would be OK and you would manage. Here's some advice on health anxiety that I just read today, from Dr. Andrea Bonior at the Washington Post's site: "Your basic goal should be to label your anxious health-related thoughts as unhelpful (at least past a...

When I woke up from my surgery, I could feel the breathing tube (but not the other tubes and lines). Thanks to the forum, I knew it would feel like breathing through a straw and I knew not to fight it. I was able to identify, mostly by the sound of the ventilator, when a breath was coming in...

Rainbow, no one can promise you that things will go perfectly, but your husband's odds are very very good. It's easy to focus on the worst possible outcome, but that's not representative of what's actually likely to happen. Steve Epstein said it better than I can: How the mind works

Here's the sticky thread from the Pre-Surgery forum on what to take to the hospital: What to take to the hospital My most useful items were lip balm, reading glasses, a tablet, and underpants to wear under that skimpy gown after the catheter came out. I had a robe to wear over the gown when I...

I'm surprised no one has mentioned this yet. On June 4, the San Francisco Symphony made the following announcement about its conductor (text is from his website): "Michael Tilson Thomas has announced that he is withdrawing from all engagements beginning June 17 until September 3 in order to...

For the first three months after my mitral valve surgery I was on both warfarin and 81mg of aspirin. Since then I still take the aspirin, but no prescription medications. Clearly the warfarin and aspirin were thought to play together well for that post-surgery period where endothelialization was...

I had minimally invasive surgery and needed a lot more time than a week to get back to work! Even minimally invasive operations involve using the bypass machine, cutting open and rearranging the heart, etc... my guess is that those things take as much of a toll on one's body and energy levels as...

Hi almost_hectic... I had my surgery four days before you did. I haven't noticed any changes in my memory related to the surgery at all. Gradually over the years I've been becoming more like the parents in this comic strip, though: Zits, March 31 2019

Becky... it is so hard to lose your mother no matter how old you are. You've never lived in a world that doesn't have her in it, and that leaves a huge hole. My best wishes to you in this painful time.

I'm a side sleeper who had a minimally invasive incision (though the bypass machine was used), and I didn't feel any need for a recliner to sleep. I couldn't sleep on my right side for a few weeks, so I slept mostly on my left side and alternated that with sleeping on my back when my left side...

I've been getting ocular migraines for about twenty years. Before my surgery I would have one or two per year; after surgery I'm experiencing one or two per month. My cardiologist had not heard of this phenomenon (I told him about the experiences that others have posted here on the forum) but...

A physician blogger shares a nice analogy here: https://acountrydoctorwrites.blog/2018/11/05/how-often-should-doctors-check-labwork/

There are a lot of suggested questions here: http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forum/pre-surgery/27324-pre-surgery-consultation-list-of-questions

My cardiologist said to come in and get checked out if I had "unexplained" fever, meaning fever with no symptoms of ordinary illnesses such as a head cold.

The recommendations for antibiotics tend to change over time. Can you go back to your cardiologist and get his/her opinion? The dentist should be likely to accept that decision. You should be able to get any needed antibiotics from your cardiologist or primary physician. For what it's worth, my...