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I got the 50 pound limit for life speech too. I'm not a muscle builder, but I'm very active. I ride a road bike 100+ miles a week and go to the gym 2 or 3 times. The 50 pound thing is a static blood pressure issue. We are prone to having weak arterial walls and they don't want them to blow...

This is something I have experienced too, but to a lesser degree. The same surgeon did me and Dave, about a month apart. I'm off the beta blocker now. On it, my resting HR had come down to about 60 and my bp at home was usually similar to what he reports. Off the beta blocker, my resting HR...

The left side thing is interesting. Sleeping on the left side is sometimes a trigger for atrial fibrillation sufferers. It has something to do with pressure on the heart or vagus nerve, I can't remember. I do remember the first night I figured out I didn't have to sleep laying flat on my...

John, when we leave this life, most of us want to leave some sort of legacy, to have changed somone's life, to have made an impact on the world. There is no better way to do that than to help a kid. Better yet, a whole bunch of kids! Your city has all sorts of ministries designed to do just...

I was just getting ready to ask about optical migraines when I saw this thread. Since my OHS, I have been getting the aura, but no headache, about 2 or 3 times a month. Pre-surgery, I might have had 2 or 3 a year. Is there any link to the bypass machine? Fortunately, mine only last about 10...

Louise, you'll be fine. Just hang in there. I had some afib issues pre-surgery and had a "maze" procedure as part of my OHS. In the 2 weeks after surgery, I had 4 or 5 afib episodes, which was expected. Since then, I have had none. I don't expect to have any more. Your heart will take a...

Lisa, there is no comparison between OHS and getting your knee scoped. They released me within a couple of weeks of getting my torn meniscus fixed some 8 or 9 years ago and it has been pretty much fine. You'll be running in no time! John

This is a question for your doctor, not people here. They let me start doing some very light lower body weights at 6 weeks. At 8 weeks, they told me no restrictions except no "heavy, heavy" weights, which still hasn't been quantified. All of us are different. My fitness level was pretty...

Cynthia, I don't think you can hurt the valve itself. A frequent issue with bicuspid aortic valves is aneurisms. They were watching my bicuspid valve for about 6 years and no one mentioned the aneurism issue until my valve got down to 1 cm. Since then, I have leared that aortic aneurisms are...

They still have me on a very mild dosage of metatoprol, so I don't really know what my HR will do. It is something I am very aware of and something I monitor. I ride a road bike 3 or 4 times a week, anywhere between 15 miles and 40+ miles. My typical speed on a flat road with no headwind is...

The one I tell people about the most is the lack of chest pain. I had no pain to speak of in my sternum. Ever. My shoulder blades hurt for a few days--that surprised me. Shuffling a few steps the day after surgery was harder than I expected because I was in good shape. The best surprise was...

Just go and take it easy. I went at 6 weeks, did some very light weights and was very encouraged. At 8 weeks, you're pretty good to go. Listen to your body, build up slowly, but don't fear that the repair will break or anything.

I ride a bike instead of running. They told me I would have no restrictions. After a bit over 4 months, I am not back to where I was pre-surgery. I'm slower and I haven't built up to the miles I could do before. But, I don't notice any issues from the bovine valve--I am still on a low dose...

I've lived in Florida more than 50 years, and the last 33 in South florida. We used to run at noon time year round and sometimes after work, when it is even hotter. Lately, I've been riding a bike. Long rides are as much as 4 hours at 16+ mph. The bike is probably easier in heat than running...

Getting home is the best! Tell those boys to drive their dad around! My 16 year old son was assigned to do my driving, but except for the occasional trip to the doc or to get lunch, it wasn't a big deal. I babied my sternum for those 8 weeks and I sure am glad. Right now, 3 months out, I...

I got my surgical report in the mail this week. There were things I didn't know! Surgery was July 6, this year. They cooled me down to 20 degrees centigrade for part of the procedure; that is 68 degrees F. Pretty cold. Then they "warmed" me up to 32 degrees C, which is still only 89 degrees...

Cool! You'll both feel better now! John

Wow! 20 days and 50 days! You guys are amazing. Faye, I had a little bit of a complication that bought me an additional 5 days in the hospital, after I had already come home, but nothing like what you or Ross had. The really good news is that you will likely be better off long term than you...

THis side of the mountain is a wonderful place to be! Take good care of him. John

They gave me morphin pills for about 12 hours. Then the switched to percoset, which I didn't do well with. Surgery was on a Friday and on Sunday, they started giving me Tylenol 3 when I went to sleep at night and that was it. Pain was not an issue for me. Ever. The only pain that bothered...