1 Month Doc. Visit - Questions Answered

[lieb2101]

I just met with my surgeon, Dr. Deeb and his nurses yesterday for my 1 month check-up. I had some good news and a little frustration. All in all it was a good visit.

First off, I CAN DRIVE AGAIN!!! They also upped my weight restriction to 15-20lbs.

We discussed my very loud pounding heartbeat and my increased heart rate at night. This has been a major problem as I haven't been able to sleep hardly at all. In response, they upped my dosage of Toporol XL from 25 to 50mg and they're having me take it with dinner instead of with breakfast. I'm a big guy and at my size, even 50mg is a small dose. My resting BPM was in the upper 80s & 90s when I was trying to sleep and it looks like this change has helped me. Plus now I don't feel like sleeping in the middle of the day!

As for the pounding heart, my surgeon offered the following explanation: The heart is usually surrounded by a sac of fluid called the pericardium. During surgery, that is opened up and it takes some time for it to repair itself back to normal. This sac usually buffers the rest of the body and internal organs from the beating of the heart. He explained that this should be especially noticeable while laying down (duh). Apparently, this should resolve itself in the next month or so. I sure hope so.

I'm still frustrated with the lack of exercise guidance. I was told not to let my heart rate go above 100 until I am 3 months out! That's almost impossible for me, I can't walk across the room without getting my heart rate over 100. So I'm pretty much still limited to walking on the treadmill. Apparently, they've seen a large number of people get re-admitted from over-doing it so I guess they want me to stay on the safe side. I was able to get a prescription for cardiac rehab so I'll have to look into where I can go for that (if my insurance will cover it).

As for drugs, I'm now able to get off all of my pain meds, except the asprin every day. I'm off the antibiotics too. Right now, all I'm really taking is the beta-blocker and the statin.

I was told not to put ANYTHING on my scar until 3 months out. I'm a little bummed about that too since it's getting dry and itchy.

I guess I'm doing really well and I think my biggest challenge will be just keeping myself from overdoing it.

Best of luck to everyone else in recovery mode!

-Brian

 

[Bina]

Brian, that all sounds good! I'm also on 50mg and find it works just fine.
Keep pacing yourself to help avoid setbacks.

 

[Cooker]

Brian....sounds like things are right on track. My heart thumping or whatever you want to call it is virtually nonexistent compared to a month out...I'm sure it will fade into the background....Keep up the good recovery!!!

 

[Phyllis]

Good report and all good news, Brian. Listen to the doctors and you should be better than normal before you know it.

 

[Karlynn]

Sounds like a very good 1 mo. report. I've taken Toprol (the XL doesn't work for me) since my surgery 16 years ago for my heart rate.

 

[WayneGM]

Congrats on the good report. Best wishes on your continued recovery...

 

[lieb2101]

I also forgot to add that my doc's explanation for my higher heart rate was that my body has put itself into a state of high metabolism in order to heal itself. This is usually common in cases where the body is put though significant trauma. I'm not sure how much of that I buy though. My heart rate before surgery was in the 60s and 70s with a max HR around 160-170 (before I found out about the aneurysm). I'm certainly looking forward to it dropping. Can any of you AVR veterans out there contribute any input on this? What was your resting HR after surgery compared to now?

It will be interesting a year from now to see what my aerobic performance is like.

-B

 

[ruth]

I took my pulse the other night, at rest, and was thrilled to see it was in the 70's. It's been 13 months since my surgery. Post op it was 110-120, and beta blockers barely could get it below 100. If I walked up a flight of stairs or even just into the kitchen it would spike upward. Now, I know I had a rough early recovery but after the cardioversion when I was in cardiac rehab and later working out on my own my resting HR was never as low as it is today. It's been very slowly, but very steadily dropping for this entire past year even as I've been weaning off of the beta blockers. I really didn't expect it to be this slow but I'm happy because I really do feel good now.

I wish you all the best. Be happy & patient with your recovery, it sounds like you are really doing great!

Peace,
Ruth

 

[harleygirl528]

Hi Brian,

That is great news, sounds like your recovery is going really well! I am just a week ahead of you with my surgery on Jan 15. I also had an aneurysm of the ascending aorta but my aortic valve was repaired, rather than replaced. Interestingly enough, I also experience they very loud heartbeat and I still have my native valve. My surgeon basically gave me the save explanation of the pericardium being opened up and reassured me that eventually scar tissue would build up around everything and the sound would be more muffled. In terms of heart rate after surgery, I have had a total opposite experience. Before my surgery when I was first diagnosed with the aneurysm my pulse was over 100, even at rest. This was typical for me until I went on beta blockers and even then it was in the 80?s. Now, after surgery, my heart rate is typically in the 60?s or 70?s and I am only on 25 mg or Atenolol twice a day. The only time mine was in the 100?s was during a 2 day episode of A-fib which was quickly resolved with extra beta blocker medication. My only lingering issues are difficulty with sleep (can?t get comfortable and chest hurts and I think I still have some lingering pleural effusions since I have some pain on deep breathing but it is much better than before. I also have a spot at the top of my scar that is open and oozing but I called and they said just to clean it out with peroxide and keep it covere up with gauze as long as it is oozing) My follow up with surgeon is next week. Did you have a CT as part of your follow up? My surgeon has ordered a 64 slice CT to check everything out?I am a bit concerned about all the radiation since it is like the 5th CT I have had in 4 months.
Here?s wishing you a continued smooth recovery! Take care!