17 Days Post Pulmonary Valve Replacement.....Surprised?

[coolcoop36]

Greetings, I am a 20 year old male who was born with Tetrology of Fallot. I had a repair done when i was 4 to fix the defect and 17 days ago I had my Pulmonary Valve repaired. Now I am writing this to try and grasp if this is normal or not. I had surgery, got out of the hospital in 3 days, got off all pain meds in 4 days, Im just taking some ibuprofen for pain. The incision is fine, It really doesnt bother me at all. My cardiologist cleared me to go back to college, which the first days started today! Basically the only REALLY terrible pain is my head and neck. I am headache prone and I have been getting very bad headaches with stiff neck. But other than that I havent been tired at all, im cooking, and walking, attending class and just being normal. I wonder if this has to do something with my age and generally being in shape? Or do all others recover this fast, I pictured it a lot worse in my head. Any thoughts would be helpful!

-Louis

 

[chaconne]

coolcoop,

Being young and in shape certainly helps in the speed of the recovery. I recovered pretty fast myself and am very grateful for it. At 42, I was ready to go back to work after 21 days but had to wait until 28 for the doctor's note.

 

[Debbrn]

Hello and welcome. I am a fellow TOF patient. You are a star patient. One of my PVR was when I was 25 and I felt back to normal pretty quick. Not as quick as you though. Being young and fit is a huge advantage.

What kind of valve did you get? My last one was 3 years ago at the age of 44. I have a cow valve this time. Everyone is hoping that the next time will be in the cath lab. Make sure you do not lift more than you are given permission for. No back pack or carrying multiple heavy college books. Two months after my first PVR I was at work as a nurse. I did not think about what I was doing and lifted a full oxygen tank about 4 feet off the floor. I was lucky I did not damage my sternum. It definitely hurt.

For the neck pain try a heat back. It did wonders for me. I usually used one for about 30 minutes after I first got up and if I over did it.

Debbie

 

[ski girl]

Hi Louis-

I'm not as young as you but I am fit - I took a week off work after getting out of hospital and was back part-time the next week (2 weeks post op) and full-time the week after that (three weeks post op). I felt fine, a bit just tired.

I really do believe that being fit and healthy going in makes a world of difference - but also attitude helps. I didn't over-dramatise OHS as a horrendous massive event that was going to have me unable to do much of anything for three months; I expected that with a fixed heart I was suddenly going to become a marathon champ.

So maybe a combination of overall health, age, and attitude?? Glad to hear you're recovering so well!

 

[Heather Anne]

I'm 48, and three weeks post-op today, and I feel pretty darned good. I don't work in an office (I'm a writer who works at home), but I've been working for a week and half now at the same pace I was before my surgery. I'm stiff and sore, and my cardio fitness has not recovered to where it was yet, but that's to be expected. Overall my energy level is better than it was before the surgery. You're ahead of me in your recovery, but if I were you, I would give myself a round of applause and enjoy my good fortune! There are plenty of folks on this board who haven't had as smooth a road for reasons completely unrelated to age and fitness (complications do not discriminate it seems), so count yourself lucky and enjoy the college life!!!

P.S. -- I agree with ski girl that a positive attitude is extremely helpful. It won't stave off aFib or other complications, but it will help you weather them more easily. I, too, think of myself as better than before, and I'm just waiting to finish healing before I start kicking some serious ass!

 

[ski girl]

Heather Anne if this was Facebook I'd be clicking LIKE!

 

[aliciavicki]

Wow, love this post. I'm about to have the same thing done, and hoping my recovery to be much the same!

 

[epstns]

Louis - The girls are right. There is no substitute for youth and health prior to surgery, but if or when the "trainwreck" happens, there is no substitute for attitude! Please keep us posted on your progress. Not so much for the old cranks like me, but for the younger folks who will come along in the future. It will help them immensely to know that other young folks have had such exemplary recoveries, and that perhaps they will too.

P.S. I am now over 2 1/2 years post-op and still have nasty back and neck pain. My docs think it is arthritis, but if so, why did it start shortly after surgery? I have been doing physical therapy for it, and the stretches they have recommended seem to help. We feel that after surgery, I may have altered my exercise routine such that my muscular strength is "out of balance" and affects how I move. There may be some truth to this theory, so be mindful of what exercise you do to try not to unbalance your strength (front to back, etc.). Maintain core muscle strength but don't over-do it.

 

[coolcoop36]

Just an update--It will be 1 year this August. I have been feeling great! It is nice to live without the stress of an arrythmia. My chest scar is healing, not as nice as I would hope but I was a re-op so I didnt expect it to be perfect. But overall I am pretty much back to my normal self, most of the time I kind of forget I have TOF, until I look at my chest that is

 

[Sctb78]

Great to hear you are doing so well. I will have surgery for PVR later this year and hope to have a similar story

 

[bw00]

To be honest, I am very young too (18) and my recovery is going slower then most due to complications and a very long surgery. I do belief age and health are a big deal, but the surgery and luck are part of it as well! I am happy to hear you are recovering so quickly, hopefully this will continue!