1st ride outside

[JeffM]

I'm happy to report I did my first outdoor ride on Friday, the 7th week to the day since my surgery. I rode 25 then 30 the next day and then 20 yesterday, including some hills. Did it feel good? Absolutely not. Do I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do it? No question. I'm sure it will be a more pleasant experience once I get off all the meds, particularly the beta blocker.

 

[Cooker]

I'm happy to report I did my first outdoor ride on Friday, the 7th week to the day since my surgery. I rode 25 then 30 the next day and then 20 yesterday, including some hills. Did it feel good? Absolutely not. Do I feel incredibly fortunate to be able to do it? No question. I'm sure it will be a more pleasant experience once I get off all the meds, particularly the beta blocker.

What ya riding? ... Whatever it is, Congrats

 

[JeffM]

What ya riding? ... Whatever it is, Congrats

Whoops! Sorry. I ride a road bike.

 

[Freddie]

Hey there Jeff, slow down if its not feeling good. No need to have unnecessary pain. Maybe going 5 for one week and slowly increase from there.
Remember your body has been threw the mill.......and somethings just take time.
Take care out there

 

[tprice54]

Jeff, congrats on getting out there...listen to your body and adjust as you go...

 

[JeffM]

Hey Freddie and Tom...I appreciate the good advice. I'm actually feeling pretty well with respect to my recovery. I've been riding the trainer indoors for 3 weeks. The pain is the same pain I have felt many times when resuming my training after a lay off. I am out of shape. Of course, this time, I'm taking it a little easier. I just it were the middle of summer.

 

[ChouDoufu]

you started on the trainer at four weeks out? when did your doc give you clearance
to ride, trainer and outdoors?

how young are you? was age the deciding factor in selecting tissue?

 

[kodi]

Twenty-five miles first time out, good for you.
Take it easy and get extra rest between rides.

 

[ctyguy]

sounds like your doing well...congrats ! listen to you body, no need to push it too hard. The main thing is to remain active, its going to help you recover that much faster.

 

[skeptic49]

Riding your bike at seven weeks post op sound pretty great to me! Congratulations and don't push it too hard.

Jim

 

[JeffM]

you started on the trainer at four weeks out? when did your doc give you clearance
to ride, trainer and outdoors?

how young are you? was age the deciding factor in selecting tissue?

I'm 53 and that was a factor but not the deciding one. Of course, there are many valid arguments to be made in favor of one type of valve or another. My reasons for selecting a tissue valve: I felt anti-coagulants, which I will hopefully (no guarantee) not need after a couple more months, would not be conducive to my lifestyle. I don't do contact sports, but I am highly athletic and, when healthy, I do a lot of aggressive cycling including a lot of competitive group training rides, which increases crash risk. The opportunity for bleeding both internally and externally has always been elevated in my case due to activity. I am hoping to get 15-20 years or more out of this 3rd generation valve; although, the best durability numbers are in patients 65 and older. I'm gambling on my next valve replacement benefitting from a less invasive procedure that will have been in practice long enough to be standard protocol as opposed to experimental. While there is no guarantee of this, I am also willing to go through the full sternotomy, if necessary, thinking that, if I stay in excellent shape, even at 70ish, I'll come through it just fine. We all have to weigh the risks and odds and go with what we feel comfortable doing. One could easily argue that anti-coagulants are no big deal and with a mechanical valve, there would likely be no need for a re-operation. My mom has had a mechanical valve for 25 years, takes anti-coagulants every day, is 70 and works out (cardio and weights) a few days a week. My bike rides, when in shape, not now, get my heart rate into the 160s for fairly lengthy periods of time with recovery around 150. I?m often in the 170s. I do a lot of 90 ? 100% efforts and my own research, flawed though it may be, suggests a tissue valve will offer better hemodynamics and less damage to red blood cells than a mechanical under these conditions. All of the above were deciding factors for me.

Regarding clearance for exercise, my cardiologist, from the start, gave me no limitations except to not be an idiot. I had explained my lifestyle to her and given her detail about how I train. I asked her if I could get on the stationary bike and ride with no hands and she told me no problem; whenever I feel up to it. Just don't over do it and get lots of rest. The same good advise we get in this forum. I am use to training with a heart rate monitor and I watched my heart rate closely, as I continue to do and always have. I didn?t allow myself to get light-headed and if my HR shot up too fast or didn?t come down when I backed off, I called it a day. Some days I could ride longer than others. I eventually started doing this on my bike on the trainer at home and then gently and carefully put my hands on the handle bars for longer periods of time with each ride so as not to push the issue with my sternum. By last week, at 7 weeks, I was able to put enough weight on the bars so that I felt comfortable doing easy rides outside. Long answer but hopefully it gives you the info you need.

 

[Ross]

I felt anti-coagulants, which I will hopefully (no guarantee) not need after a couple more months, would not be conducive to my lifestyle. I don't do contact sports, but I am highly athletic and, when healthy, I do a lot of aggressive cycling including a lot of competitive group training rides, which increases crash risk. The opportunity for bleeding both internally and externally has always been elevated in my case due to activity.

Jeff I simply want to point out that Coumadin shouldn't be a worry to you in this regard. If you crash bad enough to cause internal injury or the like, your going to be in trouble whether your on Coumadin or not. Coumadins effects can be reduced very very quickly in an emergency. 2 units of plasma or 2mg of Vitamin K and your back to being a normal person fully coagulating. I'm only posting this for others reading and thinking of nixing a mechanical valve for the same reasons.

The medical community goes out of it's way to make Coumadin sound like it's something that will kill you if you get a simple cut much less internal injuries, but the real truth is, it only makes you bleed a little longer before a clot forms. I'm talking seconds. A normal persons blood will begin to clot in 10 to 12 seconds. When on Coumadin and in therapeutic range, 20 to 35 seconds.
This alone should tell you that it's not the big bad monster it's made out to be.

Again, I'm not bashing your choice, only trying to provide critical, truthful information for anyone else reading your reasons for going with tissue. Your at an age where you could have gone either way. Honestly, if I were as old and as active as you, I'd go tissue myself, but I post this for those that are in there teens, twenties, thirties and forties, where mechanical would be a more appropriate choice to avoid future surgery.

 

[JeffM]

The medical community goes out of it's way to make Coumadin sound like it's something that will kill you if you get a simple cut much less internal injuries, but the real truth is, it only makes you bleed a little longer before a clot forms. I'm talking seconds. A normal persons blood will begin to clot in 10 to 12 seconds. When on Coumadin and in therapeutic range, 20 to 35 seconds.
This alone should tell you that it's not the big bad monster it's made out to be.

Appreciate the response Ross. In fact, to your point, my nose started bleeding yesterday (it was irritated from allergies) and it took less than a minute longer than usual, to stop when I applied some pressure. I was pleasantly surprised as I initially expected all the blood to leave my body through my nose.

 

[Ross]

The medical community goes out of it's way to make Coumadin sound like it's something that will kill you if you get a simple cut much less internal injuries, but the real truth is, it only makes you bleed a little longer before a clot forms. I'm talking seconds. A normal persons blood will begin to clot in 10 to 12 seconds. When on Coumadin and in therapeutic range, 20 to 35 seconds.
This alone should tell you that it's not the big bad monster it's made out to be.

Appreciate the response Ross. In fact, to your point, my nose started bleeding yesterday (it was irritated from allergies) and it took less than a minute longer than usual, to stop when I applied some pressure. I was pleasantly surprised as I initially expected all the blood to leave my body through my nose.

You'll have to read my story about cutting myself for the first time working on my car brakes! I'll find a link and post it for ya.

http://www.valvereplacement.com/forums/showpost.php?p=314591&postcount=16

 

[JeffM]

Good story! I'm sure many can relate.

 

[ChouDoufu]

thanks for the detailed response. i like your doctor's "no limitations except to not be an
idiot."

i understand the point about coumadin not being a scary monster, but there are
situations when it's not appropriate. they say an injury bad enough to be life-
threatening under coumadin will be just as serious if not on that particular drug.
true enough, unless you don't have ready access to medical care. i like to load
up the bike, front and rear panniers (sometimes a bob), and head off into the
outback for weeks or months at a time. what about a nasty injury in the middle
of nowhere? and just how small are those testing units? got 'em down to the
size of a deck of playing cards yet? afraid i'd have to go without testing for
the duration of the tour. probably not a problem, but may not have the same
control over diet.

and what if this happens out in the middle of nowhere?:

Jogger runs mile with rabid fox locked on her arm

"PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) - With a fox locked onto her arm, an Arizona jogger ran a mile to her car, where she was able to dislodge the animal, throw it into the trunk and drive to a Prescott hospital. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said the fox, which later attacked an animal control officer, tested positive for rabies.

The unidentified Chino Valley resident told deputies she was on a trail Monday at the base of Granite Mountain when the fox attacked, biting her foot. The woman said she grabbed it by the neck when it went for her leg and it latched onto her arm.

Thinking the fox was rabid, she wanted to make sure it didn't get away so she ran to her car, where she was able to pry open its jaws, wrap it in a sweat shirt and toss it into the trunk. "

(http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D948V99O3&show_article=1)

 

[Ross]

thanks for the detailed response. i like your doctor's "no limitations except to not be an
idiot."

i understand the point about coumadin not being a scary monster, but there are
situations when it's not appropriate. they say an injury bad enough to be life-
threatening under coumadin will be just as serious if not on that particular drug.
true enough, unless you don't have ready access to medical care. i like to load
up the bike, front and rear panniers (sometimes a bob), and head off into the
outback for weeks or months at a time. what about a nasty injury in the middle
of nowhere? and just how small are those testing units? got 'em down to the
size of a deck of playing cards yet? afraid i'd have to go without testing for
the duration of the tour. probably not a problem, but may not have the same
control over diet.

and what if this happens out in the middle of nowhere?:

Jogger runs mile with rabid fox locked on her arm

"PRESCOTT, Ariz. (AP) - With a fox locked onto her arm, an Arizona jogger ran a mile to her car, where she was able to dislodge the animal, throw it into the trunk and drive to a Prescott hospital. The Yavapai County Sheriff's Office said the fox, which later attacked an animal control officer, tested positive for rabies.

The unidentified Chino Valley resident told deputies she was on a trail Monday at the base of Granite Mountain when the fox attacked, biting her foot. The woman said she grabbed it by the neck when it went for her leg and it latched onto her arm.

Thinking the fox was rabid, she wanted to make sure it didn't get away so she ran to her car, where she was able to pry open its jaws, wrap it in a sweat shirt and toss it into the trunk. "

(http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D948V99O3&show_article=1)

If you don't have access to medical care, your in trouble anyhow, Coumadin or not. The rabid fox locked on the arm isn't going to kill you if your on Coumadin. Neither is the bleeding it creates and if you don't get medical attention, the rabies is going to kill you and you won't have to worry about any of it.

Point is, being on Coumadin is just slightly and I do mean slightly more dangerous then being fully coagulated. It is not a big deal.

People that are not on it and do not know how it works, other then listening to a bunch of hogwash from others that don't know, shouldn't comment on the drug or their beliefs of it, as explained by other unknowing individuals. Leave it to those that do take it and live with it everyday. We've done everything your all saying you couldn't do if you were on it and it's simply not true. I can't stress it enough. Educate yourselves before commenting on it. www.warfarinfo.com You'll get no nonsense answers to straight shot questions. This myth broadcasting has got to stop somewhere.

 

[Debbie]

Welcome Jeff---- YEA another bike rider!!

I just started riding about 5 months ago and love every

minute of it! I'm still pretty new but I ride about 25 miles a week

and hoping to ride more as I get stronger.

Check out Leeroy's posts, he is a BIG biker.

Also, post on our Friday Throwdowns we keep track of

our mileage each week. Debbie

 

[ChouDoufu]

"Educate yourselves before commenting on it" <---is this for me?

guess the point i'm trying to make (not being an expert on this stuff, not having
used it, and just beginning to get informed) is that you can hypothetically say, if
it's life-threatening under coumadin, it's life-threatening regardless. but i'm thinking
really nasty injuries, but are survivable. bleeding too much? well, you can use
tourniquets, duct tape, superglue, or just stitch yourself up using the old fishing
gear. (been there, done that. not fun) so, if you have to, sure you can cut off
an arm and hike a couple days to the nearest town. won't be pleasant, but it's
doable. how would coumadin affect you in that situation. it's not likely for
most folks, but it does happen.

rabid fox? guess it does happen. but what if you're not merely a mile from your car,
you're hiking six days from the nearest clinic, and it leaves a deep six-inch gash in
your leg that surely needs stitches that they would call "bleeding profusely." no
ready access to medical care. i'm in trouble, but i'm probably not going to die.

the recent dental experience ross had, how much was that situation complicated
by taking coumadin? if not on the drug, how serious would it have been?

i ask these questions not to be sarcastic or to piss anyone off, but rather would
really like to know the effects.

 

[67walkon]

Jeff, welcome back! I just turned 59, but I made the same decision you did. Coumadin was a problem for me. There are only 2 kinds of road bike riders: those who have crashed and those who are going to crash. I put in between 400 and 500 mile a month, pretty much year round here. Like you, I'm hoping to get 15 to 20 years out of my tissue valve and I'm hoping the procedures will be better whenever it happens.

Getting back on the bike was great. They told me to wait 8 weeks before I got back on the road, but I cheated a little bit on a stationary bike. On the appointed day, I went out and did a 30 minute ride, had no problems, and was soon back up to normal distances.

It took a while to get my speed back up, but the endurance came back quickly. I did a metric century on New Years Day, a bit less than 6 months after surgery. Then 11 months after surgery, I rode BRAG (Across Georgia), which was 430 or so miles spread out over a week.

Listen to your body, do what you can and lets all hope for better delivery systems!

John