25 days until surgery

[Georgia]

Re: toddlers

Re: toddlers

My grandson was just 3 when I had my surgery. He was SO careful when he came to see me; it was about 4 weeks out when I let him crawl in my lap and he whomped me. A lot my fault - previously I'd used my pillow when he was around me. I felt so good I forgot - BIG MISTAKE.

Your idea of a pillow is exactly right. It wouldn't be a bad idea if your little girl spent a week with grandma when you first get home. (if that's an option) Let her say hi when you first get home, then let her take a vacation. It'll enable you and your wife to relax so she doesn't hurt you when you're the most vulnerable. I scared Jack (my little guy) when he hit me and almost tossed him on the floor because the pain was so bad.

Sounds like you have things under control pretty well. Hang in there. Are you off work until surgery?

 

[Darryl's heart]

My grandson was just 3 when I had my surgery. He was SO careful when he came to see me; it was about 4 weeks out when I let him crawl in my lap and he whomped me. A lot my fault - previously I'd used my pillow when he was around me. I felt so good I forgot - BIG MISTAKE.

Your idea of a pillow is exactly right. It wouldn't be a bad idea if your little girl spent a week with grandma when you first get home. (if that's an option) Let her say hi when you first get home, then let her take a vacation. It'll enable you and your wife to relax so she doesn't hurt you when you're the most vulnerable. I scared Jack (my little guy) when he hit me and almost tossed him on the floor because the pain was so bad.

Sounds like you have things under control pretty well. Hang in there. Are you off work until surgery?

No, I'm planning on working right up until the day before. I'm not sure how I'll be emotionally at that point, but so far I'm doing very well...I think

 

[Georgia]

vacation?

vacation?

One thing I'd advise is to plan a couple days' vacation (at least) prior to surgery. (if that's an option for you) That way you can really have a good time with your kid(s) and family. I was so sick I was on disability leading up to surgery, so I didn't have a decision to make. But I know several folks here have taken a little time prior to surgery and done family things and were really glad they did. You'll be pretty incapacitated for a while and this way you can bank some good times.

 

[gadgetman]

On your question about pain, I'm afraid each person handles it in their own way. As I said in some of my posts, I went in expecting the worse and after each procedure after surgery (breathing tube, drain tubes {2}, several IV locations {they said I had "tough" skin--or is that "thick" skin}, the Swann Device in my right neck, etc.) it was never as bad as I had expected. It was no cake walk but as I would brace myself for (OK this is the one that is going to really hurt) it would be over.

One thing I found for pain is to get on a regular schedule with the pain meds. I was able to control most of my discomfort with Tylenol (where is my compensation?) but quickly found that if I strayed from the "every 4 hours" my discomfort level would creep back in. I kept a notebook to record each time I took the pills so I could make sure I kept up.

As for as working up till the surgery, I was laid off in the middle of September right when I was getting my worse. It turned out to be a blessing in the fact that with the increasing shortness of breath, loss of energy, and overall ucky feeling I don't think I would have been able to work much longer. It gave me time to get all my ducks in order (update wills, power of attorney, living will, etc), find this site (a Godsend), get my "post op" nest in order, and get all my prayer groups activated.

We'll make sure to send prayers and good thoughts your way on the 30th and hope you can get someone to post your successful trip to the other side.

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[doberman]

A few months from now you are going to find that life hasn't changed that much at all, this site is full of folks who go on with their normal lives after surgery, you will too.Trust your doctors they will get you through!
Best JD

 

[Darryl's heart]

100 Surgeries A Year In The USA

100 Surgeries A Year In The USA

Ok...I met my family doctor today and he told me something that was a little startling for me. He said that within the U.S. there are approximatley 100 surgeries of my type done in a year. You know, I really didn't need to hear that. I would have much rather heard that there are 1000's of these done. I mean, I guess I shouldn't underplay what I'm having done, but I thought my valve was something that was being done all the time. I didn't realize that it was more than that. I'm having my mitral valve repaired. Has anyone within this site had their mitral valve repaired??? Or has everyone that had mitral valve problems, had it replaced? I've pretty much have been handling my anxiety problem on my own. But, when I hear those kinds of statistics, it throws me back a little. Does this sound right...100 ?

Oh...15 days until surgery...yuk! My family doctor prescribed some Lorazepam to help me sleep at night. I've been waking up at about 3:00 am every morning with my mind racing. I went from getting about 8 hours of sleep to about 5 a night for the past month. I hope this helps.

 

[geebee]

Are you sure he didn't say 100 surgeries a day? I cannot understand where he got his figures.

However, even if he is correct and the majority of mitral valves are replaced, the surgery is very much the same. It still requires OHS. In fact, repair is less complicated than replacement because there is no removal of old valve, sewing in the ring, etc.

Do not worry about statistics in this case. Heart surgeons have plenty of experience in repairing and replacing mitral valves.

Sometimes surgeons go in intending to repair and find out they cannot (that is what happened to me). Therefore you should make sure you discuss the type of valve you want BEFORE the surgery. Better to go in prepared.

BTW - your surgery is on the 30th, correct?

 

[Randy'38]

Suspicious Statistics

Suspicious Statistics

Darryl:

Those statistics sound suspicious to me. I think some doctors perform that many in a year. My doctor, Dr. Lawrence Cohn, at Brigham and Women's Hospital, has done over 700 aortic valve replacements. Maybe your doctor was trying to ease any concern with his low numbers. I guess I really didn't need to say that, did I? Anyway, as to the pain post-surgery, my only pain killers were Arthrotec 50mg twice a day for about 5 days after surgery. They're about the same strength as Motrin, which I can't tolerate. There was some discomfort, but no real pain unless I coughed or sneezed and then pain pills wouldn't have helped. I had minimaly invasive surgery, so that may have been a factor in my pain tolerance also. There's lots of info on this site. Read everything you can even going back several months. It's amazing what you can learn. Good luck in your surgery.

Randy

 

[gadgetman]

Ok...I met my family doctor today and he told me something that was a little startling for me. He said that within the U.S. there are approximatley 100 surgeries of my type done in a year. You know, I really didn't need to hear that. I would have much rather heard that there are 1000's of these done. I mean, I guess I shouldn't underplay what I'm having done, but I thought my valve was something that was being done all the time. I didn't realize that it was more than that. I'm having my mitral valve repaired. Has anyone within this site had their mitral valve repaired??? Or has everyone that had mitral valve problems, had it replaced? I've pretty much have been handling my anxiety problem on my own. But, when I hear those kinds of statistics, it throws me back a little. Does this sound right...100 ?

Oh...15 days until surgery...yuk! My family doctor prescribed some Lorazepam to help me sleep at night. I've been waking up at about 3:00 am every morning with my mind racing. I went from getting about 8 hours of sleep to about 5 a night for the past month. I hope this helps.

Darryl,

I did a quick search on Goolge and the first two sites that came up are:

http://www.mitralvalvesurgery.com/U-CLIP.htm

At this site they say that over 50,000 Mitral Valve Surgeries are performed each year in the United States.

http://www.umm.edu/heart/mitral.html?source=google

The University of Maryland sites claims the following:

"Now, cardiac surgeons at the Maryland Heart Center are leaders in repairing the mitral valve. Over 85 percent of patients at the Heart Center will have their valve repaired instead of replaced. That?s well above the national average, where typically 40 percent of patients have their valve repaired."

That was just the first two I came to. As you can see many factors enter the picture. In my case, from the Echos and Caths Dr. McGiffin "assumed" my Mitral Valve would have to be replaced. I don't even remember him mentioning the option of "repair". He was as surprised as I was that he was able to repair my problem.

As some have said to me, it is better to keep the "original equipment" but I went in expecting to "tick" when I woke up (I had decided on mechanical). You must consider that they might discover "repair" is not an option once they get in, so it is good to plan on "worse case". Mine was so bad on Wednesday (my surgery was scheduled for Friday) that they were not sure I would be able to have surgery on Friday. As I posted before, I even received a visit from a Doctor from the "Heart Transplant Team " on Wednesday night who wanted to discuss my "really worse case" options. She laughed when I told her she must have the wrong bed but said Dr. McGiffin was just planning ahead.

Good luck on getting your sleep and your pending operation. After I found this site and discovered people worse off than me had survived this, I felt a calm come over me. My walk with God had started and He kept me company throughout my entire stay. My wife and I were not worried or experienced "second thoughts". I went with the flow and things turned out better than I had expected (or had been led to believe). Trust your faith to see you through to the other side.

May God Bless

Danny

 

[BudEBoy]

hey darryl

Easy to say this but relax... go in get this done 6 months from now u will laugh at all the worrying you did as your watching your daughter grow
i been through 2 ohs one at 10 and then again at 37 the last in 2000. Now the proud owner of a aortic valve, pacemaker, and complete plastic aortic arch (don't know the proper medical name for the aortic arch thing...don't really care either it works) was given and 80/20 chance of not coming out but like you had 2 girls at home at the time so i was bound and determine to come home....far as the pain the thing that hurt me the most is when someone makes you laugh...that hurts like hell.

 

[Carol]

Darryl,

I had my mitral valve repaired on 6/21/04. I was so scared when the surgeon told me it was time to go in and repair. I watched my mom and dad both go through OHS twice each, so I new alittle of what was going to happen.

I was 48 when I had the surgery. It was mini-invasive. I have a 4" incision down the center. I got to see my x-rays where they wired me shut in 3 places.

The surgery and recovery isn't pleasant, but it is all bearable. I have to agree about the pain medication. Keep it going as directed, also if your insurance will cover it, get into cardiac rehab. It was the best thing for me.

I am so glad that I had it done. I can now walk, talk, and eat with out getting short of breath. I have had some trouble with atril fib, so I am taking medicine for that, but otherwise I feel great. By far, the waiting is the worse part, though a few days before surgery, I had complete peace about it all, and was ready for the surgery.

Soon you will be on the other side. Try to relax, and place your trust in Him that all will go well.

Carol

 

[Carol]

Darryl,

I had my mitral valve repaired on 6/21/04. I was so scared when the surgeon told me it was time to go in and repair. I watched my mom and dad both go through OHS twice each, so I new alittle of what was going to happen.

I was 48 when I had the surgery. It was mini-invasive. I have a 4" incision down the center. I got to see my x-rays where they wired me shut in 3 places.

The surgery and recovery isn't pleasant, but it is all bearable. I have to agree about the pain medication. Keep it going as directed, also if your insurance will cover it, get into cardiac rehab. It was the best thing for me.

I am so glad that I had it done. I can now walk, talk, and eat with out getting short of breath. I have had some trouble with atril fib, so I am taking medicine for that, but otherwise I feel great. By far, the waiting is the worse part, though a few days before surgery, I had complete peace about it all, and was ready for the surgery.

Soon you will be on the other side. Try to relax, and place your trust in Him that all will go well.

Carol

 

[charlie b]

Hi Darryl,

Hi Darryl,

I like you am kinda new to the game. I found out on Jan 28th that I needed to have my arotic valve replaced, my surgery is due on March 23rd. This forum has been the best resource I have found. While not an authority, I have read MANY statistics that do not agree in the least to the "100 a year" thing. My head was also spinning for a while, but as I , prayed about it, talked to others, and worked on edcuating myself things slowly came into focus. At this point I am really thankful that my problem was discovered ahead of some bad event happening. Hang in there, use this forum, and realize that there are many out there like you. My prayers are with you along with many others. BLESSINGS CharlieB