26 year old 3 months after surgery (on-x aortic valve)

[CelticSicilian]

Hey all.
Just putting my story out there for others like me. I was super nervous about this surgery before it and stressing the bio vs mechanical valve choice. This forum helped me immensely since it let me see that I wasn’t the only one going through this at my age. I’m 26 and have known I’ve had a bicuspid aortic valve for a while but was very surprised when I learned I needed surgery. I thought I wouldn’t needed it until my 40s. But anyway I got the on-x mechanical valve and don’t regret it at all. Initially the idea of blood thinners scared me so I was strongly opposed to going mechanical. But after discussing with a few surgeons I decided planning extra heart surgeries is not a good idea. I’m so young that I 100% would need a mechanical valve at some point. With each heart surgery the risk goes up so getting a new bio valve every 5 years would stack very quickly. My fears of blood thinners were largely overblown. 3 months later I feel almost back to normal and forget I even had the surgery most of the time. I was worried about some small things before the surgery so I’ll cover my experiences on those so others have the reference. One was being afraid I wouldn’t be able to drink or smoke weed. I can preface it by saying I didn’t really drink very much before the surgery (4ish drinks at a time about twice a month) and I smoke weed about 3-4 times a month. I haven’t changed my drinking or smoking at all on blood thinners and haven’t seen any adverse effects on my INR. Just wanted to put that experience out there because it was something I worried about pre surgery. I Found a quote on here I really liked “dose the diet, don’t diet the dose” and thankfully it’s true. Coumadin doesn’t really give me any diet “restrictions” just things I have to be aware of. Know what foods have a lot of vitamin k and then if you have those foods note it to your Coumadin clinic and they can help you balance your dose for it. You don’t need to change your lifestyle you just need to increase your awareness. Finally activity wise I haven’t really changed my lifestyle either. I moved to Europe since the surgery and I bike to work everyday with no issues. It’s early on so I still have a lot to learn but again it seems like the surgery demands a change in awareness not a change in lifestyle which was what scared me. If I have a bad fall on my bike know I’ll need to get a scan to check if I have any hemorrhaging but that’s about the only difference.

ok so that’s all I want to say to people before the surgery. Good luck! Take it one day at a time and you can do it!

Now I have some questions for veterans who have gone through this before me. When does your chest feel normal again? My sternum is at the point now that it’s mostly normal, but a few things still feel wierd. Like sleeping on my side still causes a little bit of discomfort. Does this continue forever? How does your chest feel a year or so out?
Thanks all!

 

[Superman]

Welcome to the forum and congratulations on a successful operation! Glad to read you’re doing so well. You’ve got a valve that should outlast you barring any other complications down the road.

Regarding time to feeling, “normal”. That will vary with everyone. What I recall of my experiences over 30 years ago now and a second op over 12 years ago (due to an aortic aneurysm) is that I can’t recall. What I mean is that at some point you realize that you haven’t thought about or noticed your sternum for a while. But you can’t really put a time stamp on how long you’ve felt normal again. Roughly six months to a year sounds about right, but I’m just guessing.

My wife still catches me absentmindedly rubbing my scar / sternum. It’s not due to discomfort, it just a thing I do now.

“Change in awareness, not change in lifestyle.” I like that. I might have to plagiarize that at some point.

 

[cldlhd]

Hey all.
Just putting my story out there for others like me. I was super nervous about this surgery before it and stressing the bio vs mechanical valve choice. This forum helped me immensely since it let me see that I wasn’t the only one going through this at my age. I’m 26 and have known I’ve had a bicuspid aortic valve for a while but was very surprised when I learned I needed surgery. I thought I wouldn’t needed it until my 40s. But anyway I got the on-x mechanical valve and don’t regret it at all. Initially the idea of blood thinners scared me so I was strongly opposed to going mechanical. But after discussing with a few surgeons I decided planning extra heart surgeries is not a good idea. I’m so young that I 100% would need a mechanical valve at some point. With each heart surgery the risk goes up so getting a new bio valve every 5 years would stack very quickly. My fears of blood thinners were largely overblown. 3 months later I feel almost back to normal and forget I even had the surgery most of the time. I was worried about some small things before the surgery so I’ll cover my experiences on those so others have the reference. One was being afraid I wouldn’t be able to drink or smoke weed. I can preface it by saying I didn’t really drink very much before the surgery (4ish drinks at a time about twice a month) and I smoke weed about 3-4 times a month. I haven’t changed my drinking or smoking at all on blood thinners and haven’t seen any adverse effects on my INR. Just wanted to put that experience out there because it was something I worried about pre surgery. I Found a quote on here I really liked “dose the diet, don’t diet the dose” and thankfully it’s true. Coumadin doesn’t really give me any diet “restrictions” just things I have to be aware of. Know what foods have a lot of vitamin k and then if you have those foods note it to your Coumadin clinic and they can help you balance your dose for it. You don’t need to change your lifestyle you just need to increase your awareness. Finally activity wise I haven’t really changed my lifestyle either. I moved to Europe since the surgery and I bike to work everyday with no issues. It’s early on so I still have a lot to learn but again it seems like the surgery demands a change in awareness not a change in lifestyle which was what scared me. If I have a bad fall on my bike know I’ll need to get a scan to check if I have any hemorrhaging but that’s about the only difference.

ok so that’s all I want to say to people before the surgery. Good luck! Take it one day at a time and you can do it!

Now I have some questions for veterans who have gone through this before me. When does your chest feel normal again? My sternum is at the point now that it’s mostly normal, but a few things still feel wierd. Like sleeping on my side still causes a little bit of discomfort. Does this continue forever? How does your chest feel a year or so out?
Thanks all!

Congratulations on the successful surgery and for what it's worth, my opinion. Probably not too much...., I think you made the right decision regarding the valve. If you don't mind me asking you said you moved the Europe. Where did you have your surgery at? I think if I remember correctly, I had my surgery in 2015, my sternum started feeling pretty normal by the three to five month. . But even to this day I get a little clicking down at the very bottom of it. When I turn a certain way. It doesn't hurt or anything but it's just something I notice. Best of luck

 

[Unicusp]

Now I have some questions for veterans who have gone through this before me. When does your chest feel normal again? My sternum is at the point now that it’s mostly normal, but a few things still feel wierd. Like sleeping on my side still causes a little bit of discomfort. Does this continue forever? How does your chest feel a year or so out?
Thanks all!

Congrats on the successful surgery and recovery. I recall my chest feeling normal right around the 3 month mark, so you should be there any day now. Did you have a full sternotomy or mini? That also can impact recovery time, in different ways.

 

[dick0236]

Thanks for coming online with your story. I am sure your experience will benefit other young people that have to make the decisions you have had to make.

I have no idea when the chest discomfort left me, but like the others, it was probably a few months. I still recall an event about 3 months after surgery when I dug a mailbox post hole without difficulty. FWIW, I haven't had discomfort from the surgery for years.........and years

 

[KLS39]

Welcome. Glad you are recovering well. I started cardiac rehab at three months post op and when I worked my arms I did have weird feeling too. It wasn't painful just different. I slept with the heart pillow the hospital gave me for at least 4-5 months I think just to keep me from rolling all the way over when I slept on my side. It became like a security blanket. If I work out hard and it involves my arms I do still have discomfort but it isn't the sternum but the muscles. Like Superman I also find myself rubbing the top of my scar/sternum. It's a weird habit.

 

[tom in MO]

For me it took several months until it was unnoticeable and then every so often I'd get a twinge over the next year or so.

 

[pellicle]

Now I have some questions for veterans who have gone through this before me. When does your chest feel normal again? My sternum is at the point now that it’s mostly normal, but a few things still feel wierd. Like sleeping on my side still causes a little bit of discomfort. Does this continue forever? How does your chest feel a year or so out?
Thanks all!

By about 6months I'd stopped noticing anything, but that was like ten years ago now, so I'm a little hazy.

Hang in there

 

[pellicle]

FWIW, I haven't had discomfort from the surgery for years.........and years

...and fifty of them

 

[pellicle]

My wife still catches me absentmindedly rubbing my scar / sternum. It’s not due to discomfort, it just a thing I do now

Seconded, but I just catch myself..

 

[Lynn]

Glad to hear you made it through CelticSicilian and your recovery is going well. I was also a bit disappointed that my sternum still bothered me three months out from surgery (which was last April). I felt my recovery was progressing well, my cardio fitness was good, but my sternum still bothered me when I picked up my grandchildren and I found I would get tired with activities that involved my arms and upper body.

I am pleased to say, though, that it didn’t last. I can’t say exactly when this improved, but between five and six months, side sleeping was fine. Picking up the grandkids was fine and the upper body tiredness was gone. A cardiac rehab kinesiologist put together an exercise routine that included upper body strength training and stretching and I feel this helped a lot. Having said that, I am in my 50’s so I may have had to work a bit harder at this than you will.

As I close in on ten months post surgery I can say my sternum feels great. I can lift what I want, do planks and sleep in any position. When I stop and reflect on my surgery and recovery I am amazed that the human body can go through all of this and heel so well! Bottom line, yes, improvement after 3 months can and hopefully will happen for you. And yes, having your sternum feel back to normal is totally possible.

 

[drivetopless]

Hey all.
Just putting my story out there for others like me. I was super nervous about this surgery before it and stressing the bio vs mechanical valve choice. This forum helped me immensely since it let me see that I wasn’t the only one going through this at my age. I’m 26 and have known I’ve had a bicuspid aortic valve for a while but was very surprised when I learned I needed surgery. I thought I wouldn’t needed it until my 40s. But anyway I got the on-x mechanical valve and don’t regret it at all. Initially the idea of blood thinners scared me so I was strongly opposed to going mechanical. But after discussing with a few surgeons I decided planning extra heart surgeries is not a good idea. I’m so young that I 100% would need a mechanical valve at some point. With each heart surgery the risk goes up so getting a new bio valve every 5 years would stack very quickly. My fears of blood thinners were largely overblown. 3 months later I feel almost back to normal and forget I even had the surgery most of the time. I was worried about some small things before the surgery so I’ll cover my experiences on those so others have the reference. One was being afraid I wouldn’t be able to drink or smoke weed. I can preface it by saying I didn’t really drink very much before the surgery (4ish drinks at a time about twice a month) and I smoke weed about 3-4 times a month. I haven’t changed my drinking or smoking at all on blood thinners and haven’t seen any adverse effects on my INR. Just wanted to put that experience out there because it was something I worried about pre surgery. I Found a quote on here I really liked “dose the diet, don’t diet the dose” and thankfully it’s true. Coumadin doesn’t really give me any diet “restrictions” just things I have to be aware of. Know what foods have a lot of vitamin k and then if you have those foods note it to your Coumadin clinic and they can help you balance your dose for it. You don’t need to change your lifestyle you just need to increase your awareness. Finally activity wise I haven’t really changed my lifestyle either. I moved to Europe since the surgery and I bike to work everyday with no issues. It’s early on so I still have a lot to learn but again it seems like the surgery demands a change in awareness not a change in lifestyle which was what scared me. If I have a bad fall on my bike know I’ll need to get a scan to check if I have any hemorrhaging but that’s about the only difference.

ok so that’s all I want to say to people before the surgery. Good luck! Take it one day at a time and you can do it!

Now I have some questions for veterans who have gone through this before me. When does your chest feel normal again? My sternum is at the point now that it’s mostly normal, but a few things still feel wierd. Like sleeping on my side still causes a little bit of discomfort. Does this continue forever? How does your chest feel a year or so out?
Thanks all!

Congrats on your new valve. I got my On-X 11 years ago this month. I was 47 at the time. I’ve been very happy with my choice. I recall my sternum felt mostly normal after a year. I don’t even think about my valve or scar anymore. Others sometimes hear the clicking when I don’t..but it’s a good cocktail conversation starter for when your having those drinks. Hoping you have a continued good experience.