2nd AVR rough recovery

[Savymom]

Good morning everyone!
I am writing this from my hospital chair as I recover from my AVR replacement and ascending aorta replacement last Monday. First valve was 2005 Edwards bovine tissue valve. Made it 13 years and replaced with a onyx mechanical valve and graft.

So so far my recovery has been tough. I went into surgery in pretty excellent shape , but it doesn’t seem to matter . I am on day 6 at the hospital now, and my daily walks are still brutal. I’m good for about 1 lap , 2 times a day. Swelling is insane. I gained 20 lbs mostly in my legs , and I’ve only lost 3 of those pounds. I’m still being paced , and have no natural beat yet. My blood pressure is also still so low I’m on blood pressure meds still. This all makes the walks even that much more difficult. They are talking about a pacemaker Monday or Tuesday .

Another interestesting side effect is that I have massive acid reflux. I burp constantly and have a ton of reflux following.

Anyway , I’m mainly just venting. I want my normal life to return . I want to feel human again. Was your second surgery this hard ?

 

[pellicle]

Sounds rough, to answer your question, no my second wasn't rough, but I was 28. My third wasn't that rough either. None of which helps you.

I hope that things smooth out for you soon.

Best Wishes

 

[Superman]

Certainly doesn’t sound any fun.

My second was 19 years after my first, but I was only 36. Hospital and transition to home were pretty uneventful. Things were actually going great until week two or three when I developed pancreatitis. Took a bit to shake that and get back on the road to recovery.

Hope you turn a corner soon!

 

[jwinter]

Oh how I can relate. I got that gerd, acid reflux with second surgery also. I can also admit I thought it was tougher as I already remembered some of the ropes of the first and somehow expected it to be easier as I went in, like you, standing upright and in pretty good physical shape. (sorry, run on sentences)

I did the walking part good for the first couple days and moved to step down in hospital. I thought I had it made.......and then it hit me. Not sure if all that morphine wore off or what but I was diminished to walking slowly and not even wanting to walk.

No pacemaker for me but had med adjustments quite often to get that rhythm. It came, but took time (never had this with first either) My trade off was a pericardial effusion 2 weeks post op. Ugh, guess it was my turn to take the "one more thing in case you aren't dealing with enough" It went alright.

Venting is good and this is a good place for it. I know others will say they had no problems with any of it but some of us just do. No trophy either way.

Getting our lives back is one thing I think we all have in common. Being patient and good to oneself (which is hard for a lot of us) is what will take you there.

Healing thoughts for you today and every day. Please update us on your journey.

 

[Superman]

Venting is good and this is a good place for it. I know others will say they had no problems with any of it but some of us just do. No trophy either way.

Agreed. I know that as time goes on, some of the challenges diminish, and while in retrospect I may think, “No big deal “, I was in here posting often asking, “Is this normal.”

I just had a flash back to severe tooth pain that I developed after my second. Couldn’t eat or drink anything too cold or hot and even started brushing with Sensodyne. I also couldn’t eat anything remotely sweet because of the aforementioned pancreatitis. The plus side was significant weight loss. The minus being severe tooth pain and nausea.

 

[user 16827]

i agree ; venting is good

sounds awful for you, sending you good vibes

 

[Savymom]

Feels like I’m never going to break out of this place! Today is seven days. They just put me back on Iv blood pressure meds which is one of the things i can’t be on if I’m getting a pacemaker for some reason. The doc said they want me ready to discharge before I can have the pacemaker. I guess there is a significant risk of infection. I’m feel stuck in this loophole , where I can’t progress because I need a pacemaker, and I can’t get a pacemaker because I can’t progress. So frustrating!

 

[mrfox]

So sorry to hear about your tricky recovery! How's it going now?