pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
Exactly why I've always been a cyclist, not a runnerI always thought that's why they invented wheels....
46yrs old male in UK with BAV / Aneurysm - advised today that surgery needs to be within next 2/3 months. Scared
- Thread starter Rich1975
- Start date
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Hey Rich. I just hit my 6 month post surgery date. Pretty similar circumstances - surgery right before turning 43, pretty active person, had a 4 1/2 month wait until surgery (some of it my choice), moderate/severe stenosis, etc.
Everyone is different but I can assure you the surgery and recovery is not as bad as what you think. I have a buddy at the gym who had shoulder surgery 4 months ago and I can tell you he'd trade his surgery for mine
Use the time to get anything done that will make recovery more comfortable or things that you may not be able to do for a bit. Do some research but not too much. Stay positive. Stay active.
You're going to bounce back with time.
Superman
Well-known member
Weird how that works. I have no problem cycling. My wife runs very easily and has to work to keep up with me on the bike. Biking has never been a problem.
pellicle
Professional Dingbat, Guru and Merkintologist
I know I should have angry faced you, but I have a mental problem
its interesting indeed. I've pondered that for some time too and come to two points:
There I could exercise better (all the way down to -20C was just great, lower than that and breathing became a bit more troubled).
I've also liked roller blades ... never running though.
so for me its wheels or skis (cos snow shoes are for people who can't ski).
its interesting indeed. I've pondered that for some time too and come to two points:
- I can more exactly moderate my energy output
- air cooling is better
There I could exercise better (all the way down to -20C was just great, lower than that and breathing became a bit more troubled).
I've also liked roller blades ... never running though.
so for me its wheels or skis (cos snow shoes are for people who can't ski).
So happy to see you feeling brave. It's easy for those of us on the other side of surgery to tell people stay positive, be brave, etc. I think and hope we'll all get there, but the most important thing in the meantime is that you have people who you can talk to who will listen unconditionally. I've been a crisis counselor in the past, answering phones for crisis centers and the national suicide hotline, and I can say with 100% confidence that the #1 thing people need in a crisis is unconditional validation, support, love, and empathy. Knowing that and even with all that experience, I broke down the night before my surgery and just needed to sob over the phone to someone I could trust. I was grateful I did. I went into the surgery with a full heart and a lot of love. Talk to people you love, give yourselves over to them, and let them know what you need.
As for exercise... I had endocarditis with moderate-severe insuffiency and a 7mm vegetation flopping around on one of my two aortic cusps a little more than a year ago. I've been active my whole life and found myself frequently short of breath during simple yoga poses pre-surgery. Running left me short of breath, even walking my dog left me short of breath. This was obviously before I knew I had endocarditis.
I had surgery in early August, which puts me eight months out. I'm back to playing ultimate frisbee and going for jogs. Hoping to get my gym membership back up so I can go play some pick-up basketball. I could have returned to those activities much sooner, probably, but I had lost so much weight and been sick so long because of the endocarditis that I had decided to take it slow. I check my INR weekly with an at-home device and have generally been in-range.
