6 Days to go.

[pat45750]

Good Luck. I was in your shoes not too long ago and am 9 weeks post op now. The first few weeks are the most diffiuclt, in my case. Just really tired and not able to do much. Each week brings more energy and you are able to do more and more. Some of us had a few road blocks, while others recovered easily. I had several bouts of a-fib as some people do. I felt good going into my surgery since I choose the Cleveland Clinic and knew my surgeon was very expeirnced. It takes away some of the nervous thoughts when you feel good about your surgeon. I will keep you in my thoughts. Pat

 

[ski girl]

Jeep! Good luck from Australia! I am now four days post-op and feeling great. When my brain is fully functional I'll compose something a bit better but for now, here's what has helped:
1) Take your crap valve on a ceremonial last SOMETHING and say bye to it - for me it was a lovely 4km cruisy paddle in the Indian Ocean but hey I'm spoiled here This put me in a very good head space!
2) Teach yourself to get in and out of bed, and on and off the toilet, without using your arms - this will make you fairly self-sufficient post-op!

Best of luck with the op mate!!!

 

[Penny]

Welcome
Best wishes for your mountain climb... we all look forward to seeing you back here once your surgery is complete! As many have already said.. any questions... just ask and we will do our best to help you out...

 

[JeepnOut]

Well I typing today with my OME Valve ! the day before the operation was planned I went in for a Cardiac Cauterization to see where everything was was for when they finally go in. At the same time they too some finally measurements. To make a long story short, before the Cauterization I was in the critical zone (.7mm) opening across he valve; after (or during the cauterization, how ever way you look at it) they measured me at 1.4mm across the opening. As I was laying in my be with my fmaily by my side (still a little doped up from cauterization) the surgeon comes into my room to tell us he does not want to operate. So looks **** I dodged the bullet on this one (again) - Thank You God, and thay you for your prayers!

But I'll still have to go in at some point (probably). Thank you again for your help and well wishes, I'll probably be lurking and looking and try to help out if and when I can. Again, Thank you all. with out your advice and experiences I would probably be a lot more nervous about it than I was, who ever started this site/community created a really help place and will definitely help others who have to go through it.

 

[Praline]

WOW!!! You must be so relieved!

 

[Bina]

Well I typing today with my OME Valve ! the day before the operation was planned I went in for a Cardiac Cauterization to see where everything was was for when they finally go in. At the same time they too some finally measurements. To make a long story short, before the Cauterization I was in the critical zone (.7mm) opening across he valve; after (or during the cauterization, how ever way you look at it) they measured me at 1.4mm across the opening. As I was laying in my be with my fmaily by my side (still a little doped up from cauterization) the surgeon comes into my room to tell us he does not want to operate. So looks **** I dodged the bullet on this one (again) - Thank You God, and thay you for your prayers!

But I'll still have to go in at some point (probably). Thank you again for your help and well wishes, I'll probably be lurking and looking and try to help out if and when I can. Again, Thank you all. with out your advice and experiences I would probably be a lot more nervous about it than I was, who ever started this site/community created a really help place and will definitely help others who have to go through it.

So, the cardiac cath measured 1.4 which is not too serious yet.
Where did they get the previous measurement of .7 from? Must have been an echo ?
That is quite a large difference. My echo showed .8 and then the cardiac cath showed the same so I was operated 2 weeks later. Hopefully your condition stays stable for a while.

 

[Johan]

This is the sort of news we want to read. Wonderful! Again shows how wrong echocardiograms can be at times...

 

[Lynlw]

Wow I bet you are still in shock from the good news after having worked yourself up to having surgery and getting a reprieve. Thats great news, the way things are advancing, who knows what your options will be when you do need surgery. Justin had a surgery cancleled at the last possible min (he was actually in preop with his ivs in, when they decided not to operate) So I can imagine all the thoughts going thru your mind.
I hope you stick around here.

 

[Mentu]

JO, I had a somewhat similar experience. In November, 2008, an echocardiogram was used to calculate and area of .75 cm2. A few weeks later, the heart cath measured 1.25 cm2. In some ways it was a great relief but also somewhat disappointing because I had psyched myself for surgery and suddenly it wasn't going to happen. During the followup just before Christmas, my Cardio told me that surgery was probably several years away. By early August, 2009, however, another heart cath measured my valve area at 0.74 cm2 and surgery followed 6 weeks later. I guess my caution for you is not to ignore the appearance of symptoms that indicate things are getting worse. While we don't want to proceed on to surgery sooner than necessary, we also don't want to wait so long that there is permanent damage to the heart. I would encourage you to report any changes that you notice as time passes. Take care.