An almost 2-week update

TheGymGuy · Apr 9, 2012

It has been 13 days since my surgery - Complete Story Here
So far there have been few bumps, which I am very thankful for the little things - Day 7 Update here

I am an optimist and you will see me share more good things than bad. I will be honest about bad things, but they will simply not drag me down or worry me unless it is something that you guys and gals have not written about.

Here are some good things:

Saw my surgeon today, and he was pretty happy with the progress. He took out the stitches from chest tubes closings, and I feel like that area will continue to heal up nicely. Resting heart-rate mid-day while sitting up was 72 and blood-pressure was 120 / 70. He told me to take amiodarone once instead of twice a day, and continue with Metoprolol XL 25mg once a day. I am off of antibiotics as of today and will be off these drugs within several short weeks.
I have been off pain killers (Tylenol 3) for 3 full days now, as a matter of fact coming up on day 4. First 2 days I was having headaches in the AM and had to take regular tylenol, but this is behind us now and today was the first day when I finally did not have a headache in the AM.
My resting heart-rate is now 69-72. In the AM it is under, or exactly 70 for several days now. I think we are moving closer to my target range. Though, I can live in high 60 for a while. Low 80's heart-rate used to just tick me off. And, honestly, you do not want to make me angry, you will not like me when I am angry.
I am in a lot less pain, if any, at the moment. My right shoulder has been recovering well. The clavicle scar (under which there is subclavian artery) is feeling loads better and the muscles there seems to be healing up nicely. Which means, I cannot wait for full healing so that I can start rehabing my muscles. As a matter of fact I look towards this more and more every day.
My middle finger on my right hand has no more numbness left. There is a tiny bit of numbness left in my pointy finger and thumb.
Incisions are healing up and are a lot nicer now. I do not mind the scars, and these are looking like clean scars. Also, pretty manly looking
Certain parts of the skin around the scars have come back and I can feel them. A bunch of parts are still numb, but I feel hopeful that these will resolve themselves with time.
I have a lot less tightness in the sternum and waking up in the AM only takes me 1-2 minutes to straighten up and get my posture back.
The bump at the very top of my main chest incision is a lot smaller. You guys were right, these things will reduce over time.
I sleep on my side every night and even flip to the other side. This has allowed me to get a lot more sleep. Every night is 6 hours or better, which I am very very thankful for.
Warning: All caps are coming. THE RASH (allergic reaction to tripple antibiotic ointment) AROUND MY SCARS HAS SIGNIFICANTLY SUBSIDED. Soap and water has worked wonders. It now barely looks like rash was even there and the skin is just a little pink, but its getting better by the day.

Not so great things:

Heartbeat is still a bit strong.
A little bit of numbness left in my pointy finger and thumb on the right hand.
Some numbness left around the scars, but it progresses.
Still have cold hands and feet (most likely from amiodarone), though, I should be off of it in several weeks
Still a bit of tightness in the sternum (a lot less than a week ago), hope it continues to improve.
Night Sweats are just annoying. My t-shirts are soaked in the AM. I am still hoping for these to start going away soon.

Also, attached is my chest x-ray from today, and there are 8 wires holding my sternum together. I do not feel them yet and hope not to know about them ever.

Dgreenbee · Apr 10, 2012

I really liked seeing the x ray. That is very cool. I am glad to read upbeat positive reports, too.

Bill B · Apr 10, 2012

Great report, Vadim! The good things are getting gooder and so are the bad things. Excellent!

Duffey · Apr 10, 2012

It sounds as though you're doing really well. Congrats and best wishes for continued progress.

bocco · Apr 10, 2012

Vadim

Great stuff. My resting pulse rate has mostly stayed in the low 90s. I sure would love to see that drop to my pre surgery levels in the 60s. Today is 3 weeks for me.

GordoAVR · Apr 10, 2012

bocco said:
Vadim

Great stuff. My resting pulse rate has mostly stayed in the low 90s. I sure would love to see that drop to my pre surgery levels in the 60s. Today is 3 weeks for me.

My bpm was in the mid-high 80s for about two months; at seven months it is mid 60's; only slightly higher than resting heart rate when I was running 15 miles/wk.

It will come down... don't worry.

Fundy · Apr 10, 2012

The cold hands and feet might also be due to the metoprolol, it appears one of the adverse affects may be reduced blood flow to hands and feet resulting in cold or numb feelings.

Ovie · Apr 11, 2012

Glad things are going as well as they are. Love the positive attitude, not always easy to maintain..you do it well though, also thought the chest x-ray was cool. Here's to continued success with your recovery (raises glass)