(Another) AVR on 12th June

[DanielR]

Hello everyone

Just to say thank you for all the information I've been able to read on these forums.

I will joining others (on this board) in having an AVR on the 12th June after a 6 months wait. This is because I was born with Bicuspid Aortic Valve Disease (I'm only 20 ) and now have Aortic Regurgitation. I did have Aortic Stenosis and this was *fixed* about 8 years ago with a balloon dilation, but I now need a new aortic valve since my left ventricle is increasing in size. Anyway, I'm in the UK so I will be having this NHS operation done by a surgeon that also works at Great Ormond Street so I assume she must be good.

I will be having a mechanical St. Jude (Regent) valve most likely, though my surgeon did mention that this might change based on what will fit. Obviously with this comes the concern about how my body will react to warfarin. I just hope and pray that it will be OK and management won't be too much of a pain. Also, my GP (local doctor) seems to be sceptical about home testing, but my hospital is very much for it so I hope I won't have too much of a battle there to convince my GP.

All your thoughts and prayers very much appreciated.

Daniel

 

[kbheart]

Best wishes!

Best wishes!

Good luck with your surgery, Daniel. You'll be in my thoughts and prayers! The coumadin can be a pain but for most people it's pretty simple. Even with the problems I've had getting in range, it hasn't been a big deal.

 

[Phyllis]

Welcome to the forum, Daniel. I put you on the calendar for June 12th- that's not that far away! You sound as if you are in good hands and I'm sure lots of people will be along to help you with the warfarin questions.
Best wishes to you!

 

[WayneGM]

Welcome to the VR community, Daniel. Glad you found us. All the best for a successful surgery and uneventful recovery.

 

[bvdr]

Welcome Daniel! It is nice you made yourself known so we can walk with you through this thing. I hope your doctor comes around to favor home testing and prescribes it for you. To me it has made warfarin management far less of a hassle. You are wise to have your AVR now since you are having heart changes. Some wait too long and the damage done isn't reversible. You probably have noticed that we have quite a few on the board from the UK but I'm not sure where they had their replacements done. Anyway, I will include you in my prayers and please be sure to post when you can and let us know how you are doing.

 

[tcopel]

Ditto on the welcome, Daniel. You are amongst friends here who have been where you are now. I have found a lot of good information and encouragement here. Feel free to ask questions, ventilate, ect.

 

[aussigal]

Welcome and best wishes for the 12th...

You are bound to breeze through this being such a young and well-informed patient and besides you have all us here to cheer you on! ...

Its great you found us here, there sure is plenty of experience here to draw on if you need help/advice...

I look forward to reading your post-op report...it will be all over before you know it and you will be wondering what all the fuss was about...

 

[Cooker]

Daniel,

Wishing you the best!! I'm sure all will go well. Warfarin is no big deal as far as I'm concerned. You will be in my prayers.

Tom

 

[DanielR]

Thank you all for your kind words.

This forum is such a great place for people in our position.

I will definitely try to keep you updated as much as possible, though obviously rest and recovery come first.

Tomorrow (Sun) I will find out if there is a bed free and then on Mon I will be going in so there may not be many more updates from this 'side' of the operation.

Thanks again.

Daniel

 

[EireCara]

Hi Daniel, welcome to this wonderful family. Im glad that you found us...EVERYBODY here a is very helpful and caring. (Hope my grammer is correct there)....apologies if not !!

What hospital are you having your surgery in ?

Anyway...VERY BEST WISHES for a successful operation and smooth and uneventful recovery.

 

[Plumber1]

You are a brave young man Daniel. Hang in there! I am counting on a great outcome for you. Prayers to you on the 12th.

 

[DanielR]

Thank you all again.

This will be my last post (in this thread) before the operation (I hope) and then I will post in the Post Surgery forum when I can.

 

[Bionic Man]

Good luck to a kindred spirit

Good luck to a kindred spirit

Sounds like we had similar issues. I had a bicuspid valve which made me a little less than athletic when I was young. I'm 37 now and had mine fixed with a ST Jude + a graft about 2 years ago. I'm feeling pretty good and have been gaining weight and now weigh almost as much as a normal human which I never thought was possible.

In either case the surgery wasn't as bad as I expected. I wish I had known about the smaller details like even how they close you up etc. So most of my fears were unfounded and I had a good recovery and bounced back in near record time. The moment I woke from surgery my parents were there and asked me how I felt. I replied that I felt like superman because I felt like I could get up and run a marathon. My body wasn't used to getting that kind of oxygen and of course there were probably some good adrenalin still circulating from the surgery.

Don't be discouraged by your second day of recovery which may be a little harder. In the days to come you'll feel like a juggernaut after having good circulation and oxygenation after so long without it. Hey my immune system has been 200% better since surgery too! I used to be sick all the time growing up and i caught everything that anyone, including my kids, ever got. Now 2 years later I've not had even so much as a cold and my kids have had strep 4 times, whooping cough once and a couple flu-like things. (pretty cool for me) Hopefully you can look forward to the same good health.

I'll be rooting for you and hoping you have the same good result I've had.

David

 

[67walkon]

Daniel, by the time you read this, you'll be well on your way to full recovery. Cograts! I can't wait to join you on that side of the mountain.