anxious and just plain scared

[Dan Zulu]

I was also quite stressed about my pending OHS but felt much better once I scheduled a date. I've had four orthopedic surgeries in the last two years, have a fifth next week, and OHS in two months. Like many others have said surgeries are usually routine for the medical personnel. Even after having my femur and acetabulum overhauled I didn't have overwhelming pain or any significant anesthesia problems. I know OHS will be even more invasive but I trust my surgeon, and see the opportunity to fix my aneurysm as a cause for celebration when compared to the alternative of waiting for dissection.

 

[Rebecca]

Many years ago a doctor told me that Arnold Schwarzenegger had his valve replace and that was when I knew that I would be ok when the time came for me to have surgery. This year I saw my uncle who is in his nineties and he has had his valve replace three times and he is doing much better than some of my other relatives that are younger then him and do not have heart disease. Here is a post on anxiety written by twenty years old on having heart surgery: http://mattoblivion.blogspot.co.uk/

Thriving with Heart Disease a Unique Program for you and your Family Live Happier, Healthier, Longer by Wayne M. Sotile, Ph.D. (a must read book)

 

[Paleowoman]

Rebacca's book recommendation reminded me of a book which I found very helpful pre and post surgery, not just for me but also for hubby which several other forum members have also recommended: 'Coping with heart surgery and bypassing depression' by Carol Cohan: http://www.amazon.com/Coping-Heart-...F8&qid=1403679730&sr=8-1&keywords=carol+cohan Seems to have gone up hugely in price, must be going out of print, but there's used editions available. The book explains everything very well and also has a lot of information on recovery and a special chapter for relatives who are helping.

 

[ski girl]

Nausea - I agree with what others have said, it might not even happen. I was totally fine after my first op, but after my second I threw up several times. I wasn't very nauseous, I just recognised that I was going to puke, demanded to be lifted from a lying position to sitting, and puked up some amazingly coloured green stuff. I found it fascinating, my friend who didn't quite make it out of the firing line didn't.

BTW I was 'eating right' immediately after both ops, and complaining about not having enough food. Listen to the people who have been through this surgery first hand (all of us, we're a damn smart bunch) and not the ridiculous scare-mongering of people who 'know someone who knows someone . . .'.

OHS is a major life event for us but for the surgical teams is just a bit of plumbing. It's not even a tricky surgery! We all just get a bit precious about our hearts - would you get this worked up over a gall bladder operation? Well, that's trickier . . . .

Gooooood luck, you will be fine, tell the scaremongerers to put a sock in it!!

 

[sunshine2cats]

HI ski girl...need you today..going in for my catherization...i think i am the first one today...hope it goes quickly , am anxious been up at 3 and 4 and got up at 5 ,have to be there at 6"30///love the positive response in here...i really need that. it is all that waiting for this and the next time...i admire all of you for doing so well and passing it along to us newcomers. thank you.

 

[ski girl]

Ruth I bet $10 that after your cath you will be wondering what all the fuss was about! I'll send you my bank details so you can zap the money through, heheheh.

 

[ponygirlmom]

Hello! By the time you see this, you'll be done with your cath procedure. I hope you're feeling fine! I haven't been on the forum in a very long time -- my surgery was in 2008 -- but I popped and and saw your post, so I thought I would give you some words of encouragement. I have a bovine valve, too! I tell everyone I have a "moo-cow" valve and my husband still likes to make mooing noises around me.

I don't recall feeling nauseated after surgery. I would discuss your worries about nausea with your anesthesiologist before surgery.

Since no one has told you anything more specific about food than "he didn't eat right," I would ignore those people, because what the heck does "not eating right" mean? I mean, seriously, what on earth could they mean by that? I'm not sure they even know.

Anyway, if you need a new valve, my words of encouragement are that you'll feel a lot better after surgery. Okay, not RIGHT after surgery (Okay, maybe, if they give you the right drugs!) But the point is, after you've healed your life will be better and you'll be able to do more things. Try really hard to look forward to that, and you may feel better about your upcoming date.

 

[Aggie85]

I had BAD problems with nausea and dry heaves the first 24 hours post op. Take heart, there are LOTS of meds they can try for the nausea. They can try different ones until they find the one that works for you. If it might be the pain meds causing the problem, they can change those too until you and staff find the right combination.

My biggest fear was waking up to the NT tube in my lungs. Turns out, I don't remember it AT ALL. Apparently was one of the fastest to get it out, but even trying to remember, I don't. The heart lung machine, you are TOTALLY out for.

Best advice, keep on top of pain meds. Take them on schedule for first few days, even if you don't think you need them. Take pain meds BEFORE any postop procedure... Removing chest tubes, pacing wires, central lines. Ask RNs to help you coordinate timing of pain meds and procedures. Don't buy that "this won't hurt..." Assume it will and if not, GREAT! Pulling chest tube didn't bother me at all, pulling Pacing wires hurt like HELL. Others, hurt with both or neither. We are all different. But if you take the pain med, ahead of time, if something does hurt, it will do so for shorter time or less so.

You might try relaxation therapy. Guided Imagery and music worked great for me and I'm not normally one who responds to that sort of thing well. I posted a thread on the Presurgery forum titled, HOW TO SLEEP AND RELAX IN THE HOSPITAL if you're interested in what I did. Cleveland Clinic offers a Guided Imagery MP3 and there are others on the internet and ITunes. Just search Guided Imagery for surgery.

Best of luck!
Linda

 

[sunshine2cats]

HI Joanpieroni , missed your letter ....the idea of the hospital in Buffalo sounds wonderful and our politicians probably use it. we have St.Marys cardiac hospital here in Kitchener and it is a really good one..i am not worried about my care, i am worried about surviving it all without being a pain in the butt.

 

[neil]

hi sunshine cats, firstly i am the worlds biggest cry baby and dont do pain at all, and guess what i found the op really really better than i thought, hardly any pain whatsoever, the worst part is the waiting by far, good luck you will do just fine, meowwwwww

 

[joanpieroni]

Sunshine, you will be surprised how little pain you will have I think the most uncomfortable part were the chest tube drains but after a couple days they come out, waiting for your day is the hardest thing, I hope it goes fast for you.

 

[sunshine2cats]

HI Neil thanks so much for a great lift...i needed that today. it isn't so much the pain as it is the nausea ...i cannot handle that but what can i do about it anyhow.
the waiting is driving me up the wall ,,wish it was now.

 

[sunshine2cats]

don't quite understand how to answer here.

don't quite understand how to answer here.

Sunshine, you will be surprised how little pain you will have I think the most uncomfortable part were the chest tube drains but after a couple days they come out, waiting for your day is the hardest thing, I hope it goes fast for you.

thanks for your support...dont mind having a scar or anything like that...i just want to get better .

 

[MrsBray]

Hi there! I'm just over 4 months post op. I had the same emotions you are experiencing - scared and anxious - negative people around me, not sleeping, and so on. It was a tough run, getting all the tests done and through the surgery and recovery and going to rehab. I wouldn't wish it on anyone, unless they needed it. I still feel strain on my sternum if I carry something too heavy, and I can hear my mechanical valve ticking.

One of my coworkers was ALWAYS pestering me with questions about the surgery before I went in. I finally sent him an email link to a full open heart surgery video. He didn't talk to me after that, mission accomplished!

The book referenced before, "Coping with Heart Surgery and Avoiding Depression" was a great help to me and my parents, my dad in particular. I think he may have been more anxious about the surgery than I was.

I did wake up with the vent tube still in, but was so relieved and damn happy to be alive, I didn't even notice it. Then I went right back to sleep again.

I did get all my affairs in order - will, insurance, deeds and titles etc - just in case. And now they are done, what a relief my husband didn't need them!

Nausea and eating - right after surgery all I was allowed was ice chips. I demanded some ginger ale, and my nurse brought me some. I took a sip, and my tummy sent it right back up, almost instantaneously. That was the only time I ever felt queasy. My tastebuds took about 3 days to return, and I'm still not sure if that was related to the hospital food or not. Someone snuck some pizza in for me, and it was delicious, but breakfast the next morning was awful - maybe it was the powdered eggs? My appetite returned to normal in a few weeks, just about the time I could start running my house again. (I did ask for and receive help filling my freezer with easy meals!)

Yes, this is a tough thing to go through - physically, mentally, emotionally, socially. But it probably won't be as bad as you think it will, and it's TOTALLY worth it!

Keep your eye on the prize - hospital discharge and your own bed!

Meredith

 

[river-wear]

1. When they give you ice chips (which are wonderful!), take it easy and don't have more than about ten. After that I got queasy but fortunately stopped before any horrible consequences.

2. If you feel nauseous later on, let the nurse know and they'll give you something for it. It helped me the second day in ICU - I think it was the Percocet that made me feel sick. I switched to Tylenol (which was enough for my pain) and never felt sick again - until the higher doses of Metoprolol came along later. I counter that by taking it at bedtime and keeping my head on the pillow for 1-2 hours after! Oh, and don't take Amiodarone (if you have it) on an empty stomach. A couple of crackers will do.

 

[Paleowoman]

It's strange this about ice chips becasue I didn't feel thirsty at all when I woke up in ICU ! Or maybe I did but don't remember ? They seem to give meds that cause amnesia on purpose - I got dh to take a photo of me on the ventilator as I wanted to know what it all looked like for afterwards and I'm glad I did as I only vaguely remember that when I 'woke' everything was dark, which it couldn't have been as it would have been in ICU which is brightly lit, so my eyes must have been closed, and a nurse was giving me instructions. Next thing I was wide awake, cheerful, hungry - had cups of tea, and when I felt nauseous they gave me anti-emetic straight away. The drain tubes coming out didn't hurt one bit, the sternum incision did but not till the next day when they lowered the pain meds.

Do get that book 'Coping with heart surgery and bypassing depression' if you can.

Not long now and you'll be telling us how it went and giving advice to newbies on forum

 

[AMFT]

It's strange this about ice chips becasue I didn't feel thirsty at all when I woke up in ICU !

I was quite thirsty, so much so I collected my cups from the ice chips so that when my doc came I could explain how badly I needed a drink. He obliged and all was well. I think we all have slightly different levels of nausea after surgery as I never had any issues until at home.

I can remember waking up with my vent tube in and it was a little scary because it didn't allow me to breath on my own, but I was immediately tended to by my nurse. Strange part is I don't remember seeing anything when I woke up...just the sensation of the tube and it working against me. I was comforted by the nurses presence so don't worry too much.

By far the hardest part for me was the removal of the drain tube. It was incredibly uncomfortable but it goes quickly, and I was relieved that a lot of the pain that I had felt was because of said tube.

 

[Paleowoman]

I think this shows that everyone is different, that what hurts or feels bad for one is fine for another. Some on here who have had their valves replaced more than once say it was different each time in one way or another ! And every hospital is different with different protocols, different meds !

 

[AMFT]

anxiety pills zanax , they really work well and i wonder if they will let me use them the day go in for the tests

I took my xanax up until my surgery, that's when the anesthesia team and their magic amnesia medicine had me ready to get on with it. They understand the amount of anxiety you'll be under, but if you're an abnormally anxious person (like myself) you should be 100% up front with each medical professional your deal with through tests and all. Just say "Hey, I'm really anxious and I need something to help me with that". They will oblige.

You'll do fine. Can't wait to hear your story!

 

[Agian]

Waking up with the breathing tube in sounds terrifying. I would be so tempted to pull it out.