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[deogloria]

I came home today. Everything went pretty well for the rest of the visit. As soon as the chest tubes came out, I improved rapidly. God really blessed me, because so far my worst experiences have been relapses of pain. Most of my complaints are minimal.

Two things I'm pretty upset about is that 1- they kept making me wait to find out when I could stop dumping my breastmilk, and finally tell me today after a week of painful and inconvenient pumping and dumping that I can NEVER breastfeed again!! Apparently I'll be on baby asprin forever, and you can't bf a baby when you're on aspirin, due to the risk of Reyes' syndrome. I asked them several times before and after surgery to check on my meds, because I knew I would be really upset to pump all week for nothing. They were too lazy, and I ended up being really shocked and upset about it. I never even knew that the last time I fed my baby would be the LAST time!

2- After they told me about the breastfeeding thing, they promised to get me extra medication (we had planned on cutting me back to one if I was going to be breastfeeding). Of course, I get home and the "extra" medication I got was nothing at all...unless you count a prescription for NON-prescription strenght tylenol! Yep, I'm pretty pissed off right now...especially since I had a bad night for pain. They'll be getting a call from a very hormonal post-op, under-medicated woman tomorrow!

But other than that, I can't complain at all. My in-laws ended up leaving early, which meant my husband couldn't stay overnight or come visit me anymore. Fortunately, since I felt better, I just made sure to arrange with each new shift who would be caring for me on the next shift, and everything worked out great. I got good care after that. I would recommend to all pre-ops that they make note of the nurses' first and last names, and when you had them, so you can make choices in the future. If you ask towards the beginning of each shift for a particular nurse, the manager on duty can more easily accommodate you. Most patients don't know that.

I seem to have a lot of mobility, which means I need to be careful not to overdo it. My husband is waiting on me hand and foot. He was a little stressed at first, especially finding out that I can't even help by nursing the baby, but he's settling into the routine now, and I couldn't do this without him. He's a real pro at getting stuff done and caring for the children.

Here's a question: does anyone else get a really strong pulse feeling, especially in your neck? I don't have an artificial valve, but I sure am feeling my heart beat/pulse in my neck. To the point of feeling my body shake to it, slightly. I hope that goes away! But it's better than ticking, I'm sure.

Thanks for everyone's prayers. They have surely been answered, as everything seems to have gone exactly as I had hoped they would. God has really blessed us.

 

[WayneGM]

Welcome home and to this side of the mountain. I don't know about the strong pulse feeling although I seem to recall somebody mentioning it in another post. Hopefully somebody will come along with some insight on it. Have a smooth and speedy recovery.

 

[laurad37]

Wishing you a smooth recovery. Sorry to hear about the BF issues.

 

[Lisa in Katy]

The strong pulse is normal for anyone who has had OHS. Unlike when you have surgery on another part of your body, e.g., your knee, it doesn't get to sit back and rest while it heals. It has to heal and work at the same time.

I would think that they would have told you ahead of time that bf would be out of the question, at least for awhile. Most people who have non-mechanical valve replacement end up on aspirin, at least for a short time afterwards, and that is definitely a no-no. As someone who pumped and breastfed for months, I can understand your frustration at it not being clear from the start. However, there is no reason you can't bottlefeed your baby now. Your baby is used to eating out of a bottle and should have no issue with you doing that. Have your husband hand you the baby and bottle while you are already sitting down and enjoy!

 

[ponytaila1a]

Welcome home....glad the prayers were answered and nearly everything went as you had hoped. Rest when you can and don't overdo.

 

[Karlynn]

Welcome home. Don't over do it or you'll regret it. These next few weeks you have to put yourself first and let hubby and others work out all the other stuff. It's hard for Moms to do this, but having Mom recover smoothly without any set-backs is best for everyone.

 

[Marguerite53]

Wow, you are amazing!!! Good job!! What a committed mother and wife you are!! Wow. Really!

I, too, felt those sensations post-surgery with a tissue valve. It would wane, then return, then returned with a vengeance and I had to start some beta-blockers because it had turned into harmless, benign, PVC's (premature ventricular contractions) which were driving me crazy. 18 months out I weaned myself off the beta blockers (with cardio's permission) and have not needed them again. Just be patient. Heaven knows, you have your hands full otherwise and may just stop noticing it!!!

Best wishes to you, brave girl!!!!!

Marguerite

 

[Tbone]

Sounds like everything worked out well. Take it easy for now & don't overdo it.

 

[hall]

Welcome home. Take care of yourself.

 

[Andrew'sMom]

Welcome home, sorry to red about the bf issues, it sounds very frustrating! take care and get plenty of rest so you can recover well!

 

[BDMc]

Glad you are home. Great report. I can't believe how much better some of you are ,in terms of mental clarity than I was at this stage. Sorry, but not surprised about the breast feeding aggravation. Do try to restrict yourself for the next month at least. You'll need some time to heal. All the best, Brian

 

[StephR]

Welcome home and congratulations! I am 6-7 wks post op for an ascending aorta and aortic arch replacement for an aortic aneurysm. I feel the strong pulsing in the neck that you mention. It was a lot stronger in previous weeks and has subsided considerably over the last two weeks. It was unnerving at the start, but I got over it just being happy that I was alive and my heart was beating.

Quick question for you: I don't have children yet and have been wondering about the chances of passing BAVD to my children. Did any of your children inherit BAVD?

 

[BigOwl]

Welcome home! You might want to see if there's a breast milk "bank" in your area, if you'd like to give the baby the benefits of breast milk at least for a few weeks (sometimes they'll let you "work off" the debt later with volunteer work, since most milk banks cater to preemies). After my daughter was born I contributed liters of milk to banks simply by pumping off "extra" and the Red Cross picked up the bottles once a week. Banks are used for a variety of reasons, but because you wanted to breastfeed and were prevented by surgery, you might qualify. Good luck regardless--it is the kiddo, after all, that matters in the end.

 

[deogloria]

StephR- the biscuspidfoundation.com website says BAVD can be hereditary, from what they know. I plan on getting my children checked. I suspect my five year old could have it, as a doctor thought she heard a murmur when he was a baby, and I've heard his heartbeat be pretty erratic. Could be nothing, but I suspect he might have it. Some docs say don't bother checking, but with BAVD you're susceptible to endocarditis and other stuff, and endo can kill, especially kids. Better to be informed, I say.

Well, everyone, I'm resting well. Don't worry, hubby is catering to me very well. I did go overboard last night. I felt so bad about him doing all the work, and saw that he had fallen into bed without cleaning the house. I didn't want him to wake up to that, so I cleaned up. Picked up all the toys, cleaned off the counters, threw out trash. Made the morning mueseli for the kids, so all he had to do was add milk. I didn't wipe counters or do dishes, but needless to say I waaaaay overdid it. Stupid I know. I just felt guilty.

Well, he chastised me, and so did my body, today! He appreciated all the effort but forbid me to do it again, lol. Don't need to tell me twice! Next time, I'll just make the mueseli. That I can handle.

I about freaked out yesterday when our internet went out for a few hours. We don't watch tv, and I can't read when I'm not feeling well. The internet is all I have to do. Okay, technically it's reading, but I'm also watching a lot of you tube stuff on gardening, etc. It returned after I took a nap. Whew! I already feel confined enough without losing the net!!

I'm letting the children come back to my bedroom in half hour shifts to spend time with me. The little ones only get five minutes at a time, because my husband must be there to make sure they don't jump on me. They really missed me. My oldest keeps kissing me and telling me how much he missed me. My next oldest heard me on the phone today talking about the hospital, and asked worriedly if I was going back! Poor things.

 

[deogloria]

Oh, and for those who mentioned be being so alert, it's probably because I don't tend to be sensitive to narcotics. You have to give me a LOT before I start feeling goofy or happy. Normally I just feel slightly sleepy with stuff like vicodin or oxycodone. In the hospital, I did have some feelings of contentment that seemed odd, considering I just had heart surgery, lol. I figured it was the drugs. I definitely think I'm getting stronger doses than when I have my c-sections.

Sometimes I feel so weird, like "did I seriously have heart surgery?" It's all so surreal. I walk around feeling like someone shot me with a .45 in my chest. Like the walking wounded. I wish there was more i could do to help out my husband. He has a lot on his shoulders right now. I guess I can just pray for him.

Oh, I'm also getting occasional feelings like heartburn or something. I guess that's what you'd call it. Is it heartburn? Or weird post-surgery feelings? I only had heartburn once or twice while pregnant, so I'm not sure.

 

[Maryka]

I have been back to work about a month and it has turned into a nightmare! I came back at 40-hours-a-week and one of my supervisors is such a nut that she would love if I worked 60 hours or more a week.

ANYHOO--Congratulations, sister, on your survival and coming home to baby! (Here I have to admit that, the reason I have done a lot of medically related things was because I was a too squeemish to finish Registered Nurse's traning.) I breastfed my two children and was a La Leche League leader. I thought "Uh Oh" when you said you were going to breastfeed. My aneurysm problems and BAV situation did not manifest until my children were almost grown. When you said you were going to breastfeed when you got home, I thought, oh oh oh, how can you carry that one off? I suppose your baby has adjusted to bottles at this point, but, dear Mommy, are you in mourning for the end of the special bond of breastfeeding? I feel pain for you all on so many levels! You are doing the best you can and survival is the the most important thing here!

Will you be able to have another baby after this surgery or is it time to re-think future pregnancies?

God bless you and your family! You are doing very well, all things considered!

Maryka

 

[CThrock]

Glad you are home! Nothing like being home after OHS. No cleaning house allowed next time we will get the vr patrol after you. Just relax and hope your recovery continues to be smooth.