brief vision loss/tia??

[Granbonny]

Bob

Bob

Here comes the Mother-Hen out in me again. My avatar for months was of a big fat hen. Must have Ross to post that for me again..Looks like I need it...You are ONLY 10 days post-op..Why not try 2 different long walks a day? A mile and a half...Your sternum, bones, cells, muscles will never heal at that kind of exercise.They need time to find their way home again..without all that stress.Why do you think that much walking is good for you?For energy?..Nope, that's comes later. at around 6 weeks. You will have a long wait to get back to driving if you don't have your muscles healed. Need your neck, shoulders all healed to look around at stop signs, ect...don't want to pull out in front of a car. I may be in that car. Bonnie

 

[Bryan B]

Good thing Bonnie doesn't know I was taking 1.5mi walks at two weeks and have been driving since 3 weeks.

Ooops!

Bonnie...short drives ok'd by my doctor...I swear...lol. He said I could drive at two weeks as long as I wasn't taking narcotic pain killers. And my walks vary. Today I only did 1.5 mi but hilly, yesterday I did over 2mi but fairly flat. The day before that it was rainy and I didn't walk at all. I'm going to the beach tomorrow and may set some new "personal bests" walking the beach during low tide. If ya'll don't hear from me for several days it's because I'm following doctor's orders and spending 5-6 days at the beach "recovering". Thanks for everything...and I'll be back.

 

[tobagotwo]

Sorry, GrandBonnie. I wasn't trying for a special amount. I just walked the neighborhood while I felt generally comfortable (no pain or deep breathing). My son drove the route later so we could see how much distance it was, so I would know if I was going to do it regularly. If that's too much, I will do less. Any idea where I should be at this point, distancewise? They are pretty open-ended, even saying that stairs can be taken "as often as you tolerate them."

I had other things to do this afternoon, so I didn't get to walk again later. I hand-spread some grass seed from a small tin, and my son and I went a couple towns over for a great bagel cheeseburger. So good.

Besides, it's nine days, not ten yet.

My pericarditis is gone every morning, and resurfaces somewhat by the evening, but is much less than it originally was. Perhaps that's a signal. I'll ask tomorrow, when I get the staples out.

Bryan, you devil!

 

[ShezaGirlie]

How'd they do that?

How'd they do that?

The Visible Heart Website provides a great deal of video clips that may
be of your interest.


For example:

Human: A stenotic aortic valve from the aorta. Deposits can be seen on
all three cusps.
http://www.visibleheart.com/low_bandwidth/video14.html


Pig: The aortic valve viewed from the ascending aorta.
http://www.visibleheart.com/low_bandwidth/video10.html


Pig: The aortic valve viewed from inside the left ventricle. Visible
clockwise form the upper right are the right, posterior
(non-coronary), and left cusps.
http://www.visibleheart.com/low_bandwidth/video11.html

 

[Bryan B]

Susan,

I have been using the pillow, more for comfort than protection. All of my trips so far have been just around town to pick up prescriptions or run a few errands. I thought about disabling my airbag for a few weeks but haven't done it. I will be driving from Raleigh to Atlanta at 5 weeks and 2 days post-op to spend the weekend with friends, then I will be driving from Atlanta back to Nashville at 5 weeks and 4 days post-op. That's 6hrs on Friday and 4 hrs on Sunday. Since I drove my car from Nashville to Raleigh I knew the day would come when I had to drive it back. Luckily I'm having relatively little sternal pain (just some rib pain that's annoying as heck). I'll take frequent breaks and just take my time. Once I get back to Nashville I get a couple of more weeks of rest before I resume a full traveling schedule with work, so I might as well get used to it.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Bryan -

Do you have a Cell Phone to take with you on those drives? If not, I highly recommend one, perhaps a pre-paid phone with XX minutes on it.

Also, be sure to take frequent breaks and to walk around every hour or so to help prevent blood clots from forming in your legs.

'AL'

 

[Bryan B]

Thanks Al, great idea. I don't have a cell phone, but I can borrow my Mom's and then mail it back to her when I get to Nashville (she doesn't use it that much anyway). 10-4 on the breaks, I usually do that anyway (weak bladder...lol).

 

[tobagotwo]

Is the airbag really that bad as an alternative in an accident? I would think it would be easier on the sternum than the steering column. Plus, we are wired up, right?

I hold the shoulder part of the belt slightly out from my chest, as it rubs immediately and agonizingly on these staples. I can't wait to see what it will be like on the ride home today with them out. I have been wearing my silk "Hawaiian" shirts every day, as they tug and irritate less. Fortunately, I have very poor taste, and thus a fairly large collection of them. My wife is truly a tolerant woman.

 

[tobagotwo]

Note on Nan's post - that does seem to be classic atypical (or visual) migraine. Note that you point out that the curtain (or stigma) blocks part of your eye's vision, not all of it, and that you get the color visual effects as well. Annoying and distracting, but apparently harmless.

I wonder if your coronary arteries were/are clear as well, bolstering Janie's observation.

 

[Dave]

Sternum Staples

Sternum Staples

Hi Guys
Interesting hearing that the staples are being removed ? I had surgery four years ago, and my sternum was wired up. The wires are still there and there has never been any suggestion to remove them. They dont cause me any problem, in fact I wouldn't even know they are there.
Is the staples new technology, and are they different to the wires?
Just wondering !
Cheers
Dave

 

[tobagotwo]

Nope. Things haven't really changed. I will always have stainless wires in my sternum. The staples were in place of the outside stitches. They leave a complementary pattern of red dots to highlight the angry red line of your incision after they're pulled out. What good's a scar without a little highlighting, after all?

 

[tantenay]

temp loss of vision

temp loss of vision

Hi, I'm a bit late in posting a reply to this one, but I haven't been on this site in a while! I started having loss of vision in my eye about 2 years before my surgery (AVR 7/2000). I've had them since, but only last year did I have the "gray curtain going UP". It scared me, too. I had previously been told that these are "occular migraine". They did a doppler on my neck to be sure there was not blockage (had 20%, but they dont do anything til it's 80%). My opthomologist tells me that pressure is increasing in my eyes, but did not seem to think it was to do that. Now that I see all of you having similar problems, I'm convinced it must be the valve. I have a bioprosthetic (bovine) valve, so I'm not on blood thinner other than daily aspirin. That's it from me.

 

[tobagotwo]

I would have to think that the accelleration of the occular migraine activity is a side-effect of the surgery, rather than the valve itself. I am completely at a loss to describe a mechanism that would allow the valve to directly affect the visual process.

I did have this before the surgery, so the surgery was not the primary cause, at least for me. However, it shows up much, much more often now that the surgery has been done. I am noting that the occurrences appear to be slowing down as I continue away from the surgery.

Perhaps it is a pumpheadedness effect. It probably does bear closer inspection.

 

[pekster11]

i'm still in the waiting room, but have had these grey out events, which last just a few minutes, in my left eye for a good few years now...they happen every now and then, not everyday.
think it's about time i told the cardiologist about this (i haven't in the past, as i've just put it down to tiredness)

i had a left eye grey out event this morning whilst driving on the motorway

i've also had the kaleidoscope thing in my left eye (v occasionally) for a good decade , if not longer

 

[pekster11]

oh dear me

 

[pellicle]

Hi

i'm still in the waiting room, but have had these grey out events, which last just a few minutes, in my left eye for a good few years now...they happen every now and then, not everyday.

think it's about time i told the cardiologist about this (i haven't in the past, as i've just put it down to tiredness)

Could be...

i've also had the kaleidoscope thing in my left eye (v occasionally) for a good decade , if not longer

Your sure it's only the left eye? You don't see it if you close the eye? Because it sounds like a migraine to me.

And Warrick , I think we have a winner for zombie thread revival.

 

[pekster11]

Hi


Could be...


Your sure it's only the left eye? You don't see it if you close the eye? Because it sounds like a migraine to me.

And Warrick , I think we have a winner for zombie thread revival.

yes i do see it, if i close my eyes...

it's usually in just one eye though

 

[pellicle]

http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forum/post-surgery/884398-vision-disturbances-and-migraines