Does a Day Go By You Don't Remember?

[neil]

hi well nearly 10 month after my op and yea it does cross my mind daily,but normally in a positive way,i had a tissue valve and sometimes my mind wanders to how long it will last? but hey without it my future wouldnt be rosy,the doctors and nurses are brill and hopefully my valve will last 10 to 15 yrs and maybe things will have moved on and i wont need ohs if not well so be it,i class myself as lucky that in this day and age it can be repaired,...........right off to do some xmas shopping lol..................neil

 

[Smiley2000]

It is hard NOT to think about it... I had to modify most of my work-clothes as I don't feel comfortable showing the "zip". I have mild CHF and occasional a-fib and then the R140 000 that I had to start paying off due to the Medical Aid being Liquidated!!!

I think it is normal to think about it sometimes. Even more so if you have a "click" sound in your chest...

 

[escargome]

Yea, I think about it every single day, right after I thank God for letting me live for one more day. Right now 7 months after surgery, I still have discomfort at the zipper site, but no big deal. I look at it this way, the alternative to not having the surgery would have been leaving my family and loved ones. I still want to see how my "life" book turns out. Many chapters left to write.

 

[DeWayne]

I guess maybe I have dealt with the effects of heart surgery longer than most.
For me I can't remember a day going by over the past 49+ years that I didn't somehow think about where I had been and where i was now. Pretty much how each day starts for me, I wake up, tell myself its a good day and move on to the tasks at hand.

Life has never been normal for me as long as I can recall, even though I tried like heck to be that "normal" person, doing things I knew i wasn't supposed to do! Thankfully I didn't screw it up enough to make it a problem lol.

 

[Ed_War]

I've only had one surgery on 1/8/08 and not a day goes by that I don't think about "that day". I didn't have long to think about it before the surgery, I only found out on 1/3/08 that I had a problem or that I need Mitral Valve surgery asap.........but now.....every day I wake up and say "Thank You". It may sound stupid, but the scar and daily reminders about the surgery are good things to me....reminders of what could have been, but wasn't. I'M ALIVE.....THANK YOU........I'M HERE FOR ANOTHER DAY. Every day is a gift......another day with my wife, children and grandchildren.

I don't dwell on the surgery, but I'm not bothered by the thoughts about it either. I've tried to take the operation and turn it into a positive. I think that the attitude helped me get through the tough times in the first few months after the surgery.

Just my opinion, and my way of dealing what we all have gone through. I hope I didn't offend anyone with what I wrote.

Ed

 

[lb151]

I'm still amazed that I did it,,again,,and that I'm here to enjoy this beautiful life. I thank God every night when I look in the mirror and see the scars.

 

[westie]

everyday before and after

everyday before and after

i was diagnosed with mitral valve prolapse 16 months before surgery and thought about it every day, if not all day!

post surgery i have continued to think about it, but in a sort of calmer way than before.

doubt i will ever get to the point where i rarely remember it. i just pray that having an artificial valve will help me avoid further surgery; never again thank you.

 

[khawkk]

9 months
It still hurts...mostly in the morning
It hurts...therefore I think!

 

[Dina]

It seems to me that for those who have had only one surgery(like me),
we believe the problems to be over now and believe..."okay,we fixed it!"
But for those who had to have a second surgery this myth was shattered,
and you now see that having had a successful OHS doesn't necessarily mean
that our problems are over.
And even as I write this and know this...I am still hopeful that I won't need
another surgery...and I have a tissue valve!
Dina

 

[Mary]

I have ongoing complications from my AVR but days go by when it never enters my mind.

 

[kschroed]

I think about it every time I see the scar. I am so thankful it's all over (for as long as possible.)

Kay

 

[ChuckVSP]

I think about the ticking almost every time I put my telephone/radio headset on at work (a poor, old, tired fat state police dispatcher.) The ticking just "echos" into the headphone. After a few minutes, is mostly un-noticable again. Then. sometime through the shift, one of the troopers will ask, "so how ya doing today, Chuck?" "Just glad to be on this side of the dirt!" They sometimes giggle, but they don't know what I know!

Take care all, and have a good weekend!

 

[lisou]

It's been 4 months now and think about it every day, how lucky I am to have gotten this second chance at life. Every time I look at my scar it feels like a dream maybe because I have known for so many years that eventually I would need OHS that when the time came everything was done within 1 month from cardiologist visit, to angiogram to surgeon and then surgery wow. But really happy that it's done and over with and hopefully for good.

 

[cjune1961]

Today was my second valveversary, and I was reliving that day all over again this morning. Now I am just thankful for all I have and to be here at this time. So many others are having such difficulties attempting to find their time for surgery and the relief it brings afterward.

Carla.

 

[roundsgirl]

Yeah I also think about it daily. I guess my main thing is like the other young tissue valve patients, I wonder how long it will last, especially since the tissue valve they gave me is now under allot of pressure. Problems with my gradient numbers, the stenosis that is already on the valve etc., so yeah I do think about it daily.
Being the "glass half emply type" also doesn't help either, I'm sure. Sometimes I get upset that I went through all of this and still feel like crap. To much to worry about in the road ahead I guess.

 

[ponygirlmom]

I guess my post got lost, because I don't see it here.

Are you talking about remembering and reliving your surgical or hospital experiences every single day, even if you aren't prompted to recall them (for example, by answering a question on these forums.)

Or are you talking about never forgetting that you have had heart surgery?

I think a lot of people have responded to your question by saying that they always remember that they have had surgery, but I don't think they are saying they relive the experience every day. Or maybe they are! I hope someone can clarify this.

For me, it's hard to forget my heart when it's still giving me problems, but I don't think about the hospital unless someone reminds me of it.

 

[SarahL]

Its been awhile since ive been on here. But i do think about the heart valve everyday. I received a mechanical valve about 10 months ago, the doctor said it would last me the rest of mylife. But like any piece of machinery, it could wear out over time. So i sometimes wonder if it really will last me. My recovery has had bumps in the road and still does. But im glad i had the surgery done. Im relived to hear the ticking all the time. especially when im getting ready to go sleep. It comforts me to know im still ticking and still here. if i ever stop hearing that sound ill think something is wrong.

I dont think about the surgery, just the everyday medications and all the blood testing reminds me that ive been through the surgery. And the changes ive had to make in my life. But if i had to do it over again, i would in a heartbeat.

 

[nancym]

I am 5 weeks post AVR, and I still think about it every day. I can't imagine how other people are just going along with their lives like nothing has happened when I have had such a life-altering experience. I have also found that right now, things that used to really bother me, don't. And I am so happy to have my daily routine back and to be able to live my live the way I did before. I was one of those aymptomatic patients, so I can't say that I feel better, but the hospital experience was so awful, that I appreciate every moment since my discharge.

 

[kcstock]

I think it is normal to think about it. The important thing is to not let your surgery limit your life.

 

[distances]

Yep, not a day goes by that I don't t think about it at some point. I don't think about the actual surgery event very often, but the effects of the heart surgery, changes in lifestyle, etc. remind me every day of my repaired heart.