Energy Levels during Recovery.

[Molto_Benny]

I'm now a little over 3 months post surgery, having had a TVR, VSD closure, atrial plication and cryo-ablation on 14th August. Generally speaking, my recovery is going well. At my 6-week follow-up, the echo showed that my right ventricle had reduced from severely dilated to mildly dilated -my consultant was so pleased that he doesn't feel he needs to see me routinely until the anniversary of my surgery. The feeling is that I'm well ahead of where they would expect me to be at this stage, as right-side heart surgery can take much longer to recover from.

I returned to work, on a part time basis, on 24th September and have been slowly increasing my hours -I will reach full time hours next week. I'm still not up to full speed with all my duties, but I feel I'm getting there. My employer's occupational health department and the cardiac rehab department of my local hospital both feel I'm making very good progress. After a meeting with my manager last week, it has become clear that he disagrees. He has decided I should be firing on all cylinders now, ready to grasp every opportunity I get and accused me of adopting a "victim mentality" to my recovery (when, in fact, the opposite is true). Now I feel that every time I utter the word "recovery", he's viewing me as making excuses -rather than giving an explanation.

Now I have days where I feel absolutely fantastic, as though I could move mountains, sometimes a few days in a row -but I also have days where everything feels like a gargantuan effort. This affects every aspect of my life, I'm told this is quite normal and due to the fact that my body has used a lot of its energy reserves in the healing process. I wondered how others on the forum felt at this stage of their recovery? Did you have to face any misconceptions from your colleagues? If so, how did you deal with those?

 

[Laggard]

I'm five months out and my energy level is still hit and miss. Some days I feel great, sometimes less than great. Overall I'm not back to where I was before surgery. I'm also dealing with a string of low-grade colds. That we are into winter (Minneapolis) doesn't really help things.

 

[Rachel]

Sorry to hear about your work situation! Of course, everyone heals differently so for an outsider to tell you that you've developed a "victim mentality" after OHS is ridiculous (and actually makes me a little mad when I hear stuff like that).

I was still sleeping a lot and eating a ton (and not gaining weight) at 3 months after my surgery. I also remember feeling great sometimes for a few days, while other days I could barely stay awake!

It was also my experience that no one at work really understood what it was like to be me (When I returned to work someone give me a big hug which really hurt, but when I pulled back in pain she looked at me and said: "I'm sorry, did that hurt?") She just didn't have a clue.

Hope things get better for you at work!

Rachel

 

[spartangator]

Oh, absolutely, things were up and down at three months. Some days, exhaustion completely won. Other days everything seemed fine. Sorry to hear about the situation you're in at work, but your progress seems to match what most people around here went through.

What Rachel mentions about the lack of understanding can be a real issue. Since everything looks outwardly normal a few months after surgery, people seem to assume that everything is fine internally, too.

Unfortunately, I can't offer any answers to your questions about how to deal with these things, but I hope you take some comfort in the comments on here that your experience is normal.

 

[escargome]

Wow! I sure am saddened to learn of your managers view of your recovery. Maybe you could in a polite way, steer him to this forum or print medical articles which state what recovery roads one may take. Not everyone recovers at the same rate and just cause we look peachy keen on the outside doesn't mean we are on the inside. Also I noted that you had your surgery in August and returned to work part time in Sept. Geez, I had my surgery in May and couldn't even think about coming back to work until Sept. and then I was pooped most days. I hope that your manager can take a little time and review what it may be like to walk in your shoes, before he places labels on you. :thumbup:

 

[epstns]

Heck, my first 3 months were pretty bad. I was only "sick" for about the first month. At that point I was readmitted to the hospital to iron out the digestive malfunctions caused by all the meds during surgery and immediately after. I wasn't even cleared to start cardiac rehab until 12 weeks post-op, although I was back to work nearly full-time by that point (office/desk job). When I finished rehab at the 6-month point, I was "mostly" back, but still didn't have the strength or stamina that I had prior to surgery. Gradually over the next year or so, things came around. Along with time, I also needed some adjustments to my meds (beta blockers can wreak havoc on energy levels) and even some tweaks to my pacemaker settings. I consider recovery a "work-in-process." I am now a few months short of 2 years post-op, and I can finally say I'm now doing better than I was in the couple of years prior to surgery.

I don't mean to be long-winded, but my point is that we each heal at our own rate. As they say, YMMV (your mileage may vary), so listen to your body and only push a little harder than you did yesterday. In time, you will define for yourself a new normal, and if your experience is like most of ours, it will be better than before surgery.

 

[DebbyA]

I wish we could all descend on your manager at once! How frustrating that he thinks he knows more than the medical professionals. I'm so sorry you're in this situation. You will get better but you can't will being completely recovered.

 

[Mike1952]

I think it is a great idea to print out these responses and show them to your manager. I had surgery on August 9th (AVR) and went back to work at my office job on September 10th. I felt pretty good and started exercising more and more at the two month post op date. Then, I travelled to Europe for work, thinking I was mostly recovered. I had a rough time on that trip. I was exhausted and had chest pains, presumably from trying to do too much exercise as well as from the jet lag. After I returned, I continued to be tired for several weeks. I am finally past that now, I think. Point is, it seemed I was doing very well and then all of a sudden, my body let me know I was really overdoing it. Most people just can't fathom what you have been through.