Facing Valve Replacement Surgery Soon

[sylviayasgur]

hi deb!
welcome to this wonderful place where everyone is so kind, sensitive, supportive and informative.
i don't think i could have survived my husband's surgery without this bunch of great folks. they really helped me through it and still do to this day.
as nancy said, research and read all you can to learn about this procedure. it will frighten you at first, but catch your breath, continue to learn about it and in the end you will feel so much more in control. threre are choices you will have and decisions you might need to make. feel free to pick our brains here, since most of us have made different choices and have many aspects to offer.
i hope to see you back here until the time of your surgery. we will keep you company and answer all your questions, hold your hand, and help_as much as we can_ put your mind at ease.
please let us know how your cath goes and what other tests you will be having.
be well, sylvia

 

[pillarpaul]

Hi Debby,

I, too, recently found out I will need an aortic valve replacement. Am scheduled for April. Before I found this site, I only knew ONE person who had the surgery done. He's been very supportive but he had every conceivabe complication one can have from the surgery. I thought I'd have the same but through this site I learned what is more the norm than the exception. I highly suggest visualization, meditation, spirituality, etc. that you can call on throughout the day when you start to panic. Also, just checking in here really seems to help. Good luck and let us know how things progress.

Paul

 

[Nancy]

Hi Paul-

Hey--Tell your friend with all the problems to check this site out. We have a few folks here who have had lots of things, my husband is one of them.

You're right, it is indeed the norm to have good outcomes.

For about 20 years after my husband's valve replacement, you'd never know he had surgery. Since then he's had quite a few things. He had a very severe case of rheumatic fever as a teen. That might have something to do with it.

But maybe your friend would like to know some heart buddies too.

 

[clc]

I too am facing valve replacement and aortic repair soon. I've been reading everything I can find on the internet and the waiting is driving me crazy. More than the actual surgery, I am scared that I will panic when I wake up with the respirator in my throat and can't control my own breathing. Not to mention a tube up my nose going who knows where. I didn't tolerate the TEE well at all. I just had my angiogram last week and am now waiting to find a surgeon that my insurance company and cardiologist can agree upon. I've been told that my recovery will be between 6 and 8 weeks. I'm sure I'll be visiting this site often for information and support.

 

[Nancy]

Hi clc-

Welcome to this fantastic site. Nice to have you on board.

We had another person recently with the exact same fears as you. Right after surgery, you'll be heavily sedated and will probably not remember much about the breathing tube. It's a necessity because with all the anesthesia, your reflexes aren't up to doing automatic breathing, so the ventilator does it all for you. Much of the time, you will be off the ventilator before you're fully awake. They will keep testing you as you go along to see when you are able to breath on your own, and when it is safe to do so, the tube will be removed.

The nursing care right after surgery in the ICU is the best the hospital has to offer. You will be monitored on a one to one basis. They will watch you like a hawk and make sure you are safe and recovering in the appropriate fashion.

This surgery is highly perfected and everything that is done has a purpose.

I'm sure many others will come along with their own reports to calm your fears.

My husband has had 3 valve surgeries and 2 lung surgeries, all required the breathing tube and all the other normal other things.

The very most amazing thing is that you will be up and walking in a couple of days after surgery, and will be home again in about 5 to 7 days.

Wishing you all the best.

 

[ccrawford]

Hi CLC

Hi CLC

Hello CLC and welcome to the site. I'm the anxiety case that DR. Nancy was referring to in the previous post. Go to the Pre Surgery section of the site and read the (long) series of posts under presurgery anxiety. These should get you over the ventilator discomfort-they sure helped me. If you still have some problems with the ventilator, let me know and I'll relay to you the entire content of a long email that a good friend (a registered nurse) sent me to assist in understanding. once you understand the mechanisms and the environment you'll be in, I'm pretty sure you'll be ok with it. These guys are a great help to someone who is just learning about all this stuff, and I know I owe them a debt of gratitude-even if they do pick on me from time to time. What they don't know is that I was a techno-nerd in a former life including a background in systems software. Bet watch it Ross, hard to tell what your avatar might look like tomorrow. Chris, the control freak-partner with Steve

 

[epstns]

Hey, Chris - Do I admit now or later that I am a former corporate CIO?

Control Forever!

 

[ccrawford]

Its your decision

Its your decision

Your admissions are your own business. For myself, I prefer to go very slowly with my admissions. Every time I admit something, these guys pound me unmercifully. If you like pain, go to it !

 

[Ross]

For the benefit of all, I promise not to pick on either one of you in any forum other then small talk. If your there, your fair game.

From here on out, I'd like us all to keep the silliness to a minimum in all the more serious forums where new members come to look for the information and support. I guess what I'm saying is, I don't want us detracting from the subject of the more important postings. Make sense?

 

[ccrawford]

Agreed

Agreed

Makes sense to me - Chris

 

[epstns]

Me, too.

Me, too.

Good point, Ross. I'll have to agree that we have a lot of people in need of a lot of information -- myself included. A minor chuckle within a comment may be OK, but we will try our best to stay on the subject of the thread.