Feel like train hit me

[canon4me]

Out of surgery 12:35 pm and feel like train hit me

 

[kimcdougc]

Out of surgery 12:35 pm and feel like train hit me

You made it to the other side! I can't believe that you are already posting. It will get better every minute!

Welcome. It does get better. The hard part is done now you can just concentrate on getting better! We will be there every step of the way!

 

[enkaynj]

Canon4me,
I too had the same feeling when I came out of my slumber. They quickly sedated me and I never felt that way again. It is all uphill from here (in a good way). Every day is a new day and a step closer to normal life. Hang in there.
I am almost 2 years post-op and life has gotten considerably more enjoyable.
Best.

 

[Guyswell]

What valve did you receive?

 

[TheGymGuy]

details on surgery and valve please.

 

[AZ Don]

I know what you mean. My problem wasn't so much any specific pain but overall I just didn't feel well. The pain medicine helped with that - a lot.

Congratulations on completing your surgery.

 

[ski girl]

Gymguy, canon got a bovine valve.

And canon - the train may feel like a 100 car locomotive today, but it will shrink every day and quite soon it will feel more like a little lego train.

Now stop posting, and recover!

 

[pellicle]

Out of surgery 12:35 pm and feel like train hit me

That about right

Things improve fast, but it will be (decreasingly) tough for at least another 4weeks.

My wife it seems had a plan for entertainment

both in ICU

and back in the ward

Keep focused on why you are there (so that you can be back with your family and loved ones) and put in the effort (like eating your meals) and resting as you can.

Best wishes

 

[Rachel]

Hey - glad to hear from you so soon!!!!

Yup, that’s about right… when I first woke up after my surgery I remember being in incredible pain....I kept asking them to make it stop...they did and now I can't for the life of me remember what that pain felt like. They've got some really good drugs!!!!

Everyday does get better, try to be patient though and ask for pain meds when you need them!!! I was on the good pain meds for only 2 days and then just Tylenol afterwards.... but everyone's needs are different.

Wishing you a smooth recovery!!!!!

 

[Jason2012]

Out of surgery 12:35 pm and feel like train hit me

Heh. I felt like one of those vikings from the credit card commercials jumped into the air and brought his battle ax down through my chest. Heh. OK, maybe not that bad. You get drugs and the pain is short-lived.

 

[Laggard]

I remember the first time I stood up. It was like I'd been transported to another planet with two times the gravity we have. Just making it down the hall was a struggle. It's amazing though how quickly one recovers.

 

[canon4me]

So it's been since 6/5/2013 since I had my surgery, is it unrealistic to expect to feel a little better each day? I kind of feel like I've stalled out somewhat. If they let me go on Thursday, when I get home on Friday I'm going to setup an appt with a pulmonologist. My problems I believe are from having the ventilator in and I seem to have developed some congestion in my bronchial passages as a result. The chest X-rays indicate lungs clear and my blood work say white counts are normal. Has anyone else encountered similar lung/congestion issues post surgery?

 

[sood]

I developed an annoying cough post op. I'm approaching 6 weeks post op and it's finally gotten better. Of course I caught a cold 2 weeks ago and I usually have a lingering cough for months afterward so I'm not sure what is going on now. My surgeon said the cough is normal and usually the result of irritation from the breathing tube.

 

[pellicle]

So it's been since 6/5/2013 since I had my surgery, is it unrealistic to expect to feel a little better each day? I kind of feel like I've stalled out somewhat.

after my surgery I stopped noticing the day by days and also felt like I was 'stalling'. My wife however noticed that my progress was better 'weekly' and was happy to point that out to me. I suspect feeling like 5h1t brings your mood down and you fail to notice that little advance that is happening.

its still only a little over a month.

 

[pellicle]

and usually the result of irritation from the breathing tube.

it took a good year before I stopped noticing the throat issues from the breathing tube. Nothing 'horror show' but noticable.

all good now

 

[canon4me]

Sood, thanks for your response. It makes me feel like I am but one of probably many patients that is experiencing the very malady you described. My wife tells me to go easy on myself and not to get to impatient because she said its not sinking into my brain that I went through major surgery and this was not a simple tonsillectomy. Thanks also for giving me some gauges to go by in terms of how long I may expect to endure the throat thing. One thing I plan on working on when I get home is to try to build a Rock of Gibraltar immune system. As I've gotten older one of the things I've come to realize that is responsible for good health is,plenty of good sleep. Thanks for the reassurance through your replies. It makes this whole thing much more able for me to deal with. I'm grateful I found this forum.

 

[epstns]

canon - I think that we, as patients, fail to notice the small incremental improvements because we are experiencing all of the recovery in "real time." We experience it as a continuing process, while others see it as a series of discrete events. They notice the difference between events (like weekly observations) because these differences are larger than the smaller hourly differences we actually feel. Think of the difference in what you would see between a car trip cross-country and an airline flight from the same start to the same finish. In the car, you would see every tree, every turn in the road, feel every bump, and it would seem to take a long time. In an airplane, all you see is the start at one airport and the end at the other. It is two different ways of seeing the same journey.

Add that difference in perception to the fact that we have had some serious stuff done to our bodies, and it all makes sense. When you've gone farther into recovery you will be able to look back and "see" the difference between where you are and where you started from, and then you will realize ". . . what a long, strange trip it's been." (Quote from The Grateful Dead.)

 

[canon4me]

Epstns, you are right in that regard. Remembering back when my mother had lung cancer in 1980, we took her up to the hospital for a CAT scan and they immediately recognized her as being jaundiced, indicating probable liver involvement. We, her family members, thought she appeared normal because we were with her on a daily basis.

Strangely, this morning, I felt like I crashed. Could only walk with the aid of my wife to steady me, breathing was shallow and labored and I was worried I may be suffering a stroke. I had my wife check for droopiness in my mouth, slurring of speech to see if I had any blown pupils which I did not. She got me back to the hotel and I took my baby aspirin. About a half hour of resting I felt better than I had just immediately prior to my surgery. I don't think the aspirin had anything to do with it, but I did have a nasty arrythmias this morning that wiped me out. But I could not tell the difference between an A Fib or PVC's. bottom line, I feel pretty good comparably speaking right now and I'm just going to bask in the feeling of good health while it persists.

Epstns, I really appreciate your helpful and uplifting posts.

 

[Laggard]

I developed an annoying cough post op. I'm approaching 6 weeks post op and it's finally gotten better. Of course I caught a cold 2 weeks ago and I usually have a lingering cough for months afterward so I'm not sure what is going on now. My surgeon said the cough is normal and usually the result of irritation from the breathing tube.

Check you medication. There is one common heart related prescription nicknamed the coughing medicine. I had a horrible cough for three months before I got off that one. As soon as I stopped taking it the cough went away.