First Follow Up --- A+

[JetService]

Well I saw my family doctor for the first time. He was very pleased with my progress although I tried to talk him into giving me the green light on lifting and driving and he told me to 'go jump in a lake' heh heh. He was happy with the incision healing, my activity level and blood pressure which was 110/80 (I'm hypertensive). He did kind of get on me about my weight. He said I was 204 which means I was down 8 pounds from pre-surgery. I told him my appetite was HUGE and he responded I need to simmer down and try to stay at 204 as its a good weight for my height (6'3"). I did ask him sheepishly about....er.....my other appetite <blushing>. He OKd that, but of course that one requires two signatures. The only bad news was my last Coumadin check was at 2.1. I've been avoiding Vitamin K, but I did eat some bananas. I didn't realize potassium was a no-no (I didn't make the 'K' connection, I guess. I don't know if that's what did it, but I have another blood draw tomorrow. So far, they haven't mucked with my dosage which is 6mg daily. They did tell me to start taking it at night instead of morning though. Next appointment is middle of Nov with Cardio. and Surgeon. I don't want to wait that long to get an OK to start driving and return to work so I emailed my Cardio to see if he can get me approved prior. He hasn't responded. Can anyone tell me who actually clears me for this stuff? Is it family doc, cardiologist or surgeon?? I'm so bored I can't stand it!!!!!!....uh.....sorry.

 

[Ross]

Sounds good and I hope you get your second signature. Sometimes that's the hardest of all!

It should be your Cardiologist who releases you to return to work or driving. Sometimes your PCP gets the job but not without consulting the Cardio. Sit back and smell the roses for cryin out loud. You just had surgery. Take it easy, take it slow. You'll be back on the road running people off the sidewalks soon enough. Besides, your local law enforcement agency needs a break from you too!

Oh yeah, eat all the bananas you want. They are low in K.

 

[Johnny Stephens]

Sounds like things are going great! 2.1 INR is "bad news?" Where do they want you to be with your INR? I can't imagine you're that far off.

I'm not aware of Potassium being a no-no, in fact, I believe it's quite the opposite. I actually have to take Potassium supplements due to the wasitng that occurs from my diuretic. I'd double check this with your doc, pronto - electrolyte imbalance in a newly-minted valver is a no-no.

RELAX ABOUT THE DRIVING. It's too soon - take a deep cleansing breath and as Ross says - slow down. Just a tad.

P.S. When I asked my doctor "Can I drive now?" he said - "Could you drive before?"

 

[fyrfytr]

I am glad to hear how well you are doing but like Ross and Johnny said, you need to slow way down. After my surgery I couldn't lift anything over 5 lbs. for the first 3 weeks and than they only increased it by 10 lbs. a week up to 50 lbs. and that is where I am still at. That could be because of the aortic aneurysm repair though. You really need to get your sternum healed before you really start to do much. You will notice a big difference when you start cardiac rehab also.
It was my PCP, Cardiologist, and Surgeon together who cleared me.
As for your INR, do they want you at 2.5 to 3.5?
Remember you just went through a Major Surgery,your body needs the time to heal. Just slow down relax and take it easy.

Dave
___________________________
Surgery: 4/21/03
Aortic Aneurysm Repair
AVR, with a St. Jude Mechanical

 

[tommy]

Potasium uses the symbol "K" on the periodic table but has nothing to do with vitamin K. Be a monkey - eat your bananas - but have a few prunes as well.


My surgeon gave me limitations for the first month. After the 1-month follow up, he passed me to the cardio. Even within the first month, the surgeon encouraged me to call the cardio first for any problems post surgery.

 

[Nancy]

Hi Jet-

Congrats on your good report. Avoiding anything that torques your sternum is a good thing, and that includes driving because there's a lot of maneuvering around there. You don't want to have a sternum that's not properly knitted together. So let it heal, just like you you would let a fracture in your leg heal. Bones take a long time. It'll get there.

This is probably the one time in your life that you can take a total vacation. So commune with nature, quiet your thoughts and do something with your freedom that you never had time for before. You'll be busy in all areas soon enough.

Your big job right now is total healing for your fixed up heart and chest.

Like your doctor's bedside manner "go jump in the lake", Heh, heh

 

[JetService]

Nancy, my doc is a riot! I haven't even had him a year to he's the best by far. We joke around a lot. He is always busting my chops about too much fried foods and I told him not to worry. The reason that my coronary arteries were so clean is because I oversalt everything and the salt works like sandpaper in the blood and sands off all the plaque. I think he got a kick out of that one. But regarding the Potassium, I guess I misunderstood him about that. And since I always thought bananas were high in K, I just made the presumption they were bad. I'm glad you folks set me straight because I happen to love bananas. I'll follow up with him on that to find out exactly what he meant. He did of course mention the Vitamin K items as well. BTW, they are targeting my INR to 2.5-3.0.

As for driving, I guess its not so much actually driving than doing something about my restlessness and cabin fever. I certainly don't want to jeopardize the healing, and seeing how you all agree its too early for that stuff, I guess I'll bow to conventional wisdom. It's just that I'm starting to drive my family nuts. I do have a fishing trip lined up for this week. My neighbor said he wants to take me tomorrow morning. I told him to bear in mind I couldn't help him do ANYTHING as far as launching the boat, loading the gear, etc. I said he'd even have to lift my tackle bag into the boat for me. He said he knows this and its not a problem. This should be very relaxing and easy going for me. I sit in a boat for about 5-7 hours just casting. We bass fish so its constant casting, but I was practicing in my backyard and it felt OK. I just have to be careful about setting the hook. That is really the only thing I'm worried about.

 

[medtronic of borg]

a suggestion

a suggestion

try coaching others on wt lifting untill you can get back into it your self?
Medtronic

 

[bvdr]

Well Jet, I still hope you catch a big fish!

What a great check-up. And as far as I know bananas are fine.

 

[KimC]

Great to hear of your progress, Darren. You are hilarious. I'm sure your doctors look forward to seeing you. Your positive attitude is inspirational.

You don't want to be on the roads in Ft. Wayne anyway. You wouldn't believe the nightmare stories I hear from my brother and dad. They're always fixin' someone up.

I hope y'all where your seatbelts! And no bananas and driving!

 

[Heather Fisher]

Why are doctors like that? I wanted to go back to work after 6 weeks of being home but my doc made me wait 2 more weeks. I felt badly staying home and able to do everything, going out to lunch, movies, etc. I was a litttle tired my first 2 days of work but got with the routine right off. Wrote up 2 kids at school for misbehaving my first day back!

I'm so glad to hear things are going well. Just don't push yourself. Enjoy fishing, etc. It's your excuse to be waited on for awhile. Soon enough everyone forgets and things will be back to normal!

Heather