going to have a valve replacement

[southerner]

hello, all i am new to this web, and i am a 34 yr old female and i have just resently been dx with a prolasped valve and a sever heart murmer, i have to have a valve replacement and i am so scared about it bc i have only 2 valves and one is severally leaking, they have said that they are going to have to put a metal valve in me and go thur my ribs to take out the bad valve and i was wondering if someone can e-mail me with some info on that and how they did with the surgery. my e-mail add is [email protected] and i live in nc and i am married with 2 kids

 

[Christina]

Welcome Melissa!

Welcome Melissa!

Hello Melissa,

I am glad you found us! This is a great on-line support group and you will feel right away that you are amongst friends.
There is a wealth of information here from all kinds of people, and most of us have been where you are today. We will all be there for you to help you through this.
Surgery is not as bad as you think it is. The waiting period before surgery is the absolute worst, but we will be there every step of the way until you are over the "mountain" as we call it.
Heart surgeons are very knowledgeable these days and do these surgeries all the time, so put your trust in them and the medical team.
There actually is very little pain afterwards, just quite a bit discomfort.
You are young Melissa and you'll do just fine, trust me!
I had two AVR surgeries in 2000 for Aortic Stenosis,(read my story for more info) but had no idea that a bad valve was the problem. I had become so used to feeling crappy that it had become normal to me.
Everyday day I just continued on with what I had to do until I finally sought help with what I thought were menopausal problems. It didn't matter where I was or what I was doing, I was always hot, perspiring and felt so tired.
The tests showed that I had had this from birth, and that the valve was bicuspid as well. Two leaflets instead of the normal three.
I had to have surgery within a few weeks after diagnosis because I was near death, the surgeon told me. I did just fine after having two surgeries within 11 days. It takes a year or longer to feel back to normal again.
I am two years post-op and feeling fine now. Doing whatever I want. Life is great!
I received a St.Jude's mechanical and it's doing great! I don't hear it unless it is very quiet in the bedroom and I am on my left side. For the rest it sounds like a regular heart beat to me. I don't hear a click with this valve.
With a mechanical valve you have to be on Coumadin for the rest of your life, maybe you already have been told.
I am on Coumadin for the rest of my life but it's not much of a problem once it is stabalized. You just take a few pills a day depending on your dosage and you test often to know where you are.
I have a protime machine and test at home, (See ad on this page)and am not dependent on going to labs.

Come and see us often, and ask anything you can think of. We are here to help!
Good Luck!


Christina
AVR's 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
TMC, Tucson. AZ
Dr. Gulshan Sethi
St. Jude's Mechanical

"Be thankful for every heart that touches you and grateful for every heart you can touch"

 

[Granbonny]

Welcome Melissa

Welcome Melissa

Hope you like to read and chat because you will soon have a ton of replies. Let us know when your surgery will be and then start posting under pre-surgery, so we can chat with you as you get nearer your surgery date and need to ask us questions. We have 3 people having their's done this week. Becky on Tues., Dave, Wed. and Adam on Thursday. Walter just had his this past week. Read post op on Walter's surgery his daughters wrote us and see how he is doing. Just great..As we all did. Where do you live in N.C.? Bonnie

 

[EVELYN]

HELLO MELISSA!!!!

HELLO MELISSA!!!!

WELCOME TO THE BEST SPOT ON EARTH FOR QUESTIONS AND SUPPORT ABOUT VALVE REPLACEMENT. THIS IS BY FAR THE MOST KNOWLEDGEABLE, SUPPORTIVE, CARING GROUP OF PEOPLE I HAVE EVER KNOWN....AND BELIEVE ME WHEN I SAY IT IS MY PRIVILEGE TO BE A PART OF THIS GROUP!

I'M EVELYN OF EVELYN AND TYCE.....HE HAD THE AVR SURGERY ON 6/26, IS 7 WEEKS POST OP AND DOING GREAT!!HE OPTED FOR THE MECHANICAL VALVE BECAUSE IT HOPEFULLY MEANS NO PROCEDURES AGAIN, AS OUR CARDIO TOLD HIM...."IT'S A LIFETIME GUARANTEE!!!"

PLEASE GO AND LOOK UP OUR THREAD....NOT POSTED ON THE SCREEN, BUT GO BACK TO THE BEGINNIN G OF JUNE....A WIFE'S QUESTIONS AND TYCE AND HIS AVR SURGERY. I THINK YOU'LL FIND JUST ABOUT ALL YOUR QUESTIONS ANSWERED. YOU'RE NOT ANY MORE AFRAID THAN ANY OF US WAS, BUT BEING HERE WILL BE YOUR BIGGEST ASSET.

PLEASE DON'T BE AFRAID TO ASK ANY QUESTIONS, SOMEONE WILL ALWAYS BE WILLING AND VERY ABLE TO ANSWER THEM.

VERY NICE TO MEET YOU.

EVELYN

 

[Nancy]

Hi Melissa-

You've found a wonderful website, and you now have a lot of new friends who understand what you're facing.

The surgery sounds awful when you first hear about it, but it's surprisingly a very safe surgery. The surgeons who do this are highly trained and are in the heart and chest area of the body all the time. They know all about how it works and how to fix things in there.

If you need surgery, I would imagine that you aren't feeling very well right now. Sometimes, people develop problems so slowly that they don't even recognize how poorly they feel. But after the initial surgery and early recovery phase, you'll start feeling better. And the best thing is that it will give you back your life.

My husband has had 3 valve surgeries, 2 lung surgeries and has a pacemaker. Plus he's been through a lot of difficult medical things, but he's still here and chugging along. He's 71 years old. Young people have an easier time with the recovery, so you have youth on your side.

Let us know the date for your surgery, and we'll put it on the calendar so we can help you through.

Take care, and post here often with any questions you have.

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi melissa!
welcome to this wonderful site. eveyone here is so helpful, caring and informative.
which valve is it that needs replacing? your aortic? mitral? is the mechanical valve your choice or thiers? have they given you other alternatives or options (there are several)? how badly is your valve leaking? when do they say you will be needing the surgery by?
i'm sure you must be so frightened by all this. we're here to help and support you.
please come back and i'm sure we can help and hopefully answer your questions.
stay well, sylvia

 

[LeoLillac]

valve surgery

valve surgery

Dear Southern girl , hi ihad my 5th surgery valve replacement ay
age 32 so i can relate . I was pretty scared when my docotr told
me i only had 6 months to live . After 2 weeks in ICU
iwas moved to a stepdown unit for 2 days them home on my way
to a 9 month recovery . I was no thrilled about taking coumdain
but feel better now than i did when i was 2o something .
I am greatfull to be alive and try to live each day to the fullest .
Its a great site wonderfull people and excellent information .
good luck on oyur journey towards perfect health
dara ( tricuspid valve replacement feb 9th 2001)
Dr Fuster ( my angel ) MT Sinia hospital new york city

 

[hkitch]

website

website

Hi,

I will be having open heart surgery soon. I've been going to
www.heartcenteronline.com for tons of information. I hope it helps you feel a little less scared/nervous. It covers so many types of surgeries, medical procedures, has a newsletter and etc.
Good luck on your surgery.

 

[Mara]

Hi Melissa
Welcom to the website!
I was 33 when I had my surgery last year. It's scary, but, you know not as scary as you think it is.

let us know what specific questions you have. Sometimes that's easier than just reading us blab about everything. you could also check out the personal stories and archived links for tons of good
info

-Mara

 

[McCln]

Melissa

Melissa

I had a aortic valve replacement, almost a year ago, and am doing quite well now. It takes time and patance to recover from bypass surgery. You will have to keep from lifting anything for a few weeks. No house cleaning. But in no time it passes and you may begin to feel a bit better. I developed CHF while I waited to do my surgery and now it is gone. It was hard the waiting part. I had to get all dental work done and clean bill of health on my gums before the surgeon would think of touching me. I had to change dentists to do this and then there was a temprary hold for two weeks to clear up an unknown infection in ine leg. Then surgery and recovery for a year after. I am doing so much better now. I walk more and get out more. I do get lazy on Sundays though. But otherwise, replacement is not bad at all. I have a St. Jude's valve and am doing well. My heart murmur was congenital, I was born with it and so glad not to hear it anymore. You will do fine and be sure to ask your doctor questions. Education is very important in any bypass surgery. You will be fine and come in often.

Caroline
09-13-01
Aortic valve replacement
St, Jude's valve

 

[martha]

Dear Melissa,

My name is martha and I had my surgery on 12-15-2000 I was 49. Where in NC are you? I live in Durham, there is another in this group called maxximom and she lives in Raleigh. We both happened to use the same hospital, duke and the same surgeon. So glad that you decided to join us. Please let me know if I can be of any help. I will be away for about a week going to colonal williamsburg. martha

 

[Paula]

Hi Melissa!
I am also new to this site. I am from Nc too. (Moore county)
I would love to talk with you on your dx and where you go for cardio. test. E-mail @ [email protected] or post on this site. Hope to hear from you soon, Paula

 

[Nancy]

Paula-

I want to welcome you to this great site. You'll love the people here and there's so much info. on heart valves. Everyone here is very willing to help if you have any questions. Why not take some time and fill us in on your heart history?

Take care, and hope to see you here often.