Had surgery, a few questions

[DesMoines]

On August 23, I underwent a pulmonary valve replacement. I am now the proud owner of a new bovine pericardial tissue valve. It is my fourth valve (!), but my hospital stay went very well. The ICU nurses told me they rarely see someone's numbers go back to normal so quickly... so I guess my surgeon knew what he was doing, and my little ticker is a pretty tough guy.

But, of course, nothing's perfect. I went home a week later. Since then, I haven't been progressing quite as fast as I expected. I still have trouble walking without getting out of breath and sometimes I feel a little dizzy. I also gained about 15 pounds. I had an echo done and chest x-rays and they say the heart is functioning fine and the lungs are clear, so they first thought I had fluid in my abdomen. They put me on diuretics, which has kept my weight about the same but I haven't lost any.

Also, I have not had what I would call a real BM since the surgery. I had a small one in the hospital. I have stopped taking the percocet because they thought it was clogging me up. I've been taking miralax and a stool softener. A few days ago, I dropped in some prune juice, and yesterday I took some milk of mag. Not to be too graphic, but I feel like most of what comes out has been water.

I guess I'm not sure if they think it's more fluid or more stool that's keeping me distended. Has anyone had experience with stomach distention after surgery? What did you do to get your bowels moving again? It's really frustrating.

Also, my BNP has gone up to around 300. I'm not really familiar with what this number means, but I know it has something to do with CHF. The doctor said not to worry about it, but it has me a little worried.

Sorry, lots of stuff here. Thanks for all your advice, and all the advice leading up to my surgery.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Sorry you are having these post-op issues. Hopefully they are just your body's reaction to the anesthesia and will wear off soon. Keep your Doctors appraised of your situation and developments.

If you have not consulted with your Primary Care Physician, it might be wise to bring him/her into the loop. Multiple opinions from different perspectives can often help to speed a diagnosis in complex cases.
A GI consult might also be worthwhile.

Hope everything "works out" for you soon.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Superbob]

I think most of us have had post-surgery problems such as you describe, to one degree or the other. The pain meds will definitely cause constipation. I took percocet the five days I was in the hospital but did not continue it at home. Took me a few days to get normal, and the stool softener colace definitely helped. Sounds like you may have continued the percocet longer, which may be the source of the problem. I would suspect that the problem will resolve itself now, but as Al suggested, follow-ups with the doctors may be in order. Try to relax (that may help, too).

 

[Cherries4life]

I was what you would call a very regular person. Then after surgery I wasnt, and it kind of threw me for a loop. I also took Colace, twice a day and instead of prune juice I drank cherry juice. I am a strong supporter of the cherry industry, but I did try prune juice but the 100% Pure Montmorency Cherry Juice seemed to help me a little more.

 

[buncle]

I also had constipation issues and started takeing a tablespoon of metamucil every morning.If you try this - drink it right down as soon as possible or it will start to thicken up and for me that consistancy isnt palatable.It worked for me and the dr. told me to just start takeing it everyday.I do and havent had anymore problems.

 

[Debbrn]

I had my last PVR almost 4 months ago. At 3 weeks I also was still having problems getting short of breath with walking. Just walking 1 flight of stairs was possible with moderate shortness of breath. Forget 2 flight of stairs. I am still only 90% back to where I was pre-op. I also had mild problems with constipation. How much miralax have you been taking? You can easily take up to 17gm (usual adult dose) twice a day. If this is what you have been doing either try the unpleasantness of an enema or call your primary care physician. I have definitely seen people look pregnant from needing to poop. I still have mild problems with dizziness. What happened with me is that my blood pressure was dropping more than pre-op. My main dizziness was going from sitting to standing. The dizziness has improved, but not gone away completely.

Debbie