Hi everyone from England

[paul donnelly]

Hope Im allowed to participate, even though Im a LIMEY?

May name is Paul, 65 years old.

Was advised I would need a AVR back in May 2021, waiting for my op date at The Royal Papworth Hospital Cambridge, should be Aug

Been ok with it all though these last 4 weeks both my upper arms and upper back ache all the while, is this normal?

 

[pellicle]

Hope Im allowed to participate, even though Im a LIMEY?

good lord yes ... they even let us Ozzies an Kiwi's in here ... no accounting for taste eh?

but no, never had that issue with the arms ... well now that you mention it I've sort of got it now, but I put that down to chopping wood and doing house reno.

Also who calls you guys Limies anymore? its been Pommie for my whole life (aside from reading about Royal Naval History in the period of tall ships)

There's a few of your kindred here ... I'll shout some of em out (on holidays) if you like

 

[user 16827]

Hey Paul welcome aboard, I'm UK based too there are a few of us here.

May i ask the reason you need AVR ?

There is a wealth of experience on this forum and you are in good hands at Papworth .

 

[paul donnelly]

aortic stenois mate

 

[Al3x]

Hi Paul. I'm also in the UK, a Papworth patient and scheduled for surgery last week in July. It's a really impressive hospital so I think we're in good hands!

 

[paul donnelly]

its so nice to share with everyone, the first three weeks after being advised, I was all over the place, since then Ive got my head round it all. knowing there are other folk in the same boat does help no end..thank you

 

[Superman]

Welcome to the forum, Paul. Plenty of good people from all over the world here. You can feel totally comfortable asking any questions you might have, or simply venting as you see fit.

As much as the actual health side of this is discussed, navigating health systems is another hot topic. Lots of people on your island post here and can help you navigate that as well.

As far as valve / procedure, etc - we can all share our experiences and comfort levels, but my main recommendation is that after all the analysis is done, choose the one that will let you sleep at night and don’t look back. Up until about the 1960’s, our valves would have simply failed and we wouldn’t be here. All options available today are better than that and they continue to improve.

 

[Superman]

aortic stenois mate

Due to a congenital heart defect, like bicuspid aortic valve? Or just calcification? Or some other reason (rheumatic fever for example)? Just curious. No obligation to be specific.

Did they say anything about dilation of the aorta or aortic root?

 

[paul donnelly]

Due to a congenital heart defect, like bicuspid aortic valve? Or just calcification? Or some other reason (rheumatic fever for example)? Just curious. No obligation to be specific.

Did they say anything about dilation of the aorta or aortic root?

I was born with a hole in the heart that closed on its own by the time I was 14, returning to my original questions, anyone else haveing to endue constant discomfort in upper arms and back, to describe the discomfort its similar RSI

 

[Superman]

I don’t recall any upper back or arm discomfort prior to my first AVR, but I was 17. Felt like a teenager, aside from being told it was time to replace my heart valve. Not too many teenagers get to feel that.

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi Paul - I'm in the UK too ! I'm based in Surrey. Been on this forum for the past 11 years and got so much support and knowledge and help from everyone here prior to my AVR (2014) and since.

As to your original question - no I didn't get any kind of discomfort anywhere prior to surgery, in fact I had no symptoms of anything before.

 

[Deepak khanka]

Hi Paul. I'm also in the UK, a Papworth patient and scheduled for surgery last week in July. It's a really impressive hospital so I think we're in good hands!

Hi Paul , who is your surgeon. Did you explore the option of NHS Harefield& royal Brompton hospital. My surgeon is Toufan Bahrami. Have you heard about him.? Thanks

 

[Chuck C]

Hope Im allowed to participate, even though Im a LIMEY?

May name is Paul, 65 years old.

Was advised I would need a AVR back in May 2021, waiting for my op date at The Royal Papworth Hospital Cambridge, should be Aug

Been ok with it all though these last 4 weeks both my upper arms and upper back ache all the while, is this normal?

Welcome to the forum! You have come to the right place. This forum was remarkably helpful to me when I was facing valve surgery, and I expect that you will find the same.

I did not experience the ache's that you describe, but Angina is a common symptom of aortic stenosis and Angina may sometimes manifest itself with pain or discomfort in the arms, back or shoulders. Please see below and the associated link:

• Angina - A sensation of aching, burning, discomfort, fullness, pain, or squeezing in the chest. It may also be felt in the arms, back, jaw, neck, shoulders and throat

https://www.chistvincent.com/clinic...symptoms-and-risk-factors-for-aortic-stenosis
Can you please provide more information about why they decided that it is now time, if you are comfortable doing so? If you have severe symptomatic aortic stenosis, I would not delay 2 months for surgery, but if that is the soonest that they can operate, then perhaps not much can be done about that.

 

[Pete81]

Hi Paul, got my mechanical AVR at the old clinic in Papworth whilst they were building the new one in Cambridge. You’re in good hands there at Papworth. Mr. Stephen Large was my surgeon at the time. There were a couple of complications afterwards but the valve itself is doing really well after these 5 years. Are you sure your pains are valve related? I personally did not experience that but everyone else’s situation is different. Good luck!

 

[Seaton]

Hope Im allowed to participate, even though Im a LIMEY?

May name is Paul, 65 years old.

Was advised I would need a AVR back in May 2021, waiting for my op date at The Royal Papworth Hospital Cambridge, should be Aug

Been ok with it all though these last 4 weeks both my upper arms and upper back ache all the while, is this normal?

Greetings Paul. Welcome to this great and informative forum from a fellow UK-er.

There’s a super international depth of knowledge and experience here that helped me tremendously when I first got my diagnosis suggesting I’d eventually be needing AVR.

I got my valve replaced in August 2019, so you’re a bit behind me re AVR surgery. It’s good to know your hospital team have you lined up for surgery so soon after diagnosis. There’s nothing like a time-frame to ready the mind. You’ll be very well treated at Papworth, I’m sure.

The upper arms and back aches I have no experience of in relation to a heart condition. I mainly had increasing fatigue and shortage of breath on exertion as an indicator of being symptomatic. Not experiencing any of those issues post surgery.

I wish you all the best going forward.

 

[cldlhd]

good lord yes ... they even let us Ozzies an Kiwi's in here ... no accounting for taste eh?

but no, never had that issue with the arms ... well now that you mention it I've sort of got it now, but I put that down to chopping wood and doing house reno.

Also who calls you guys Limies anymore? its been Pommie for my whole life (aside from reading about Royal Naval History in the period of tall ships)

There's a few of your kindred here ... I'll shout some of em out (on holidays) if you like

I've heard the term "limey" here and there on the East Coast of the U.S.- All in good fun though

 

[pellicle]

I've heard the term "limey" here and there on the East Coast of the U.S.- All in good fun though

as I understood it, the USA is the last vestige of that (along with the Imperial Measurement system.



and that amusing FarrenHuffenFurter system of measuring temperature
https://www.informationin.com/2014/10/fahrenheit-is-used-only-by-5-countries.html

 

[cldlhd]

as I understood it, the USA is the last vestige of that (along with the Imperial Measurement system.



and that amusing FarrenHuffenFurter system of measuring temperature
https://www.informationin.com/2014/10/fahrenheit-is-used-only-by-5-countries.html

I confess the metric system makes more sense but my measuring tape is still in inches. I say let's just let our future alien overlords decide at this point.

 

[pellicle]

...but my measuring tape is still in inches.

I can see that's a national impediment

https://www.simscale.com/blog/2017/12/nasa-mars-climate-orbiter-metric/The Mars Climate Orbiter, built at a cost of $125 million, was a 338-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on December 11, 1998 to study the Martian climate, Martian atmosphere, and surface changes. In addition, its function was to act as the communications relay in the Mars Surveyor ‘98 program for the Mars Polar Lander. The navigation team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) used the metric system of millimeters and meters in its calculations, while Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, Colorado, which designed and built the spacecraft, provided crucial acceleration data in the English system of inches, feet, and pounds. JPL engineers did not take into consideration that the units had been converted, i.e., the acceleration readings measured in English units of pound-seconds^2 for a metric measure of force called newton-seconds^2.

I say let's just let our future alien overlords decide at this point.

Don't worry, China is working on it...

 

[cldlhd]

I can see that's a national impediment

https://www.simscale.com/blog/2017/12/nasa-mars-climate-orbiter-metric/The Mars Climate Orbiter, built at a cost of $125 million, was a 338-kilogram robotic space probe launched by NASA on December 11, 1998 to study the Martian climate, Martian atmosphere, and surface changes. In addition, its function was to act as the communications relay in the Mars Surveyor ‘98 program for the Mars Polar Lander. The navigation team at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) used the metric system of millimeters and meters in its calculations, while Lockheed Martin Astronautics in Denver, Colorado, which designed and built the spacecraft, provided crucial acceleration data in the English system of inches, feet, and pounds. JPL engineers did not take into consideration that the units had been converted, i.e., the acceleration readings measured in English units of pound-seconds^2 for a metric measure of force called newton-seconds^2.



Don't worry, China is working on it...

We just need to grab up some more Germans to get back on track ...... China made my tape measure- not super impressed