Horrible right foot pain after surgery

[Blake777]

I have had horrible right foot pain since about the 18th day after surgery. It pained me so much I felt like it would be amputated while I was in the hospital, it was really bad. They took an eckocardiogram of the inside of both legs looking for blood clots, but came back negative. I still have the pain mostly in my toes but not nearly as bad, but still hurts like heck. I had a lot of pressure and fluid build up in both feet back then though. Anyway they decided I had Gout, and said heart surgery sometimes will trigger gout.

I was also having trouble with my potassium levels going up and down due to loss of potassium while on diurectic. So I have potassium cocktails three times daily. In hospital I was on them three times a day and sometimes would even be on IV for potassium along with the pills. Nurses seemed to think it could be from loss of potassium.

Has anyone every had this problem or ever heard of it?

 

[Blake777]

Since I'm asking questions, this is one I forgot to mention after I returned from surgery.

Have anyone ever heard of cutting tissue out to fit a heart valve? Surgeon told my relatives they had to cut tissue out to fit ONX valve because where the valve was being placed was too small?

Wonder about the long term problems this may have. Hope not another surgery due to tissue over growth. Anyone?

 

[Nancy]

My husband had gout a few times. It is very painful, but the medications they give you will help.

Joe was also on a lot of potassium, but his gout was never from that.

It can be triggered by a lot of diuretics though, and that was the case with Joe and of course with Lasix and other potassium depleting diuretics, you have to take replacement potassium or you would be in serious trouble.

By the way, Joe once had gout in his shoulder joint. We found out then that gout does not always show up in your foot.

 

[Blake777]

Thanks Nancy. I knew Gout can show up in other joints. And yes, it is so, so painful, but the only thing they gave me for Gout was Ibuprofen, I think my Neurontin helps better than that. Like I said it has subsided just a bit and is mostly in the toes now.

How serious can it be if the potassium falls way too low? I take 3 pills a day, I think they are 60mg each. Just so nervous about this stuff, for some reason this time around I have had a bundle of problems. I go to get blood checked for INR and other stuff on May 4th I think.

 

[Nancy]

Potassium being high or being low can cause problems, so you have to go with what your doctor recommends based on lab results. Lasix and Zaroxolyn and maybe some other diuretics are potassium depleting. There are others which are potassium sparing, and they act a little differently in a body chemistry way. All have their own special way of handling fluid buildup and your doctor is the one to decide which one to use based on your lab results kidney function and other parameters.

If you want to read more about potassium and what high or low can do, just Google Hypokalemia (low level) and Hyperkalemia (high level).

Joe was on massive amounts of diuretics due to severe CHF, and during Joe's lifetime, there were times when his potassium was low and times when he was high.

He rarely got too far afield because he had bloodwork constantly. However, when he was low, his muscles would cramp up. The danger here is your heart is a muscle, and low potassium can cause arrythmias and other things. There were also a few times when he was too high. Once in the ICU, he was very high, and they reacted instantly with glucose and insulin injections to reduce it. That is one of the treatments for hyperkalemia.

We had a friend of the family who was in CHF and on heavy diuresis. His doctor forgot to order potassium for him. He blacked out while driving and had heart arrythmias partially due to low potassium. He ended up in the hospital with a heart attack and the implantation of a pacemaker and defibrillator.

So be careful to take your medications just as your doctor has ordered, and get bloodwork in a timely fashion.

 

[Blake777]

Thank you Nancy. I had the insulin injections as well after heart surgery, had them in my first heart surgery also. Of course I will do what the doctors ordered. But I have to watch them, they had me on Bumex because the lasix wasn't pulling off the fluid fast enough and I looked like a swollen pig, so they put me on bumex and just adjusted the dose and it worked out fine then potassium started dropping again, so they put me on 3mg of Bumex and was doing fine. Then it started dropping again, so never got off the supplements ever and was even on the potassium IV drip.

Then when they discharged me they gave me 40mg of Lasix to take twice daily. Now that sounds like way too much lasix for me, but now it works and is pulling off the fluid fast. I have lost like 3lbs in 3 days. Should I call them or just wait until May 4th appointment.

Also, I read that low potassium can cause nerve problems, I now have right foot and right hand pain with numbness and tingling, feels like a thousand needles sticking me sometimes. I wonder could this be nerve related due to low potassium.

Thanks again Nancy, you are so intelligent, a great gift to this forum.

 

[Blake777]

Oops, didn't realize tomorrow was the 4th, so I guess I should just wait until then and get blood checked and all. Thanks again.

Ronda

 

[Nancy]

I think that many people suffer from post surgical neuropathy which eventually goes away. They put you into strange postures while you are under anesthesia to be able to see into the chest area, and they strap you that way for a while with your elbows almost touching behind you. It tends to pinch nerves to say the least, but is necessary. Most everyone recovers from this after a couple of months. Some also have shoulder pain which can be pretty bad, for the same reasons.

Your doctor will no doubt do some bloodwork tomorrow to see about your kidney function, and also might do a BNP test which measures the amount of CHF you are having. Then will make adjustments from there.

Good luck.

 

[tex]

I had the bad shoulder pain it started a couple of days after my surgery, infact it was worse than my sterum pains sometimes and i have read a few threads on here where others have had the shoulder pain. Infact i still suffer with my shoulder still on meds and the Lidocaine patches infact i also have them for my sterum which i have problems with, trust me nothing every goes straight forward for me LOL.
I hope you get sorted theres nothing worse thsn been in constant pain.
Take Care
Jane

 

[tobagotwo]

It's not terribly uncommon for the surgeon to do some renovations to ensure a properly sized valve is put into place and to ensure the exit point has sufficient clearance for the valve leaflets to operate freely.

Doctors do a lot more carpentry to hearts than that, all the time, especially for children with congenital malformations. The amount likely to have been done there shouldn't cause you any issues. In the scheme of saving your life, your surgeon went one step further, to ensure it would be a good one.

The heart heals very quickly, so "fixes" like that tend to do very well.

Best wishes,

 

[Blake777]

Well I really appreciate your comments on both of these issues.

Tex: I'm always one of those too, go in for something and come out with something else, lol.

Thanks Tobagotwo: you really calmed my nerves about the cutting out tissue to fit valve.

I have disc damage and osteoarthritis in my spine, I guess that could be the reason I'm having nerve pain in my foot and hand from the way the surgeons had to bend me.

I lucked up and didn't get the sternum pain this time, just a little rib pain, but being careful because I tend to do things I shouldn't do, not really stupid things just twisting, sometimes I forget I have an incision.

Thanks again Nancy for your comments.


Thank you all so much!!

 

[mattwisconsin]

From your description it sounds like it could be nerve pain, but doesn't necessarily have to be. Talk to your doctors about it and make them realize how painful it is and that it needs to be dealt with.

 

[briansmom]

My son had a lot of foot pain that they attributed to the catheter in his groin. It was a real impediment to his recovery, but it has mostly gone away. He says his foot is still more sensitive than the other.