June 7th

[Jen]

Big day- -June 7th, 8:00 am with Dr. Steigel.. I am SO nervous, but everything is now out of my hands.. I just wonder if I could have done something different..I know i couldn't, I was born with BAV.... "Your heart is as fit as it can be with this valve"... I have 3 fears and I know they are far fetched.. 1. Waking up during. 2.Having a stroke and 3. Not waking up... I think I need something for my nerves!!!

 

[Natina13]

Jen
Have faith, you will be in good hands and I am sure, receive the top of the line care. You will not wake up during surgery.....they work hard on making sure that does not happen......and as far as not waking up from the surgery......you would never know, so nothing to be frightened about there. Now, I do understand the worry, regarding a stroke.....but it is very rare, so the odds are in your favor. Fears are normal, we are all human....how we deal with them, is what makes the difference. Your having surgery on one of my daughter's birthdays.....so I know for a fact, June 7th is a very lucky day !
May God give you peace of mind, and may his eternal love keep you safe. Best of luck....
Renee
Go Team 2011 !!!!

ps....nothing about the surgery, was as bad as I had feared it would be.....

 

[epstns]

Jen - You have the start of "your plan." I would include your choice of date, surgeon, hospital and valve. Beyond that, they will tell you what to do and when to do it. Just work the plan - you've made all the tough decisions and now you're in their hands. They do this all the time, we don't - so they have a much better idea of what to expect and how they should react to it.

Just remind yourself that it will all turn out OK.

We'll be here for you.

 

[RZG]

Jen, Im right after you on June 21st AVR,MVR. I m feeling the same fears. Trust in your surgeon, have faith All will be good. you are in my prayers!

RZG

 

[Dray]

Jen,

I'm scheduled to go in on June 1st. Looks like June is going to be a busy month for many of us. Like you, I've had many thoughts race through my mind. For me, now that I've made my decisions as to type of valve, surgeon, hospital, etc. I found that focusing on recovery helps keep the "what ifs" buried.

Similar to Steve, here's the way I see it: I try to make the best and most educated decisions on the things that are within my control and leave all others in the hands of the people I trust.

Don't get me wrong - I still have thoughts of difficulty recovering, surgical errors, etc., but I try to manage it by focusing on what life will be like after the surgery.

Best wishes with your surgery.

David

 

[Greg a]

Big day- -June 7th, 8:00 am with Dr. Steigel.. I am SO nervous, but everything is now out of my hands.. I just wonder if I could have done something different..I know i couldn't, I was born with BAV.... "Your heart is as fit as it can be with this valve"... I have 3 fears and I know they are far fetched.. 1. Waking up during. 2.Having a stroke and 3. Not waking up... I think I need something for my nerves!!!

It has been said WAITING IS THE WORST PART .......I have added you to June 7 with LeakyUK

 

[nngbwh]

Good luck with surgery. We all been there, done that and I totally understand how you feel. You will be O.K.
Make sure you keep us posted.

 

[Greg a]

Jen,

I'm scheduled to go in on June 1st. Looks like June is going to be a busy month for many of us. Like you, I've had many thoughts race through my mind. For me, now that I've made my decisions as to type of valve, surgeon, hospital, etc. I found that focusing on recovery helps keep the "what ifs" buried.

Similar to Steve, here's the way I see it: I try to make the best and most educated decisions on the things that are within my control and leave all others in the hands of the people I trust.

Don't get me wrong - I still have thoughts of difficulty recovering, surgical errors, etc., but I try to manage it by focusing on what life will be like after the surgery.

Best wishes with your surgery.

David

I have added you to our VR calendar

 

[Jen]

Thank you all for the very supportive words.. I am very fortunate to have found this site, and have learned so much information.. I am looking forward to getting to the otherside of the mountain..You all are such an inspiration to me, so glad this sight is here. Can't tell you enough times! I will keep you posted.

 

[scott.eitman]

Big day- -June 7th, 8:00 am with Dr. Steigel.. I am SO nervous, but everything is now out of my hands.. I just wonder if I could have done something different..I know i couldn't, I was born with BAV.... "Your heart is as fit as it can be with this valve"... I have 3 fears and I know they are far fetched.. 1. Waking up during. 2.Having a stroke and 3. Not waking up... I think I need something for my nerves!!!

Who doesn't have those fears. My suggestion is to focus what is in your hands. You need this surgery. Without it you may not wake up either.

I am sure you are in good hands.

Scott

 

[epstns]

To all of the "next group" of the Class of 2011 - I'm sure you will all do fine.

I'm just getting ready to post some musings from 12 weeks post-op. Preview -- life is good!

 

[Duffey]

June 7 is a good day for valve replacement. I had my own six years ago on 6-7. You'll do great!:smile2:

 

[DeuxofUs]

I kind of chuckled when I read your post. Not that I am taking pleasure in your fear but because I have the same exact fears. I guess it was just a reaction to knowing one isn't alone.

I sometimes worry about the not waking up part but it's true... how would you even know? It's only bad because you haven't had the surgery yet.. once you are out ... you are out... you won't be worrying then. Plus, if you are like me.. they give you some pretty fantasic drugs that are AMAZING! I love those because it calms the nerves before they put you under.

You might want to ask your cardio... or regular doc for some Xanax to have until your surgery. I got extended release Xanax and I use it when I am having a bad day... I don't even know when my surgery will be but it's not far off!

After reading everyones experiences after OHS, I do feel better but I am still nervous none the less... I'm most worried about recovery... I hate the feeling of being "helpless"...

We are here for you.

 

[epstns]

A quick note - Deux, the "helpless" feeling really doesn't last long. After about 2 days I could get myself out of bed and move around, to a chair and so forth. Once I got home, even with all my complications, I was fully mobile in the house. I couldn't prepare a meal (but then I usually can't anyway) but I could heat it and feed myself. You will quickly get used to the lifting and reaching restrictions. Truly, you will surprise yourself.

 

[Jen]

Thanks everyone - please forgive the spelling my earlier post!! I am so much looking forward to getting to the top of my stairs without that elephant on my chest, or being "beat" after running around with my son in the yard, or not asking the ladies that I "stroll" with at work on break to slow down you are wearing me out!! Somehow after reading all of these and saying a few prayers...I am pretty much at peace with what will happen on the 7th, and I will wake up a stronger person!

 

[Chris M]

Dear Jen, I had those very same fears myself leading up to my surgery 10 days ago; waking up during surgery, not waking up at all or waking up with some complication (stroke mainly) and ending up a burden on everyone. All this preyed on my mind for a while. It's perfectly natural to think about the negative "what ifs" as you digest and eventually accept what is about to happen to you.

Well, I can tell you that my anaestheologist reassured me about #1 (speak to yours if you are still worried) and indeed nothing happened that I was aware of in the OR. As for #2 clearly THAT didn't happen and here I am, still alive and clicking *grin*. As for #3 I do appear to be all here and fully functional, as fit as can be expected for 10 days post op. So all my worries proved groundless. :thumbup:

I was given something to help me sleep the night before so mercifully I got a few hours peace/oblivion before the big day. I then got some pre-op meds a short while before I was wheeled into the ante-room to the OR to calm me down. As I waited and as they fitted lines to my wrist I can remember worrying that maybe they would make a mistake and change the wrong valve (a new worry for me, LOL!) and wondered if I should just ask about that....

Next thing I knew I had someone who seemed to be shouting in my ear that it was all over and that the surgery had been successful. They were waking me up briefly. What a strange experience that was, awake one second, no warning about being sent off to sleep, and being woken up hours later the next!

I agree with the others here... you'll be fine. The medics have been through all this so many times, are so very professional and careful about every little detail that there is very little chance of anything going wrong, especially if you are otherwise in a reasonably fit and healthy condition. These heart surgeries are so amazingly safe these days, it's just wonderful what they can do.

If it's any help to you I think it is often true that the last few days wait brings a certain sense of calm. I have been a gibbering wreck for months as I waited but my husband was astonished to see me transformed into some sort of "zen-like" state in the last few days, where I was so calm and not worried by anything. Total acceptance. I hope you get to that place too!

Best of luck to you, this will be over before you know it and you can then concentrate on getting fit again and getting on with your life!

Take care,

 

[carolinemc]

Jen, do not fret or worry for now, just take it easy. I know that it is not easy, but you will be fine, once it is over. You will feel better. And welcome to a wonderful place.

 

[normofthenorth]

Jen, I hope this makes things better and not worse, but I had a serious pre-op conversation with my anesthesiologist about your #1, waking up in the OR. NOT because I was concerned about it, actually! I was more concerned about losing memory or mental acuity after the OHS/BAVR. I'd been told that one class of anti-anxiety drugs (benzodiazepines) was the most likely to cause those memory losses, etc., so I'd "negotiated" an agreement that they'd skip them with me. Shortly before my surgery, my OR anesthesiologist asked me to reconsider and accept a low dose of the benzodiazepines. His argument was that (a) they usually only cause retrograde amnesia for the period WHILE they're being administered, = the operation itself, and (b) though he'd never had or seen a case when an OHS patient had awoken during the surgery, he said it IS possible, and without the benzodiazepines, you would probably remember it forever, which sounds like a Bad Thing -- and not just for the hospital's Legal Department!

So I accepted a low dose, lower than they usually administer, and I had no post-op memory loss and virtually no loss of mental acuity post-op. I assume I stayed "out" through my surgery, but I'm not sure I care, as long as it turned out OK and I don't remember it!

See you on the other side. Recovery and rehab are way easier than the anticipation!

 

[Jen]

Norm- I think that brings up an excellent point for the pre-op visit on Wednesday - I have an awful memory as it is.. Thanks! And thank you everyone else

 

[Greg a]

Norm- I think that brings up an excellent point for the pre-op visit on Wednesday - I have an awful memory as it is.. Thanks! And thank you everyone else

Jen, you may want to print off this thread to jog the memory 26668-Pre-surgery-consultation-list-of-questions