Last Race Before Surgery

[jpattillo]

Running a 5K today which I should almost certainly PR. Surgery set for May 8 (AVR ATS mechanical by Dr. Clifton Lewis in Birmingham, AL).

 

[SumoRunner]

I was told not to run in the months leading up to AVR, but then it was a bad 15K race the year before that told my Cardio it was time for it. I didn't run at all for 8 months but I did a lot of brisk walking. The surgery was in July and the last 5K I did race walking was May 15, 34:30, not bad for walking.

 

[jpattillo]

Thanks, Jack. No such restrictions from my cardiologist thankfully. Did you have stenosis or insufficiency?

 

[TheGymGuy]

5k sounds great. Post up your time. This would be a marker to match or beat after the surgery.

 

[tprice54]

Good luck, and crush the course! The better shape you are going in, the easier recovery should be. I ran a half 4 months before surgery. If you are like me, you'll have a "training" plan for your recovery.

 

[SumoRunner]

Did you have stenosis or insufficiency?

Never had stenosis but the valve leakage was substantial at that point and I had had one stroke a few years prior from a clot or plaque flying off into the blood stream. They had been monitoring me for a long time.

 

[Bean Counter]

Agreed on being in good shape before surgery will help with outcome. I maintained 50 mile running Weeks right up to surgery and had a pretty smooth recovery.

 

[jpattillo]

22:47 = 7:21 pace. My wife and I did another 5 miles after the race. I wish I was up to 50 mile weeks BC! I did a 1/2 in February and PB'ed it at 1:47. I'm going with the ATS mechanical valve. While I'm worried about the affect on running performance, I don't want another surgery. I'm also going with the right anterior thoracotomy appraoach so hopefully that will help the recovery.

 

[Richard Gardner]

Like others I also worked out pretty close to surgery. I actually looked at the surgery like I was preparing for a race. I worked out and then tapered off the last few days before hand. My recovery went pretty well over-all although it was no picnic by any means.
Good Luck,
Richard G

 

[SumoRunner]

I guess it's time again to regale you with stories of the olden days. My surgery was at a time when the blood supply was not guaranteed to be safe. There was no good test yet for AIDS and there was still a small chance of Hepatitis C sneaking through. So they recommended that if you could, to put up your own blood supply. Autologous blood donation it was called. I did 4 pints in 4 weeks in the month prior to OHS and my blood count was still healthy. Normal blood volume is about 5 liters, so that's a big percentage. I continued walking every day and never felt drained. Then, despite the doctor's ban on running, the day before my scheduled surgery I ran a mile anyway. You know, just because.

 

[tprice54]

Nice race! Let me just add one bit of advice. While some people bounce back to their pre op fitness quickly, some take a lot longer. My unscientific opinion is it is a bell curve, so you could be at one end of the other, on just in the middle. SO, be prepared for the possibility of your fitness recovery taking longer than you expect. If it is faster, that much better! This is NOT like recovering from a running injury, where you take a month or two off and bounce right back. But you can recover and get back to running....just stick to it!

 

[dwhist]

I am a biker. I had surgery late October last year and completed 100 mile Centuries in June and August doing about 3500 milee last year. I was doing my nightly 20 mile bike rides right up to the end including the night before surgery. I think it helped my recovery as I bounced back pretty quickly.

 

[Duffey]

Before replacement, I swam between a mile and a mile and a half 5 days a week. My cardiologist insisted that although the echos showed significant narrowing of the valve, I could continue to postpone the surgery since I was still swimming.
It took a second mini-stroke, due to plaque breaking off from the valve, before I consulted a surgeon and had avr 3 weeks later.
Your experience reinforces my belief that if you're someone who has a history of working out, running, swimming, biking, etc., the typical symptoms prior to replacement need not be present.
Congrats on a good race!

 

[jpattillo]

Thanks to everyone... I knew I had a PB in that last race, primarily because it had been a while since I did a simple 5K. We are definitely taking the "fix it before symptoms" approach. However, ever since we made the decision, I keep thinking I'm getting some symptoms. It's probably just my imagination though. I've never had any shortness of breath on exertion. AI is "severe" and LVIDdiastolic is 59-64 depending on whether you look at an echo or MRI. That is slightly under the ACC guidelines for replacing but several surgeons have told me that they think that is too long to wait and that changes take place at the cellular level as the LV gets bigger. That's why we are doing it now.

 

[tprice54]

JP, sounds like you are doing all the right things! Good luck, and maybe you'll want your first race back to be our meet up in Baltimore in October!

 

[TheGymGuy]

22:47 = 7:21 pace. My wife and I did another 5 miles after the race. I wish I was up to 50 mile weeks BC! I did a 1/2 in February and PB'ed it at 1:47. I'm going with the ATS mechanical valve. While I'm worried about the affect on running performance, I don't want another surgery. I'm also going with the right anterior thoracotomy appraoach so hopefully that will help the recovery.

Damn sweet time. Great job. Here is to a successful surgery, quick recovery, and lots of training for new PRs (Personal Records).

 

[jpattillo]

I had a mechanical AVR on Tuesday. It's now Friday evening and I'm nearly pain free, eating full meals and back to work (albeit from the hospital bed). I think the biggest difference lies in the fact that I had a right anterior thoracotomy instead of a mini-strernotomy. Dr. Clifton Lewis here in Birmingham is the only doc here doing this procedure. Oh, and the incision is only 2 inches or so with no broken bones.

I'm also starting to sleep pretty well too. My biggest fear was being bothered by the click. While I definitely hear it, it isn't bothersome at all.

The worst part about the recovery has been the back pain I've had from the posterior chest tube on the right side. That cause some major pain for a while. The percocet really helped but it made me nauseated. I've finally gotten past that after about 48 hours. I ate some good ole Birmingham BBQ tonight and didn't leave a single bite on my plate.

 

[tprice54]

Man, that sounds great! All systems go! Now, do expect a few of those "road bumps" along the way, but keep positive!