Little concerned

[Gribur]

Hey all hows it going? I just wanted to check in and ask a couple questions. I am not too bad, I am definitely noticing that your body lets you know if your doing too much, i have hit that wall numerous times in the last while , thinking I am more healed then i am, gotta watch i guess. Now 2 things, has anyone been on BP meds and ones to lower heart rate and had a nightmare? it happened to me and it was scary as hell, woke up trying to catch breathe, heart wanting to beat fast due to nightmare but i could feel the meds battling to keep it under control, so scary. Second. I don't feel like i have a cold, my lungs feel clear for a while now, but i am really getting breathless again, winded at times, I am able to really hear the valve and still dizzy spells. I barely do anything and am getting tired and winded, In reality i can barely finish a sentence without loosing my breathe, i walked into the variety store and had to pause before asking for an item. any input with similar experiences would be great. All my numbers with my blood seem good, only odd one is that my INR has been consistent since home but all of a sudden My blood has become thick for no apparent reason and we are upping my warfarin dose maybe normal but not sure. thanks to anyone who can answer my plethora of questions.
cheers guys and good health
Larry

 

[Lynlw]

Have you called yur cardiologist or surgeon about the being out of breath etc ? I'd call, especially since things seem to be getting worse not better. ? When was the last time you had an echo? BTW what ended up happening about the question you had about your incision?

 

[RTZdad]

I agree with Lynn, Larry. Go see your doctor ASAP to be sure thing are ok. I take Metropolol (25 mg) to keep my heart rate down. One of the side effects can be dizziness. I have gotten a little light headed a few times the first few months after surgery. Not sure if that helps you. My INR has been all over the place, first high, then low, them good , then all over the place. Exercise and a steady diet of vitamin K has helped even me out recently. I mainly eat broccoli very day as my veggie of choice, and mix a salad in here amd there. I hope things start to calm down for you. It seems like you have gone through a lot since your surgery. We'll keep you in our thoughts and prayers as usual. Take care.

Tom

 

[karla]

I agree a checkup is in order. Let us know how things go....

 

[Greg~]

I'm not sure when you had surgery but it sounds like it was recent. Based upon my OHS experience, I had vivid, weird dreams after surgery for 3-4 weeks and then they stopped. And my warfarin dosage fluxuated for several months after surgery. I'm sure it was due to diet and exercise.
Regarding your shortness of breath, I agree you should contact you cardio. Are you retaining fluid? I know I retained fluid before, during and after my surgery and that cause shortness of breath for me. So my cardio placed me on medication to remove the fluid.

 

[Luckyguy17]

Hi Larry,

Sounds like you are about 6 months post surgery and difficulty breathing difficulty would justify a revisit to cardiologist for discussion and checkup.
What is your age Larry?

I, as well as many major surgery patients experienced sleep disorder for many weeks/months following the surgery...seemed I was dozing more than sleeping my nights, but it eventually all came back to normal. It also took me a long time, to finally eliminate melopropolol, bisoproplol, but with regular reductions, from 25 mg to 2.5 over a long period, it was accomplished. Now more than two years since my surgery, I still run out of steam when exercising and it is really difficult to get my heart rate above 120 BPM, so the "governor" effects of the prolols seem to have lingered, but then again I am not sure I really want to push it any higher....to what aim? I am pushing 60 years and have no goal of competing in the olympics, so staying fit is good, overdoing exercise and activities likely not so.

What I have come to accept with time, is that my heart may be a weak element, currently doing very well, but needing some attention, not to dwell on it, but be aware and monitor, expecially under stress conditions. Sleep is a very important remedial and have now set myself to 8 hours a day, after many decades of 5-7 hour daily sleep.....good sleep is definately underated by to many in our society.

There is no question in my mind that withought my AVR, 2 years ago, I would not be of this world today. It is for me, amazing that the surgeons can do what they do today and extend our lives and/or provide a better quality of life with prosthetics. We can be very thankful for the progress of the last 50 years in medicine, that have extended our lives and the quality of it, for most of us.

That being said, we age and most of that is non reversable, so physically we lose a little each year, or some years, we lose a lot physically.

Now if only there was a solution as elegant as AVR for osteo arthritis/necrosis, my knees are killing me and there seems to be no quick fix (smile).

Hang in there Larry, discuss with your cardio, yes the prolols can cause dizziness, but you likely need them for a little while longer. It is somewhat of a mind game of doing enough to have a satisfying life, while monitoring, yet saving enough for life extension.

Whew, i guess that was long winded.

Be good
Gil

 

[Gribur]

Hey guys. I phoned the surgeon today and let his secretary know about shortness of breathe, etc and she called me back with an appointment for tommorow at 9am for echo and discussion. I can't believe how quick that was. Now I just need to go and find out whats going on lol. My wife and I have already had bouts of our minds overthinking the situation and what the worst case scenario may be, but whatever it is, at least it will be an answer. I am really hoping they find something causing my symptoms, if not it would really depress me as right now I am just existing and not living. Take care friends, Talk soon.

 

[rufus]

Fingers crossed for your appointment Larry and I hope you get some answers, sometimes the healing takes longer but something clearly is not right - I know from my ongoing experiences how awful it is to merely exist and not live your life.

Keep us updated and good luck

 

[RTZdad]

I agree Larry. I hope they find out what's causing the shortness of breath. My hope is that it isn't anything serious.

Tom

 

[epstns]

Be sure to make note of all the things you want to discuss with the cardio, then have your wife help you keep up with remembering the answers. Hope you get some good information and help. You (and many others of us) have been through too much to just "exist."

 

[Gribur]

well had the appointment and it wasnt bad. The doc says that after the tests he ran that everything is looking good. He is not sure what may be causing the shortness of breathe which freaks me out as it is very concerning to me. He did take my meds down a lot, maybe hoping it will help. on that note i was wondering what if anything i should watch for due to my meds being cut down. He completely took me off of the amiodorone and cut my metropolol from 75mg twicw daily to 25mg twice daily. I am just worried about the chances of having issues due to the changes. Thanks guys, take care
Larry

 

[RTZdad]

I wish you could have been given more peace of mind. Hopefully the adjustment of your meds will be beneficial. Keep us posted as things progress. I really hope that things improve for you.

Tom

 

[TheGymGuy]

amiodorone will take some time to get out of your system. your tissues are saturated with it right now, so it will slowly get out on its own and automatically wean you off of it itself. Plus, its a pretty nasty drug with loads of side-effects. You will be glad you are off of it.

metropolol is a beta-blocker and reducing doze will get your heart rate a bit higher, over time the heart rate will go back to where it needs to go. Lots of walking, speed walking will get your heart to accept a lack of this drug and get back in shape faster.

At this point after surgery I doubt you need much drugs and since you are relatively young everything should go back to normal with minimal drugs if any. I was weaned off of all the drugs a bit earlier than you and all is well. Just make sure to stay active and tell your body to get with the program.

All will be well.

 

[epstns]

Larry - That was a hefty dose of metoprolol. More than mine was. I started out at 100 mg once a day and it felt like I was dragging a sled full of rocks everywhere. At about 6 months post-op, I got my cardio to reduce my dosage to 50 mg once a day and that made a noticeable difference, but I still felt like I was being held back. Now, at around 20 months post-op, he agreed to reduce my dosage to 25 mg once a day, and this time the difference is remarkable. I feel like I now have more energy than before surgery, maybe even more than a year or two before surgery. My doc thinks I will always need some beta blocker, but if I can tolerate the reduced dosage, I feel much better. I don't have to stop and catch my breath after yard work, etc.

The only difference I noted with the newest reduction is that my heart rate gets higher under exercise - but that's what I wanted it to do. Running on a treadmill with HR limited to 130 didn't get me much benefit - just felt like work. Now I get up to the upper 140's, and just feel better after a workout. I'm energized again.

As for the amiodarone, when I was taking it, I didn't really notice any physical side effects. I know the drug has some long term effects that are not good, but I was only taking it for 3 months. I didn't notice any difference when I stopped it (with doctor's agreement, of course).

 

[bahlvarun]

Hey,

Same here, last few days I was also feeling breathless, not to that extent though but noticeable, I started excercising a couple of weeks back (due to my obesity), Treadmill for 2 KMS - 20 mins. All of a sudden had giddiness, but BP was in range 130/90 with PULSE at 104. Went to the doc, had severe giddiness, he took the ECG, said it looks the same as it was after surgery, so no signs of any cardiac issues. Checked my Sugar (Since I have family history of diabeties), it was 106 (Random), so he gave me some food said the body was stressed and needed rest. Have taken off for a couple of days, things improved the same day evening, but do have bouts of breathlessness occassionally.

Still confused the reason for this, but happy that its not the valve.