LVAD - Experiences anyone?

[escargome]

Trinity,
Yes it has been a long while. I was there from 1975 until 1977. Our son was born there and of course I would like to visit again. Just never have found time or cash. But it is definately on my list of things to do. Again, I hope your dad continues to surprise the doctor's. Best Wishes

 

[Trinity]

Thank you. It is not the first time my dad surprises the doctors .

So, your son is a german and at my age . I hope you'll find the time and cash someday to show him were he was born.

It is amazing that in this forum are people who even lived for a longer time in germany. I never expected that. You're the second one now. Maybe we could continue the thread in german...would be much easier for me . Just joking. I love getting information for my dad here and practicing my english alongside.

 

[Sarah_Louise]

Thinking of you and your dad, glad to hear the op went well
Hope his recovery continues to go well,
Love Sarah xxxx

 

[Trinity]

Thank you. Unfortunately his situation has dramatically changed. He has had a pneumonia, they were putting him back to sleep and he is artificially resperated again. They did another surgery yesterday, because they found air in the belly. They are not sure whether he would wake up again because yesterday he did not react on things they said to him. But he is still able to move - he is restless and nervous. Don't know...

 

[Lynlw]

Thank you. Unfortunately his situation has dramatically changed. He has had a pneumonia, they were putting him back to sleep and he is artificially resperated again. They did another surgery yesterday, because they found air in the belly. They are not sure whether he would wake up again because yesterday he did not react on things they said to him. But he is still able to move - he is restless and nervous. Don't know...

I am so sorry to hear this, I will say prayers for your dad and your family and his doctors during this rough time

 

[Fundy]

Trinity, sorry to hear your Dad took a turn for the worse after such a great start initially. Has he improved any since?

 

[Greg a]

Thank you. Unfortunately his situation has dramatically changed. He has had a pneumonia, they were putting him back to sleep and he is artificially resperated again. They did another surgery yesterday, because they found air in the belly. They are not sure whether he would wake up again because yesterday he did not react on things they said to him. But he is still able to move - he is restless and nervous. Don't know...

So sorry to read of this but if I can beat the odds so can he

But he is still able to move - he is restless and nervous. Don't know....

to me that would be signs of hope ....prayers and positive vibes heading out and up

:angel: /\ /\ /\

/\ /\ /\ :angel: /\ /\ /\

 

[DeuxofUs]

Trinity,

I don't post here much, just lurk... but my brother had an LVAD for 9 months while waiting for a heart transplant. He was fairly young when he got his.... I believe 52? Anyway, he had so many heart attacks and stints that his heart no longer worked well. He did very well on it. He adapted. He was one of the first in 100 people to receive it in the United States. They actually "studied" him as an example. He received his at OHSU (Oregon Health and Sciences University) in Oregon.

That was a few years ago, now I hear they are pretty common. But I thought I would share that with you.. wish I had seen your post earlier. Wishing you and your father the best.

 

[Trinity]

@all
Thanks for your wishes. It's going to get better a bit. He is able to breathe on his own now - no artificial assistance any more. He started to interact with the people around him again, but cannot speak because of the tracheotomy. His blood pressure is a bit better now from 60/55 to 80/60. Step by step...

@DeuxofUs
Thanks. Every experience is welcome. The LVADs these days are so small. I've seen the cables comging out of my daddy's belly and the bag for the batteries and electronic. They are so small, just like a normal bumbag. Amazing. I hope he can profit from that very soon.

 

[escargome]

Trinity,
I'm sorry I didn't see your post earlier about your dad. I am happy though to see that he is again improving is small baby steps. I hope each day adds more strength to him. I will keep you and your whole family in my prayers. A good positive support system is always necessary for a good recovery. My best wishes to you all.

 

[Robert]

God Bless your Dad. I will say a prayer for him.

 

[Julian]

@all
Thanks for your wishes. It's going to get better a bit. He is able to breathe on his own now - no artificial assistance any more. He started to interact with the people around him again, but cannot speak because of the tracheotomy. His blood pressure is a bit better now from 60/55 to 80/60. Step by step...

@DeuxofUs
Thanks. Every experience is welcome. The LVADs these days are so small. I've seen the cables comging out of my daddy's belly and the bag for the batteries and electronic. They are so small, just like a normal bumbag. Amazing. I hope he can profit from that very soon.

I've read that people have made miraculous recoveries with the LVAD. What was thought to be irreversible heart damage was fixed by the LVAD unit by taking pressure off the other side of the heart and giving it a chance to "heal".

Like you said one baby step at a time, I truly feel a year from now you will be amazed at the difference.

 

[Trinity]

@Escargome and Robert
Thank you for your support.

@Julian
Yes, that's what we still hope for. It would be amazing so see the effect of the LVAD in a few weeks. But he needs to have a chance to stand up and eat and speak before all that might happen.

@all
It stagnates a bit. Today he was a bit more lively which was very pleasant to see. But the values (blodd pressure and so on) are still bad. He has very strong bellayaches since wednesday of the last week. The doctors do not know were they are coming from and pain relievers do not work. So it is not easy to motivate him day by day to go on.

 

[escargome]

Well, continue to be his support and advocate. This seems to be a long and bumpy road for him. Did they do any type of CAT Scan of his belly? Not to be gross, but have his bowel movements been acceptable? It is so hard to figure what could be going on since belly pain could be a number of things. I hope they figure out what is distressing him. I will send up a prayer for him and your family.

 

[Greg a]

An interesting BUT FACTUAL interview about Dick Cheney

 

[epstns]

Trinity - Belly aches? (Alert - may be too much information!) Does he move his bowels in a manner normal for him? After my valve surgery I found that the pain meds they gave me made me so constipated that I had enough abdominal pain that I was re-admitted to the hospital to see what it was. One bottle of magnesium citrate and things took care of themselves after that. . .

 

[Trinity]

@Greg
Very interesting interview. Fortunately the doctors told us most of the things *before* we decided to give a chance to the LVAD.

@escargome & epstns
He is totally parenteral nutritioned (?). But his bowel movements are ok. They did a computed tomography and found nothing, so they cannot explain what it is. His belly is like a ballonn, but they said that is is normal since he cannot eat. My Theory is that is suffering from a big gastritis because of the months with too less food and because he complains about crampy aches. But I don't know why they can't do anything against it.

 

[epstns]

Trinity,

Has he been examined by a gastro-intestinal specialist? The gassiness and bloating may be due to SIBO (small intestine bacterial overgrowth). This is sometimes caused by other meds given to control common digestive problems. When SIBO is suspected, they administer a course of antibiotics that will kill off the overgrowth of the "bad" bacteria in his gut, allowing his system to re-establish a more normal balance. I've had to go through this once since surgery, and I think it was brought on because of all we did when the surgical meds messed up my digestive system post-op.

 

[Trinity]

@epstns
You are probably absolutely right. Finally this morning, they told us the same thing you mentioned. They sent in some samples to check for a bacteria. Too bad they needed a week for that :mad2:. I am a bit upset now, that this is obviously a well-known problem and they need such a long time. Anyway, thank you very much for your help.

 

[Sarah_Louise]

Thinking of you and your Dad Trinity,
I hope he's not in pain much longer,
Love Sarah xx