Mechanical Valve or Tissue Valve ?

[cldlhd]

One of the few questions that I personally have and asked a lot is ...I am a person with a moderate level of activity which I cherish a lot ( walking , cycling , swimming)....The cardinal interests in my life are travel and trying different foods and cuisine... Is such a thing like world tour and frequent travel even possible with warfarin ?

A critical example is my job is in the US and my home in India and I would travel a lot between home and job . How do I survive ACT when I live 6 months in US and 6 months in India as an example

That's a hell of a commute.. .

 

[Paul]

I am three months out of surgery with an artifical aortic valve. I have been banging and clicking away like crazy, developed afib (something I had to figure out on my own at home ) and am taking 160 mg of sotalol twice a day, my leg still has that dead frozen felling from the incision for the by pass machine, they said there was a possible infection on my old valve so I had a pic line put in my arm with home antibiotics every morning for a month with a blood test every friday ( all were negative for infection) , the only saving grace is my inr is finally stable at 6 mg a day of warfarin. I did every thing right but it feels like it was the worst decision on my life. I have been waiting 39 years for this surgery and I can tell you it sure didnt turn out like the brochure said. The sales pitch of "you may hear a little clicking but you will get used to it" is a load of crap...my valve pounds so hard its like a monkey hitting a tire with a rubber hammer on my collar bone 24/7 and thats at a resting heart rate of 40 bbm on sotalol, the party realy gets started when It hits 100bbm on the tread mill. So I guess what im saying is dont believe all the promises, every case is different. You may get a pig valve and be on warfarin any way so you wont get a stroke from afib.

I think what pisses me off the most is I went into this surgery without any symptoms but I came out with more problems and thats why I cant appreciate what was done.

I told my wife that I only want it two ways ether they fix me or kill me but dont make me a basket case......Im still on the fence but time is running out.

 

[cldlhd]

I am three months out of surgery with an artifical aortic valve. I have been banging and clicking away like crazy, developed afib (something I had to figure out on my own at home ) and am taking 160 mg of sotalol twice a day, my leg still has that dead frozen felling from the incision for the by pass machine, they said there was a possible infection on my old valve so I had a pic line put in my arm with home antibiotics every morning for a month with a blood test every friday ( all were negative for infection) , the only saving grace is my inr is finally stable at 6 mg a day of warfarin. I did every thing right but it feels like it was the worst decision on my life. I have been waiting 39 years for this surgery and I can tell you it sure didnt turn out like the brochure said. The sales pitch of "you may hear a little clicking but you will get used to it" is a load of crap...my valve pounds so hard its like a monkey hitting a tire with a rubber hammer on my collar bone 24/7 and thats at a resting heart rate of 40 bbm on sotalol, the party realy gets started when It hits 100bbm on the tread mill. So I guess what im saying is dont believe all the promises, every case is different. You may get a pig valve and be on warfarin any way so you wont get a stroke from afib.

I think what pisses me off the most is I went into this surgery without any symptoms but I came out with more problems and thats why I cant appreciate what was done.

I told my wife that I only want it two ways ether they fix me or kill me but dont make me a basket case......Im still on the fence but time is running out.

Maybe as you heal the valve will get quieter? Have you asked if this is a possibility? The other saving grace is you didn't have an infection and you're off the antibiotics. Is the afib permanent? If not maybe you can get off the sotalal one day also. I understand the frustration but I imagine you had the surgery because without it there was a good chance you would die.

 

[pellicle]

Hi Paul

I am three months out of surgery with an artifical aortic valve. I have been banging and clicking away like crazy,

3 months out is a tough time. I recall being quite negative about things and feeling pretty bad that things were getting worse. I too had no symptoms going in (as it was an aneurysm identification which drove the surgery timetable).

Its true I'd had 2 previous surgeries (repair at 10 homograft a 28) but my surgery at 48 felt quiet different.

developed afib (something I had to figure out on my own at home ) and am taking 160 mg of sotalol twice a day, my leg still has that dead frozen felling from the incision for the by pass machine, they said there was a possible infection on my old valve so I had a pic line put in my arm with home antibiotics every morning for a month with a blood test every friday ( all were negative for infection) , the only saving grace is my inr is finally stable at 6 mg a day of warfarin.

I got my infection surface much later ... almost (2 days short) a year after my 2011 surgery I was in having "debridement" operations (I had 2 cos the first didn't work) to attempt to control the infection.

Did they tell you what the bacteria was?

I did every thing right but it feels like it was the worst decision on my life. I have been waiting 39 years for this surgery and I can tell you it sure didnt turn out like the brochure said.

life often doesn't ... my wife (who was never sick in her life) died of a brain tumor caused by an agressive cancer about 6 months after my surgery ...

The sales pitch of "you may hear a little clicking but you will get used to it" is a load of crap...my valve pounds so hard its like a monkey hitting a tire with a rubber hammer on my collar

that's about how mine feels ... more so after they did the debridement behind the sternum on the second operation.

Given your string of "good luck" it would be your luck that a tissue valve would have packed in, requiring a reoperation, then you'd have got an infection (as one of my friends did) and have to have your sternum removed totally on the reoperation (he got MSR, I got off "easy" with Propioni)

told my wife that I only want it two ways ether they fix me or kill me but dont make me a basket case......Im still on the fence but time is running out.

I tole my wife something similar ... then after she died and I was being wheeled into the surgery for the infection rape and scrape I made the mistake of telling the staff that I wished I would just die during surgery ... sort of fix it all up like it should have been (it was pure luck that the aneurysm was identified) naturally they called a psychiatrist and labelled me as a suicide risk.

My research on previous cases resembling mine showed the following flowchart:

unlike those patients (and perhaps due to the sound worded arguments both my surgeon and I had with my infection specialist (on different occasions) I remain on oral antibiotics 3 times per day till this day ... probably till I want to give up and die.

Well 5 years later here I sit ...

I sent you a PM ... if you want to talk

Best Wishes

 

[neil]

sorry paul to hear your having it rough, hopefully everything will calm down, as you rightly say paul every case is different,

 

[Paul]

I have my meeting with the surgeon on Monday so I hope all my questions will be answered by him then. It just feels like everyone was so gung hoe to get me into surgery but after it was over they all dissapeared and I have to figure everything out on my own. God knows the internet just makes things more confusing.

 

[neil]

hopefully paul the surgeon might give you some answers,hang in there mate

 

[honeybunny]

Paul, sorry you are having issues. Good luck with your Monday appt.

I tole my wife something similar ... then after she died and I was being wheeled into the surgery for the infection rape and scrape I made the mistake of telling the staff that I wished I would just die during surgery ... sort of fix it all up like it should have been (it was pure luck that the aneurysm was identified) naturally they called a psychiatrist and labelled me as a suicide risk

pellicle, DGIs.

 

[Superman]

Paul,

Do take heart (pun not intended) that three months is still relatively close to surgery time. Your systems were all shut down, your heart stopped, and they sawed you open. That is a lot for any body to take. Your heart valve was replaced, but now your body has to heal from a very traumatic experience. Post surgery threads are full of all kinds of unique challenges that we all had to deal with. This is not to say suck it up, but to say that the stress your experiencing is okay and you're allowed to be frustrated (not that you need anyone's permission).

Post surgery for me the last time I developed pancreatitis which led to nausea and also had severe tooth sensitivity​​​​. Food tasted bad unless it was the blandest of the bland. On the plus side I lost a lot of weight. I replaced plastic with plastic and thought my new valve was twice as loud as my old. Things took some time, but they did eventually settle down and I was able to get back to normal.

Hang in there.

Clark Kent

 

[dick0236]

Many, if not most, mechanical valves have a sound that can be unnerving....at first. Mine is a "ping pong ball in a cage" and sounded like a ping pong match for several months after surgery. Within a few months most of the noise was gone and I no longer heard it .....nor did others that where around me. Today, no one can hear it and sometimes even I have to "strain" to hear it. Like "Superman" said....you just got hit by a truck. Stay active, but don't overdo it. Make a written list of your pertinent questions for your cardio and surgeon. Limit the list to a half dozen, or so, questions that you need answered. Ask your docs about the side effects of the drugs you are on.......sometimes drugs can make you feel worse, not better. No one comes out of major surgery ready to jump rope......cut yourself some slack.......and if your feelings persist, talk with someone.......depression is real and even the tuffest of us are not immune from it.

 

[Agian]

I would wake up every morning and feel awful for a few months. I was a nervous wreck and would focus on the same thing for a whole day. I even rang up the hospital demanding to know why they only shaved one armpit, pre-op.

Mechanical valves do click, but now I don't even notice it and when I do, it doesn't bother me.

It gets better.