Mechanical Valve Replacement

[bayou girl]

I will be 55 in a month and have a (4.2) aneurysm in my thoracic bicuspid aortic valve and a Myocardial Bridge. The surgery will be in the next couple of weeks. The surgery will be scary I know, but the doc will also fix the bridge when he's in there. The doctor recommends the Mechanical Valve because of my age. What I'm terrified about is the change to my lifestyle and the aftermath: COUMADIN

 

[heartburst]

Hey it looks like we are in the same boat. Give yourself sometime to be terrified then trudge on and keep this community near by. Here's a link to my post here from a couple days ago:
http://www.valvereplacement.org/forums/forum/valve-selection/863102-shopping-for-heart-valves
I too questioned being on meds... FOREVER... but it sounds manageable, based on the responses I've been getting, I think I'm over being terrified (today anyway!)

 

[MethodAir]

I will be 55 in a month and have a (4.2) aneurysm in my thoracic bicuspid aortic valve and a Myocardial Bridge. The surgery will be in the next couple of weeks. The surgery will be scary I know, but the doc will also fix the bridge when he's in there. The doctor recommends the Mechanical Valve because of my age. What I'm terrified about is the change to my lifestyle and the aftermath: COUMADIN

What change? Take a pill every night and test INR weekly (5mins). That's about the extent of my lifestyle change.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

welcome to the "club" AVR

... What I'm terrified about is the change to my lifestyle and the aftermath: COUMADIN

excellent, easiest worry to allay. There is nothing to be worried about because there is essentially no change. as methodAir has just written, take a pill daily, measure weekly, make a decision (or follow instructions if you are managed). That's it.

You will read here time and time and time again, its business as usual and the sooner you stop worrying the sooner you'll be happy.

I drink and eat anything and everything with no concern.

if you miss a pill its no biggie, just don't miss a weeks worth, that would be risky.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

I too questioned being on meds... FOREVER... but it sounds manageable, based on the responses I've been getting, I think I'm over being terrified (today anyway!)

yeah, I was sort of concerned about that when I started too, but I put it down to an irrational fear based on being a survival type. Lack of water will kill me faster and I need to take that for the rest of my life too. Both warfarin and clean water are about as available. Australia is a dry country and I can carry a months supply of warfarin in my pack easier than a months supply of water... or food or fuel....

 

[bayou girl]

I must have been reading the wrong things. I thought I couldn't eat greens and fried foods and olive oil and a whole lot of other things. Is there something that I have at home to check my blood or do I have to go to a lab every week?

 

[MethodAir]

Yea, I haven't change my diet one iota. I self test with Coaguchek. Weekly blood draws? (no thanks)

 

[dick0236]

The doctor recommends the Mechanical Valve because of my age. What I'm terrified about is the change to my lifestyle and the aftermath: COUMADIN

Do not be terrified of warfarin(coumadin). I have found it to be a very predicable drug.......it works like it is supposed to if you take it as prescribed and routinely test your INR......and now, with home testing(similar to diabetic testing) its very easy to monitor.

When I had the surgery my docs never mentioned changing my lifestyle.......and I never did. I do what I've always done, eat what I've always eaten and live the way I've always lived. The "plus" is that I'm still here to do those things.......thanks to my valve replacement.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

I must have been reading the wrong things. I thought I couldn't eat greens and fried foods and olive oil and a whole lot of other things. Is there something that I have at home to check my blood or do I have to go to a lab every week?

I have yet to get to the bottom of why "the wrong things" are out there. But there have been over the decades many who try to educate people that its not a horror story. Stuff like "greens" regularly comes up and still is regularly mentioned by people in the medical industry.

Its a myth.

Probably the main culprit is that noone in the medical industry has any reason to bother knowing the details, just repeat the stuff they were taught (by those who never questioned) without question.

I've got many posts here on the matter and many others have many posts here saying the same thing on the matter.

Take a moment to read my blog post and bookmark it to refer back to it when you go on warfarin. So far I find that everyone who reads it misses stuff that's actaully covered in it.

http://cjeastwd.blogspot.com/2014/09...ng-my-inr.html

read the first paragraph a few times.

Yes, many of us home test with a device like the Roche Coagucheck XS ... blood draws bring no additional accuracy to the table and are a relic of last century for INR. So no lab visits and quick and convenient. One can also "double check" things mid week if you are feeling worried.

 

[neil]

Good luck and am sure you will be just fine

 

[ForeverThankful]

I will be 55 in a month and have a (4.2) aneurysm in my thoracic bicuspid aortic valve and a Myocardial Bridge. The surgery will be in the next couple of weeks. The surgery will be scary I know, but the doc will also fix the bridge when he's in there. The doctor recommends the Mechanical Valve because of my age. What I'm terrified about is the change to my lifestyle and the aftermath: COUMADIN

Hi bayou girl!

I too am a 55 year old female and I had my bicuspid aortic valve replaced with a mechanical valve 4 1/2 months ago, I also had an aortic aneurysm repair.

Since I've only been taking Coumadin/Warfarin for 4 1/2 months I am far from being an expert but I can say that it's really not something to be feared. As others pointed out, it's just a matter of taking your pill everyday and testing once a week.

I thought I couldn't eat greens and fried foods and olive oil and a whole lot of other things. Is there something that I have at home to check my blood or do I have to go to a lab every week?

I haven't made any changes to my diet but then again I was never a big eater of leafy greens.

I was using a lab for blood draws once a week but that will end soon because I just got a Coaguchek XS home meter for testing instead of using the lab. Coaguchek is very easy to use and really only takes about two minutes to test your blood in the comfort of your own home!

 

[bayou girl]

Thank you all so much. I have been getting such great information from everyone that you all have allayed many of my fears.

I will be having surgery on my thumb this Friday for trigger finger because I didn't want to deal with the trouble of coming off of the Coumadin before a surgery.

 

[Heart Of The Sunrise]

I am coming up on my 3 year anniversary on the 18th. Coumadin no problem....self test at home with CoaguChek desired INR range 1.8 to 2.2.

Best of luck!

 

[TP12022015]

I ate a considerable amount of greens before surgery and continue to eat the same amount post surgery. I am on 10mg daily of Coumadin and my doctor told me she will adjust the dosage to my diet and not the other way around. She wants me eating healthy, which includes vegetables. Do not fear the Coumadin.

 

[bayou girl]

Well I've been pretty busy since I was last on this site but I'm back. I will be having my surgery on Wednesday, April 13 and I am ready. Thanks to this site my fear of Coumadin has been put to rest.
The funny thing is we just found out my mom will be getting a TAVR procedure done in the next few weeks. The doctor called today and said they are recommending the Portico valve trial for her.

 

[pellicle]

best wishes for your surgery and a smooth recovery

 

[bayou girl]

the closer it gets the more freaked out I'm getting. the booklet the doctor gave says I should be getting good nights rest but I haven't been able to sleep. I'm lucky to get 4 hours a night, my mind just won't shut off.

 

[W. Carter]

Best wishes on your surgery! I was 57 and my surgeon recommended a mechanical valve because of age, I did it and never looked back. I am doing everything now that I did before, the only difference now I have to put a band aid on cuts to stop the bleeding. No regrets at all about my decision.

It seems like I had just as many problems after hernia surgery as ohs.

 

[heartburst]

I also slept like **** a couple days prior to surgery. Don't worry about it. Your sleep will be disrupted for a several days. I'm ten days out now and still wake up in the middle of the night, but don't stress as you can always nap the next day, you'll figure out how to maximize your sleep little by little. Remember, this whole thing is a process, and you just have to slowly work through it. I hope you have a good support system to do the things that you'll be unable to do for a while.
Good Luck!!!!

 

[bayou girl]

I have a 28yr old daughter with a mild case of cerebral palsey who can't wait to be my nurse and my husband will be able to get time off of work to stay with me until I am able to do for myself.
I am keeping an eye out for your post, I find them very informative. they're are a few others I like to keep tabs on because they are answering questions I didn't even know I wanted answered.