Met with surgeon again - all looks well -

[johninsd]

I had an AVR and aortic root replacement on November 14 2014. The surgery was done by Dr. Rob Adamson at Sharp Memorial here in San Diego. I met with him yesterday (Jan. 7) regarding recovery. Here's the result of that meeting.

Dr. Adamson said that all looked and sounded good, cleared me to do most stuff - still no motorcycles or upright bicycles for another month (might put too much pressure on sternum) but I can drink wine, one cup of real coffee a day, lift more than ten pounds, etc. He implied that I will soon have superpowers - said I could lift "unlimited" weight after another month or so.

 

[cldlhd]

Sounds great but you have to go that long after without coffee? Ugh

 

[Paleowoman]

I was encouraged to have a glass of wine when I was still in hospital after AVR Awful to have to wait so long for a cup of coffee - I'm sure that's not standard, well not round here in the UK, it's tea and coffee as soon as you can hold a cup LOL

 

[cldlhd]

Ya coffee in the morning and maybe a pint or 2 at night

 

[river-wear]

Wow, when I saw a surgeon four weeks post-op, he lifted all restrictions. Never drank coffee, so that didn't matter. I tried driving and decided that was a bad idea for another week!

 

[river-wear]

Wow, the surgeon I saw was way more laid back and said I could drive after 4 weeks (which was too soon; I was sore). He lifted all restrictions since I wasn't on narcotics.

Staying off a bike sounds like a good idea - the soft tissues take a little longer to heal than the bone.

 

[epstns]

Just keep in mind that the surgeon will release you to do things as long as he/she sees no danger from the perspective of correct healing. That does not mean that everyone will feel "good" doing everything. Your doc may say it is OK to drive, but it is best to wait until it is comfortable for you to do it.

A drastic example - My surgeon said I could go back to "all" gym activities after about 6 months (longer than normal, due to complications in recovery, then 12 weeks of cardio rehab). That sounds pretty straightforward, but I was not comfortable doing push-ups until 12 months post-op. Just how it felt. I waited, and I'm glad I did. Not that I would have damaged anything, but I didn't have to experience discomfort for small gains in strength.

All things in time.

 

[Eva]

I'm happy for you that all is well and it's comforting to hear it from your doctor. We all are anxious to resume our life before surgery. My advice always is "'not to rush one's recovery", mainly with lifting heavy weights! But this is only my my 2-cents advice!