more on clicking

[doberman]

The previous message has got me thinking I am going in for my pre-op tomorrow and valve selection is one thing that I want to discuss with the team, even having a watch next to my bed keeps me awake at night, I am not sure what having the ticking in my chest would do to me, and fans and white noise are worse! I am hoping this is all academic because my surgeon told me that defenitely my mitral valve is repairable. Well if it comes right down to it I guess if i have to I will get used the sound it sure beats the alternative!

 

[catwoman]

John:

Hey, the sound ain't that bad! Granted, it did seem louder right after surgery. I seldom notice it anymore, but when I do, it's very soft, lulling.

BTW, my surgeon did attempt a repair, but there were several things wrong, so he went with the St. Jude. OK with me.

 

[LDS4ME]

Dobberman

Dobberman

Hi, John, it is usual youi get use to it i remember when i first got home the hospital i tryed to sleep on my stomach but the noise would drive me crazy the ticking .now when i get near a computer or some electric devices it ticks louder my kids say mommy your ticking so loud i say to them i cant hear it so youll get use to it chris

 

[Raverlaw]

John,

I don't hear my aortic valve ticking too often, and when I do, it is a soft, soothing sound. It makes it easy to count your heart rate!

If you decide to go artificial for other reasons, don't let worries about noise change your mind.

 

[Sherry]

Hello, John. Hopefully, the surgeon will repair it, and this won't be an issue, but I'll tell you my experience. I'm seven years out with an older model St. Jude's mitral, and I have heard mine pretty consistently for the entire time, especially at night. Another thought may have to do with body type. I'm very tall and skinny with a small chest (I hate to admit that on a public forum , but just to illustrate my point), so perhaps that has something to do with it being more audible. I've had several students hear it over the years even when it's not noticeable to me. I guess I've just learned to tune it out when necessary, but other times I just listen and marvel at the fact that I have a healthy (although loud) heart.

 

[Karlynn]

I will be having my 13 anniversary in October with my St. Jude mitral valve. Sometimes I can hear it when I am going to sleep and sometimes I can't. It also can depend on how I'm laying. I have to say that after 12 and a half years, the sound has become a friend and a recognition of how far I've come.

 

[Gnusgal]

When I was 5 years old I had a shunt put in to increase my oxygen levels. From that point on I could always hear my heart "swishing" as it beat if the room was quiet. My mother used to joke that she could listen to my heart from my foot. When I was about 6 I was staying at my grandmother's house all by myself for the first time. After being put to bed, I came into the study (where she and my grandfather were) to tell her that I could not sleep because my heart was too loud.

Fifteen years later I had some repairs done to my heart. My shunt was taken down and I could no longer hear it as I fell to sleep. It took some getting used to. I now couldn't sleep because my heart was too quiet!

Five years after that, I had my tricuspid valve replaced with a mechanical one. (Now my mom is serious when she says she can hear my heart from across the room!) Again, it took some getting used to. It has been two years and I still hear my valve loud and clear, but now when I have trouble falling to sleep because my mind is too active, I use the ticking to count myself to sleep (instead of sheep). The only time I really hate having the constant ticking is when I have a headache (which for the last year has been just about always!).

My point in telling you all of this is that, while at first it will be unnerving, you will get used to it. People are very adaptable when we need to be. So do not let the ticking stop you from getting the best valve for you.

 

[Ross]

I am not a moron clicking!

 

[Mark Wagner]

Hello John,
After my surgery I was somewhat bothered by the clicking, especially when trying to go sleep. We had a water bed, so the clicking was magnified. (the water bed is history now) In anycase, I asked my cardiologist if this was normal.
He then told me I was fortunate I had the newer model St. Jude. A previous patient of his was at play, and during a very quiet sceen, a lady behind him rudely tapped him on the shoulder and asked if he could please stop that ticking noise! The cardiologist then went on to tell me I would get used to it as most do in 6 to 9 months. Though I still hear it sometimes; mostly while trying to go to sleep; it no longer bothers me much.

I also found after my surgery; right after I ate a meal; I was startled as I would feel and hear the rate of my heart pick-up! What I found was my heart worked harder while digesting my meals. Sure enough, a half hour later, it would settle back down.
I guess when it comes down to it ... In the military we would hear the jets thundering across the base and called it the sound of freedom. That clicking we hear is the sound of life ... and that's a good thing.

Take care ... Mark

 

[Harpoon]

I think I mentioned this somewhere before but I'll share it again...

My wife was torn up when I first got home after a 2 months stay at the hospital for my VR. She was VERY happy to have me home and at her side in bed at night, however she couldn't sleep for about 2 weeks straight. I had long since becoem accustomed to the incessant ticking and slept quite soundly, of course. =)


Now adays I get a nice little kick out of catching people with my valve. At some point I'll be in a room with one or more people and it will be pretty quiet and before long someone will usually ask where that noise is coming from....

Sometimes I'll explain it, sometimes I'll just raise my hand and some times I won't say anything at all for a while, see if anyone else picks up on it first.


It's life, the sound of rebirth in many ways.

My valve is almost always there. Only vary rarely am I completely unaware of it and usually that's when I'm being VERY active or in a very noisy environment. Most of the time I just have to sit still for only the briefest of moments to pick it up. The ticking is always there at night and never really bothers me unless it's out of sync (skipping beats.)

 

[Raverlaw]

Harpoon,

I have to agree. I get the occasional arrythmia or skipped beat, and if it happens when it's quiet and I can hear the valve, it is a little disconcerting. I probably have other skipped beats and don't notice it when it is noisy in the room - and my hearing is probably shot from all those years of rock&roll when I was younger.

 

[John & Joann]

The old Starr Edwards valves were VERY loud. After 33 years, I like the clicking sounds. Seriously, the scar tissue will make the sounds become softer over the years. I had man experiences with the clicking. Your emotions are well known by everyone! Our dog would play hide and go seek by listening for my 2 clicking valves. No one would believe this until they saw it demonstrated.

 

[tommy]

Fortunately, the clicking does not bother my wife's or my sleeping. It makes taking your pulse easier. My niece says she can hear my valve from across the room.

 

[bvdr]

My SJM mitral valve is very quiet. I can hear it sometimes but not always. In a small room such as an exam room, bathroom, or a car without an engine running I am more likely to notice it. Only occasionally does it bother me in bed and that is usually when I am laying on my left side. It has not been a problem at all. For a while we had a feature link to sounds made by various valves and I liked the sound of the carbomedics and St. Jude the best. I am very noise sensitive but also don't have the best of hearing so I guess it balances out.

I can say that I can hear it more often now than when it was first implanted. It may be that the inflammation surrounding it is less or I am just more attuned to picking up the sound.

 

[doberman]

Thanks All

Thanks All

I am still amazed that strangers atke the time for each other here at VR.com.
Many Thanks

 

[Granbonny]

Never hear mine

Never hear mine

Maybe the first few months in bathroom. Quiet..and sometimes if I drink a cup of coffee..and go to potty..I can hear it. Caffeine? (Early a.m.) but during day..never hear it.. I do remember at 6 weeks when I drove over to Alabama to see my Dad..there was a standing fan in guest bedroom..and turned it on..and slept all night.. Bonnie

 

[jenny]

Second heart operation

Second heart operation

I am a nervous wreck , my second heart operation is coming up so fast. Has anyone here had a second operation? I know I am being a baby, but I truly am scared. thank you....jen

 

[Granbonny]

Hi Jenny

Hi Jenny

Why don't you post in Pre- surgery thread and tell us all about yourself. We will have lots of info for your questions. Try and relax and listen. Bonnie