Hi Nadi-
Welcome to this fantastic site. You are right, we are all very friendly here and want to help you through this stressful time.
There are some things to remember. This surgery is done to save your life. The surgeons who do this are very, very expert in what they do. They are in and out of people's hearts every day and sometimes more than once a day. Everything that you have in there, they have seen before and know how to fix. You will be taken care of in the operating room by a very experienced surgical team and a very experienced anesthesiologist. When you come out of surgery, you will be taken care of on a one to one basis by expert nurses and Physician's Assistants, as well as the surgeon himself.
There will be monitors for every bodily function and the Intensive Care Unit is a marvel in high tech equipment, all working on you.
You will be in ICU for about one day or two and then will be sent to the step-down unit. You will be up and walking in about 2 days. You will probably be going home in 5-7 days.
The first two weeks after surgery, you will need lots of help. You will be feeling very tired and weak. But after this initial healing time, things will start progressing gradually. You will have good medications for pain management both in the hospital and when you get home. This is not a time to be brave. If you are in pain, let the surgeon know, and make sure you have pain meds to take home with you. They want you to be feeling well enough to do deep breathing and a little walking around.
It is important that you have a small pillow to hold to your chest when coughing, and bending to get up. It helps the pain considerably.
For your family--You will not be looking well at all in the ICU. You may look pasty and feel cold, you will have all sorts of bells and gongs going off all the time from the monitors that are hooked up to you. There will be lots of tubes coming out of everywhere on your body. If you are restless, your hands might be restrained to keep you from tugging on anything vital. These measures are all necessary for your recovery. These will all be removed as soon as it is safe to do so. This is usually done in the first 24 hours, but it can vary a little. You will be very sleepy and may not be conscious. You may slip into and out of sleep. Your eyes may not be focused. You will be talking nonsense and may even hallucinate. You won't remember much of this because it is from the after-effects of the anesthesia and the pain medications used. In a couple of days, all will be better.
You will be very thirsty after the tubes are removed. This is normal, but they might not give you water to drink at first. This is to eliminate the possibility of vomiting. Eventually, when some of the sleepiness wears off, you will be given ice chips at first, then small sips of water.
This is all normal and most of the valvers here have been through it all.
My husband has had 3 valve surgeries.
You will do just fine. As the time for surgery draws near, you will find that a calmness comes over you.
I wish you the very best. I hope someone can be designated to tell us all how you did.
