New kid on the block

[SJJ]

Hi y'all. I've been educating myself on this site for the past three weeks or so and thought it was about time to introduce myself. I'm a 54 year old female with aortic stenosis and was informed by my cardiologist just before Christmas that it was time for a valve replacement. I have known for about 5 years that this was coming but was surprised nonetheless as I thought the surgery was somewhere in the distant future, not NOW! I'm really in great health and experience no bothersome symptoms. I did give up wilderness white water rafting/hiking trips about 3 years ago as I just got too winded doing the vertical hikes and I've been experiencing periodic pinching-like pains in my chest, not upon exertion, for about 5 years. I've always had good stamina and energy level so I guess I should be grateful to be heading into this surgery in relatively good shape. When I fully took it in that this was really going to happen and they'd be making a lengthy incision down my chest and spreading my ribs into an unnatural position for 4-5 hours, I flashed on that scene from "Gone With the Wind" where the soldier in the hospital is screaming "don't cut...DONNNNNNNN'TTT CUTTTT!!!!!!!!!! Thank goodness for the calm and reassuring guidance of those of you who have gone before!
I'm still waiting for appointment times, but hope to have my surgery done by Albert Pacifico, a highly respected heart surgeon in Birmingham, AL at UAB near the end of February. Although this is about 3 hrs away (I live in Columbus, GA), my best friend lives there so my husband can stay with her while I'm in the hospital. The information on this site has been terrific and many of my questions have already been answered. Your encouragement and support of each other is remarkable and I'm sure I'll be in need of both over the next several weeks. Of course, I hope to "be there" for others as well. As a retired psychotherapist, this is my kind of place. Thanks for the opportunity to introduce myself.
Sue

 

[fisher6476]

Welcome Sue,
So glad you found us. I had aortic stenosis and had my surgery six weeks ago!. Keep learnng and reading and don't be afarid to ask ANYTHING. I sure others will greet you soon. Again, welcome,
Steve

 

[Kathy]

Hi Sue,

Welcome! I am close in age. I had been somewhat active prior to surgery. I was told that I would need surgery a year before the event. The doctor had said, "...in the future". In my mind, that meant age 70, since that was the time my mother-in-law had a mitral valve repair.

I thought that I was symptom-free prior to surgery, but upon reflection I really had been less energetic and certainly had tired very easily during the previous year. I attributed all of that to hormones and age. I happen to be one of those people who just pushes through pain and exhaustion. I am working on mending my ways!

 

[EVELYN]

Hello Sue

Welcome HOME!! This is a great site. I'm Evelyn whose husband, Tyce, had AVR in June 2002. I know I wouldn't have made it without this site.....whatever you need, we're here for you; be it questions answered, a shoulder....well, a cyberspace shoulder, information, or just venting, go right ahead!

I'm sure everyone will be along shortly to welcome you aboard. I've not found a greater bunch of people anywhere; I'm sure you'll say the same thing........As Rossman would say, "To know us is to love us!!!" (or something like that)

Again, Welcome!!!

Evelyn

 

[medtronic of borg]

Welcome Sue it is always nice to have another one of us prof. on here. I do my best to say the most helpful things at the most appropreate times. Seems to work, the other day I got a pm that said my bluntness is what got her into the Dr's office. I am formally a psych. RN , and a non-verbal communications consultant. Don't ask I don't want to get into it on this site. And oddly enough...I wound up working as a charge nurse for a ER. Go figure!!!

But welcome to the group I am looking forward to getting to know you.

Medtronic of Borg aka Med

 

[Raverlaw]

Hi, Sue!

Welcome to the best internet site for would-be and have-been (has-been?) valvers.

I've got the same condition you do and will have my AVR on 2/20/04. You've already "lurked" on this site for a while and I'm sure you've found it incredibly helpful. Feel free to join in all of the discussions (I'm a newbie myslef and have found it all very welcoming).

And let us know when your surgery is scheduled for so that we can keep you in our thoughts!

 

[Jan]

Welcome

Welcome

Hi Sue

Welcome to the wonderful world of VR. Com

I am so glad you found us, ask as many questions as you can think of

I am sure you will find the answers,

keep in touch and remember we are all here for you and your family

Keep smiling

Jan

 

[hensylee]

welcome, Sue. Cain't get no better'n UAB. Just ask Bonnie.

Glad to have you here to learn so much before you walk up the mountain. Sure helps.

 

[Guest]

Hi Sue!

Hey, I'm just up the road from you in LaGrange! Always glad to have another "Georgian" in the group!
Well, you have found the best support group there is for this type of thing. Ask lots of questions and do lots of reading of previous threads. We're all here for you and will try to make your trek up and over the mountain of OHS a smooth one!
Take care and welcome!

 

[Nancy]

Hi Sue-

Welcome to the site. This is the greatest place. You won't find this kind of in depth understanding anywhere else in your day to day living. We all "get it" regarding valve stuff and beyond.

I read your post and you are not alone in feeling that you have no symptoms at this point, but if you reread your words, you will see that you are slowly starting to cut back on things that were easy a while ago. The surgery will improve things for you after you have healed. Sometimes heart problems can deteriorate at a snail's pace and the symptoms get overlooked. Plus your heart compensates for deficiencies for a while, but it does it at a price, enlargement of the heart, and that is something you want to minimize at all cost.

My husband is the patient here, and he's been through a ton of stuff due to having rheumatic fever as a teenager. He has advanced cardiology problems. He has had 3 valve surgeries, 2 lung surgeries, has a pacemaker, CHF, pulmonary hypertension and many other serious medical problems.

Right now he's in the hospital getting an "overhaul". CHF and some other chronic problems come back to haunt him every once in a while. He's one of those kinds of patients that has to go and get medical care sooner rather than later because all kinds of weird things can happen to him. One thing leads to another and another, etc.

But he's still going and doing in spite of it all. We just have to keep him on a medical "short leash".

Glad you joined the group.

 

[SJJ]

What a lovely bunch of folks you are! Thank you, thank you for your warm and "hearty" welcome. I've continued to read many of the posts on the site which are just chock full of good information and suggestions. My coping mechanism of choice is to plan and organize so I've already got all my surgical gear together based on your comments. I've purchased a DVD player, numerous books, a moist heat heating pad, snuggly throw, body pillow, wedge pillow, comfy pants and tops and slip on shoes so I won't have to bend over to tie them. I'm still looking for a big, firm teddy bear for my "heart pillow"-I like the idea of being hugged back while I cough. All the other suggested items are already in my arsenal. So, my ducks are not only in a row but standing at full attention. Bill, looks like you and I may be up against the knife about the same time along with a few others-strength in numbers, huh? Actually, the end of Feb is my desired surgery date. I won't know 'til I talk with the surgeon. I'm really in a rather silly predicament at the moment. My insurance is with Blue Cross Blue Shield of GA. As of Jan 1, St. Francis Hospital, the only heart surgery option in town, won't accept my insurance as BCBS won't pay enough. Negotiations are at a standstill. Knowing this, I kept my appointment with a local surgeon so he could refer me to another-he suggested Pacifico in Birmingham and will be making the contact, so that appointment isn't even scheduled yet. Convuluted, yes- but it means that the local surgeon will be willing to do the follow-up sparing me 6 hour round trips to Birmingham. Has anyone else ever had this happen with their insurance?
On another note, I do have a question. Recovery time seems to vary a lot depending on the individual, their age, pre-surgery condition, etc. All things being equal, is recovery time different for by-pass patients , mitral valve repairs and replacements, aortic valve repairs and replacements, etc or is OHS basically equally traumatic to the body regardless of the type (other than the mimimally invasive kind)? Nancy, you may have a sense of this since you and Joe have certainly had more than your fair share of experience and have undoubtedly come in contact with all kinds of heart patients. I do hope, by the way, that that man of yours comes home soon. My thoughts are with both of you. Actually, my thoughts are with all of you, wherever you are in your heart journey. Thanks again for the warm welcome!
Sue

P.S.-did I do this right to reply to this thread or should I have started another?

 

[Lorraine]

Welcome Sue,

You could not have come to a better place! All I can tell you is that you are among many friends now, that will help you get through this. Ask as many questions as you need to, post as often as you want to with just about how you're feeling and coping as you're going down the road to OHS! We are a great support group! Thank You Hank, for creating it! This forum is a God Send! Remember, you are with a very large family now! Take care!

 

[medtronic of borg]

?s

?s

You did it right. As for your ? ...I think Dr's avoid making this kind of comparison. Because recovery is a very individual thing. Ther is bound to be some rules of thumbs that this surgery or that one should be a five day stay or a three day stay. But nothing set in stone...

Med

 

[Raverlaw]

Sue,

Regarding Blue Cross. My hospital accepts it, but the surgeon does not. However, it is the only cardiac surgical group for 150 miles, and I do not believe that BC can require you to travel more than 50 miles to receive services. Talk to your hospital about this and see if there is a way you can make an arrangement with them to limit your portion of the fee to a number you agree upon, and have them bill BC for whatever they can get under the circumstances.

My surgeon agreed to do this for me.

 

[Heather Fisher]

Hi Sue,

Welcome. I also thought the "later maybe never" pertained to me. Welcome to the club. Your replying to this same thread is fine. It sounds like you are well on the way to being on the other side of the mountain. Thjs site is a great one to help you be prepared and to help with recovery. Best of luck. Isurance hassles are never fun. BCBS took care of me during surgery but they did not renew the contract with my hospital/ surgeon. I had to pick different insurance this year and I don't like it so far.

Welcome!!!
Heather

 

[JAMES W]

Welcome Sue

Welcome Sue

It is nice that you found VR.com before your scheduled surgery. I am coming up on my 1st year anniversary in two weeks. I wished I had the pre-surgery advice that you are getting here. This site is "Wonderful" for we all have or soon will be expericencing the same type surgery. Only 'we' know what 'we' are feeling....Rest assured that there are many who will walk up the 'Mountain' with you....Best wishes...and again welcome...

 

[Granbonny]

Hi Sue

Hi Sue

I'm the Bonnie that Hensylee mentioned. I was born in Alabama but have lived in Georgia for 43 years. I live in Helen, Ga. the Bavarian Village in the Mountains. and I had my surgery at St. Joseph's in Atlanta. the BEST..5 star nurses..Never remember anything from laughing with family until 2 days later..in a private room with NO pain. Will be 2 years March 25th. I am age 63 and doing great. My surgeon was Dr. W. Morris Brown with the Peachtree Cardiovascular and Thoracic group...They were great.. Yes, you will have to travel back in 3 weeks for checkup.. but then I never saw them again. Just local Cardiologist in Gainesville, Ga. I think any open heart surgery is pretty much the same time frame for recovery....One day at a time..At least 10 weeks to feel good...another 3 months for routine daily activities....Strange thing, thissurgery..will feel great one day and lousy the next. but as months go by...you will soon be back to regular life again. I am. Hey, I had two age 11 year old boys for 3 days..Long school weekend. and hung with them the entire time. Bonnie

 

[Nancy]

Hi Sue-

Re: Your question about recovery times.

Joe's had 3 valve surgeries and 2 lung surgeries. The recovery time long term is pretty much the same for all of these, except that Joe's lung surgeries were much more painful than his heart surgeries. His HeartPort surgery was quite a bit less painful than the sternum surgery. This is how it went for him. One to two weeks of being very sore and weak and sort of "out of it". Lots of different meds to adjust to at this point. Sleep is also difficult, making everything much more uncomfortable. From this point on, things improve nicely to weeks 6-8. After that it starts to slow down, still moving forward, but s-l-o-w. At 6 months, you'll be feeling very well but may still be somewhat tired and at one year you will be feeling much like your old self without all the heart problems.

That's how it went for Joe's surgeries.

At this point in his life, his surgeries are history, and everything that could be fixed, was fixed. He has a severely leaking mitral valve, but It doesn't seem to be something that can be operated on. It may even act as a safety valve for his Pulmonary Hypertension. And he has many, many other medical problems which require constant vigilance.

But don't think for a minute that this is something that will happen to you. The vast majority of folks who have valve surgery have a one time problem, it gets fixed, and they go on with life in much better health.

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Sue,

You have a Private Message (PM) waiting for you.

To read it, go to the bottom of this page, find
FORUM JUMP, click on the arrow, scroll UP and
you should find Private Messages near the top
of the list.

 

[Georgia]

Hi, Sue

Hi, Sue

Welcome.

You are indeed prepared. But if you get nervous, or whatever, there are always more things that can be had; and I always recommend shopping to offset a case of the willies as you approach your surgery. Have a comfortable recliner that fits you just right? You need one.

And a tippee cup for night time meds (or just a drink of water; so you don't have to twist to get out of bed or reach to the bedside table - just put the cup and pills and tissues and cough drops and whatever in a plastic container and put it next to your pillow).

And very comfortable, very smooth t-shirt for under pajamas and all other tops (I got a couple of silk undershirts; you'll be cold post-surgically, so killed two birds with one stone). Get a large size.

Recovery does seem to vary a great deal. It depends a lot on how deconditioned one is prior to surgery; also depends on how extensive the surgery was.

My doc said that because the surgery was so long (8.5 hours) and involved, and because my heart was enlarged, she didn't want me to go back to work before I completed Phase II cardiac rehab - so I went back at @ 12 weeks. But I really hadn't recovered. That is still going on nearly a year later; but I really feel great now - or I would if I didn't have a herniated disk. But heartwise, I think I'm feeling terrific.

You're doing great; keep in touch with us.