new to forum...surgery on Feb 12th 08

[Bina]

Hi Tina and welcome to VR.
So, you are scared sh-tless......That's okay, we all were.
Before my OHS I had never had any operation and never imagined this could ever happen to me. I suffer enough with a common cold.
But you know, life can twist and turn and seem unfair, but you will be so happy once you are on the other side of this. It is worth it!!

 

[Lotti]

Welcome

Welcome

My "piggy" will be 2 on 6th feb. And it has gone so quickly. I was 37. (Oh NO! people will be able to work out how old I really am). Please do not worry about drugs. They are a part of all our lives and no real biggy. I thought I would be drug free but hey ho, even a tissue valve does not guarantee that. Ask away anything on here. Nothing is deemed stupid or daft. If you want more direct contact dont forget that there is a chat room. Commonly used on a Sunday evening, and also on a Wednesday evening, where people can chat real time. I think that it would be weird to NOT be scared when faced with major surgery but as others have said "They know what they are doing!" (the surgeons that is) My only tip is practice shuffling up and down your bed on your bum without using your arms at all. It will help believe me.

I hope everything goes really smoothly for you and before you know it you will be on the other side of the mountain as we say here, giving someone else support.

Take Care

Lotti

 

[Mary]

Welcome to valvereplacement.com!

You'll be fine, but you do need to get your replacement over and done with. Everything else will fall into place afterwards.

 

[robert62]

i just had aortic valve replaced jan. 10th, am a young 62 yr old ( play tennis 5 days a week and golf the other 2). get it done and move on with your life you will most likely feel a lot better when all is said and done (may take a few mos.) bob in grb!

 

[maggiemay]

welcome

welcome

Welcome, you are so lucky to have found this before your surgery I wish I had, there is so much information here from people who have the voice of experience, ask away all of your fears will subside. I had my avr replaced in a matter of 2weeks and was in a state of shock the whole time, but when it was over and I was home I thought it was not near as bad as I had imagined.I to have a St Jude mechanical aortic valve, you will be fine and feel so different when its over. The coumadin is no big deal, do the research and ask questions here on vr.com. Most times they know more than some of Dr. Good Luck!

 

[cp172]

Hi TinaK!,

I know how you feel. I will have surgery Feb.7th and I am ready to freak out. The guys/gals on VR are a great confort to those of us heading to surgery. Lets both take a deep breath and have happy thoughts. My prayers are with you.


God Bless

 

[TinaK]

thank you

thank you

I have a bicuspid aortic valve from birth. Had surgery in 1980. My mother refused a replacement and asked doctors to repair. Symptoms, are common, tired, shortness of breath, palpitations. I have a slight enlargement 4.3 I am going in for thest jude mechanical valve. thank you for your honesty? since we are near the same age, have you every wondered what caused your condition? My mother has 5 children before me and my father was in Vietnam, he was on leave when my mother got pregnant. I always wondered if his exposure to the war had an affect on my condition....just thoughts.

Perhaps if you give some specifics about your condition and planned surgery more people can chirp in with specific info.

Firstly, i beat you..had mind done at 37....and yes, i was also scared shitless at the start...actually sat crying in the car at the hospital until i could regain my composure.

It was a fear of the unknown.

Three months later i was going down for surgery totally calm, i kid you not, and happy with what needed to be done....the family were in bits but i was fine...all from spending those months posting questions and reading responses on this site.

Ask your questions in individual posts and we will answer and let you know what to expect.

Coudamin is a none issue for me, i take 5mg or sometimes 6mg a day and eat what the hell i like, i also drink more than perhaps i should...a bottle of wine in a 24hr period and none of this affects my INR. There are people who have problems granted but the vast majority don't...

Yes there may be some lifestyle changes if you take part in contact sports or martial arts but if you just lead a normal life and enjoy family/holidays etc i can't see much of a lifestyle change needed other than not opening that second bottle of wine....

As far as the actual surgery is concerned, and most will probably echo this, you will have 2-3 shitty days (mostly drugged up) and then its improvement after improvement until the point you will be angry with yourself for putting it off for so long.

Yes your chest will be sore for a bit, coughing and sneezing wont be nice for 4-6 weeks but its remarkable how fast recovery is. After a couple of weeks you will be out and about.

If it wasn't for this tick tick in my chest i'd have no idea i had heart issues or that i was anything else than normal....i'm sure you will reach that level also.

Seriously, embrace what is comming up, it will free you from any symptoms you may currently be having and give you a new lease of life.

My wife commented on how 'nice' and 'patient' id become although she never mentioned i was a tired grumpy bugger before the surgery

 

[TinaK]

wow

wow

i am over whelmed by the response! thank you. I will continue to respond the blogs and ask questions. Again., thank you I feel like I have found a home!
T

 

[Debbie]

Tina

Tina

Dear Tina, I'm so glad you have found this web site, you will get ALOT of great info. here. Guess what I live in temecula too and just had my surgery one week ago today and doing great! I private messaged you tonight with my phone # so you can call me and we can get together. Check your messages it's the blue highlighted print at the top of the right side of this page. I'll hear from you soon Debbie

 

[Magic8Ball]

thank you for your honesty?

Question mark....Do you mean that or would you have prefered i keep quiet

since we are near the same age, have you every wondered what caused your condition? My mother has 5 children before me and my father was in Vietnam, he was on leave when my mother got pregnant. I always wondered if his exposure to the war had an affect on my condition....just thoughts.

There is no blame to be placed for this condition....its a common condition that many more people have than actually know about...

I was the first of two kids, dad worked as an electrical engineer, my younger brother is fine and so are my two boys.

Its just plain old bad luck i think.. ..but of all the conditions out there i'd sure as hell prefer to have had this than any of the big 'C' s etc....its a routine fix.

 

[South Sound Sailor]

You're not alone!

You're not alone!

TinaK - take comfort in that you are NOT alone! I'll jump in by letting you know my date is next week, Feb 5, Tuesday, Tacoma General, defective aortic valve being replaced with an On-X. I'm 50 and typical male... still thinking and acting like a clueless 20-something year old (don't know how my wife puts up with me!). I worry about seeing my 4 kids again but I'm keeping myself busy and that seems to help avoid (or ignore) the nervous-stuff but man oh man have I been having some FREAKY DREAMS LATELY!! I knew all that "experimenting" back in the 70s would eventually catch up with me!!!

I'm pulling for you and will also tell you this virtual support group has been THE SOLE THING that has kept me from going bonkers (though again, my wife would tell everyone here that I'm already crazy). Hang in there and try to focus on what life holds in store for all of us who are in the "waiting room." Everyone in this support group is smart AND passionate about pro-actively dealing with their respective medical conditions. Welcome to the club. The price of admission is ridiculously high but the payoff for sticking around is priceless.

 

[Phyllis]

TinaK - take comfort in that you are NOT alone! I'll jump in by letting you know my date is next week, Feb 5, Tuesday, Tacoma General, defective aortic valve being replaced with an On-X. I'm 50 and typical male... still thinking and acting like a clueless 20-something year old (don't know how my wife puts up with me!). I worry about seeing my 4 kids again but I'm keeping myself busy and that seems to help avoid (or ignore) the nervous-stuff but man oh man have I been having some FREAKY DREAMS LATELY!! I knew all that "experimenting" back in the 70s would eventually catch up with me!!!

I'm pulling for you and will also tell you this virtual support group has been THE SOLE THING that has kept me from going bonkers (though again, my wife would tell everyone here that I'm already crazy). Hang in there and try to focus on what life holds in store for all of us who are in the "waiting room." Everyone in this support group is smart AND passionate about pro-actively dealing with their respective medical conditions. Welcome to the club. The price of admission is ridiculously high but the payoff for sticking around is priceless.

Glad I saw this and put you on the calendar- hope you keep us up to date on your surgery and wishing you the best!

 

[ALCapshaw2]

TinaK - take comfort in that you are NOT alone! I'll jump in by letting you know my date is next week, Feb 5, Tuesday, Tacoma General, defective aortic valve being replaced with an On-X. I'm 50 and typical male... still thinking and acting like a clueless 20-something year old (don't know how my wife puts up with me!). I worry about seeing my 4 kids again but I'm keeping myself busy and that seems to help avoid (or ignore) the nervous-stuff but man oh man have I been having some FREAKY DREAMS LATELY!! I knew all that "experimenting" back in the 70s would eventually catch up with me!!!

I'm pulling for you and will also tell you this virtual support group has been THE SOLE THING that has kept me from going bonkers (though again, my wife would tell everyone here that I'm already crazy). Hang in there and try to focus on what life holds in store for all of us who are in the "waiting room." Everyone in this support group is smart AND passionate about pro-actively dealing with their respective medical conditions. Welcome to the club. The price of admission is ridiculously high but the payoff for sticking around is priceless.

WELL SAID Sailor !

Thank You for your endorsement of what we try to do here on VR.com
I especially liked your concluding sentence.

'AL Capshaw'

 

[Jeeb1]

Hi Tina--I am new to this site also. I completely understand what you are feeling. I had MVR 9/97 at the age of 34 and a redo replacement 6/25/07. I also had panic attacks both times in the days and night before the surgery. I have a very supportive husband and daughter, but that didn't take away the feeling of being totally alone. Thanks to my wonderful cardiologist I was able to get a prescription for an anti-anxiety pill for the time between the scheduling of the surgery and the surgery--about two weeks. It made a big difference--maybe this would help you.

 

[Philip B]

Panic Attacks?

Panic Attacks?

Hey Tina,

I can echo much of what others have already posted. Your bouts with the panic stuff are not unusual. My AVR surgery was done last March 28th and I'd never faced anything that caused me more painc in my life. I'm sure that like me, your life depends on your surgery so it's probably time to deal with the panic. If it's any consolation, I was trying to talk my way out of my surgery up until they wheeled me into the operating room and knocked me out.

Yes, life after surgery has some bumps, but what're all these worries about changing your lifestyle? Other than taking some pills every day and checking my INR once a week, I haven't had to change anything. I'm still do the activities I want to do and my diet hasn't changed. My experience isn't a guarantee that you're experience will be the same. If changes are necessary after your surgery, you simply deal with the changes and the challenges necessary to adapt, and go on living.

All this said, the negative perceptions and fears about facing OHS are dfficult to deal with. At the risk of sounding overly dramatic, I believe most folks here would agree that the surgery is about life and death. Hang in there, and dig deep for the courage you need to go through with it. You've got the support of some of the most courageous people I've ever been associated with on this website.

By-the-way, St. Jude is a good choice. Mine has been working just fine since March 28, 2007.

Welcome; you're among friends.

-Philip