Post surgery back shoulder pain

[Nancy jane]

Can you comment and ) explain why there is such talk of back / shoulder pain after Avr ? And appx how long does it last. Should I EXPECT it as normal. Or did some not even get it ? Trying to get a feel of what to expect. 2-9-12 coming up soon aggggg. But like most of u excited to Get it done & move on

Also baring the unforeseen - we have a cruise to Alaska in July. - think a 4 1/2 month time frame after avr is good to go ? Opinions welcomed. I realize a lot will have to do with how I feel - recover etc. Mid 60/. Active good health yada yada. Thx for your help. Nancy.

 

[Boston Tiger]

The pain in my shoulder was the first thing I noticed when I came fully awake in the ICU. The ICU nurse said that was very common, and had to do with the way they move your arm while they spread your ribs for the surgery. If I recall correctly, my shoulder was sore for several weeks after I came home. Back pain -- not so much so.

My first business trip was about three months after surgery. My stamina was still not back to 100% at the time, and I remember being very glad when my two-hour presentation was ending. I had a conference down in Brazil four or five months after surgery, and didn't have many problems then. I had a bit of a scare when I drank a local soft drink to take my medicine one morning, since it was loaded with caffeine and sent my heart rate soaring. I made sure to stick to decaf coffee down there, which was a bit of a shame. I did get very tired when I had to try to load my carry on in the overhead rack, since I had to try it three or four ways so it would fit. I don't know if I would have had the stamina to try one more time. My guess is that your Alaska cruise will be fine, if you don't overexert yourself.

 

[catwoman]

I had MVR, not AVR, but I did have back and shoulder pain. I think that comes with any OHS in which you have a sternotomy, due to the way you are positioned on the OR table. My husband had MV repair 4 years after my surgery, and his surgeon did a thoracotomy, an incision just under the right breast and that went between the ribs. He had far less pain/discomfort than I did. He was able to measure the pain, since he had suffered a fractured sternum during a car accident in December 2005. So he knew the pain of having the sternum broken and healing. The car accident caused the airbag to inflate, which broke his sternum and damaged his MV; the valve damage began surfacing 6 months after the sternum had healed.

If you have no complications and if you have plenty of time to relax while recuperating, I would think a cruise to Alaska in July would be doable.

BTW, what hospital will you be having surgery at? My niece lives in Brentwood and I've been to STL plenty of times, to see her and for other reasons. Some really great hospitals there.

 

[Nancy jane]

Hi. Thanks for your post We are west county st Louis. Chesterfield - town & country area. Brentwood is
Overt. I'll be at mo Bap dr Kouchoukos. - I feel good about that. Just looking for the what ifs - yada yada after Avr St Louis does has great hospitals. And we now have 2 Nordstrom s which in my opinion trumps any hospital
LOL. When will u be in st Louis next ?

And I'm guessing the MV Is done differently ? Vs a sternotomy. ? I'm hoping for a mini. So fingers are crossed

Best. And thanks again. Nancy.

 

[Nancy jane]

Ah ha. AM I beginning to see a pattern. ? Does the MV have more back / shoulder pain than Avr? Or both get it. ? Ph well. Drugs will help. The good thing is at least I know that it might be ther & to expect it. Thx so much. And curious what kind of presentations do u do.? My first presentation is 12 weeks after. But it's not terribly exhausting IMHO so I think I'll be ok. I'm hoping to pop back quick. Hope I'm not being over the top. H well we shall soon see. With thanks ! N

 

[Nancy jane]

That was to ave read. Brentwood is lovely. Not overt Lol This auto correct stinks ! Sorry.

 

[Greg a]

Nancy , any OHS that requires the use of rib spreaders aill result in back pain for a short time until the rib cage fully re-forms itself

 

[catwoman]

Hi. Thanks for your post We are west county st Louis. Chesterfield - town & country area. Brentwood is
Overt. I'll be at mo Bap dr Kouchoukos. - I feel good about that. Just looking for the what ifs - yada yada after Avr St Louis does has great hospitals. And we now have 2 Nordstrom s which in my opinion trumps any hospital
LOL. When will u be in st Louis next ?

And I'm guessing the MV Is done differently ? Vs a sternotomy. ? I'm hoping for a mini. So fingers are crossed

Best. And thanks again. Nancy.

I had a full sternotomy with my MVR; my hubby had the side incision with his MV repair. Not all surgeons like to do the thoracotomy/"key hole" incision like my husband had.
I've been by Mo Bap -- good hospital. I think it's near St. John's Mercy, where my great-nieces were born. I've been to Chesterfield, to the mall there. And I have a friend who lives in Chesterfield. I usually hit Frontenac and the Saint Louis Galleria for shopping.
I will be judging a cat show next Nov. 3-4 in the St. Louis area, I think in the southwest area, at the Purina Farms facility. My great-nieces' 4th birthday will be Nov. 2, so I'll add an extra day or two to my weekend trip.

 

[bradvo]

By July you will be in awesome shape for that Alaska Cruise.
Brad

 

[Jkm7]

I had neck and shoulder pain but little back pain after my first surgery. My stiff neck bothered me most but it subsided within about 10 days to 2 weeks post op. It was a gradual improvement.

My second surgery, I had no lasting back, neck or shoulder pain at all. I had the same sternotomy reopened, same surgeon, same hospital but evaded the added pain that time.

No predciting.

 

[DanielB]

I had AVR surgery with a full sternotomy in October and got sharp shoulder pain starting the day I came home from the hospital. Something about my shoulder blade being out of whack. I've been seeing a physical therapist once a week since and am just now back to close to 100%. I should add that, once I started the PT, I did see a rapid reduction in pain, and have been chasing weakness in that shoulder since, so it has not been too bad to live with.

Dan

 

[Nancy jane]

Ok. I get it. It's there but will go away. Ok I can deal w- that. Thanks. Guess ya can't get out of it ! ( back pain i mean. just that I've never had any. ( Icky poo !!! As my mom used to say. ).
Thanks to all
And cat woman. Chesterfield mall is close to house let me knw when u r there I'll come meet u.

Nanc.

 

[Boston Tiger]

And curious what kind of presentations do u do.? My first presentation is 12 weeks after. But it's not terribly exhausting IMHO so I think I'll be ok. I'm hoping to pop back quick. Hope I'm not being over the top. N

I give presentations on the economics of the forest products industry. For my first post-surgery presentation (right at 3 months) I had to travel from Boston to Memphis, wait for a colleague to give his presentation, and then go my market segments for two hours. I only started to feel the tiredness building once I got past 90 minutes, but that was at the end of a long day. Now that I think about it, I believe I gave another 1 hour presentation to a different client on the way in from the airport. If I had to do it again in the same situation, I'd probably split that particular trip up over two days.

 

[AgilityDog]

Nancy Jane, When in July and which ship?
I'm doing a land/cruise pkg on Princess in July. PM me and I'll tell you the dates and the ship. It would be hilarious if we were on the same trip.

Oh, and your back and/or shoulder hurts after heart surgery because you've been split open like a roast turkey. You will NOT want to tote luggage only 4 1/2 months after surgery, though, so make sure you got a stevedore (oops, I mean spouse/friend/etc.) with you!

 

[normofthenorth]

This thread may be "selecting" for people who did suffer. I was cracked open with a full sternotomy and did not suffer neck or shoulder or back pain. And I'm somewhat prone to all three, without surgery, so it's definitely not a sure thing.

One thing maybe worth mentioning: shifting around in bed, moving the pillow under your head, finding a comfy position -- all those "activities" are normally trivial but HARD after OHS. And sleeping or resting in an uncomfortable position can either cause frame pains, or make them worse, or make them not go away. So ask a nurse or orderly to help you shift around, or request extra pillows, etc., etc., until you're as comfortable as you can be under the circumstances!

 

[Madsometimes]

I had back and side pain for about two weeks after my operation. It was uncomfortable, but not very painful, and was easily controlled by pain killers. I was cutting back on pain medication by 3 weeks post op, and not taking any a week later. My biggest surprise was not the back pain, but how little chest pain there was.

I hope you have a lovely cruise. We were due to go on our first cruise last summer, but my daughter came down with a vomiting virus hours before we were due to travel, so we had to cancel and claim on the insurance. I still have cruising on my wish list.

 

[Guest]

One thing maybe worth mentioning: shifting around in bed, moving the pillow under your head, finding a comfy position -- all those "activities" are normally trivial but HARD after OHS. And sleeping or resting in an uncomfortable position can either cause frame pains, or make them worse, or make them not go away. So ask a nurse or orderly to help you shift around, or request extra pillows, etc., etc., until you're as comfortable as you can be under the circumstances!

This ... exactly.

My 4th open heart surgery (11/11/2011), people kept asking how bad the chest pain was. Problem was ... I didn't feel it because my back, butt and neck hurt so much from all of the time on the operating table, including the "second go round", 11/12/2011. First time I've EVER had that happen.



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