Questions and need to be pointed toward research resources...

[jax3172]

Hi all. Sorry it's been over a week. You may remember I had the brain stem stroke after the AVR/Ascending valve job on 7/21.

The stroke stuff is getting better!!!!! My double vision is almost gome. I'm eating and had the feeding tube removed over a week ago, and my speach is back 98%. I'm very thankful.

My concerns are in the cardiac area. In the AM, my BP is like 108 over 73 with a heart rate of about 85. I feel great in the AM. I go out and walk 2 miles in the surf's edge. Good for the body and soul!. And I stopped taking that wicked Amniod yesterday (hopefully for good).

Questions:
1) From about 5 PM to bed tiime, I feel like lousy and my resting BP goes up (sometimes to as high as 148/85). Sometimes I have mild chest pain with this general feelinjg of blah. I go to bed feeling rotten and eventually sleep OK and wake up feeling great and walk, etc, etc. Have any of you experienced this BP jump and feeling bad late in the day? Is it part of healing? Is a late afternoon nap suggested? I would think if anything's wrong, I wouldn't be able to crank out a nice walk and feel great when I return. My cardio wants to put me on BP meds as a precaution because of all of my grafts and plumbing fixes but I'm resisting because it might drive my AM BP dangerously low. I'm almost tempted to ask him for a nitro spray to see if it affects my late day malaise. Stupid idea (since they all tell me my arteries are very clean)? Couldn't hert, right? Any personal experiences? Any Google suggestions - I'm coming up with nothing?

2) My sternum continues to hurt like the dickens. I've been doing pool therapy but most of the day, I feel like I'm walking around with a hatchet in my upper chest. What has been your experiences on sternum healing at the 9 - 10 week period? I guess my CT SCAN in 6 weeks should show for sure if I'm out of kilter.

After reading YAPS posts, I'm somewhat ashamed that I am so impatient to feel 100%, but it sure would be nice (if possible).

 

[Ross]

Me thinks your worrying too much about that blood pressure. It's not all that bad and unless your checking it constantly, I'll bet it's not that high all the time. Heck just getting into position to take BP with an ouchy chest is enough to make it rise a little. My vote---Give it some time yet, I think your gonna do just fine afterall.

Now the chest, how bad is it really hurting now? Yes its normal to be sore as heck, but has the pain lessened over the last 4 weeks any? If not, maybe they need to have a look see and make sure it's healing as it should.

 

[geebee]

I don't think your sternum should still be hurting so much at 9 weeks. It should still be tender but out and out pain should be at a minimum. I would have it checked.

I also don't think evening tiredness is unusual at this stage. You are still healing and the workouts you get earlier in the day would tire a healthy person. I was still taking afternoon naps at 9 weeks so you might want to try that and stop being so gun-ho to make it through a complete day.

BPs change throughout everyone's day so I wouldn't really worry about that one.

Keep up the good work with your rehab exercises. Swimming is particularly good for you.

 

[Yaps]

Please, dont take nitro..wait and see if doc prescribes it. It lowers b/p and will give horrible headaches if not used right..(my dad had the patches..lol..a friend of his thought it was bandaid..then got a badddddd headache). If your arteries are clear, you dont want nitro..hope you feel better soon , love the pup

 

[jax3172]

BP Rise is natural in late afternoon

BP Rise is natural in late afternoon

Through my limited research I have found that mostly everyone's BP rises in the late afternoon so I guess I'm not too concerned. I couldn't find stats, just a general statement. But that's even more reason why I don't think I want to take BP meds. I just wish I didn't have dull chest pain and feel lousy during that time period. Maybe I will try a nap and see if it helps!

The sternum is more of a secondary concern.

 

[Cris N]

Blood pressure is a funny thing. I take mine on a regular basis and have noticed that it can fluctuate greatly in a short period of time. For example: 5 minutes ago it was 148/88 pulse 72, 30 seconds later it was 148/84 pulse 69; 2 minutes ago it was 117/78 pulse 64, 30 seconds later it was 122/75 pulse 70; 1 minute ago it was 110/74 pulse 68.

I don't think it's at all unusual for the afternoon reading to be a bit high - but I probably wouldn't be overly concerned about it. I'd try this though - when you get the higher reading, sit still and breathe deeply for 10 minutes and try to calm yourself. Close your eyes & relax. Then take your blood pressure again - you may it it's considerably lower.

You said you're walking about 2 miles in the morning - have you tried 1 mile in thr morning & 1 mile in the afternoon? That might help build stamina without totally wearing yourself out.

About your sternum pain - is it skin or muscular? If it's muscular I would think that the pool therapy should be helping but there are some specific exercises that will help. If it's skin sensitivity I'd be happy to tell you what I tried.

If the pain seems terribly wrong, though, you should let your dr know.

Cris

 

[Georgia]

RE: the sternum pain.

If it's primarily aching, I'd bet weather changes are exacerbating the discomfort. I felt every change in the barometer for a year. Still have aching with huge weather changes. You're in an area where the weather changes often and greatly; I'd guess a couple of tylenol would take care of it. I was told to take tylenol before going to cardiac rehab.

If the scar hurts, are you using Vit E oil? You need to keep the scar lubricated or it'll get very dry and will pull and the nerves will yell. I used Vit E oil (the very thick stuff that comes in a little bottle, not the cheaper stuff) for a year (probably overkill, but I had very little trouble with the sternotomy).

Good luck.