Questions no one talks about

[bayou girl]

What about the chest pain? How bad is it? What kind of movement am I looking at because I hear different things. What about constipation being on the pain meds? Should I be taking something like a stool softener now. Surgery is in 3 days.

 

[AZ Don]

It's different for everyone but I found it to be less painful than I expected. I didn't need anything more than ibuprofen by the time I went home. Some positions will be much less comfortable than others, which is why I slept in a recliner for the 1st month. Sneezing is uncomfortable. I don't know about stool softeners before surgery, but it is very likely you will need something after, just to get things moving again. The hospital should be on top of this and if not just ask for something. Best wishes to you for your surgery.

 

[Paleowoman]

They'll give you meds for the pain. When I was in ICU I didn't feel any pain as the meds were really, really good there. Pain got bad when I was moved into ward. No everyone gets bad pain so it's not really something you can 'plan' for - everyone is different. The pain meds they gave me on the ward just didn't work as they don't for everyone (they should have kept me on morphine which worked a treat !). You'll get given a stool softener for the constipation from the pain meds.

Wishing you all the best for your surgery and for a smooth recovery !

 

[heartburst]

I had my surgery on April 1st. In my case, chest pain wasn't very bad. I was sore and weak and uncomfortable, but each day is markedly better. I dumped (no pun intended!) the laxative and pain meds once I got home. Movement is limited, tough things for me: putting on socks and shoes, getting up out of my stiff springed recliner. I tried sleeping flat the 1st night I got home, I've abandoned that for the recliner, and like above poster will probably sleep in it for a month. Just really follow doc's orders and no lifting. That breast bone has to heal and it takes six weeks. I wouldn't worry about stool softener pre- surgery. That part of your body will shut down for a couple of days or more, but it is your ticket out of the hospital, they'll load you full of laxatives and you'll be ready go.
Good luck!!!! You'll be fine.

 

[bayou girl]

I've seen some post about rehab. What kind of things are they talking about, and it was for 36 weeks.
I am a very active person and over all healthy. Previous surgeries have all been ortho: Left and right rotator cups and carpal tunnel, ruptured disc in lower back, elbow and trigger release in thumb.
I want to be able to cut the grass again without feeling like I going to have a heart attack.

 

[Elsie]

I was young and healthy and didn't qualify for rehab. I could have gone to the lowest level, but it was easier to just do it on my own. I never filled my pain prescription once I got home and didn't really have much pain in the hospital after the first 35 hours. They'll give you a stool softener if you need it. I wouldn't do it before. I don't know your age, but if you are still having periods, you might have one in the hospital. It wasn't time for mine, but the stress brought it on.

 

[pellicle]

Hi

What about the chest pain? How bad is it? What kind of movement am I looking at because I hear different things. What about constipation being on the pain meds? Should I be taking something like a stool softener now. Surgery is in 3 days.

actually this question is probably the most asked on the forum. I did a quick google and got about 2000 threads over the years

​I think that heartburst summed up this experience really well here:
http://www.valvereplacement.org/foru...387#post864387

So glad pre surgery anxiety is a thing of the past.

Surgery had no complications and neither have I. It wasn't as bad as I had imagined. I've fainted getting blood drawn in the past, understand. Pain? Not much. I'd label it discomfort. But everyday just gets better. I was freaked about catheters, drainage tubes, and IV's being pulled, Again, not painful. Weird, freaky, yes. But not painful.

As to stool softeners, totally!
I've advocated for a Korean dish called KimChi for some time now. I used it on my last three surgeries (two of which while being major were not OHS but associated with the OHS in 2011). I reckon this post of mine sums it up perfectly
http://www.valvereplacement.org/foru...281#post777281

 

[RTZdad]

I've seen some post about rehab. What kind of things are they talking about, and it was for 36 weeks.
I am a very active person and over all healthy. Previous surgeries have all been ortho: Left and right rotator cups and carpal tunnel, ruptured disc in lower back, elbow and trigger release in thumb.
I want to be able to cut the grass again without feeling like I going to have a heart attack.

I was 38 at the time of surgery. I didn't need rehab afterwards. It's different for everyone. If you are healthy and active, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that you won't need it either. In regard to pain, I had more pain between my shoulder blades than I did with my chest. Don't shy away from the stool softeners. You'll thank me later. Good luck on your surgery. I will keep you in my thoughts and prayers. I look forward to hearing from you in recovery.

Tom

 

[JulienDu]

That breast bone has to heal and it takes six weeks.
Good luck!!!! You'll be fine.

At 6 months post-op, studies (Raman 2012) did show that only 24 percent people had their sternum completely healed. You might feel better at 6-8 weeks post op but you are very far from being healed. For now, I have heavy restrictions for my job up until 6 months, could be less, could be more but my work involves intense hardcore activity that only very few people do full time, so most people get back to normal activity before that without any issue.

 

[Paleowoman]

I've seen some post about rehab. What kind of things are they talking about, and it was for 36 weeks. I am a very active person and over all healthy..

I was/am very fit, even the day before surgery did a six mile walk and lifted weights ! I did cardiac rehab but a personalised one to one rehab as my cardiologist recognised I was so fit prior to surgery that the kind of rehab often given would not be appropriate (often for heart attack patients who were not fit or well prior to their heart attack). I had six personalised sessions of rehab over six weeks, so one session a week with the cardiac nurse with me doing two more at home of the program before the next one with the cardiac nurse at which he'd add and change the exercises. The rehab consisted of interval training/high intensity, various exercises very fast walking, stepping, light weights, for the first two sessions, then on to weight lifting, again interval training/high intensity. I was given a heart rate monitor to wear so I could take my heart rate up to a target level. After the six sessions I continued to do the exercises at home and then added my regular weight lifting when I was given the okay to lift unrestricted weight. I enjoyed the rehab ! The cardiac nurse who did it was fab !

 

[Paleowoman]

At 6 months post-op, studies (Raman 2012) did show that only 24 percent people had their sternum completely healed. You might feel better at 6-8 weeks post op but you are very far from being healed.

Julien - this reminded me: six days post op, the day I got home, I tripped over a large cardboard box my ds had left on the floor (which he shouldn't have done) and I fell full on my sternum. Talk about shock and pain ! Thankfully, though, they wire the sternum together very securly so no harm was done.

 

[honeybunny]

Ditto to what everyone else said. Just want to send my best wishes for your surgery and recovery.

 

[JulienDu]

After the six sessions I continued to do the exercises at home and then added my regular weight lifting when I was given the okay to lift unrestricted weight!

Paleogirl, I am curious as to when they they gave you the okay to lift unrestricted weight ?

 

[epstns]

bayou girl, as the others have said, they do a really good job of pain management in the hospital. Each of us is different after that. When I came home, I needed some pain meds for a week or so - about half the recommended dosage, and only at night. I was up and around the house all day, and the gentle movement seemed to help manage pain. The only "real" pain I had was when I coughed or sneezed. (I had a nasty cough for 6 or 8 weeks after surgery. It turned out to be a side effect of one of my meds. Changed meds, cough went away.) They teach you in the hospital how to support your sternum if you sneeze, and as long as you remember to do that, it is manageable. Not fun at first, but manageable nonetheless.

As for the impact of the pain meds on your digestive system, we're all different. Those meds were a real problem for me. Between the meds I was given at the hospital and the ones I took at home, my system came to a complete stop and stayed there for weeks. It got so bad that at 4 weeks post op, I was readmitted to the hospital for a few days to get it all regulated. They gave me an "industrial strength" laxative (magnesium citrate), which did its job. They then sent me home with instructions to take Miralax (an over-the-counter laxative) at full strength for a week, then half strength for a week, then quarter strength for another week, by which time they felt I would be back in normal control. It worked, but it could have been avoided had my medical team advised me to use the Miralax at first sign of trouble. Other folks here have said that their doctors have advised them to keep Miralax on hand for their return home, and to use it before problems arise. It probably makes "those things" easier on your core muscles when you're healing, and certainly is unlikely to cause any trouble.

So, pellicle uses kimchi. I used Miralax. They seem to do the same thing. Just be aware of your body and take steps to keep things from getting out of control and you'll do fine.

 

[cldlhd]

I was given the 'no restrictions' regarding lifting at the 3 month mark.

 

[Paleowoman]

Paleogirl, I am curious as to when they they gave you the okay to lift unrestricted weight ?

It was around three or four months post surgery. Mind you, I did lift very mindfully - I wouldn't have done something like a dumbell fly at that point, nothing that would 'pull' my chest outwards. Lifting upwards and squats were fine.

 

[ForeverThankful]

What about the chest pain? How bad is it? What kind of movement am I looking at because I hear different things. What about constipation being on the pain meds? Should I be taking something like a stool softener now. Surgery is in 3 days.

I didn't feel any pain at all and I don't mean that the pain was tolerable I really mean that there was no pain what so ever. And in my case I wasn't given any pain medication. When I started waking up I became agitated and they gave me pain medication but the medication depressed my breathing so the surgeon said no pain meds for me!

The main thing was weakness. I remember being so weak that picking up food to eat was too tiring!

And as others pointed out, coughing is not a friendly activity nor is laughing! As far as sneezing, I don't know because i managed to avoid sneezing for three months!

I never had any constipation, maybe because I never had pain medication, but they seemed very well prepared to deal with your constipation should you experience it so I wouldn't worry about it.
.

Best of luck to you with your upcoming surgery and recovery!

 

[bayou girl]

Thanks to all of you so much. In my family I am the ROCK. I hold everything together and am tough, but all of this has thrown me for a loop. I am the kind of person that needs to know all the information I can find out about what is going to happen, the good, bad and ugly.
You have all helped me to see that its not all as bad as I thought it would be. Reading your post has made huge weights lift from my shoulders and I want to thank you all again. Bless each and every one of you.

 

[epstns]

OK, ROCK (bayou girl), but don't forget what ForeverThankful said, you will be very weak after surgery. I, too, remember that this feeling gave new meaning to the phrase "weak as a kitten." I had to start from zero in having the strength for even daily activities. My strength did come back fairly quickly, but only to about half of normal levels. It took a few months to get to 80% or so, and it was over a year before I could say that I was back 100%, and then even 110% of what I had prior to surgery.

I can still remember when I took my first outdoors walk after surgery. It was during February, in Chicago (cold). I finally got all bundled up, got my wife ready to go with me, and out we went. We got to the corner of the street, and I remember asking myself. . . "Shouldn't I turn around soon? I don't want to walk somewhere and find that I'm too tired to walk back home."

That feeling lasted only a week or two. By about 4 weeks, I was walking a full mile in about 20 minutes - indoors on a track while my wife went to her fitness class.

You may start out really weak, but much of your strength will come back quickly. Just listen to your body and try not to over-do it.

P.S. Our house is on 3 different floors, and I was up and down stairs from the day I returned from the hospital. No real issue there.

 

[Jamieann]

Good luck on your upcoming surgery! I just had my aortic valve replacement on April 1st, and while I in general felt like I got ran over by a truck after surgery, there wasn't a lot of pain specific to my chest. Honestly the harder thing for me were the muscle aches and pains I had that were caused by the hospital bed and recliner and not being super active.