so.. how long to wait before you can jog?

[JBR]

Hey folks,

I had my surgery on Oct 18th -- got a CEP bovine.

I'm walking briskley 4 or 5 times a day, 25 mins at a time.

I still have trouble regulating my body temps -- i.e. the I still change clothing at night due to night sweats -- and I get minor chills (less than before -- I had dramatic ones then). I hope this goes away soon...

I go in for my first checkups next week (well I see my normal doc tomorrow -- but surgeon next week) -- so I'll ask him as well... but I was curious -- when do they allow you to start jogging?

 

[Mark Wagner]

Time

Time

My doctor told me I would really feel great at the 1 year mark, and at that point I would or would not notice the success of the surgery. He was right on, and at one year, I felt better then I could ever remember. Personally, I looked at the first year, as a healing year. I was gently swinging a golf club at 5 weeks, and was golfing (walking) at 2 months. Myself, I would check with your cardiologist and have him; when he thinks your strong enough; to give you the go ahead and schedule of when he thinks your ready. I started periodically walking-running at about just under the one year mark. My advice is listen to your body! My cardiologist and surgeon and GP all have given me that advice. You sound like your going throught a lot of what I went through. Just take your time. Their is no hurry. Remember, everone is different, and some go through this with a breeze, others it just takes time. I was pretty miserable for around 4 months, although each day it got a little easier.

Take care ... Mark

 

[JimL]

JBR, if you just had surgery two weeks ago, you are at the stage when many of us overdo things. Walk, yes, but 4-5 times a day may be too much. I encourage you to get into cardiac rehab, since they tailor the amount of exercise to your specific situation.

 

[tommy]

JBR,

It's great that you want to exercise and that you are exercising. I echo the suggestion for cardia rehab. There you can work out with medical supervision. That protects you and gives you piece of mind. Your cardio can prescribe it.

Did you go into surgery in good fitness? If so, that accelerates your recovery.

Be very carful of the incision and breastbone.

Keep this a one-way street. No backtracking allowed due to over doing it or moving too quickly. Listen to your body and be patient.

 

[JBR]

Thanks for the replies.. What constitutes over doing it?

I've worked out pretty much my entire life (weights and cardio)...

I'm not signed up for any cardio rehab...

 

[tommy]

JBR,

"over doing it" should be defined by your doctor.

I can give you my opinion, and that is for at least a month, you shouldn't work up a sweat, maybe a light glow. Keep your heart rate down. No weight lifting at all except 1-2 lbs for light stretching (but not for 6 or more weeks). If you are having trouble regulating temperature, you may want to scale back the exercise that you are doing, you may not be ready.

I don't want to discourage you in any way, just want the best for you in the long run. Ask your surgeon what he/she thinks. I assume that you will be transfered to a cardiologist for long-term follow up and care. Ask the same questions again

I started cardiac rehab out of shape 6 weeks after surgery. I had to start from scratch (lousy fitness). The rehab program taught me about discipline, small increments, and patience. It also gave me comfort that I wouldn't keel over, or if I did, I was in good hands. it was also sociable.

Everyone's needs and situation is different. You may be able to progress faster because you've started in good shape. That has been the case for several in here.

 

[tobagotwo]

Here's my two cents' worth...

Tom is very right about the overdoing it. There may be some payback for pushing too fast.

If you're still having chills, your body is telling you it's not done with some of the primary stages of healing. That's not a surprise at all at two weeks. You're still in cardio healing, not cardio workout. The fact that you get away with pushing it doesn't mean it's necessarily helping.

Night sweats can continue for weeks or months, and may not be related to your chills. There is at least one thread about it. Hopefully, you are still checking your temperature several times a day, if you are experiencing chills.

Consider trying to walk more for duration than briskness at this phase.

As far as jogging, you may find a very unpleasant aftereffect from that bouncing. I was on a riding lawnmower at three weeks, and had no sternum trouble steering, but felt very unhappily jumbled up inside from the vibration afterwards. Your heart, lungs, liver, and other organs are still readjusting their positions with respect to each other at this point, if you had the full sternum split. Let them work that part out before you shake up the jar.

If you are not going to cardio rehab (I didn't), I would ask the surgeon's people what they think. I would certainly consider that jogging could reasonably wait at least as long as driving, which is keyed to average recovery of the sternum. For a heart recovering from being cut open (if you need to, look up some of the videos of valve operations to remind yourself what your heart went through), a little patience makes sense. And walking is an underrated exercise that is much harder to accidentally overdo.

We males tend to move ahead very fast, when we feel we can get away with it. Try to determine if it's really the recovery benefit that is pushing you, or if part of it is our common male desire to get past "weaknesses" and get back into control of our lives. You can trigger arrhythmias or tachycardia by pushing too soon, which you can find on postings elsewhere. That may set you back, or get you onto more meds, which are hard to get off of later (the docs hate to deprescribe).

Absolutely, jogging and running are great exercises for cardiac development, but you should get back into them when your heart is ready, not your head.

Best wishes,

 

[MarkU]

I went back to the gym after three months for very light weights and stationary bike. I started jogging about nine months post-op, mostly run/walk - running (slowly) for 5 minutes and walking for two. Like others have mentioned, my body just seemed out of kilter some days for the first nine months to year.
It was hard not to overdo things at first and learning my limits. If I did try to do too much then I would pay for it by feeling rotten for a couple of days afterwards. At first just going through a normal daily routine of getting dressed and going to work was very draining.
Nearly four years after my AVR, I now feel terrific. In fact, I think my surgery has motivated me to follow a healthier lifestyle and diet. I know a lot of my "healthy" 50 year old friends are envious of my triathlon training.

 

[Mark Wagner]

I couldn't do the 'rehab' because my insurance did not cover it. As far as overdoing it .... example .... after surgery, my surgeon said to not overdue it, such as walking to far and then not having the endurance to get back.

Thank God I had my Dad with me, for about two weeks after my surgery, I decided to walk around my apartment building. (about a block) I did not get a 1/4 way out, and I flat could not go further. I had to hang onto my Dad while I rested some, then worked my way back to the house!

My suggestion is when you work out initially; no matter what level your at; have someone with you in case you find yourself in need of assistance.

Mark

 

[JBR]

Hmm.. So if you aren't getting tired do you still hold back?

If you perspire a bit do you just stop?

Have my surgeons apt next week (first follow up) -- so will ask him this too

 

[JimL]

As pointed out before, you will probably only know you have overdone it after you have overdone it. Take it easy for a while. Walk, but not to excess.

 

[tommy]

you will probably only know you have overdone it after you have overdone it

The "catch 22" is to not get that far. It's okay to underdo (is that a word?) it for a while. No fitness goals. No timers. Just one goal - healing. Do that well, and there will be time for everything else.

 

[doberman]

I really think your body (and your doctor) will tell you when you are ready. I played hockey the other night for the first time since my Aug 12 mitral valve repair, I feel like I have a new motor! (although the legs got a bit rubbery)

 

[stormrev]

jogging again...

jogging again...

Gidday!

I'm now eight months post Ross procedure and have been jogging since about 4 months (July 4th Independence Day!). Before then I was happy to walk and other light exercise. Now I am back jogging 10-12 k (albeit slowly) but have come from a base of 25 years of running marathons etc, so had some cardiac fitness remanants! I too remember the hot/cold temperature fluctuations, but they seemed to fade after 3-4 months and now I'm pretty much back to normal.

Walking was a great way to do something active again after surgery, but know your limits - I certainly can still tell if I overdo it one day and feel very flat the next.

At eight months post I'm already feeling better than eighteen months ago and anticipate by next year I'll be firing on all fours!

Kind regards

Grant

 

[JBR]

Well, the good news is my chills/night sweats are pretty much gone. Around 2 weeks and 3-4 days I noticed only being slightly "damp". Now at 3 weeks I'm good to go. Whew.

So, I go into my surgeon (one of the best surgeons in the Pacific NW). Everything checked out good. He asks me how my exercising is going. I say I've been doing 3-5 25 minute walks a day. He tells me I can push it way more than that.. He said don't get to a point where I'm outta breath, but otherwise I can push it much more than I'm doing it now (listen to your body of course).

He says at 6 weeks I can start jogging (very light).

He said I'm good to start working out with light weights now (5 lbs).

He also says that once I finish healing, I literally will have no restrictions. He even said "you could go benchpress 600 lbs if you could after a year".

That really blew my mind -- I asked him wouldn't that put way too much pressure and ruin the valve or whatever, and he just laughed and said "no restrictions once you are healed".

Sooooo... Is he kookoo or what? It sounds like a lot of other doctors out there recommend not going heavy again?

Thoughts?

 

[tobagotwo]

Sounds like your doctor agrees with you. Who's going to argue with that?

Some of us pop back quite quickly after surgery. We tend to be cautious about the sternum, as it is always an unknown, even in the fast-healing.

I walked well beyond what my cardio wanted, although my surgeon's group was okay with it. I didn't go for briskness, though. I simply walked all over town(s) for most of the day.

However, I would avoid getting too overtired, as it could lead to arrhythmias. Setbacks can be heartbreaking. Be aware you will still have good days and not-so-good days. Don't push as much on the not-so-good days.

Guess you graduate to jogging in a few weeks.

Best wishes,

 

[tommy]

Your post is hugely encouraging.

Watch out when the doctor says you can do stuff that you've never done before. Mine told me I could run a marathon if I chose to (but 600 lbs still scares me). Of course with small increments, who knows? My marathon started with 100 yards and a nap.

So, pick it up a notch and keep going. Small increments. No setbacks. Sounds terrific.

BTW, I felt a small twinge in my sternum this morning doing crunches. I wouldn't even call it pain. I think that the bones and the wires have different elasticity and there will forever be some "pull" there on exertion. I treat it as a pleasant reminder of a repair that gave me new life.

 

[JBR]

The wires remind me of something. I had a chest xray done today, and it was so weird seeing the 12 chest loopy wire things helping to hold my sternum in place and seeing the new valve..

It looked so bizarre <g>

 

[tommy]

Yup, and add a mechanical valve into the x-ray. LOL

 

[danielgilboa]

Hi!

You seem to be doing fantastic on recovery.

Walking is realy good for many things even lung fluid absorbtion and heart beat regulation. So don't move away from walking so fast. Another thing about running is the impact. When I tried shifting from a walk to a run 4-5 weeks post it hurt my sternum. Still today, I sometimes get pain from a misplaced wire I have when running, just because of the impact.

If your doc does not think you can be doing any damage to your heart or sternum then just play it by the ear. If any thing hurts or is uncomfortable just stop it.

At this stage and much longer, things might not develop linear and steady. You will probably experience ups and downs, its OK, don't fight it.

And most important - enjoy your new life!