Soon to join the club :)

[liza]

Hey everyone!
I want to post to introduce myself, and shamelessly ask for some support. I will soon be undergoing OHS to replace my mitral valve on May 12th at 8:00. I must admit I'm VERY nervous about the thought of it all. I wanted to thank all of you for being so candid in your posts about what to expect. I'm really not looking forward to it, but I'm glad that I have an idea what to expect. At this point I think it's better to expect the worst and then hopefully it will turn out better than I thought.

What upsets me the most about all of this is that I'm 24 years old and a 2nd year veterinary medical student. This surgery is going to take place during the last quarter of this year. (We don't finish here at Ohio State until the middle of June.) Fortunately, my dean and my profs are being wonderful and working with me so hopefully I can finish things up during the summer when I'm feeling better. I had endocarditis at the beginning of the year (that's what messed up my valve enough to need to surgery) and my profs were pretty understanding about that.

My doctor recommended a bovine pericardium valve because he said it is considered the "gold standard" at this time. Also, it will be much easier for me to have kids in the near future. He also said that even if I got a mechanical valve there wasn't a 100% chance that I wouldn't need surgery in the near future. I'm not totally sure how I feel about this. Does anyone have any opinions? I just really had wanted to have kids and was afraid to close the door on that option with Coumadin treatments. But I noticed it seemed that the majority here believed in mechanical valves.

I am really interested in hearing from people that have had endocarditis and subsequently needed to get a valve replacement, or the experience of others near my age with OHS. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and hopefully respond. Thanks!

 

[Phyllis]

Liza,
There is a good thread in the forum on the subject of valves and pregnancy- it is: http://www.valvereplacement.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10794&highlight=pregnant
Hope I did this right and it works, because I've never pasted a thread before.

 

[Karlynn]

Welcome Liza,
I think you are wise in going with a tissue valve since you would like to have children. Are you married, or have a significant other that would make children more of a definately possibility in the near future? How long are they saying the valve should last. You are still pretty young and I do know that they do not last as long in younger hearts. The valves just get more of a work out.

I already had 2 children when I had my valve replaced when I was 32. The mechanical they put in has served me very well for over 13 years. I'm very happy to have not had to interrupt my family's life with any more surgeries while they were growing up. The valve is still looking good, but my kids are in college, so if a replacement is in the future, while it will be a pain, it won't be nearly as disruptive to my life as when the kids were home full time.

So my opinion (aren't you glad you're getting it. ) would be to go with the tissue, have your kids, then when the tissue gives out, go mechanical.

 

[geebee]

Liza,

Welcome.

Definitely go with the tissue valve if you want children. Although there have been some women who have had children while on Coumadin, it is very high risk. Have your children and, when your new valve needs replacing, you can go with a mechanical which could last the remainder of your life.

I wish you well and will be praying for you on the 12th.

Take care.

 

[Christian]

Liza,

Welcome.

Definitely go with the tissue valve if you want children. Although there have been some women who have had children while on Coumadin, it is very high risk. Have your children and, when your new valve needs replacing, you can go with a mechanical which could last the remainder of your life.

I wish you well and will be praying for you on the 12th.

Take care.

I Agree. My wife (another Buckeye) is in your shoes right now, and we've chosen the same valve in the unlikely event that her mitral valve can't be repaired. She's 31 and was born with a bad mitral valve. It's getting fixed later this year.

Our cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic thinks the CE bovine is a reasonable choice... To quote him exactly, he said "if you talked to 100 doctors, 45 would say bovine and 55 mechanical in a girl your age." If babies weren't an issue, it might be a tougher choice for us, but they are, so it isn't.

Is your valve unrepairable? If they can fix it, you won't need to worry about a replacement. I know at least one young woman here had a repair at the Cleveland Clinic after endocarditis. Are you heading to Cleveland for the surgery or staying in Columbus?

 

[KristaDeAnn]

Hi Liza,
Welcome to the board. I am facing the surgery June 1st and I just turned 40 years old. My surgeon said he could repair my valve (Mitral) however I would be facing another surgery in 10-15 years to replace it. I had Rhuematic Fever as a child (at least that is what they tell me, I dont remember it and my mom has never heard of it...but I did have tonsilitis when I was little that I know for sure)

I dont have any children and will not be having any in this lifetime so replacement seemed to make the most sense to me as I DO NOT want to have another surgery unless something happens out of my control to force me too. Not looking forward to the Coumadin, however based on what I have read here Im hoping it will not be the nightmare it is made out to be. I have an active life style (raise and train my own horses,now just trail ride them) so I worry about the coumadin treatment...but I cannot stop living my life...Just going to have to be careful. Luckily they have calmed down now some since they are gettting past the baby stages...

 

[liza]

I'm going to go ahead and have it done in Columbus at the Ross Heart Hospital. They seem to have a good reputation (not as great as Cleveland's though!) I'm pretty confident in my cardiac surgeon though. Plus he's the chief of surgeons, so that makes me feel even better. He said he's going to go in with the goal of repairing, but based on my echos he isn't that confident that it's repairable. So, I guess we'll see what happens. I can't believe it's only 2 weeks away. I just hope this time (and the recovery!) goes fast. I'm not one to like doing nothing for too long. Nice to meet a fellow Buckeye, and thanks for the continued support everyone!

Liza

 

[Karlynn]

Your day is on the calendar

Your day is on the calendar

Liza,
Just put your surgery on the calendar. This means you have our permission to go ahead with it.

 

[gadgetman]

Welcome to Da Family

Welcome to Da Family

"Our" club dues are somewhat low but watch out for that initiation party .

Welcome aboard and hope you find all the answers and help you need here. We've either been there-done that already or are in the "Waiting Room". I had a total fear of my surgery until I found this site. I felt a calming effect after reading the posts and finding out that other people have already been through what I was facing. It will not be a walk in the park (unless you are mugged in NYC ) but it wasn't as bad as I expected.

Going in "repair" of my mitral valve was not even on the table (so to speak). The wife and I had already decided on the mechanical valve and we were both surprised when he was able to repair it instead. Life is always a crap shoot but my surgeon was very optimistic about the repair lasting for a while. Guess we will find out .

We will send our prayers and good thoughts for your pending surgery and await that "I'M BACK" Post.

Good Luck and,

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[dawnwit15]

Welcome

Welcome

Hi Liza,
I too had the same concerns you do about the valve selection. At the time of my OHS I was 29 yrs old and did not have children yet, so I elected to have the tissue valve to avoid pregnancy complications in the future with the coumadin. Luckily, when I was on the operating table, the surgeon was able to do a repair instead of a replacement. I am now one year and four months post-op. I feel great and am 3 months pregnant with our first child. I know you must be overwhelmed with emotion right now. I thought I would never get through it. But I did and so did everyone else here on this site. You'll be surprised how much better you will feel after the surgery and you'll be able to finish up with school in no time. Best wishes to you. I will keep you in my prayers.
Dawn

 

[nia]

Hello Liza,

I also had bacterial endocarditis 1.5 years ago, in the middle of my junior year in college (I was 21 at the time). I was sick as a dog during the finals week and had to have an emergency mitral valve replacement surgery 5 days after hospitalization. Needless to say, I did not do any of my end-of-the-semester assignments and finals. I was so worried/convinced that this would be the end of my academic carrier (I am premed?though we?ll see about that after the MCAT?), but all of my professors and advisors were very understanding of the situation. I took the following semester off to recuperate, and now I am back on campus without having any problems in classes or in extracurricular activities.

Compared to the drama of pre-surgery, my recovery went very smoothly. I was in the ICU for about a week, and then moved to the rehab floor. It was a little embarrassing to be like 50 years younger than everybody else, but I got over it.

I have a bovine pericardium valve, which my surgeon was hoping that it would last enough to get through a pregnancy or two. The valve was chosen by the surgeon, as I was in no condition to make a choice at the time (two strokes pretty much knocked me out). I?ve never thought about having children until I was faced with a possibility of not being able to have one, and I am very happy with the tissue valve. I do sometimes worry about the replacement surgery, which will likely to happen during residency, if I do pursue medicine.

Best of luck on your surgery and school work.

 

[skimomck]

Liza,
You must be a Buckeye fan-we are U of M alumni and wolverine fans. Our son Teddy (20 yo) is having surgery two days before you on May 10th. He is also on the quarter system at college but was unable to enroll this quarter due to the surgery. Your profs and dean sound very understanding-that?s great. Its been a tough year for you with the endocarditis- I am so impressed you have been able to keep up with school and continue, good for you. Vet school is obviously challenging. Its sounds like the Bovine valve is a good choice for you considering the possibility of pregnancy in the future. Our son is facing his second surgery so the recommendation has been mechanical valves he needs both pulmonary and aortic, but he is opting for tissue valves because he doesn't want to be on Coumadin. He is not of the belief like you mentioned in your post that the mechanical valves will be a life long repair because his Ross procedure only gave him 4 years and was expected to last much longer. Not of these decisions are easy and like NIA that just posted, these are tough decisions to make at your young ages. Good luck and we will hope for a quick recovery.

 

[catwoman]

Liza:

Good luck with your surgery.
Ohio State has one of the finest vet schools in the country, lots of good research comes out of there. I'm sure your professors will be able to work with you on any clinicals you may have post-op.
You won't be able to lift larger animals for at least 6 weeks post-op. My parents insisted on taking care of me the first 2 weeks I was out of the hospital. When I came back home, I had to deal with our cats wanting to hop on me and knead on my chest (OUCH!!!!!!). Two of the Abyssinians in particular have put on weight since retiring from being shown and feel like a ton or two.
I had surgery 6/24/03, could not carry a 1.1-year-old Persian (probably 8-10 lbs) until 8/8/03.

If you have any animals in your household, get help with their care during your recovery -- feeding, cleanup, litterboxes, etc. If you have a dog, he/she can be a good companion on your post-op walks.

 

[liza]

Hey everyone, I just have a few questions I hope ya'll will be nice enough to answer. I'm getting closer and closer to my surgery each day. Do you guys have any advice on things I should be doing to prepare? I'm working on my living will/power of attorney papers to have those ready. I know that valve replacement is very safe, etc etc, but I want to be prepared just in case. (The whole Terri Schiavo things scared me!) Also, things I should have prepared for the recovery. I've been looking into an automatic recliner, but that's another story. Any/all advice would be sooo welcome. I just want to be as prepared as I can be for this. Thanks in advance everyone!

Liza, T - 10 days now

 

[PapaHappyStar]

Hey everyone, I just have a few questions I hope ya'll will be nice enough to answer. I'm getting closer and closer to my surgery each day. Do you guys have any advice on things I should be doing to prepare? I'm working on my living will/power of attorney papers to have those ready. I know that valve replacement is very safe, etc etc, but I want to be prepared just in case. (The whole Terri Schiavo things scared me!) Also, things I should have prepared for the recovery. I've been looking into an automatic recliner, but that's another story. Any/all advice would be sooo welcome. I just want to be as prepared as I can be for this. Thanks in advance everyone!

Liza, T - 10 days now

Besides the living will papers, I also had an organ donor card filled out and gave it to the hospital.

It wont be easy/possible to sleep in a prone position for a few weeks so a comfortable chair or recliner where you can doze off is a good idea.

I made sure I had books and a laptop handy so I wouldnt get bored. I got moody for a while as well, keeping busy takes your mind off feeling sorry for yourself. As you may have read here in many accounts things improve quite dramatically after the first few tough weeks.

Being somewhat impatient -- I think I learned the hard way ( in retrospect ) not to feel almost fatalistically bad about myself.

All the best with your surgery -- keep us posted on how things are.

Regards,
Burair

 

[Ross]

"Our" club dues are somewhat low but watch out for that initiation party .Danny

Stop telling newbies what to expect.

 

[perkicar]

Good Luck and Go Bucks!

Good Luck and Go Bucks!

Hey everyone!
I want to post to introduce myself, and shamelessly ask for some support. I will soon be undergoing OHS to replace my mitral valve on May 12th at 8:00. I must admit I'm VERY nervous about the thought of it all. I wanted to thank all of you for being so candid in your posts about what to expect. I'm really not looking forward to it, but I'm glad that I have an idea what to expect. At this point I think it's better to expect the worst and then hopefully it will turn out better than I thought.

What upsets me the most about all of this is that I'm 24 years old and a 2nd year veterinary medical student. This surgery is going to take place during the last quarter of this year. (We don't finish here at Ohio State until the middle of June.) Fortunately, my dean and my profs are being wonderful and working with me so hopefully I can finish things up during the summer when I'm feeling better. I had endocarditis at the beginning of the year (that's what messed up my valve enough to need to surgery) and my profs were pretty understanding about that.

My doctor recommended a bovine pericardium valve because he said it is considered the "gold standard" at this time. Also, it will be much easier for me to have kids in the near future. He also said that even if I got a mechanical valve there wasn't a 100% chance that I wouldn't need surgery in the near future. I'm not totally sure how I feel about this. Does anyone have any opinions? I just really had wanted to have kids and was afraid to close the door on that option with Coumadin treatments. But I noticed it seemed that the majority here believed in mechanical valves.

I am really interested in hearing from people that have had endocarditis and subsequently needed to get a valve replacement, or the experience of others near my age with OHS. I appreciate you taking the time to read this and hopefully respond. Thanks!

Hi Liza,
I'm a Buckeye alum and also soon to be aortic valve replacement success story. I'm getting a mechanical valve, however, since my surgeon wants to minimize the chances of needing to reoperate. (and I'm all for no second OHS!!) I have aortic stenosis caused by treatment for Hodgkin's disease that was diagnosed November of my senior undergraduate year at OSU. Like you, my profs were very cooperative--I did have to take 2 of the three classes that semester over, and missed all of winter quarter being treated, but hey, 27 years later I'm still hear to talk about it.

I thought about having mine done at OSU ( I have brothers who live near Circleville) but am going to Cleveland Clinic, with surgery next Tuesday the 10th. I'm going to stay with them in Stoutsville for a few weeks post surgery, then come back here to Louisville.

Good luck on your journey. My roommates during graduate school were vet students, so I'm impressed that you're able to do this and keep up that curriculum, although, if I remember right, Sophomore year was a little easier than Freshman!! Let us know how you're doing!!!

 

[gadgetman]

Stop telling newbies what to expect.

I don't think I revealed too much Oh Great One . Their time will come soon enough !!!! Want to get out those "wet noodles" again .

May God Bless,

Danny

 

[KMB]

Welcome to the waiting game! It is nice to find this site and learn what to expect after surgery. Good luck with it all! 18 days and counting for me!!

 

[Mary]

I don't think I revealed too much Oh Great One . Their time will come soon enough !!!! Want to get out those "wet noodles" again .

May God Bless,

Danny

Danny,
Don't listen to Ross!
Forget the "wet noodles"!
There's worse in store for you if you don't conform!