waitin' n' wonderin'

[jackc]

Hi Folks,

While I'm waitin for the call from the surgeon re: a date I have a million things going on in my head ( worries mostly..and a million is probably an exaggeration.........)

So I figured that I would ask a "silly" question per day" until the call or I run out of "silly" questions!!

"Silly Question # 1"

Is there some indicator re: doing damage to the sternum as it heals ? What can you do or not do ? Is this one of those deals where your body will tell you what is good or not good?
If it hurts ..don't do it ?

What about sleeping on side...will that cause damage ?...or hurt?
What about climbing stairs ? ...When I come home there are three stairs to climb to get in...no way around it !!
Advice ??

Jack ( Welland )

 

[Christina]

Hi Jack,

Yes, you could do damage to the sternum and bust it open like Arnold Schwarzenegger did, but since most of us are not like him, I think you'll do fine.
What you should not do for the first 6 weeks is drive a car, reach for something that is high up or lift too heavy. They recommend no more than 5-10 pounds at first. As for sleeping on the side. That might be uncomfortable the first few weeks, but I have read that for some people it doesn't hurt. Mine hurt, so I did not sleep on my side. I was in a very comfortable chair the first few weeks.
Another thing that I would avoid is sneazing and coughing. Keep a little pillow handy when you feel one coming on, and push it into the chest. The hospital where I was gave me a little heart pillow, and I took it with me wherever I had to go.
I did not have any stairs to climb right a way, but someone else will come along and tell you of their experience with that.

Keep the questions coming.

Christina
Aortic Stenosis
AVR's 8/7/00 & 8/18/00
St. Jude's Mechanical

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi jack!
christina is right, you will most likely feel the discomfort before you do any damage. sleeping comfortably was a real challenge for joey. side sleeping didn't come for some time. even on his back, he was only able to sleep for a few hours at a time. little by little it gets better all around.
about the steps... in the hospital they had a mini staircase they started joey on and he progressed to the emergency stairway,, since we have about 12 steps leading up to our room! we told them ahead of time, so he could work on this while in the hospital and monitored. he did fine, but in the beginning did not come downstairs. as he felt better, he would come down for a few hours and then go upstairs and remain there. again, as he felt up to it, he would make more trips.
you go at your own pace (everyone' s is different). and, if you're tired, you'll stop and rest.
no question is a silly question. i look forward to all the others. hope this helped.
be well,
sylvia

 

[Mb]

Hello!

I've learned that there is no such thing as a silly question....problems/issues will pop up almost hourly at first.

Don';t worry, someone here will have an answer.

Now, with regards to stairs. I do not think they even let you leave the hospital, until they are fairly certain that you can climb a flight of stairs!

Sternum....repeat of the messages above. You will know.

Put your faith in God......


Marybeth

 

[JimL]

I was told not to lift more than 10 lbs. I soon found that opening the refrigerator door was more than 10 lbs, because it pulled across my chest. I also found that the child-safe pill bottles required much more than 10 lbs to open using two hands; instead I would put the bottle on the kitchen counter, and use one hand to press down and turn. In other words, as said above, if it hurts, stop.
I am certain that I was not told in the hospital not to sleep on my stomach, as I always have, so I tried laying down that way the first day -- and thought I died! Instead, I slept sitting up on the couch for several weeks, until I gradually got back to normal sleeping. Some on this list bought a special recliner for sleeping, but I didn't start reading this list until several months after my surgery, so I didn't learn such hints in time.

 

[carbomedic]

Jack,
3 weeks removed and I have finally rolled on my side to sleep. I slept in a Lazyboy a couple of times, but that was because my lower back hurt too much to sleep flat.
I found that the calisthenics they gave me in the hospital has helped with my sternum pain, like it keeps is loose or something.
I also was not releases until I was shown and practiced stairs. No problem.
I will tell you this, as my wife always says, take your time and don't hurry. That way you keep the pain lower and stairs are cake.
carbo

 

[Bill Hall]

Hi Jack - Your question is a good one, not silly at all. I think you need to be careful for quite a while after surgery. I decded not to play softball, afraid of the sternum getting hit. Otherwise, there were no other implications. I slept on my side and mostly did all the things I did before surgery. I never had any significant pain.

 

[Ron K]

So far. so good

So far. so good

Hello Jack,

I'm 3 weeks post surgery, AVR , and I'm doing better than I could have ever imagined. Walking and climbing stairs don't bother me at all; sleeping in my own bed on my back or on either side have been fine since I got home from the hospital; coughing and sneezing hurt a lot for the first couple of weeks, but after that it's okay. The only restriction I have now is not lifting more than 5-10 pounds, which is difficult to do. So many of your activities of daily living involve opening heavy doors, carrying things that aren't really heavy, but weigh more than the 10 pound limit. However, I want my sternum to heal as fast as possible, so I am very good about following this advise, even though it's not easy.

I am about the same age as you and I was in pretty good shape before the surgery, so I guess that made the recovery easier. I always walked a mile or two about 5 days a week, I bowled regularly, and I did a lot around the house.

I sounds like you've been pretty active too, so I hope that means you're in good shape. If so, your recovery may be smooth too.

Talk with your cardiologist to see if there are things you could be doing now, i.e. walking, etc, that might help you prepare for the post surgery period. If you're still golfing, skip the golf cart.

I think you'll do fine. You've got a lot going for you.

Ron K

 

[hensylee]

Ans to Question #1

Don't worry about damage you can do. You won't be able to damage it unless you lift more than 5# the first month - but they will tell you that before you leave the hosp. There will be other instructions for you to follow. Also your body will dictate what you can/can't do. As for steps - a nurse took me down the hall in the hospital and had me walk up and down stairs as part of the in-hospital exercise so don't think you will have trouble. God bless

 

[joy]

Hi, it is difficult not to lift over 10 pounds. Especially if you have kids. I couldn't even open my medicine bottles so I had to put it up and have it left open. I couldn't drive anywhere. My lifting limit was a gallon of milk. That means I couldn't go grocery shopping for myself.
As for the sleeping on my side, that wasn't painful, but I couldn't sleep on my stomach for a long time afterwards. Anytime you feel "pressure" on your breast bone, that's your body telling you to stop and relax.
Another question some people have are the wires, and what to do when they are bothering you. If they are sticking through, they will take them out, but it is the best thing to leave it in. Even though your sternum has set, your heart doesn't heal for about a year after your surgery, and opening up your chest will only make your body more susceptible to infection.
Take it easy! and RELAX