Will I feel cold all the time?

[RealtorRick]

I am getting a mechanical valve on 1/11/12 and will be on anticoagulants forever. Some people tell me I will always be cold. Currently, during cold winter months I keep the house 68 during the times we are at home and awake. Usually sleep with it around 65. Summertime I cannot sleep unless the air conditioning is below 70 degrees. Will this change? Will I always be freezing and need extra blankets, sweaters etc?

 

[guyinva]

Since I had my AVR Surgery, I've been colder than I was before. I got a tissue valve so do not have to take anticoagulants. I think the beta blockers are the culprit for me. My wife and I are constantly "discussing" the temperature in our house.

 

[Cooker]

No. I have not noticed any change in feeling cold or hot. I have been on warfarin nearly six years and according to reports I'm still hot blooded and cold hearted:tongue2:

 

[epstns]

For me the change occurred when I was put on meds for hypertension. Once I started that, I was cold more often. Before that, I was never cold.

Also, for the first month or so after VR surgery, I was so cold that I wore Polar-Tec vests in the house even when the temp was set to 70. The doc's said that was because I was anemic after surgery. This effect gradually went away over the next month or so.

 

[bradvo]

I was cold in the beginning had house at 72 and the fireplace going. Now 2 months out not so much , getting more back to my normal comfort.

 

[Mentu]

Rick, in this respect, open heart surgery is sort of like an earthquake in the body. For the surgery itself, you are suddenly asleep and then you wake with no sense of time passing. There are, however, aftershocks that become less frequent and less intense over time. My surgeon told me there is no way to determine what a persons after surgery experience will be except that people who are healthier going into surgery will be even healthier afterwords. For your question, I asked my Aunt Alice who has used Coumadin for the past 10 years. She said there was never a time when she noticed being more cold sensitive. As for me, I do not use anti-coagulant therapy but I am more sensitive to being hot since the AVR.

There is a lot of variability among us Rick. You will have some issues that I have not but the point that you must always remember is that you will be healthier after surgery. Recovery has its ups and downs for each of us but it can also be a wonderful time as you feel your stamina and energy returning. At first, you can feel a difference almost every day then every week then every month. Don't worry about the possibilities you cannot control.

Larry

 

[Superbob]

Not in my case; I'm just as warm-natured as ever, no matter the OHS nearly seven years ago or the boatload of meds I take. Just a red-blooded American boy, I reckon.

 

[yotphix]

Hey Rick,
After my surgery, which was in mid June in Toronto, I was walking around in a woolen hat, and a warm jacket right through the summer months, which are quite warm there. It had nothing to do with Warfarin though. There is a common misconception that Warfarin is a 'blood thinner" first, and second, that 'thinned blood' will not keep you as warm.
My understanding (as a lay person, not a medical professional) is this. Warfarin is not at all a blood thinner, despite doctors, nurses, pharmacists calling it that sometimes. It acts to prevent the formation of clotting factors, which in turn increases the length of time required to form a clot (or more precisely, to form thrombin, which forms the clot). Aspirin, on the other hand, IS a blood thinner, in a sense, since it reduces the number of platelets in circulation, and platelets are a kind of 'unliquid' part of your blood.
So now, two and a half years post surgery, and gobbling 11mg of Warfarin every single day, I can tell you that I am LESS cold than before the surgery, and I credit that to improved circulation. Thank you new heart valve!

 

[normofthenorth]

I was on ACT through my first 3 months, which were Winter in Toronto. We keep it quite cool in the house, and I noticed no changes then, or since I came off the Warfarin. As others have said, it is a major shock to the system, so some people experience all kinds of changes afterwards, either temporary or not so much.

 

[2003miata]

I had AVR (with a mechanical valve so I'm on warfarin) on 11/9, since then I have been more cold sensitive, but for me it seems to be much more related to ensuring I maintain my blood sugar level. My experience has been when I start to feel cold, if I have something to eat, I will warm up fairly quickly. Since my surgery, I've modified my eating habits from two meals a day (lunch and dinner) to 5 smaller meals per day - this seems to help me maintain better management of my body temperature.

 

[Bill B]

Hey Rick,
After my surgery, which was in mid June in Toronto, I was walking around in a woolen hat, and a warm jacket right through the summer months, which are quite warm there. It had nothing to do with Warfarin though. There is a common misconception that Warfarin is a 'blood thinner" first, and second, that 'thinned blood' will not keep you as warm.
My understanding (as a lay person, not a medical professional) is this. Warfarin is not at all a blood thinner, despite doctors, nurses, pharmacists calling it that sometimes. It acts to prevent the formation of clotting factors, which in turn increases the length of time required to form a clot (or more precisely, to form thrombin, which forms the clot). Aspirin, on the other hand, IS a blood thinner, in a sense, since it reduces the number of platelets in circulation, and platelets are a kind of 'unliquid' part of your blood.
So now, two and a half years post surgery, and gobbling 11mg of Warfarin every single day, I can tell you that I am LESS cold than before the surgery, and I credit that to improved circulation. Thank you new heart valve!

I'm glad you brought up the misnomer of warfarin as a "blood thinner". Medical professionals use that because they don't want to take the time to explain anticoagulation. So, you corrected that, BUT then you introduced another fallacy - that aspirin is a "blood thinner", reducing the number of platelets. NOT SO AT ALL. Aspirin, in relatively small doses, interferes with platelet aggregation - the ability of platelets to clump together and start the formation of a clot when a blood vessel is damaged. The number of platelets and the "thickness" of blood is not affected by aspirin. Sorry if another pharmacist may have been oversimplifying again and gave you this misinformation.

Bill (retired pharmacist)

 

[catwoman]

I have been colder since my surgery, but I also lost quite a bit of weight since my surgery. So I have less natural "insulation." I think that's the reason, not the face that I'm on warfarin.

 

[Guest]

I've always been cold. I much prefer the HOT temps of summer, than the COLD temps of winter.

I've also noticed that, after open heart surgery, at least the first few weeks, I'm colder than ever. After my latest surgery (11/11/2011), when I got home, I HAD to have my room heater on far in advance from when I'd actually go downstairs to sleep. And, the first couple weeks, I had to leave it on. Now, I'm back to only having to put it on to warm the room up right before bed. I then turn it off when I get into bed.



Cort | 38.m.IL | pigValve + paceMaker + cowValve | 5 MCs + 1 Caprice Classic
CHD.MCs.CC + RoadTrips.hobbies.RadioShows.us66 = http://www.chevyasylum.com/cort
"Just an everyday distraction" __ Ronnie Milsap __ 'Button Off My Shirt'

 

[Julian]

Besides the cocktail of drugs most of us take that can cause God knows what side effects, this surgery and any surgery and its effects on the body is still not fully understood and may never be completely understood. Minus the drugs its concerning why some of us feel so cold after surgery, you'd figure with the "improved" circulation and heart function from this surgery we would feel warmer and more alert than ever. Something changes in the body after this surgery and its not all good. : (

 

[yotphix]

So, you corrected that, BUT then you introduced another fallacy - that aspirin is a "blood thinner", reducing the number of platelets. NOT SO AT ALL. Aspirin, in relatively small doses, interferes with platelet aggregation - the ability of platelets to clump together and start the formation of a clot when a blood vessel is damaged. The number of platelets and the "thickness" of blood is not affected by aspirin. Sorry if another pharmacist may have been oversimplifying again and gave you this misinformation.

Bill (retired pharmacist)

My apologies everyone, and thank you Bill for correcting my post. I certainly was misinformed, though by a cardiologist! I should know better though, than to take anything at face value. The cardio (a stand in for my regular guy who was on holiday) was no doubt in a hurry to finish up and move on so couldn't be bothered to explain that properly to me.
Again, thanks,

Paul

 

[RealtorRick]

UPDATE:I have now been home for 1 week and I do not feel colder than normal. But when I hold a cold drink my hands never warm back up. I have to wash them under warm water for a minute or stick them into my pocket. No big deal, but my wife constantly says, "your hands are freezing".

 

[bradvo]

Welcome back Rick and good to hear from you .
Are you resting OK ?

Brad

 

[Adrienne]

I was colder than usual the first couple of months. I think it's because of the anemia that everyone seems to get at least a bit.

 

[DanielB]

I had periods of being colder and hotter for the frst couple of months, but all seems just fine since.

 

[nngbwh]

The first few months after surgery I was feeling cold. Now 2 years later I don't feel that cold.