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I have had a mechanical mitral valve for over three years and take warfarin to stop a clot forming on the valve .
I haven’t had the ...Read more
I have had a mechanical mitral valve for over three years and take warfarin to stop a clot forming on the valve .
I haven’t had the problem that you are asking about .
I had emergency OHS for a severely leaking mitral valve ( during covid times ) .
You are doing great , I know that it can be a worrying time . "
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Welcome to recovery and it ‘s ups and downs .
Little steps , one day at a time .
Listen to your body .
I hope that you and your wife ...Read more
Welcome to recovery and it ‘s ups and downs .
Little steps , one day at a time .
Listen to your body .
I hope that you and your wife are both feeling much better now . You are doing really well . "
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Harish , I would have thought they would be more likely to be caused by constipation .
Make sure that you eat a balanced diet with plenty... Read more
Welcome
Harish , I would have thought they would be more likely to be caused by constipation .
Make sure that you eat a balanced diet with plenty of fruit , veg and that you drink enough fluids . You are doing really well . "
I have asked this question as I have to decide for mechnical valve for my AVR.
Welcome "
Welcome , from another Ruth "
Check out the new edits to 'My Story' page by clicking here.
I'll just give the straight story at the top, but fair warning: it may have some dark ...Read more
I'll just give the straight story at the top, but fair warning: it may have some dark moments. If you need some positivity, you might want to keep scrolling.
On Saturday I awoke after a terrible night's sleep to a sensation of strange shortness of breath - a kind that felt like something was stopping me from expanding my chest and lungs. I also felt slightly feverish. By the early afternoon, My wife had driven me to the ER.
I had developed a complication known as a pericardial effusion, or a buildup of fluid around the heart, which required draining. By the next day, I was wheeled into the cath lab at Saint Joseph Medical Center in Towson, MD, where the fluid was drained. The procedure did its job, but sparked a new, more common issue I had to date ducked - atrial fibrillation. My heart rate was in the 100s while sleeping (when I slept), and any physical activity shot it into the 150s. Going to the bathroom felt like jogging. Walking down the hallway felt like sprinting uphill. As of 12:15 AM this morning, the cocktail of drugs I was receiving converted my heart to normal sinus rhythm, and my body felt SOMEWHAT back to its recovering self.
That's the factual summary of events. The emotional fallout? Having gone back into the hospital so quickly for emergency complications, complete with new fears, new pains, new doubts - the weight of it broke me a bit for a couple of days. There were instances where I sat on the side of my bed and just sobbed into my wife Mary's side. At night, I spent hours lying awake (sleeping with a HR over 100 is challenging at best), believing that I just wasn’t making it home again. Too many bad maternal genes inherited from a Mom with a laundry list of cardiac procedures. My maternal grandfather gone from a massive stroke at 59. One dead Uncle after another. I can't outrun my DNA. That's just how it is.
I need to draw an important distinction here - at no time did ANYONE who treated me lead me to believe any of that nonsense. Everyone was cool, professional efficiency: problem, analysis, plan, communication of plan (including how common these complications could be), implementation of solution. My wife was reassured, and reassuring. I just got to a point where my sleep-deprived, still-adjusting-to-life-post-surgery brain began running what Mary calls "the parade of the terribles."
With each up and down of this recovery process, I'm trying to come out with a lesson learned. I might have more to say on this later, but here's what I have so far: if you hit a low point, and have some long, dark nights of the soul, sometimes there's nothing to do but let go and trust the professionals. Let go and allow your people to carry you. Remember the lesson of Victor Frankl: the last and greatest human freedom is to accept one's circumstance and decide how to respond to it. I didn't do well with that last part over the past few days.
I hope putting my story out there might cut down a few thickets of doubt and fear for the next person behind me.
We're still here. That's the only thing that matters.
had issues and come out ahead. Prayers to to you feeling better quickly.
I too have a mother with a long cardiac history, which I’ve grown up living through all of my life. She is miraculously still here, just like the energizer bunny, which we affectionately call her. I can relate and understand.
BTW, I have found a lot of inspiration in Victor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning and also used his wisdom to help me during the dark times. He was an extraordinary and brilliant man.
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