Hi Holly: it has been awhile but wanted you to know I am scheduled for a mitral valve repair redo on September 13 at Cleveland Clinic with Dr. Roselli. My ...Read more
Hi Holly: it has been awhile but wanted you to know I am scheduled for a mitral valve repair redo on September 13 at Cleveland Clinic with Dr. Roselli. My regurgitation has progressed to moderately severe with some symptoms developing over the last 6 months. I hope all is well with you!
Denise Kirchner posted a note for Holly that says:
Hi Holly! It is good to hear from you. I am so happy to hear you are still doing well. It is hard to believe 2 years have passed since we walked this journey ...Read more
Hi Holly! It is good to hear from you. I am so happy to hear you are still doing well. It is hard to believe 2 years have passed since we walked this journey together. My 2 year anniversary is coming up on May 29th. I am doing well and am scheduled for my Echo Stress Test on May 20th, but won't know the results till I see my cardiologist on June 10th. I have been really consistent with my 20 minutes of cardio in the morning and 20 minutes when I get home from work every day, so I am hoping that more remodeling has taken place and that there is an improvement in the valve regurgitation. I will probably not post anything until after I see Dr. Malone on June 10th. We shall see. You take care of yourself and stay in touch!
Denise K
Hi Holly!
So good to hear you're doing great! I feel great too and feel my surgery is in the distant past. I've been exercising a lot, it feels nice to have ...Read more
Hi Holly!
So good to hear you're doing great! I feel great too and feel my surgery is in the distant past. I've been exercising a lot, it feels nice to have confidence that your heart isn't going to cut-out if you stress it, isn't it?
Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary. I am just now having my 9 week anniversary. I too had MVP with severe regurgitation
and was told that I had less ...Read more
Congratulations on your 1 year anniversary. I am just now having my 9 week anniversary. I too had MVP with severe regurgitation
and was told that I had less then 5 years to live if I did nothing. Needless to say, I went through all of the emotions that most heart patients go through. My heart had to be repaired through my sternum so that meant my check being cracked open. Everything is going so well now. It\'s amazing that walking up a flight of stairs doesn\'t exhaust me anymore. I do have on kinda private questions for you as a woman. I was too nervous to ask my doctor. How long did you wait before resuming sex in your relationship? If you want to talk a little more private, please feel free to contact me at wanke41@gmail.com. Thank you so much.
Hi Holly..
Congrats on your 1 year anniversary!! It is hard to believe it has been a year since I followed your journey. Your positive attitude and great ...Read more
Hi Holly..
Congrats on your 1 year anniversary!! It is hard to believe it has been a year since I followed your journey. Your positive attitude and great support to others on this site helped me prepare for my own OHS without fear!!! Many blessings to you, Holly as you continue to live well!!
Connie T.
Holly Pomeroy Thanks, Connie! It's great to keep in touch and hear how others are doing after a year. I enjoyed f ... Read more
Holly Pomeroy Thanks, Connie! It's great to keep in touch and hear how others are doing after a year. I enjoyed following you also and hope things are going well for you. Stay in touch!
Good to hear. I was sort of worried about those things after my operation. I had lots of headaches. Sometimes two or three or a long duration one before the ...Read more
Good to hear. I was sort of worried about those things after my operation. I had lots of headaches. Sometimes two or three or a long duration one before the operation, but after, I now hardly get any. Unless I don\'t eat. Then I get what I call my hunger headaches.
I am glad those ocular things went a way. It was tough if I was driving. I had to pull over until it subsided. Now that it has been a year, I have a hard time even remembering the Hospital and all that recuperation stuff. I mean it is still there every time I look in the mirror and see the scars, but hard to think back at all that stuff. Luckily I must have a bad memory about it all. Well all except that tube that ran down into my back. Yeowee....LOL. Have fun and stay healthy.
Your Heart Valve Pal....
Paul G.
Hey Holly. I forgot to ask you how the migraines or ocular migraines are doing? Are you having any? Mine have really dropped off to the point of almost having ...Read more
Hey Holly. I forgot to ask you how the migraines or ocular migraines are doing? Are you having any? Mine have really dropped off to the point of almost having none any more.
I was just wondering.
Paul
Holly Pomeroy Hi Paul, my ocular migraines have really dropped off too, although I did have one the other day, and ... Read more
Holly Pomeroy Hi Paul, my ocular migraines have really dropped off too, although I did have one the other day, and thought "wow, I haven't had one of these for a while"!! It had been several months since my last one. My opthamologist said he was starting to have some and he is in his late 30s!!!! He told me not to worry and he's not worrying, so I guess we're good!!
Holly
Hi Holly,
Thanks for all the information! I live in the Minneapolis, MN area, so I\'m only 100 miles from Mayo. I will let you know when I start my journal. ...Read more
Hi Holly,
Thanks for all the information! I live in the Minneapolis, MN area, so I\'m only 100 miles from Mayo. I will let you know when I start my journal. Thanks again for your help!
Lynn
Hi Holly,
I was excited to see your post and read your journal. I will be having robotic mitral valve repair at Mayo with Dr. Burkhart and Dr. Suri in June. ...Read more
Hi Holly,
I was excited to see your post and read your journal. I will be having robotic mitral valve repair at Mayo with Dr. Burkhart and Dr. Suri in June. I was wondering if there is anything specific you can recommend that I bring to the hospital with me. Was there any part of the surgery/recovery that surprised you, that you weren\'t expecting? Did they recommend cardiac rehab or was it your local cardiologist? Did you leave Mayo on a lot of heart meds and if so, were you able to get off of them soon? Sorry for all the questions! If you don\'t have time to answer them, I understand. I hope to start a journal a little closer to my operation date. I have learned so much from reading other people\'s journals, that I figure maybe I can help someone else who will be undergoing this in the future!
Thanks,
Lynn Newhall
One more question - Do you still have problems with your incision sites and do you still have memory issues? The memory/concentration issues are what concerns me the most. Yikes!
Holly Pomeroy Hi Lynn, I'm glad you contacted me and hope you start your journal soon! I'll try to respond to your ... Read more
Holly Pomeroy Hi Lynn, I'm glad you contacted me and hope you start your journal soon! I'll try to respond to your questions.... I know there are so many unknowns and anything I can do to ease your mind, I'm glad to help. Was there anything that surprise me? As far as surgery and recovery, the answer would be not really...Actually I was surprised that I didn't have more pain. I was expecting it to be excruciating and it wasn't. I was also prepared for lots of pain with the removal of the chest tube, and it didn't hurt at all. What I wasn't prepared for was the numbness and "heaviness" that I felt on my right side and right groin for so long after surgery. It's hard to explain, it's not really pain, but you definitely are aware of it. The nerves take quite a while to repair themselves, from 9 months to a year. I have minimal numbness now, right at the scar, which is normal. Mayo clinic recommended the cardiac rehab and my local Dr. actually prescribed it for me. I would definitely recommend it! The medications I was on after surgery were coumadin, a baby aspirin, and hydrochlorithiazide, which is a diuretic. None of those are really heart meds, and I was able to stop all of them after 2 months!!! My memory is getting better, and I'm able to concentrate , but for quite a while and up to this year anniversary it has been a small issue. I'm a nurse and know how important it is! Looking forward to reading your journal. Dr. Burkhart and Dr. Suri will take good care of you. My experience at Mayo was a good one, and I don't regret going there. They do many of these surgeries and repairs so you are in good hands. Take pajamas that button up the front, nothing that you have to pull over your head. Take a small neck pillow for traveling, I used it all the time! Are you flying or driving? Chapstick, an ipod or ipad, or something to play the relaxation file they send you, music to help you relax was very helpful for me. Buy or order the Aaah Bra, or the Genie Bra, it was a godsend with the incisions being where they are. I didn't start wearing a regular bra again until about 9 months post-op!!
Where do you live?
I am from: Enterprise, Kansas
