Kellie's Journal

One year ago today at this time, I was headed for surgery. In some ways it seems like yesterday and in others it seems like a lifetime ago. I am so thankful for the technologies available to us that enable us to have these procedures. The results of that last echo I had in March came back showing my heart to be enlarged. I decided to call the cardiologist and ask him about this.... That was when I found out that my heart was enlarged BEFORE surgery as well, only no one told me then. However, the results of the measurements taken in March were unchanged from what they were before surgery - so that was good news. After putting surgery and recovery behind me, I though this was going to be a better year. But, as it turns out, my personal life has taken a turn for the worse in the last six months and I wondered why God bothered to let me live through the surgery at all only to have me go through more hell. I still don\'t know why I am here, but today I can say I\'m truly glad I am. Maybe 2012 will be a better year for me. To those of you facing surgery, remember: The odds are in your favor and you will come out of this stronger and healthier than before... I have so much more energy now that naps are almost unheard of! Best wishes to you all! Kellie

I reported to the primary doctor concerning the bruised feeling I was having in my chest. She sent me for a EKG and an echo at the local hospital. They did not mention the results from the EKG when they called this morning, but they did tell me the valve is in proper working order and my heart is enlarged. Now I\'m playing phone tag with the cardiologist. He never mentioned the heart being enlarged and I had an echo in his office at the 3 month mark. I\'ve been really stressed out lately and my bp is up again (even with the meds), but I\'m not sure this would cause my heart to enlarge. Has anyone had this happen to them after surgery? I just reached 8 months post-surgery a few days ago. Thanks.

Does anyone recall having or is currently still having a bruised feeling in their chest? I\'ve had some mild pain upon bending foreward since the surgery, but for the past week or so my chest has been feeling bruised on the inside, mostly on the left side... it does not hurt to touch on the outside. I\'m just wondering if this is normal or if I need to see one of the doctors and maybe get a chest x-ray. Any advice is appreciated. Thanks!

Hello everyone. Today is exactly 7 months post-op. I had a visit with the cardiologist today and will not be seeing him again until this time next year! He did say I have a slight mummur and this will be with me for life. Well, I guess all in life can\'t really be perfect - that\'s OK and so am I. My blood pressure seems to have evened out and I\'m still down most of the weight I lost immediately post-op. So, finally, medically speaking, all is right in my world. Oh and, believe it or not, I reconnected with an old friend who found me on this site while researching his own condition. We hadn\'t seen or heard from one another in at least 15+ years. Best of luck to all the newcomers. And continued success to all those who shared their own journeys with me. I still think of you all so often! Love and peace, Kellie

Since I\'ve posted. I had my 3 month echo a few weeks ago and was told my new valve looked fantastic and is working beautifully. I sing God\'s praises daily... I am so very blessed and fortunate to be one of the few that has not had any of the complications that so many do, no matter how minor. If I may, I would like to share something with you all... I just returned from a 4 day spiritual retreat. When I was shown my bed, I was in complete awe; along with my name was verse 5 from Psalm 3: \"I lie down and sleep; I wake again, because the Lord sustains me.\" You see, there were lots of times during February when I found out I needed this surgery and up until surgery in July that I had this irrational fear that I would not wake up if I went to sleep! All the people who led and served at this retreat were strangers to me - there was absolutely no way for anyone other than my husband to know this. How awesome is this?? God truly is with each of us every step of the way!! Please take comfort in knowing this as you begin your own journey. Love & Peace to all, Kellie

I called the cardiologist a few days ago and complain about just how tired I was... He thought maybe it was the metoprolol and suggested taking it in the evening rather than in the morning. Last night I managed to stay up much later, and without having had a nap!! Of course I\'ve been off work all week on vacation so the real test may come next week after time back at work. Keeping my fingers crossed that it won\'t make a difference. Also, after doing some research, it appears that metoprolol may cause anxiety also. I\'ll have to discuss this further with my dr. next week. I hope everyone post-surgery is doing well. And I\'m praying for those of you getting ready to begin your surgeries. Best wishes and a blessed day to all! Kellie

Seems like only yesterday, but also a lifetime ago, too. I\'ve been back to work for almost four weeks now and I\'m just starting to do more of the physical work. I am sooo tired, even on my days off work. I thought I would have tons of energy after getting the new valve? Anyone else still this tired after?? The RN at rehab said everything looks good from what she can tell by the heart monitor. I\'m still having panick attacks,too. I tried two different SSRIs but they made me more anxious and other not so good side effects so I stopped taking them. I\'m thinking to find a therapist to help with this issue. I hope the rest of you are well. You are all still on my prayer list and it continues to grow with each new member. God bless! Kellie

Today was my first day back. The company nurse released me for part time this week and Monday. I\'m to check back in with her on Tuesday. It was really great to see everyone again and they were all so welcoming and encouraging. I am truly blessed to work with the people that I do. I hope you all had a wonderful holiday weekend! Kellie

I was there again today for a bp re-check. I also had to take in my personal monitor for calibration with their gauge; and rehab armed me with a copy of a detailed report 8/13 through today which showed all my pre- and post-workout bp readings. Based on all this info. I THINK he is going to release me to return to work after the Labor Day holiday! Not sure whether to smile or frown :) Seriously, going back to work will be great - I just hope my bp can tolerate it well. The down-side of returning to work is that I will no longer be able to go to the rehab clinic :( So I will have to continue rehab on my own - walking and stationary bike, as I\'ve been doing on my off-rehab days. The good of my situation is that I\'m already much healthier than before surgery (daily structured excersize and I\'ve lost 30 pounds so far - yay! finally!). The bad is that I was already diabetic and have to count all my carbs. Now, I\'m also having to count my sodium intake to try to keep it within reason. The ugly is that alot of food doesn\'t taste so good now without the salt. Hopefully this will pass sooner rather than later. Here\'s to better health for us all! Kellie

The cardiologist was pleased with my progess in rehab and said my heart sounds good. He decided to add back in a diuretic (12.5 mg HCTZ) to see if that would help with the high blood pressure... 160/100 in his office today!! I have to return for a re-check on Monday. Also, he will not release me to return to work until this is more under control. Please keep fingers crossed for me... I hope everyone else is doing well! Kellie

Today was the first day of rehab, actually using the equipment. Everyone there is so nice and really make an effort to welcome you. I lasted only 4 rather than 5 minutes on the treadmill... I keep forgetting about having pulmonary hypertension which will take a while longer to clear up, if at all. I lasted a little longer than expected on the hand bicycle and the arm/leg bike thing. It really wasn\'t too hard, but they had all the equipment set at the easiest setting for me. Needless to say the old timers far surpassed me and put me to shame! haha! I\'ll be going back on Monday. P.S. So far the increase in the lisinopril seems to be working some. The highest my bp went last night was 144/82. I had forgotten that before it took 3 months on lisinopril and metropolol before I was maintaing normal ranges and able to drop the metropolol. I just need to remember to have patience I guess. God bless, Kellie

My bp kept rising last night for no apparent reason, even after taking the 2nd dose of metropolol. It was 167/91 at its highest and down to 145/82 this morning. I checked in with my primary doctor and she has decided to increase the lisinopril from 5mg/day to 10mg/day. Hope this works. I\'m wondering if maybe something else isn\'t going on despite all the tests showing issues only with the mitral valve. I\'m hoping the cardiologist will have some answers. I hope everyone else is doing well! Kellie

I\'m actually feeling pretty great! I\'ve increased some of the blood pressure medication. Basically, this enables me to maintain rates below 130/80. I was usually closer to 115/70 before surgery. I did intake for cardio rehab yesterday and will begin using the equipment on Friday morning. Sounds like I\'ll be the lone gal in a class with a bunch of old men - should be interesting! I still have almost 2 weeks to go before my follow up with the cardiologist. I\'m hoping by then he can give me the all clear to return to work. Boredom is beginning to set in! Blessings to you all, Kellie

Can anyone please let me know if you are still experiencing high blood pressure after surgery? Its been just about 3 weeks now and I thought the valve replacement would have corrected the high bp issues. I also had enlarged jugular veins prior to surgery and am hoping these return to a normal size at some point. Thanks for any help/advice. Kellie

I feel better with each passing day and have to keep reminding myself that I just had a major operation 2 weeks ago... Yesterday was the fist time I no longer needed pain medication after waking in the morning. Today is the last day I must use the dreaded spirometer and I am now up to taking 2 four minute walks per day. Next week I expect to start rehab. Life is good! Kellie

As of yesterday, I\'ve had 2 visits with the visiting nurse and a follow up with my primary doctor. Both say my incisions look great, my lungs are clear and my heart sounds great! My last visit with the home nurse will be this Thursday and I get the stitches out from the chest tubes on Friday. Thank goodness these are at the bottom of the chest because they don\'t look so pretty. The main incision looks fantastic and I think it will hardly be noticable after the scabbing is done. I\'m attibuting this to the glue. My husband has been great taking care of me. I will probably not want to ever go back to doing the house-hold chores. Hopefully I don\'t have this problem when I find its time to go back to work, haha!

I tried to post earlier today, but it would not submit: I arrived home from the hospital yesterday afternoon. All went exception-ally well. I heard that my valve was worse than originally thought... whether it got worse since fist diagnosed or the seriousness of it was missed, I\'ll never know. I am just glad that is behind me now - well, hopefully for at least another 20 years. I do find it rather amusing that after OHS I am only prescribed 1-2 percocets every 4-6 hours for moderate to severe pain and extra strength tylenol for mild pain. The day after surgery I found out that my pain management order was for 1 percocet every 4-6 hours as needed. Thank goodness I had an excellent night-time nurse who got this corrected and she was able to administer something else via IV for pain followed by a percocet 2 hours later. Needless to say, I had the best sleep of my life the night after surgery! The visiting nurse will arrive tomorrow evening. I\'m told after I get clearance from their agency I can begin rehab. Can anyone tell me if it is normal to have pain in the back of either shoulder? The pain I\'m having in the right one is pretty significant... Thank you all for the prayers and well wishes! Kellie

I have been cleared for surgery on Tuesday after all. Friday was my last day of work. Saying good-bye to my co-workers was pretty emotional. I just hope they don\'t try to visit until at least Thursday; I\'m hoping to be in the step-down unit by then. I spent yesterday going through paper work, paying some last minute bills, and visiting pool-side with some family and friends. I\'ll be spending the day today with my immediate family. I had a recliner delivered yesterday, too. I don\'t know how well this is going to work out so I think I\'ll be looking for a bed wedge also, just in case. I was not able to test out the recliner first and ordered by leap of faith. It really doesn\'t seem too comfortable, but maybe I won\'t notice with all the painkillers I\'ll probably be taking :) Thanks to all of you who have offered words of advice and encouragement. Thanks also to everyone for sharing your experiences. This site is fantastic and a wealth of information - Thank you Adam!! Good luck and best wishes to those of you with upcoming surgeries and a speedy recovery to those of you in that process. May God bless each and every one of you, Kellie

I was required to have blood work completed for the upcoming heart cath and did that this past Monday. That office called to say that my white blood cell count is a little bit elevated. The numbers are a lot less than they were before my dental work was completed, but it is still out of range... I\'m waiting for the heart cath Dr.\'s office to call back and tell me what the next course of action should be... Did anyone else have a similar issue prior to surgery?

Barring any unforeseen post-ponements, next Tuesday is the BIG day! I am still looking for a recliner, preferably to rent, and hope I am lucky enough to find one in the next few days. I finally have my team of caretakers lined up for the first 3 weeks of recovery. I think I\'m starting to feel the calm some of you have spoken of before hand. Just prior to vacation last week I had finally decided to choose a tissue valve. This was after much debate between the pros and cons of a tissue vs. mechanical valve. Given that I\'m only 40, I feel that I am still too young to be on coumadin for the rest of what I hope will be a very long life. The surgeon says the valve will be bovine and I could expect it to last for closer to 20 years. I\'ve also gotten a bit of good news... I am a non-insulin dependant diabetic and recently had a recheck of the A1C test (which measures sugar levels over the past 2-3 months). My test came back at 6.3%. I believe anything 6% or under is considered normal. Yay! I also think this means my risk of infection after surgery is now equivelant to that of a non-diabetic. I\'ve just got to maintain body and mind as the days continue to tick by...