Pat's Posts

I quit taking the amiodarone @ 4 weeks post-op and the nausea is better, but my appetite is still wierd. I am at 5 weeks and still get nauseated when seeing certain foods....very much like pregnancy. So I looked up the half-life of this drug [time it takes for half of it to be excreted out of your system] and it is very very long....4 months in extreme cases. Is anyone else having long term issues with this drug or is it just me??? On a brighter note, I felt much stronger yesterday and drove for the first time....not too far...about 5 miles to my office....reflexes are still slow and found the mental act of driving was exhausting, but my husband was in the car. Will do a little more each day and build up my stamina. Pat Culley

Hello everyone. I haven't been very communicative lately. I apologize. The amiodarone they are giving me post-op to prevent recurrent a-fib is still curbing my appetitie and making me nauseated. Gettting in and out of bed is a breeze now and has been for at least a week. Left Thorax pain is improving. Incisional pain was never really a big issue and the incision is very tiny anyway. Fatigue is still a big problem and doing any kind of mental arithmetic is exhausting. At 63 I guess I am doing about average maybe a little above. Really no post-op complications so far....ran a little lo grade fever for a while. ...had a short run of a little irregular pulse last night for the first time and still have heart pounding especially in the late afternoon. I take a beta blocker twice a day and that helps. Thanks to everyone for all your kind supportive comments and to those still awaiting the big day, I wish you all the best. Take Care! Pat Culley

Hi everyone, I had flu-like symptoms yesterday with low-grade fever and nausea to the point my morning coffee doesn't even taste good. I went to the ER on my Visiting Nurse's insistance and all was well except for a substantial pleural effusion [like pneumonia and common after open heart]. My fever is gone today and don't feel so sick, but the nausea remains. I had a great appetite in the Hospital, so am mystified about this new symptom. I am taking zofran which helps a little. Anyone have any input on this???