Aubrey's Heart Valve Journal

Aubrey Jones Jr  Keep the habits they teach you and if they did not do the weights and resistance for upper body and the core, look into a gym or online for the routines. Again, ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  Keep the habits they teach you and if they did not do the weights and resistance for upper body and the core, look into a gym or online for the routines. Again, start light and go slow. I am using this as a time to increase the weekly exercise time and will try to maintain it. Keep up the good progress.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I responded to Jim below similarly. I never felt bad, just was working way too hard and never knew it. The recovery advancement does slow down but it keeps ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  I responded to Jim below similarly. I never felt bad, just was working way too hard and never knew it. The recovery advancement does slow down but it keeps getting better. If you have the choice for rehab, take it and insure they do the upper body weights and the core exercises at the right times. This was about weeks eight and twelve for me. The stamina comes from walking and the seated bike. The strength from the weights and the resistance bands for the core. I am using this for the time to increase he exercise time every week to three to six hours per week. Trying to make this my new regular routine for health and maintaining weight. Keep it slow and steady and keep healing.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Hello Jim. The corner was harder to recognize than I thought it would be. The first one was at week four or so in the home recovery. Pain was better, see ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  Hello Jim. The corner was harder to recognize than I thought it would be. The first one was at week four or so in the home recovery. Pain was better, see of movement was noticeable, dependence on drug and pain support was really low, general movement did not really hurt, just pull or feel swelled mostly

The second is at about the seventh week when I had noticeably more stamina than in a long time. It was the lugging the heavy briefcase through the Chicago airport that was so much easier. Unlike some people, I never felt bad and NEVER felt like it was time to cut my chest open. Therefore I do not feel that much better. What I notice, a lot, is the ease of doing things now. Actually, the ease of doing them is better than it has been in so many years I can not really remember it ever being this easy to exercise and recover after the exercise. The ramp up of the strength is very good. Also, about every two to three weeks, I can still tell the difference and still improving in stamina, strength and overall ease of doing many things that I did not realize I was working so hard at.

Week ten to twelve is good in that the rehab is really kicking in, the strength is really better and the stamina was easily better than before. I started working on the core which was way weaker than anything else after the surgery about then as well.

Have to admit though, the memory seems better and the world was brighter the day I walked out of the hospital. The reduction in my valve area was about 75 percent so the blood flow was about one fourth or one third what it should have been. We adjust to this and do not really notice it. Keep going and think about when you look back, what is easier every two weeks or sons then compare it to right before the surgery. Keep going my friend.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Dan, you are rocking along well. Some perspective from my point of view.

I took the hydro condone, one very three hours and did not wait for it to wear off ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  Dan, you are rocking along well. Some perspective from my point of view.

I took the hydro condone, one very three hours and did not wait for it to wear off for about one to one and a half weeks. Then maybe stretched to four or five hours but also started subtituting two ibuprofen for one pain tab a day, usually a morning tablet. Switched back to pain tabs anytime I had a day that I needed to. I was never worried about getting off the drugs and actually the doctors office cautioned me not to ramp down for a week to two since I was considered young for this surgery and young guys have more trouble with pain, so they said stay on it for the first little while.

The cold thing started right after surgery and it was not unusual to see my in the hallways wearing pj bottoms, gown or two and a robe to stay warm during walks. If I got really cold, I would start to shake and if it got too bad, I rode back to the room once or twice in the wheelchair rather than chance passing out or anything like that. The cold natured ness lasted well into 6 to 9 weeks but it gets better every week or so. I was still walking around the house in a sweatshirt even a couple weeks ago. Think it has something to do with the body readjusting to a very different blood flow, like a lot more than it was used to and the regulator has not reset. It takes weeks and sometimes months for the body to reset for something like this.

Getting sleep at night is critical. I used Xannax and a pain tablet every night at about 11 mad then woke up and took another pain tab about 2 to 3 and went right back to sleep. I was never tired from not resting at night. Tammy got me on this routine and it worked for me for the first couple weeks. Even three to four weeks later, I may have been on ibuprofen during the day but still used the pain and Xanax at night insure good sleep. Also, the doctors office had me take a dose of ibuprofen every morning, two tabs, to reduce the inflammation and it helped. I can say it still helps even now, twelve weeks later from cardiac rehab exercises, travel, etc. I average maybe two tabs every one two or three days as needed.

Your doing very well and the hard part is to set the expectation rate slower than you thing it needs to be. Also, be careful with the walking but keeping the heart under 100 should be fine.

Keep me posted bro.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Dan, can not wait to hear how well you are doing and barring little pain here and there, hopefully no nausea but even then, it passes, you should go with flying ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  Dan, can not wait to hear how well you are doing and barring little pain here and there, hopefully no nausea but even then, it passes, you should go with flying colors. Take your meds to keep pain free so your activities get done.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Cindy, your doing well overall. Kick the sinus infection and you'll be back to great. One thing I have done over the last 6 years is based in the advice of ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  Cindy, your doing well overall. Kick the sinus infection and you'll be back to great. One thing I have done over the last 6 years is based in the advice of a very good dentist about the effect oral care has on your overall health. He taught me that brushing is not even close to enough.

The routine he convinced me to take was to brush not only my teeth but the tongue and the roof of my mouth as far back as was comfortable. Rinse out and then use Listerine. Not the new sweet node but the traditional ones like the green or blue (I avoid the tan one, it tastes like gasoline). Once I rinse with this, I do spit pit out but do not rinse with water. His comment was you just paid for the effect and the. Why would you wash it out. Apparently there are four ingredients in the listening that are key to killing bacteria hat no other one seems to have.

I have not had a virus in over 6 years. Only issue, like you is the sinus infection if I let an allergy get hold too long. Found that at Costco, they sell and small bottle of something called Allerclear that is similar to Claritin ingredients for about 18 dollars for 2 or 3 hundred tabs where Claratin is that for like 20 tabs. When I feel an allergy I take one and it usually prevents even the sinus infection.

Good luck and keep healing

Aubrey Jones Jr  "Yep the left side of my incision is where I swear the operating team voted to take the ball peen hammer and whail away for a few shots to make sure you feel ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  "Yep the left side of my incision is where I swear the operating team voted to take the ball peen hammer and whail away for a few shots to make sure you feel like it was a serious surgery. I think they vote on the location to use the hammer to hit a different spot on everyone.

One interesting thing, I take a couple of ibuprofen daily and the couple of days I have skipped it, I could tell the deep bruising was significantly more noticable. I ususally take it at night before I go to bed and it seems to help me sleep on my left side easier. Some days now though, I do not take it and it is not a big deal. Also, I may lift the 40 lb suitcases but I do not snatch them around, I lift a little more carefully until the tissue really heals over the next couple of months."

Aubrey Jones Jr  It has gone by both slow and fast. It is amazing to be writing to you from Brazil on a two week business trip in my fourth week of working after surgery. ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  It has gone by both slow and fast. It is amazing to be writing to you from Brazil on a two week business trip in my fourth week of working after surgery. I am counting on your good recovery so do the right things.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I swear, she looked female in the bar. Thank God you told me and I checked. Whew!

I am going to be in the Ernie lane some this weekend in Buenos Aries. Taking ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  I swear, she looked female in the bar. Thank God you told me and I checked. Whew!

I am going to be in the Ernie lane some this weekend in Buenos Aries. Taking it easy except for the hours in the gym to keep up with the cardiac rehab.

Aubrey Jones Jr  That is the absolute hardest part for me, the original energizer bunny. Going slow but knowing the risk of bad things happening and promising Tammy and everyone ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  That is the absolute hardest part for me, the original energizer bunny. Going slow but knowing the risk of bad things happening and promising Tammy and everyone else I would do it right and like she thought the pace should be has worked to keep it slow and steady. Going back to work at 6 weeks was easy enough even though I thought I could have done it at least a week earlier if not more. What is important is that I had to realize I was important enough to take the time to make sure the next 20 to 40 years are good. It is OK to do for others, but this case is good to do some for yourself and in a way, you really are doing it for your loved ones as well. You do the same.

Aubrey Jones Jr  If you ins will pay for the pt, I would recommend it. it helps you know what you can do without worry and not letting you go too fast. if you don't, let me ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  If you ins will pay for the pt, I would recommend it. it helps you know what you can do without worry and not letting you go too fast. if you don't, let me know and I will help you with what they did for me and you can work a program for yourself. What made me comfortable is the heart monitor to know my heart was OK during the different exercises. Just pay attention to your body and many people do this without pt. my email is aubreyjone@aol.com

Aubrey Jones Jr  I want to be like Ernie!!!! I am just not wired that way though. The engineer training is too ingrained. If I live long enough to retire, I will take on ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  I want to be like Ernie!!!! I am just not wired that way though. The engineer training is too ingrained. If I live long enough to retire, I will take on some Ernie'isms, I promise. I will grow a beard and let my hair grow out to a ponytail. I will exponentially increase my blood alcohol for days at a time and enjoy life in the Ernie lane.

You have helped make this journey entertaining and informative with the ups and downs that we all experience one way or another. Be careful how much you start running but you sound like your doing pretty well. Keep it up and keep posting.

Aubrey Jones Jr  The journey has been easier than I thought, but I do not worry about some pain, I just accept it is there and work around it. The obstacle for me is slowing ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  The journey has been easier than I thought, but I do not worry about some pain, I just accept it is there and work around it. The obstacle for me is slowing down. There is not enough scotch in the world to do that, but heart surgery, pain tabs and knowing that the consequences of screwing this up were enough make me work with tammy on my recovery plan and stay on it. No matter how well I felt, I resisted the temptation to go more. Look forward to hearing about your great success and feeling better for decades to come.

Aubrey Jones Jr  I think I would rather be on the low side. Less chance of stroke, etc. Even now, I can tell the left side of my chest had more bruising but everyday that ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  I think I would rather be on the low side. Less chance of stroke, etc. Even now, I can tell the left side of my chest had more bruising but everyday that goes by, it gets less noticeable and only realize it when I really stretch now or have carried something heavy.

I am not sure they will ever take me off the beta blocker since I had some afib 5 years ago due to some steroids being over-prescribed by a doctor. Just may be back on Bystolic but it is more expensive that Lopressor. Not a big issue but will talk to cardiologist about this when I see him next time.

Keep up the healing Chris.

Aubrey Jones Jr  It is pretty normal but I still can not easily sleep on my left side which I prefer. The tissue still has some sensations which I expect to fade over time. ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  It is pretty normal but I still can not easily sleep on my left side which I prefer. The tissue still has some sensations which I expect to fade over time. It still feels some pain when I. Sneeze but it. S not too bad.

The hard thing along the way is to keep moving at the slow pace that keeps moving forward and takes no risk to over do it. The key is to find your pace and stay on it. Keep posting and we look forward to your updates.

Aubrey Jones Jr  After a few weeks, Tammy had me doing more for myself and while she was here, it was really to keep me from over doing it. Her watchful eye was very valuable ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  After a few weeks, Tammy had me doing more for myself and while she was here, it was really to keep me from over doing it. Her watchful eye was very valuable and she kept me moving forward with how she would get me out for the different excursions from a ride to the drive thru, a lunch out or a trip to the grocery store.

It you can manage to keep from overdoing it, you should be fine. I would recommend talking with your husband about what you should be doing the next day and only do that. It is hard to go slow.

Keep healing.

Aubrey Jones Jr  "I have a view about the numbers and will give you my experience. As an engineer, I live and die by the numbers sometimes. Mine was also measured at .69 to ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  "I have a view about the numbers and will give you my experience. As an engineer, I live and die by the numbers sometimes. Mine was also measured at .69 to .70. I did not feel that bad and if I kept up my exercise, I was doing well with international travel, domestic travel, intense work that I enjoy. My cardiologist said I did not realize how bad I might be feeling since I was born with the bicuspid valve. Not sure I felt as bad as he might have thought but do seem to be getting stamina bad easier than ever before, even considering the surgery "

The numbers were showing I needed the surgery but the interesting part is that the change in 6 months was miniscule. Not enough to warrant the reaction from my cardiologist that June when he said I needed to get it done now. I agreed to November and he said that was too late, so we moved it up. While I did not see the corresponding move in the numbers, something clued him into this was time.

When the surgeon removed the valve, it was much worse than they had thought it would be. So the numbers are very important, but the intuition of the cardiologist was what pushed me over to doing it sooner than later. I never felt bad enough to voluntarily let someone operate on me.

My takeaway was if the numbers say go, then we should do it and not take a chance of it being worse than they think and delaying and getting into trouble. Good luck with your decision. Let me know if I can help with any questions.

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks JH, I truly believe that the measured and paced approach to the recovery was instrumental in it going as well as it could. I am also very lucky to have ... Read more

Aubrey Jones Jr  Thanks JH, I truly believe that the measured and paced approach to the recovery was instrumental in it going as well as it could. I am also very lucky to have not complications like heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc...

It is very encouraging to know others are going through the same and that others have gone through it and emerged on the other side.

It truly is a bump in the road for most of us. Just maybe not one we would choose but surely better than the alternative.