James's Guestbook

Hi James, I was reading your note about still being tired and having hot flashes, five months post surgery. I am one year post mitral and tricuspid valve surgery and still get tired by early evening. I also have hot flashes that had long ago gone away for the most part before the surgery.. I got a slew of blood tests thinking the causes for the fatigue might be something not related to my heart surgery, but all came back negative. I am not sure if you went to cardiac rehab post surgery, but that is something that you might want to consider, especially if walking is fatiguing for you. At the outpatient rehab, they will have you wired-up, so when you walk on the trend mill or are on the stationary bike your heart rate and blood pressure are constantly monitored. Even if you go for just a couple of weeks that might be helpful. In cardiac rehab they see so many patients, they ought to be able to help you determine if your symptoms need more follow-up or if you heart simply needs more time to heal. Food for thought. It can't be easy being tired so much. Take care.