Susan's Guestbook

Hello Susan and congratulations on being 3 weeks post-op! I read your post and wanted to mention a couple of things to you regarding your "incision" and the a-fib. Prior to my surgery in Aug. nearing 8 months now, I had already been experiencing SVT's which are irregular heartbeats that I have been on meds for and pretty much are keeping them controlled but they react similar to A-fib. When home from the hospital and walking my first few walks at the park with my husband I began to have both the SVT and the A-fib which I had not experienced at the hospital (so we are saying around the 3rd. day home). My heart reset itself within a short time but none the less scared me too. In the course of discussing this with my cardiologist he told me how common A-fib is after surgery and let me know also that as I ease into my walks at the park to also avoid extreme heat and cold as my body re-adjusts to all of the aggravation it has dealt with due to the surgery. Especially to avoid irregular heart beats by NOT taking Hot showers/saunas/hot tubs for a bit or to get too cold and even a bit later into re-hab to avoid swimming in too cold of water as for my SVT's and a-fib it is good to avoid the extreme hot and cold until the body has a chance to heal(especially if your sternum is still irritated or painful. I would just wait a bit since you are fresh out and just beginning to heal and recover! Your(our)bodies have gone through quite a bit so be gentle! Also, it was suggested by our heart sister Eleanor R. and Ginger French prior to my surgery to purchase several good wash clothes and heat them up under hot water, let them cool a bit and gently lay the warm cloth down on the incision area and let them sit a bit keeping the warmth there letting it help the pain. I did this over and over again with six different clean and warm clothes and found immediate change in that it never got itchy or ached as much. I found it quite soothing in the long run and my incision was a full sternotomy so the whole area benefited from the application. I think if you do this on and off careful not to get it too hot you will be happy with the results. I also don't know if you also had staples which I did that didn't help! I hope you don't experience any more A-fib and your recovery runs smoothly. Be patient with yourself as you heal and the days will get better as your body heals! I agree that the first few weeks are the toughest so hang in there and keep sharing things with the community and understand the mental ups and downs are just a part of your entire body putting itself back together again. Sort of a Humpty Dumpty thing? Don't mind me as I just got back from a 2 mile walk and I am feeling a bit like "Humpty" as it is warm out there today! Take care and continued great "Healing".