About Me (In My Own Words)
I had been experiencing shortness of breath and some gastric issues while on a month long vacation in March/April 2023. I had the shortness of breath symptoms randomly for a year before this, but it was not very bad. This time I was sometimes unable to walk a half block without having to stop. My heartrate was not high so I did not think it was my heart but rather my stomach issues. Before I returned home I spoke to my daughter by phone and asked her to make a Dr. appointment for me at my Dr. in IL who has been my Dr. for 40 years. When I returned and saw him he thought it sounded like angina and advised me to make an appointment near my home in WI for some tests. I did the series of tests he recommended, saw a cardiologist and after the tests I had an angiogram. The surgeon told me I needed to have a valve replacement and 2 bypasses. He told me he felt open heart surgery would be the best option for me and that he wanted to do it soon. From what he showed me I agreed. I had the surgery the next week on July 6th. I was in CCU for 5 days and then went home where my husband took great care of me. The day before I left the hospital, I had my first vertigo attack. That was on July 10th. I had shorter dizzy spells on and off and then on July 23rd I had an ocular migraine. I called the hospital which is an hour from my home and the Dr. on call said it was possibly a stroke and he suggested I go to my local ER if I felt it was necessary. I did that and got checked out. They did not think it had been a stroke. I did not know what it was until after I had gotten an appointment 2 days later with an eye Dr. The lightheadedness and dizziness continued, I was also experiencing colored shooters in both eyes. On August 1st I had the 2nd bout of vertigo at bedtime, that started with a loud clanging noise in my left ear. I was very disoriented and was not able to sleep for a few hours. I was dizzy and lightheaded for the next several days. I had really bad shooters in my right eye and blurred vision on Aug. 6th and dizzy spells until the 10th. Then no dizziness until the 20th. On the 24th I had another vertigo attack at 3 am following nightmares. The next day my vision was blurred and my brain foggy. On Aug. 30th I had the vertigo again at night that started with a large drum pounding noise in the right ear. The next few days I was dizzy again, then had several good days. On Sept. 16th I rolled on my side in bed and had a sharp pain that went from my chest up through my neck and into my head. It was short lasting but painful. After that I had ongoing lightheadedness and dizziness, no vertigo until Sept. 24th when I had a brief vertigo during the day, and then more dizziness. I wore the Holter monitor on Sept. 19 till 20th. There was no A-fib. Then I was told to wear it again from the 24th for 7 days. I still did not have any A-Fib so I was able to go off of the Warfarin. My cardiac team wanted me to go on Plavix the next day but I have not decided whether I want to be on that yet. My surgeon had told me that I did not need to be on blood thinners if I chose the tissue valve and had the bypass surgery instead of stents. So I am really confused. I have 3 MRI tests scheduled for Oct. 26th and hopefully it will show what is causing the dizzy spells and vertigo. Meanwhile I am seeing a physical therapist who has been trying to help me and thinks my dizziness problem has something to do with my neck. I have also completed Cardio Rehab.
When I left the hospital I was taking Pacerone 400 mg. for 15 days to be replaced by Amiodarone 200 mg., Atorvastatin 40 mg., Metoprolol Tartrate 25 mg., Pantoprazole 40 mg., Methocarbamol 500 mg. as needed, Baby aspirin, OxyDodone (took in hospital and 2 days at home), and Tylenol 3 x a day. I was also on Warfarin for 12 weeks. When the dizzy spells continued I requested to be off from some of the meds and eventually I went off all but the Tylenol and baby aspirin. I also take Levothyroxine 75 mcg and Furosemide 20 mg.
I have not seen my cardiologist since my first visit back in June and never saw or heard from my surgeon after the surgery. Every appointment I have had since surgery has been with someone different. My Cardio Rehab Physiologist and her team from my local hospital, Tomah Health, were my heroes during the last few months and the only ones I felt gave a damn.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Tomah, WI
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My surgery date is:
July 6, 2023
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I was diagnosed with:
Aortic Stenosis
Coronary Artery Disease
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My surgery was:
Aortic Valve Replacement
Coronary Artery Bypass Graft
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Nishant Saran
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