About Me (In My Own Words)
My Original Story in June this Year
I am a 61 year old woman from Australia however I moved three months ago to Abu Dhabi with my husband just before everything went into world wide lockdown due to Covid 19.This meant I didn't get to know anyone here or have the chance to make friendships with anyone. This has left me feeling quite isolated and alone. Anyway, long story short. I went into hospital three weeks ago with acute appendicitis that needed immediate surgery. Whilst I was in the emergency room the ER team did a routine check of my heart with the stethoscope and were surprised when they heard my pronounced murmur. I have known about my MVP for the last 30 years and have also suffered from Hypertension and Angina for over 20 years. After the surgery they decided to do an Echocardiogram just to check the level of regurgitation and the results were not that good. The MVP which originally started with mild regurgitation has progressed rapidly to a state of Severe regurgitation with ongoing symptoms as well as a slight leak coming also from the Tricuspid Valve. I was referred immediately to the Cardiology unit who advised me of the need to have surgery to have the MVP repaired in the hope this would prevent it from being replaced. To complicate matters I also have a long history of angina caused by uncontrolled hypertension which I have been taking a calcium channel blocker medication for. What alarmed the doctors more was my recent cholesterol blood test results as they were off the scales with very high readings in all the categories with an overall cholesterol reading of 7.8. The Cardiologist definitely felt I needed to be on a statin of some sort and wanted me to consider this as well. At first I was shocked about all of these sudden new developments and went to a second hospital for another opinion where I was seen by two Cardiac Surgeons another Cardiologist and a Cardiac Radiologist as well as cardiology nursing staff who all agreed that the Leak had progressed into the severe stage and needed immediate attention.Whilst that second opinion has helped me to come to terms with the original diagnosis and the impending surgery I can't help feeling completely overwhelmed and am still grappling with doubt about whether I should go ahead with the surgery or not. I will be admitted this Tuesday for a Cardiac Catheterization and if there are any complications like blockages etc they will be dealt with there and then.This will be followed by the Mitral Valve repair in the same hospital ideally a couple of days later. Has anyone else felt completely overwhelmed by the thought of having to have this kind of Surgery? Being away from all my loved ones and family I keep feeling as though it is all a bad nightmare and I will just wake up soon. I am mostly worried about the recovery and after care as I have no one here to help me. My husband won't be able to take time off work either. Any Advice would be greatly appreciated.
2 nd Update
Just thought I would give you an update on how my surgery went. I had the OHS 3 weeks ago and stayed for 8 days in the ICU and the HDU. I had a repair to the Mitral Valve and two synthetic Chordae (heart strings) added to the heart muscle. The operation went very well and I had a breathing tube in for a day. The other three draining tubes remained in for five days. It was quite painful when the finally took them out as they were quite large. Recovery is going well but quite slow and I am alone for most of the time which makes it hard to do anything at all. The hardest part is dealing with the lack of mobility where they broke the sternum and the pain from that as well. I have considered getting some home help to assist with the house chores but the problem is we cant be sure if the person coming in will be safe from COVID. It is still an issue here in Abu Dhabi and sometime even if the person is asymptomatic ie free of symptoms then they can still be a carrier. I am afraid to risk it as I have already had to deal with my Husband having a severe case of Shingles with terrible complications that resulted in massive boils and infections. He wasn't able to come near me when I came home. Which made the isolation even harder to bear. Overall it has been a very difficult time but I am getting through it and my SMRegurge problems have cleared up significantly. Even though I am recovering from surgery I still feel I have more energy now compared to the pre op. And I can breathe much better especially at night when I sleep. Thanks for all your kind words and support.
3rd Update
I am just back from the hospital Cardiology department and thought it might be time for another 'Update'.
OK so I my OHS for MV repair was 10 weeks ago and so far things have been going well. Except for the Ocular Migraines which seemed to have come on with a vengeance after the Op. Usually 4-5 a day 3 to 4 times a week. Fortunately the pain wasn't that bad. But the visual disturbances where quite difficult to manage and lasted around 45 mins each time.
So I was sent to an Opthamologist who did every test possible, 2.5 hours of testing, before declaring my eyes were not the problem and I needed to see a Neurologist as soon as possible. I went to a Neurologist the following week and had a CAT scan which showed the Brain was working perfectly well and in very good condition, thank God. He prescribed some medication that was only meant to be taken once the pain had started not the Visual Disturbances. I followed his directions when I had the next headache and felt pain and within ten minutes I had a significant episode of Angina. Not Nice !! Lucky I was with a friend who is a Nurse and she was able to keep an eye on me. Needless to say the Cardiologist advised me Not to take the tablets again.
The following week I went back to the Cardiatric surgeon for a follow up visit and he said he could hear another murmur. I had already had an Echocardiogram before I left the hospital after the Operation and there was no sign of any Regurgitation. Now ten weeks later there is another Murmur.
The Cardiologist ordered another Echocardiogram which I had today and it revealed there is a Mild Murmur in the Valve that was operated on ( MV with severe Regurge) as well as a slight murmur in the Tricuspid Valve. Nothing to worry about according to him and the Cardiatric surgeon but needs to be checked on every two months to make sure it isn't getting any worse. I found this news to be very disappointing as I was hoping there would be no more problems with any of my Valves.
I would like to ask if anyone on this forum has had a similar problem? Apparently my Valve may have been better off being replaced rather than repaired.
More Info About Me & My Heart
More About Me
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I am from:
Shirley Giggacher, United Arab Emirates
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My surgery date is:
May 6, 2019
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I was diagnosed with:
Mitral Regurgitation
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My surgery was:
Mitral Valve Repair
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My surgeon is:
Dr. Olivier Jengen
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My hospital is:
Mediclinic Hospital Abu Dhabi