Patricia writes, "Don, Please talk with the nurse again or your doctor. I was recovering from valve replacement and making progress until the 3rd month. I felt terribly fatigued, confused, depressed and suffered from ocular migraines. I waited a few weeks thinking it was a normal reaction to the surgery then finally had phone appt. with dr. He knew right away that I had a bladder infection even though I had none of the usual symptoms. Antibiotics cleared it up. I was so messed up before, I thought I was slipping into some kind of dementia. Many things can be affected by these surgeries, please get advice. "

Has anyone had a thoracentesis after surgery to drain the fluid around your lungs? I just had one this morning to drain fluid around my right lung and I’m in pain! The doc said it wouldn’t last long but would love to hear from patients who had this procedure! Pain is on my right side front and back. I’m almost 10 weeks post valve surgery.

I woke up ar 3am after falling asleep around 12 midnight. Been trying to take little naps to lose thia foggy state of mins im in today. I know i said it before but im sick and tired of.being sick and tired. I have a major headache right behind mu eyes that wont stop and took all my meds and feeling dehydrated from my water pills and major.thrist. i called my cardiologist to tell them im feeling like this and i ger a nurse practitioner telling me to go through their ER room to maybe get admitted and IV water diureticas. This is where my mental block comes up. In every hospital stay it always leads to another OHS and i cant and wont make it through a third valve transplant. I barely made it.back from my 2nd one. I wont put my wife and.family through that all again. So i try to fight my body and push myself to look normal
But wy wife tells me the more i try to do stuff the more.it.makes it evident that my all around health looks worse. She also is there to do my weight check and sees im still gaining more then breaking even somtimes betwwwn my dry and wet weight. I also think this is one of the main reasons my depression ia getting bad.. I feel.like half of a man when i cant help and support my own family. I never ask for help or charity from anyone so its hard to just accept it. Im 48 years old and was raises old school by my tuff un emotional state cop of my father and grandfather.. Both state police retired. We wernt allowed to show our emotions and could not cry about anything and trust no one. We didn't even said i love u in our families. Men dont cry we just mocw on to our.next.job and support our own family under our roof.. Now that i write it it really does look like i need to seek mental help too(just for depression i hope.. 😆) i thank you for just reading my post an stuff. This is really starting to feel like a goos outlet for me. I dont have to lay it all on my wife.. Jusr FYI ahe never said or acted like she dont want to be there for.me.. She is my best friend to me and my rock in all this.. Its just hard to think of all i put on her.. I guess thats how love works someway.. Thanks for reading and would love any comments or opinions from all of you guys. It makes.me feel like im not alone in all of this.. Plus i need help on how to search for a second opinion if i need it... TY and God Bless u all.

Michael Andreas writes, "My OHS (bovine valve and aneurysm repair) was my first hospital stay, I didn't think about sleeping. I am also a side sleeper but when I rolled on my side while sleeping, the sound of my heartbeat woke me up. I finally bought an adjustable bed. At about 11 months all is back to normal."

Patricia writes, "Hi Dianne, Sleeping on our sides seems to be one of the top 5 goals in early recovery. I was so stiff and sore from sleeping on my back. I could hardly stand it until I asked my doctor about it. Cardiologist said that trying to sleep on our sides before 6 to 8 weeks can put weight on wires used for surgery and permanently bend them into an inverted V shape that could cause lifelong arthritic type pain. This is from one doctor, so check with yours. I had OHS/AVR and I am 5'4, 135lbs - so it was not an issue of size or weight. Keep feeling better each day."

I'm in the waiting room so to speak. Long day of tests and consults at The Mayo Clinic. My bicuspid aortic valve is worse than I thought after seeing the CT scan results. Very calcified and a small opening for blood to get through. My surgery is scheduled for June 4 2019
with Dr Alberto Pochettino at St Mary's hospital in Rochester MN. After meeting with the surgeon I feel I'm in good capable hands. He answered all my questions on terms that a person can understand, as did my cardio. Im looking forward to the recovery side soon.

I have joined this web site less then 24 hrs. ago and i cant believe how fast and how real all your comments that you guys are leaving for me. I was just telling my.wife a little about the website and what i was reading and just checked and was overjoyed by you all. Im happy that its just all in my head and im not.just be depressed for no reason. I been going through this for almost 8 years now(last 2 years really been the worst) and been trying to do everyrhing my doctora tell or suggest to me. I need you to know that when i got sick in Dec of 2015 i was switching homes and moved to differnt state. I had to find a new doctor and was about 9 to 10 months of not seeing anykind of doctor and tjought i was going to be fine. So when my weight gain changes so quick and my sluggish feeling started i went to new Cardiologist, Pulmaonary and new primary Doctors also. So at that point i was about 280ish lbs. and thats how they percevied my.i assume. But.3 lbs a night gain finally pushed them for.my second valve transplant. Also all my doctors were in the same Hospital that i was going to. All Cooper Hospital. Camden NJ.( in case anyone knew it) So after my return home i was not losing any of tje water. I asked my home nurse then referred my to my doctors. I told my heart doctor and did test and said it might be pulmonary issue. I went to pulmonary and they said it.was.a.heart issue. So back and forth and many testing for last 2 years here i am at present. If i take too much water pills my.kidney function messes up and now my doctors say that maybe a bypass weight surgery might help.me. I went.to the bypass doctor and after he saw my habits and test he said maybe in 6 months after i pass all his test we would meet again and see if i should get.the bypass surgery or.not. i seriously cant go like this for six.more months and just hope. I talked to my cardiologist and told them how i felt about it and they added depression to my.medical charts now. Also they only see me every 60 days or so due to her appointment schdule so suggested thataybe the lasiks im taking that my body might built up a immunity to them and should go through er so i can start getting iv lasiks and all this becauae of how my insurance works they said. I told her i rather have more QUALITY of life then worring about the QUANTITY of life. But that makes me selfish to my wife and family so here i am and feeling so lost. I will tell you honestly how i feel and please know i am not.looking for pity or sympathy in sharing this all with u. So remember i have copd, congestive heart failure left side, high blood pressure and on cpap machine for sleeping a pacemaker which supports 30% in which what they explained to me. Soo with that all said here my daily day. Wake up and fell dehydrated and foggy like almost a hangover frame of mind. Light breakfast then take medications. Cant close my right hand due to swollen affect from water retention and then weigh myself. Then try to take the stairs up to bathroom. Stairs are.the worst.. Have to take a break half way through maybe a asthma inhale also. Clean up then water pills kick in and going once a hour.maybe couple times. My left leg pita really bad and looks twice the size then my right side. Doctors say due to.my CHF. I feel like i am walking on stumps for legs and feet. I walk ablut half.a.block and i get really winded..
Im so.sorry.. I know i can go on and one telling u my health..but i understand you arent my doctors and i know there is no magic pill that i can take and feel better. I guess i am just.looking to see if this is all normal and suppose to be how my life will always be. If so i will make accommodations. Or.i will.try.to look for a second opinion. I dont want.to keep putting my wife through all this and she has never.ever complains or said anything bad towards it. I guess its in my own thoughts and where my depression kicks in. Im 48 and fell im way too young foe all this. I read some of ur stories.and see there is younger then myself. I also read some of your journeys and i commend you. I will pray for.you all. One reply i had stayed that he is waiting to have a surgery and i just wanted them.to know that i wish nothing but the best for u and having it done it saved my life and gives me hope of feeling better. Please dont ever let my problems or complaining let you to re think ypur own situation. I am looking for help to deal with my issues and see if anyone can relate so i dont feel so alone or crazy. Again thank u all for just commenting to me. I think this website and community is what i needed. For information and for help. I hope all your stuggles and meant with your best wishes. Hope to look for more comments and stories little later. Thanks and God Bless all.

Hello, I don't have much to say except that surgery date is set for April 3rd. We have two weeks to get ready. I am focused, and calm, but also freaking out. Mostly, I am exhausted and ready to feel better. I have to have an MRI of my head and an ultrasound of my corotid artery. No CT scans since I had those done in 2017.

Since we are in the "getting ready" stage I would be grateful to know what people wish they'd known or had at the hospital or at home for post-op recovery and comfort.

One step at a time. #Amrite?