Adam's Journal

Hey all! I'm still in the process of dialing in my INR, and have a question for you all about bruising. I know my INR was higher than usual last week (2.5), and this week I've noticed some bruising on the back of my lower legs (below the calf, above the ankle).

My question for you all is, have you ever experienced "spontaneous bruising"? Is this a part of the body that just gets banged up without us noticing it, and the bruises show up? I am not bruising anywhere else, and Ive been increasing my vitamin K intake slightly, so I assume my INR is decreasing toward my 1.5-2 goal. Thank you!

Hi all! A little TMI question for those of us on Coumadin/Warfarin. I'm almost 6 months out from surgery and everything is feeling quite normal. INR numbers as of 2 days ago are on the low side of range (2.2 so low bleeding risk).

BUT! Since my doc has repeatedly stated that bleeding issues can be real, I want to ask you all --
I noticed blood in my stool for 2 of the past 4 days. There. Then no issues for 2 days. Then back, and a bit more the second time. Bright red. No other symptoms or fatigue or anything. Do we think this is something to be alarmed about? Go to the ER on a weekend? Or wait it out until I can call my doc on monday?

IT'S NORMAL TO FEEL NOT NORMAL.

The following are some things I've learned can be normal to feel or experience after an Aortic Valve replacement (or open-heart surgery in general). Things that my amazing doctors and nurses have explained to me, and told me will pass in time, and they are! (I had my surgery on 10/23)

THIS IS NOT MEDICAL ADVICE! Always talk to your doctors ASAP about any "weirdnesses" you experience (as my surgeon called them). This is my own experience, and since learning some of these things helped me feel better about my recovery, I hope it can do the same for someone else.

I encourage everyone to add their own positive learnings and experiences in the comments! THIS IS NOT MEANT TO BE A PLACE FOR US TO SHARE A COLLECTION OF ALARMING COMPLICATIONS. Save those for another post, thank you.

OK let's get to it...

1. The body's ability to regulate temperature goes out of whack. I spent 2 weeks shivering and sweating through the nights. Changing sheets and clothes on a regular basis. It passed on its own.

2. The pericardium (think of it as a protective sack of fluid around the heart that everyone has) has to rebuild after open heart surgery, and until it does, you could (I do) FEEL your heart beats like a thumping in your chest. Especially when taking a deep breath. This passes after 8-10 weeks I am told.

3. You can often hear/feel this valve (On-X valve) "ticking". Not always, and I'm already getting used to it, 4.5 weeks out.

4. Dialing in your IRN can take time and patience. But you'll get there. After 4 weeks I finally have enough testing data to feel confident about my dose and where I am between tests. (Working with a Coumadin clinic nurse has been enormously helpful)

5. Nerve damage can occur (since you're...cutting through some nerves) and can have a number of effects. I personally felt a lot of my pain across the shoulders because of this, and occasionally felt nerve-related numbness in my fingers a few weeks out of surgery. Using a stress ball helped this resolve in minutes the few times it happened. (Obviously do not mess around with numbness. This was what I learned from my experience, but I actually went to the ER when this happened, as advised by my doctors).

6. My resting heart rate was elevated after surgery. This is normal. Mine is just starting to come back down, but I've heard this can take up to 3 months to really settle down.

Again, CONTACT YOUR DOCTOR when anything feels off as you recover. I spoke to my surgeon or cardiologist about all of the above! But learning that these things were somewhat "normal" helped me.
And I hope this can help someone else feel a little comfort too.

Hey all.
4 weeks out of an aortic valve replacement and finding that lying flat at night causes a bit of a flutter feeling in my chest. My heart rate doesn't seem to change and sitting or standing up resolves is quite quickly, so I'm wondering if its abdominal muscles (the ones pierced by the drainage tubes) or my diaphragm acting up. For context, I actually slept on a near-flat recliner after discharge because I found it more comfortable than lying flat in bed. Now when I try to sleep lying flat I get this odd sensation (first two nights lying flat were fine though).

Hello all!

Has anyone else experienced a longer period of time before your normal voice returned after surgery? I've gathered its quite common to have intubation/breathing tubes cause some irritation to the vocal cords, and for your voice to be affected (horse, raspy, quieter) for a couple of weeks. I'm 4 weeks out of surgery and still have quite a noticeable rasp to my voice, and am unable to raise my voice to/past normal speaking volume. Has this happened to anyone else? Thanks in advance!

Wondering if anyone has long term experience using Warfarin?? How easy or hard it is to keep INR in the right zone, how much dosage versus diet is what moves the numbers, etc.?

I'm currently in the decision making process, weighing the pros and cons of Biological valve replacement, mechanical valve replacement, and The Ross Procedure. Any experiences people can share would be greatly appreciated!