Allen's Journal

Paula Raines  Hi...new to the group. I am a survivor of an Aortic Dissection (both ascending and descending). I will be having another surgery at UWMedical. Super grateful to live near some of the best surgeons in the country.

Rose Madura  Hi Allen, I have not had a TAVR but my aunt did and then she had a second one.  Unfortunately, she got cancer and recently died so I can't tell you any details as to how long they last.  I think the technology of a 2nd TAVR is too new to have enough data. I hope your valve last a long time. God bless you.

Susan Lynn  Allen - I understand your concern, but advancements in heart valve repair are moving at such an incredible pace, I suspect anything will be possible within the next 15-20 years. As amazing as medicine is now, the upcoming approaches are likely unfathomable even by today's heart surgery community. Enjoy every day of your life - the future is bright!

Sue Lee  Allen, enjoy today! It sounds like your recovery is going really well and hopefully you can make leaps and bounds in coming weeks and days. 15-25 years from now, cardiac care will be even more amazing than now.

Susan Lynn  Allen - I have a sedentary job so I started working quickly, but you may want to try a part- time schedule and work your way up to full-time. I was exhausted for quite awhile after surgery. I couldn't have handled that much exertion after 8 weeks. You'll know immediately if you're overdoing it. Good luck!

Patricia Miller  Allen- Does your FMLA and short term disability form go up to 12 weeks?  Maybe give your HR department a call Monday.  You may end up being rerouted to the short term disability group.  I work at a hospital also.  I had robotic Mitral valve repair so recovery was expected to be 3- 6 wks.  (much less than sternotomy surgery).  I requested 4 wks on my form that the surgeon's office signed.  I later regretted not putting full 6 wks on it.  I thought I was ready to go back at 3 1/2 wks and didn't want to deal w/ more paperwork.  Pressure to go back to work, mostly from myself.  My job is 70% at the desk.  You definitely are in a physically demanding job and back fulltime could be exhausting.  Is returning half days an option?  I'm not sure if that would void the short term disability but worth asking about.  I ended up w/ some complications that were probably just unlucky, but  wonder if returning to work too early contributed to it.  Your recovery is more important than anything else.   You come first.  Delay your return to work if you need more time to heal.  

Allen Carkner  Thank you for the comments. I think I should be alright going 12 weeks with my work. I want to be confident in my health before getting back to it.

Pamela Gregory  I went back at 10 weeks and it was way to early for me!!! Mentally it was horrible. I don't think I am being dramatic either. If you can wait longer and don't feel ready then don't do it.

Annette Sterzel  Hi Allen, 3 months ago I had a mitral valve replacement and tricuspid valve repair. I experienced pain almost until 3 months. The cardio rehab I am going to told me to stretch my arms out not too far and bring them back in. I can’t believe how much that helped. When I had pains in my chest I did circular motion curled around where the stitches were and that helped a lot. Hope you feel better soon.

Marie Myers  Sorry you had to have surgery at such a young age. I think it is very common to have muscle aches and pains for weeks after open heart surgery. I could not wait until I felt i could lay on my stomach and get a massage! My upper back and shoulders were the problem areas for me. Plus the anxiety associated with the whole experience makes you wonder about every little ache, pain, and weird feeling. It all gets better with time. Some gentle stretching and yoga might help.  Hope you find some relief soon. 

Rose Madura  Allen, I'm quite a bit older than you so keep that in mind but I had lots of ached and pains for quite a while after surgery. Keep in mind that they basically immobilize you during surgery and you are in one position for hours.  It will get better. Hang in there. And I agree with Marie, that we are super aware of every ache and pain after surgery.  God bless you.

Mary Jewett  Hi Allen, I had an aortic valve replacement in 2020 and had similar type pain as you describe for weeks, probably close to three months or longer. Like Marie mentioned the worst pain for me was the upper back and shoulder pain but I also did have that tightness across the chest quite bad. Prior to my surgery I had heard people mention back pain but had no idea how bad it was going to be, of course, three years out it is all a distant memory now. My 26 year old son also had an aortic valve replacement six months after I did and I recall him having all the same types of pain. Give it time, it will fade and eventually it will go away. Two months out is quite early to expect to be feeling like your old self. Go easy on yourself!

Erin Feaker  You are not alone. I am just barely past 2 months and still have aches and pains in my chest, shoulder and back (mostly right side). I am trusting that they will get better as others have said. Other than that I feel great! 

Andrew Dial  Allen that is great! Congrats on the Ross, and look forward to hearing more good progress in the future :)