Anne Marie's Journal

Steven A Husted  we will be praying for you i am sure someone can answer you on a-fib i have not had it as of yet but there are others on this site who have you are at the right site praying the lord will give you comfort

Sophia Ridley  Hi Anne, welcome!

I had a MV repair in November. I had no electrical issues with my heart pre-surgery. 30% of patients will get post surgical AFib, unfortunately I was one of them. Whilst in hospital I had a bout of AFib which recovered, but then when I got home it kicked off. I had 2-3weeks before it reverted, I was (am) on Bisoprolol and Rivaroxaban. I also have an atriclip which was attached just in case. I couldn't take amioderone as I have an underactive thyroid.
When not in AFib, I have multiple ectopics which are less distressing. It's exhausting. Each time I come off the thinner I go into AFib, which is very odd. I've had some more bouts recently and am still on my medication. I am going to discuss with the cardiologist the next steps shortly.
I am frustrated by it (reading my journal you'll see!) but I understand an ablation is very successful. I am trying to find a nutritionist to advise me on magnesium, coQ10, omega 3 and anything else suitable for my heart as I'm keen to try all that too. When in A&E recently, I reverted on IV magnesium so got to be something missing.

A good friend's father has chronic AF for years. In that time, he's run a successful business, keeps active running after grandkids. He's my inspiration if I have to put up with this.

My valve is working perfectly and my atrium is reducing in size so I have to remind myself of the positives.

I hope that you revert and can put it behind you.

Corey Sines  Its not that uncommon Anne, may people on here have had to have part of their Aorta and/or Aorta Root replaced with an AVR.

Lily He  My aortic valve and aorta have the same problem like you. I'm still on the way to find a surgeon and the surgery date. So you are better than me. Hope your surgery goes very well. By the way, my son graduated from Penn and now works at Philly. I know Penn medical school is excellent.

Mary Wagner  Hello Anne Marie and welcome to the group. I had my aortic valve replaced actually 26 years ago, In a check-up in Nov. - they didn't like something so I had an echo done and it showed that I had a huge aortic aneurysm. The plan for surgery was to repair (replace ) that part of the aorta with a graft and replace the mechanical valve with a pigs valve. When the surgeon got in - he found the valve to still be in excellent condition so he did not replace it. He did fix the aorta. It took me a good 10 weeks to recover. If I had it to do again - I would go into a rehab center. I had tiny little complications so that would have been helpful. I am single and in early 60's. I had to have someone stay here for a while. Five months out now and I am doing really well.

Joshua Trimberger  Good luck with your surgery. In regards to rehab thats going to wear you out and the trip there and back will also wear you out. I couldn't imagine traveling an hour each way for rehab. Hopefully you can find a good place closer to home

Clare Auten  Good luck with everything. I did have the same thing. Bicuspid valve replacement with a mechanical valve and dacron graft on the ascending aorta. 2.5 years post op. Doing great. If you are doing in patient rehab you may want to see if there is one associated with your hospital.

Bob Fessler  By rehab care, I'm sure you are talking about live in rehab. If I was alone, I'd jump at the chance to take advantage of that especially if it was covered by insurance.

Luke P  My doctors told me that is it common. I had my ascending aorta replaced with the AVR. The graft will last a lifetime so I was OK with it. The aneurysm was borderline but since they had to replace the valve I wanted them to take care of the aneurysm at the same time and not deal with it later.

Cathleen Weed  Hi...I had an aortic valve replacement ( bovine tissue valve) with a dacron graft replacement on my ascending aorta as well all the way through the arch ....that was at 33...I am 45. The dacron graft is good as new still and is predicted to outlast me....the material is made from the same material used for sails ( so it can withstand a lot of pressure ) and your body grows new cells around it until it basically becomes a part of you. I just had my bovine valve replaced again last year (one year ago today!) after 11 years and they used the TAVR technique..amazing technology! It's better they caught your ascending aorta problem now so they don't have to go back in later to fix it...xo p.s. choose the most convenient cardiac rehab...as close as possible to home. Cardiac rehab is amazing and you will want to be a short distance from home so you can dedicate your energy to your exercise and not to driving :)

David C  Very common. It's was my ascending aorta and aortic root that my doctors were concerned about. My bicuspid valve was a part of the whole package to be addressed, but you want a strong and health aorta.

Best of luck this week. We'll all be thinking of you.

Joshua Trimberger  one with electric buttons...Its really hard to push and pull things so I wouldn't want to pull and push a lever, even now 4 weeks after surgery.

Conrad Skowronski  I got a recliner that puts you in a standing position. Very good for getting into and out of a sitting position.

Ed Miskovic  My recliner is a love-seat style with two seats. Both have 4 push buttons on the side of the arms. I pair moves the leg support up or dow; the other operates the recliner section into almost a flat bed (but not quite). With the two seater, one of our dogs could also be near me. came from Lazy-Boy. Pros: electric & battery. Cons: reaching over the chair arm for the buttons. I think I slept overnight in it for a week and then moved to an upstairs bedroom. Hope this helps.

Steven A Husted  YES I WOULD GET A ELECTRIC RECLINER ONE THAT WILL STAND YOU UP AND LAY YOU DOWN TO SLEEP YOU MAY BE ABLE TO RENT ONE OR BUY A USED OR NEW ONE NEW ONES COST 5 OR 6 HUNDRED BUT YOU CAN BUY A USED ONE FOR 2 OR 3 HUNDRED CHECK EBAY OR OTHER SOURCES IF YOU DONT THINK YOU WILL KEEP IT RENT ONE I BOUGHT A USED ONE FOR 3 HUNDRED AND I STILL USE IT TODAY AND I AM ALMOST TWO YEARS OUT IT UP TO YOU WE ARE ALL DIFFERENT BEST WISHES AND PRAYERS TO YOU AND YOUR FAMILY

  I don't know the brand I bought, but got a leather recliner with a power open/close. Joshua is right, it will be hard and awkward to move your arms in a way to open/close a traditional recliner. I slept in my recliner for about 5-6 weeks post surgery because whenever I tried to sleep in a bed, I kept slipping down off my pillows and it was hard to get up without help. Recliner was easier for me , was sturdy, and worth the $500.

Richard Puckett  I got an electric recliner that will put you in every position to be comfortable and stand you up. After I got home and used it, I decided that it wasn't absolutely necessary, but it was a lot easier! I slept on it for the first seven weeks!

Priscila Marino  I got a recliner at my local Salvation Army store.... I figured that I didn't want to spend $600 on a new one to use a few weeks. I paid a guy to professionally clean, brought it up to my room to find out a day later that has bed bugs!!!!
Now not only I will have to extra clean my whole room, I will have to drag the damn chair down to trash it!!!
You should by a new one..... And so am I!!!!!!!

Ruth Valenzuela  I could not have made it without the recliner. I couldn't lay flat for a couple of months. It gets better as the days go by so don't be discouraged!

Diane Zeigler  I got my recliner at a Relax the Back store. I love it! It will go in all kinds of positions from sit, to sleep, watch tv position, to lift, etc. Definitely get one with electric controls, not the lever kind. I am 8 weeks post surgery and I still love to nap in it.

Joanne Casserly  Good Luck, I'm going to be honest, I had a mitral valve replaced and 2 bypass and then a week later a pacemaker was added, I have to tell you that I had little, to no pain and I wish you the best.

Anne Marie Kelly  Wow. It sounds amazing that you had so much done with little pain. That is just GREAT. Thanks for letting me know.

Linda Lloyd  Hmm…I’m not so sure about the “only for a day or so” part (for me, breathing), but the rest sounds right (I had an AVR with Mike Acker at Penn 13 years ago). You’re in good hands.

Joanne Casserly  Linda, truly and to this day, little to no pain and I read some stories also, I'd say maybe, day after and day after that and then Advil for pain, I will say they kept me in ICU too long and I went psycho, but they never told me they thought I was going to go into afib, I truly almost lost my mind, till my cardio doc realized what was going on and demanded that I be moved to step down, thank God for her and I was surrounded with the best surgeons and not 1 got that I was losing it, they moved me on a Tuesday and I was home on that Thursday and had no problem coming to the 2nd floor either...

barrett burris  Had a similar experience. See my story.
Good luck to you. This is your journey, not someone else's and you will do great. So called friends would describe a runny nose as a life threatening event.
Go for it!

Suzanne Hunter  I echo last post.Everyone is different and so is recovery.I am 2 yrs out for bicuspid aortic valve replacement.mechanical valve.just had my 60th birthday. Little pain they keep you on the pills for that.5 days in hospital. Don't push yourself but each day gets better. Before you know you too will be looking back at the 2 year mark.Good luck stay positive and be thankful we can be repaired.

Robert Osmachenko  Hi Anne Marie. I'm almost two years out and my pain events came right after surgery and six weeks out from surgery. This is subject to the type of surgery you will be having too.
Firstly, your surgeon is very optimistic. I hope he/she is right.
I didn't do well post surgery because Tylenol doesn't work. At six weeks I switched to indomethacin due to deep tissue healing.
Hope it goes well for you. Prayers aloft.

Richard Puckett  I'm a little over three weeks after my mitral valve repair and one bypass graph. I think the three month schedule you mentioned sounds about right. If your heart is in good shape, other than the obvious, and you are overall are in good health, you should come through fine. The first two days are the worst, but not that bad. I flew home a week and a day after my surgery and went to my office that afternoon, and every day since. I'm generally tired when I get home, but I'm getting stronger each day. I think a Type A personality helps! I'm just not going to sit around.

Clare Auten  Not sure about the day or two thing. But, I honestly only have vague memories. ...kind of like having a baby, over time, it all seems like a vague memory. I am 2.5 years post op and have no restrictions.

Charles Haas  I had mitral valve repair in October 2015 at HUP - so just at the 9 month mark. Recovery was textbook, and I was back at the office part time in about a month. They do a wonderful job. Be sure to take the class they offer to patients pre-op.

I was on percocet for a couple of days, and then went to straight tylenol - mainly to help me sleep with very occasional pain needs during the day. The worst part for me was pulling the chest tubes and the catheter. I was out of the CICU on day 2 (I had an early morning surgery slot), and out of the hospital on day 8.

Be sure you keep up with their instructions to walk and move, and your red heart pillow will be your friend.

Best wishes for a swift move past.

Anne Marie Kelly  THANK YOU, everyone, for these answers to my post. Frankly, I am so frightened that I avoided reading the answers - until now, two weeks before my surgery. I really appreciate your feedback!

  Hi Anne Marie, my surgeon told me up to a year for full recovery. Even now, 8 months post op, if I work out hard, or move my arms in a weird way, I hear a popping noise or feel my chest has been strained. I went back to work part time at 6 weeks and back to full by 7 weeks. Could have probably waited till 8 weeks to be totally ready, but it was ok for me. I had AVR with minimally invasive. Good luck! Everyone is different. Cardiac rehab will help you recover more quickly.

Sue Pluta  Hi Anne Marie...I am only 16 days post op from aorta replacement with triple bypass. I guess I am the exception because I am still in alot of pain and can hardly sleep more than 2 hrs at a time. My energy level is horrible as well as my concentration but going from being so active to this has depressed me. I wish you the best and hope your surgeon is right about your recovery!

Diane Zeigler  I basically had no pain. Take the pain medicine they will offer you to stay ahead of the pain. The main thing that bothered me was having all the iv's, drains,etc. especially when needing to go to the bathroom. It was an ordeal! I am now about 8 weeks post surgery and feel pretty good. I still don't have the stamina that I hope to regain, but I start cardio rehab this week and am hoping that will help.
You will do just fine. It will be over before you know it.