Erin's Journal

Hello Community! I am actually writing this entry on behalf of my Dad who just this past Thursday underwent a repair of his mitral valve. He was able to have the minimally invasive approach (so no sternotomy) and returned home with us on Monday evening. I am writing with a question for those of you who have recovered from surgery (minimally invasive or sternotomy) - as it seems his biggest concern lately has been his inability to lie flat without becoming short of breath. His first night at home he didn't sleep for most of the night - every time he laid down he would cough and become uncomfortable. My mother and I are both RN's (however neither of us have worked in cardiology) so we determined that he needed to sleep more upright. During the day he seems to have no problem with his breathing, UNLESS he gets too cold. Last night after totally overexerting himself doing too many activities he suddenly became very chilled, shivering and short of breath. We laid him down in bed propped up, and warmed him up. He was able to catch his breath in a minute or two and was fine, but it concerns me because it was never discussed with us as an "expected" part of recovery. I should add I suppose that my Dad is an otherwise healthy 55 year old man, no other comorbidities except for perhaps anxiety, who had this repair electively to avoid a replacement down the road. Last night, propped up he was able to have a few hours of sleep, intermittently but still was not able to sleep for longer than 1.5hrs at a time. I know he has some extra fluid on board because we have been weighing him every day and watching it slowly coming down. He is still about 8lbs heavier than he was the morning of surgery, but has lost 4lbs since Monday am. I have listened to his lungs and he has good air entry so I don't think that he has any kind of effusion. I am assuming he just has extra fluid in his abdomen/chest cavity which is putting pressure on his lungs when he lays down. ANYWAY - this is very long winded I know, and I'm sorry. I just want to know if anyone else experienced this SOB when lying flat/getting cold when they were first home post-op and wondering how long it lasted for. We have not contacted the Dr because otherwise he is doing very well. Incisions are healing nicely, blood pressure/temperature are fine, pain is well managed, Weight is coming off - and he is on lasix (furosemide) for 10 days to help with the fluid as well. Advice? Comments? Thanks in advance!! :)