Irving's Journal

Susan Lynn  Irving - It's been awhile since this topic was posted, but it definitely comes up periodically. It's commonly referred to as pumphead and there are several articles on this site about it. I'm not sure what your symptoms are, but I asked about it after my surgery and it was downplayed by my cardiologist. In the beginning, I was sleeping at all different times of the day and i thought I was just off my schedule. But, I noticed a decrease in attention span, forgetting words and names, and my husband told me I asked the same questions about my surgery multiple times. In the days and months after my procedure, I tried writing, journaling, and generally 'exercising my brain' by increasing the demand for information. I don't know if it was the pump or the medications, but now that I'm off everything, it seems to have improved. I still occasionally struggle to remember a name or word and despite what I have been told, I know it is attributable to my surgery.

I selected a surgical procedure that minimized pump time, but I believe it's a real complication. You're not even a year post-op, so you will likely see improvement.

I hope others will add their own experiences on this topic. Hang in there- better days are ahead. ❤

Marie Myers  The things that you can do to improve your general health and brain health would be eat nutritious brightly colored food (especially berries), exercise regularly, and learn to meditate. Meditation is a useful, calming, and healthy exercise for your brain. If you continue to be concerned, you can see a neurologist for a workup on your cognition. Hope you see improvement as your recovery progresses.

Tracy Fallu  I am in agreement with Susan. I too was downplayed when I asked my cardiologist. I chose to see a neurologist and he had me do a full day cognitive function test. Some of the results were shocking to me: lack of recall, names, forgetting a word. I am 2.5 years post surgery and I still suffer from the 3 items mentioned; however, I’ve adapted some strategies on my own and with the neurologist that have roped a bit.

Marie Myers  It should be safe for you to continue with your Xanax till your heart cath. I would be honest with your doctors about how much/how often you take it. They need this information to help gauge how much, if any sedation ,you may need during your procedure. I have been a nurse anesthetist for 40 years, so I do have some experience with this matter. You don't want to drastically alter the amount of medication you take right before a major procedure. Just be honest with your history, since the medical staff need to know to do their best for you. Here is hoping you sail through your procedure! I can say the cath was not as scary a procedure as my mind had made it out to be.

Susan Lynn  I am so sorry to read about the loss of your wife. This is certainly a lot to handle, but you will get through it.

Great advice, Marie! I also found the cath not to be a problem at all and I didn't even take the sedation. The name is far worse than the 20 minute procedure, itself. I understand that some folks who have the sedation, don't remember any of it. So, if you prefer to be sedated, than do what's most comfortable for you. On the day of surgery, I also only remember being awake for less than 10 seconds in the OR - all but one initial IV line were placed after I was out. The whole thing felt like a one minute nap and it was over! You can do this, Irving! We'll be with you every step of the way!

Marie Myers  And I should add, on the day on my surgery, I asked my nurse anesthetist to "keep that Versed coming" because I was very anxious about the whole surgery. I got some Versed in the preop area, and the next thing I knew, I was in the ICU with the surgery all done.. It was wonderful!! I closed my eyes, and it was literally 7 hours later...

Irving Teviovitz  I was hoping that any medication they give me to knock me out is in a pill form as I am a big baby about needles. After they knock me out they can put me on a cactus or Africa's crested porcupine. Wait a minute---these jokes are freaking me out.