James's Journal

Peggy Whitecotton  I had that happen too it was the medication I was on. I was afraid it was my new valve but it wasn't.

Petey Bello  James, Sorry you are having some issues, we all seem to have some bumps in the road. Glad you are able to have a visiting nurse, I'm sure that is a big relief. Good luck!

Rita Savelis  Alas, that extreme fatigue is very normal, post-op. You need a long time to heal. Your body has been through a lot.

Franklin Wyrick  Sounds as though you are doing well James, I was just ahead of you in surgery, June 2nd. I wish you well and keep walking.

Linda Yaff  Sounds like you are recovering well. My surgery is the 27th and it's great to hear you are up and around in a week! Keep up the great work!

Wanda Mroz  It is a surreal feeling.... 10 months post op and I marvel at what I went through and got through as well. Glad things are going well! 💞

Franklin Wyrick  Great news, James. I had aortic valve and ascending aorta replacement on June 2nd. Came home on the 7th and am now walking 2 miles a day. You will do great.

Kate Watson  I have two- both my mitral and aortic valves! I am just 8 weeks post op. My Coumadin level is starting to stabilize and I'm adjusting to the sounds of my new valves.

James Waller  I understand that this valve requires a lower level of blood thinners. Has this been your experience?

Denise Campbell  I take 5 mg a day on sun, mon, wed, Thursday, sat and 2.5 mg tues and fri. It will depend on your vitamin k intake and how your body clots or metabolizes They can adjust to your diet

Clare Auten  My target INR is 1.8 - 2.4. This is lower than others I think. I have been on the same dose for almost a year. My surgeon's assistant did say that in Europe the On-X valve has been approved for anticoagulation with a 325 mg aspirin. The FDA has not gotten there yet.

James Waller  Thanks for the input. At my surgeon's suggestion, I Google "On-x" valve and went to the valve manufacturer's website. Very interesting and informative. Of course they make their product seem like the greatest thing since sliced bread. My surgeon said this would be the valve he would use and seemed pretty enthusiastic about this valve. The thought of going through additional procedures in the future to deal with the aortic valve after a tissue valve starts to wear out sort of seals the deal for a mechanical valve, at least for me. I think I'll be o.k. dealing with whatever blood thinners I have to use.

Meredith Bray  Be careful what you Google! My first-ever search for the valve my surgeon prefers came back as http://www.onyxvalve.com/. I couldn't help but laugh! Anyway... I have an OnX valve, and am happy with it - but then again, I don't have anything to compare it to. About a year after my surgery I received a letter from OnX to give to my cardiologist letting him know the the FDA approved a lower INR for OnX recipients. My target range is 1.5-2.5. My nurse and I both prefer to keep it above 2.0 just in case. Yes, it ticks (most of them do...) but I've gotten used to it. OnX also will send you promo stuff if you call them and ask. Best of luck!
-Meredith

Emily Rowley  With you needing an aortic root repair will need to be taken into consideration, therefore I would be asking more information from Surgeon. Especially as we have different heart anatomy and one part can effect other parts such as with my case-what I have for my Mitral Valve will effect my Aortic (possibly pushing up into it due to the closeness and my anatomy). Also what do you feel comfortable with.

Steven A Husted  OPEN HEART SURGERY SCARED ME TO DEATH BUT NOW I AM ON THE OTHER SIDE I COULD DO IT AGAIN IF I HAD TO IT IS NOT THAT BAD AND I AM 67 YEARS OLD I STARTED OUT WITH WANTING THE LONGEVITY OF THE MECHANICAL BUT THEN I HEARD THAT THEY COULD FAIL TO PLUS THE IDEA OF A BLEED OUT SCARED ME AND THE TICKING AND THE DIET WITH THE ADVICE OF MY DOCTOR I CHOSE A BOVINE VALVE AND I AM GLAD I DID BECAUSE BY THE TIME I NEED A REPLACEMENT I CAN USE THE TAVR AND EVEN IF I HAD TO HAVE OHS AGAIN NOW I KNOW I COULD DO IT AGAIN WITH OUT THE FEAR OF CHECKING OUT IT IS A PERSONAL DECISION BUT FOR ME I DONT THINK I COULD PUT UP WITH THE INR TROUBLE AND BLOOD THINNERS HOPE THIS HELPS SOMEONE

Cathleen Weed  I'm sure that if you get a tissue valve now you will qualify for TAVR later should you need another replacement. TAVR won't be an option if the mechanical valve fails, and of course the blood thinners..ugh. I would ask about that.

Cathleen Weed  Joanna..Depends on your valve size...that's why surgeons are starting to implant larger tissue valves during the first OHS in anticipation of TAVR later. My native valve happened to be quite large to begin with..and my last OHS tissue valve was a 27...and they do a slightly smaller one than the original when they do TAVR since it's squeezing in...so this bovine is now a 25...which means I have plenty of space to go and could get more no problem as long as it continues on this path. Right now they don't see any issue with it. In fact, at my Cedars Sinai appt last Thursday they said "maybe we will find out what the record number of valve in valves will be" lol. I don't worry much about it. Just happy it was an option :) Who knows what they will come up with in the future!
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Peggy Whitecotton  Of course you are and know exactly how you feel. My cardiologist had been mentoring my aortic valve for years was always showing mild on the echo , in fact I had actually convinced myself that it was not going to happen to me. So when the symptoms started I went into denial, blamed it all on my age and my weight. So when my valve went to severe in one year I saw the surgeon. Had a heart cath and a TEE which showed my valve had gone from severe to critical in just a few weeks. My valve was completely closed and was leaking I almost waited too long. But I am now 9 months post op feeling great. It is so amazing what medical science can do today. My grand mother died at 55 years old with the same heart problem as mine because there was no OHS back then. Peace and blessings

Duane Beeman  James: On June 9 of last year I went in for replacement of a severely stenotic aortic valve. Everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. My point is, I'm still here typing this. My aorta actually began to come apart during surgery (dissection) and a portion of it had to be replaced. I had a stroke during surgery, I had pulmonary embolisms. I spent 27 days in the hospital (23 in ICU) and when it was over I walked out of there (well, I had some help) but I made it. You can't possibly hit the "bad luck" lotto that I hit. You'll be like most others and pop out the other end of this just fine. I'm feeling pretty normal today and enjoying a sunny weekend in Northern Michigan. You're allowed to be nervous, but don't let it overcome you. It's time to get your game face on and do what you have to do. Always remember that there are people out there who have problems that cannot be fixed. They go to bed every night wishing that they were you. You'll be a different man when this is over, but my guess is you'll be a better man. Hang in there.

Tina Maroon  Best of luck to you in your surgery James. I know that has got to be scary. Duane I had my surgery on June 9,2015 too. Wow that is cool to know someone else who had surgery on my same date of surgery. Wishing I could meet up with some of the people who had their Open Heart Surgery a year ago.

James Waller  I so appreciate the encouraging words from everyone. I read Duane's prior posts and enjoyed his candor and humor about a difficult and challenging situation. I hope I can go through this process with the same attitude.