Jeffrey's Journal

Marie Myers  I am guessing that the majority of patients who were on BP meds before surgery will still be on them afterwards. As for me, I was not on any BP meds, and went home on metoprolol 12.5 mg twice a day. I think BP and valve problems are usually 2 different animals.. That is, most high BP is not caused by your valve problem.

Alex Sigalov  Hi Jeffrey, i am 5 weeks post-op, i am currently on 100mg metropolol succ er, my BP is ok for most of the day but does rise once or twice per day to like mid 150/ mid 90 but it goes down on its own, i was having BP problems before surgery more with my Systolic presure, i guess its better now at least if its a elevated both Sys and Dys are up. I guess I thought once i get surgery i wouldn't have any BP but looks like thats not the case or at least too early to make any conclusions

Joey Hardee  I was on heavy BP meds before my aortic valve replacement last June. For the first 3 months, I was on 50 mg of metoprolol (25 twice a day) and my BP stayed in check just on that, After my follow up with my cardiologist, BP had crept up. He added 12.5 of Losartin and just this week upped it to 25 mg because my BP was elevated (150's over 90's). I have had bronchitis though and have had to take a break from exercise, which helps BP, especially for me. Hope I can start working out again soon. Hope you get it figured out.

Rose Madura  I had a lot of complications but once they all settled down, I ended up on 12.5 of Metoprolol twice a day and one 2.5 if Amlodipine daily. At one point, they tried taking me off Amlodipine but my body didnt like that and my BP went up. So I've been on these doses for over a year now.

Alex Sigalov  Dr. told me 4 weeks, i have a desk job, wich i am at 4 weeks now and feel like i need at least 2 more weeks, but i get to work from home so my situation is a little unique. But in general for people that need to comute they should not be telling them 4 weeks u can go back to work even if its a desk job

Marie Myers  I stayed out for 8 weeks, but only came back part time 2 -3 days per week. I was plenty tired when I got home, and napped every afternoon. Everyone is so different, and everyones’s jobs are so different. The decision really should be made by the patient him/herself. A lot of my co workers were surprised I did not stay out 12 weeks, but I felt I was ready to get back to normal and work. Hope it all works out well for you!

Herb Greenberg  I'm curious about this since I am in the waiting room and in two days expect to be told to get more aggressive when I meet with my cardiologist to go over my latest MRA; the aortic root expanding to 4.9 cm, as has the ascending aorta. As we all know, 5 is the magic number, certainly for many surgeons – and definitely at the CC. As we also know - surgeons can measure differently than radiologists - more OR less aggressively. My dilemma: I have a small business. I work from home. I write and research for a living. I fully expect my brain to be in a jet lag-type of fog (I tried to envision this when we returned from a recent trip from the Middle East...and had pretty good jet lag for more than a week.) The question is this: Do you believe that after one or two weeks you could pick up your phone, or sit at a desk - or even sit in a chair with a laptop – and do anything for a short amount of time? Or is the general consensus that the fatigue is so great you don't want to? Obviously, everybody is different but I would be curious to hear.

Marie Myers  I think it is possible to do that two weeks after an uncomplicated surgery. You sound very motivated. You may have to schedule some naps in between calls, but you might be able to do it.

Catie B  Herb, I think I could've done "some" work. I was walking a couple of miles. Wasn't allowed to drive till the 6 wk mark though. BTW, my tipping point for aneurysm @ CC was 4.9 due to petite frame. Glad they're keeping a close eye on you and I wish you the best!

Herb Greenberg  Thanks Marie and Catie. I'm on the every three-month scan plan (echo, MRA, echo, MRA...) Catie good luck with your situation. Sounds like you have been through the wringer. Marie, I'm very motivated and thanks to this forum and others - and over-researching by reading anything/everything and watching videos of surgeries (such as how a sternum is wired shut...not what I pictured) - I'm at peace with it; certainly at more peace than my wife ;-).

Rita Savelis  I was in hospital 9 weeks, then stayed home 2 more weeks before going back to work. The time off work really varies amongst patients. I think it's nice to take as much time as you can, not always possible. Your body needs time to heal. even if that healing is on the inside and can't be seen.

Jeffrey Dyer  My brain was in such a fog, there was no way I could have worked (even from home) at 2 weeks post op. For the first week, I couldn't really focus on anything. I had a TV in my room that I turned on once...and quickly turned off. It was an overload to my senses. The people I work with didn't (and still don't) understand that, even though I may be at work, it's hard to focus sometimes. I came back to work at week 9 and didn't last the entire day for 2 weeks. I was done by 3 p.m. every day. The whole experience is a life-changing experience.

Herb: BTW, don't over-do the research. You can watch so many videos and read so much that it can add to the stress of waiting. You'll find every "worst case" on Youtube. Just relax and enjoy your time with your family. My wife realized what it was doing to me and told me to stop watching the videos. I did and am so thankful to her for that.

Jeffrey Dyer  My BP was great coming out of surgery and for 8 weeks after. Then, I went back to work and my BP went sky high. I hate it! I'm back on my BP meds.

Herb Greenberg  Rita and Jeff thanks for your sage advise! Jeff, I’m not sure there is anything left for me to see or read! My brain works best when I know everything. I’m a former journalist so it’s in the wiring 😬.

Jennifer Winslow  I have enough sick leave saved up to be out 16 weeks. I pray I won’t need that long but I’m a big baby so I won’t rush things.

Thomas Brusstar  I had no complications on my mitral repair, and was able to show up at the office (desk job) after about 2 weeks, but part time. I was just exhausted after a while, partly from meds and also from disrupted sleep. I could accomplish some things, but you should be honest about needing rest. So working from home would be totally possible, just to keep things moving with a business, but do not plan on long days in the first month.

Meredith Bray  ***EVERYONE HAS THEIR OWN NORMAL!***
I was a CDL driver when I had my surgery and stayed out the mandatory 12 weeks on FMLA. I think I was sitting at my desk at home before the end of week 2, but it wasn't comfortable. At 8 weeks I was still taking naps, and at 10 weeks I felt like I could have gone back to driving. At 12 weeks, when I went back, I had no pain with the climbing, steering, leaning, stretching, or pulling the air brakes. My issue was lifting the boxes in the warehouse (I still feel some stress if I don't keep the box close to my body.

Meredith
Clearwater, FL

Herb Greenberg  You're right on that score, Meredith: Everybody DOES have their own normal. In my best of normal I couldn't do what you do on a regular basis!

Jeffrey Dyer  Thanks, everyone, for giving your thoughts on going back to work after OHS. Hopefully, this will help others choose when to go back to work.

Frank Giovanniello   Jeffrey, lucky you, It's now 4 months out, and i'm pretty sure that is my near future. The crackling I feel in almost every move, but no pain!

Marie Myers  I would bet there are a few out there who had the same issues. I myself noticed more heart palpitations in the years preceding surgery, but just blew it off as normal.

Adam Collins  Yes, I've struggled with anxiety and panic attacks for years. In fact, they're what led me to find out that I had a valve problem.

I first dealt with them in 2006, got them under control (with medication) for years, and then they came back with a vengeance in early 2018. My anxiety and panic attacks we're usually medical related, so I decided to go get some things checked out. Some initial tests indicated I might have some slight peripheral artery disease (PAD), so my doc referred me to a cardiologist. Turns out I didn't have PAD at all, but my cardiologist noticed a loud heart murmur. That led to an echocardiogram, which confirmed that I had a previously undiagnosed bicuspid aortic valve that was now regurgitating severely, and I'd need surgery within the next couple months.

As a person who'd been dealing with medical anxiety and panic attacks for over a decade, this was pretty much my worst case scenario become real. Surprisingly, though, even though I was absolutely terrified of the surgery, my overall anxiety and panic started to decrease now that I knew what was going on and was under active care to get it resolved.

Since my surgery, my anxiety and panic attacks have decreased to almost being non-existent. I still get anxious about the surgery and the thoughts about "what if something goes wrong," etc., But those thoughts and worries are much shorter-lived and less severe than they used to be.

Marie Myers  I think sometimes it is the wisdom of our bodies to get our attention (any way it can) to alert us to a problem. I think anxiety/panic would be an effective way of our bodies letting us know something is wrong. I personally have not felt the frequent palpitations that I did before my surgery.

Jeffrey Dyer  Thanks, Adam, for your story. Thanks, Marie, for your input.

I've dealt with anxiety and panic for a long time...many years. A few days ago I was remembering the time (a long time ago) when I told a friend about my struggles with anxiety. He asked if I had been looked at by a Dr and asked if there was something medically wrong. I remember thinking that there was no way this was a medical problem...I was convinced it was mental. But my anxiety has been lower since my surgery (though I've been dealing with the post-heart surgery depression), which got me wondering if there could be a link between heart valve disease/aneurysms and anxiety. I read the article attached and thought, where better to ask this question than here. I'm not saying that all anxiety/panic is due to a heart problem, but I do know that anxiety/panic is always the mind misinterpreting bodily responses. I guess I'm just suggesting that, if you have anxiety/panic issues, get your heart checked. You never know...I didn't.