Joan's Journal

Forgot to mention they put in an Amulet ( like a Watchman) in to prevent blood clots since blood thinners are off the table. They think the surgery might have irritated the heart causing the increase in the Afibs which had been very mild and seldom. But the Sotalol has a long history of side effects with shortness of breath and fatigue at the top. Is anyone else taking Sotalol?

I had an AVR in 2018, was doing well, but then my heart slowed down and I got a shiny pacemaker. Since then it's been up and down, biggest problem is shortness of breath. Suddenly they said I had AFib so put me on Xarelto....with in 6 months I ended up in the hospital with a major bleed out. They took me off the Xarelto, but with a major session of AFib, they put me on Sotalol. Didn't like it at all, still short of breath, if not more than before, dizzy and headache, so we've cut it in 1/2. Slightly better on other symptoms, but still short of breath. Have others had this problem?

I am now 4 months post AVR, about 2 weeks ago my hair started falling out by the handfuls. Didn't have enough on top to begin with, but even the full hair on the sides and back are drastically thinner. Most men would shave it all off...but as a women in early 70's, that doesn't seem an option. Any one else having this?

I have developed a mild to moderate leak after a Feb. AVR surgery. What causes this...lifting? pushing yourself to hard too soon? TEE evaluated it and will see the Drs. next week after they talk about it. What options have others used for this...dread the idea of opening up the chest again after only 4 months. Is it safe to fly and travel with this or should I cancel my trip? Only really bothers me, shortness of breath, when I walk...like across the parking lot or down the street.

Had an open heart AVR, yeah, it made stents seem like a trip to the ice cream store. After two sessions of stents, I always came home feeling better than when I went in. Surprise, it's taken me 10 weeks to feel better than when I started this journey. After a set back, 10 days after the AVR, with Aflutter that wouldn't go away, and then an ablation to try to fix that, rehab has been going well. We hope the rhythm is now settled into normal. So glad I took my brother's advice....GO TO REHAB. It's made all the difference. I just finished my second Jewelry show... I am a designer...and am headed to our 3rd in two weeks. Yes, I get tired, but less and less each week. Yes, I was expecting to bounce back in an unrealistic time frame. After a talk with my cardiologist, I was told 6-8 weeks post surgery was not going to take me back to normal, but 6 months would. So I am less demanding and hard on myself.....surprise, I am actually doing better after accepting that. After telling him I was still having pain in and around my incision, he told me that one day I would wake up and realize it was gone. He was right, last week, I no longer had that lingering pain and don't wince when I pick up something. I have to stay on Amiodrone for a couple of more months to make sure the rhythm stays good, go off warfrin this week. Thanks to this site and reading what others have done, it's helped me to know I am in good company of strong and determined people. So to those who are just starting this journey to better heart health, chin up, you can do this, listen to your body and GO TO REHAB.

I was so wound up after hearing that the time had finally come that I couldn't avoid aortic vale replacement. I never look at horoscopes, but on the morning after my Dr. appt. I found this as my horoscope: "A sudden change of attitude inspires you to take responsibility for your own life and to make long-overdue improvements now. Waves of enthusiasm encourage you to get your body and your mind into better shape. It's like you're being offered another change to celebrate the new year, complete with making fresh resolutions." After reading it a second time...the fear receded into the background and the reality of a second chance came forward. Still stressed with decisions, some are out of my hands, but looking at things from a different prospective.