Judith's Journal

Terrie Syvertsen  Hello Judith. It differs from person to person. Mine took a couple of months to really quiet down and the rest of it seemed to calm down
better than at the tip of the incision. It helped me greatly(on advice from
Eleanor and Ginger) to also wet a clean wash cloth, wring it out well and place it carefully in half over the incision and the warmth seems to quiet
the area and keep it from itching or staying really pink and red. I also did
not wear tight things/bras while at home but opted to wear all cotton tank tops or lose cotton t-shirts while again, inside or in my yard in back until it
seemed most of the swelling seemed to be lessening. I found the incision did best for me being able to breath without ointments and such for a few
months. My skin though gets irritated easily. Be really careful in the sun as the entire center incision area(if this is where yours is located) will sun burn easily(ouch) I know, I know, common sense! I mention this as here in Calif. the weather when walking was warmer than I thought and I realized the importance of protecting this "masterpiece" from sunlight. Good luck to you and happy healing.

Kim Schurman  I just asked Dr. Svensson that question this morning. He said it was from tightening the sutures and will go down over the next 6 months.

Meredith Bray  Keep walking, hold your head up, and don't ignore that awful breathing device - the more you use it the faster you'll feel better. Make sure you're getting enough rest also.

Peggy Romero  My surgery is set for June16.never had surgery before in all my 65 years.trying to have a positive mindset through meditation & prayer. As it gets closer, I know the nerves will kick in but I just want to focus on being able to breathe again & do all the things I haven't been able to do in a while. I got a lot of living to do!!!

Cheryl Batzing  What Tammy said, Judith! So glad you are on the other side, "fixed," and going home tomorrow! Blessings.

  Great, Judith! God is Faithful. I'm glad your experience was a positive one. I pray for your continued healing.
God Bless You....

Steven A Husted  great my prayers and best wishes for a speedy recovery but dont rush it one day at a time if you try to rush it you may have a set back time is a healer

Eleanor R  Wow, that is quick. Good to get in and get out, get it over with. I had to wait a few weeks to get on the surgeon's schedule, given the busy DC area where I live. I am glad you don't have to wait. Just prepare your home for your return, get things "handy", well within reach, and figure out how you will get in and out of bed. Hope you do really well!

Lynn understock  I am six weeks out for the same surgery. I am doing awesome. I am 63 and had aortic root repair and aortic valve replacement. Hang in there.......

Bruce Burnett  That is quick, I got my dental work done yesterday and received a call about 3 hours ago to schedule my surgery for the May 22 I had them make it a week later to fast for me.
I wish you luck and prayers.

Judith Collins  Thanks for all of the well wishes. I have strong faith in God and my surgeons so I think I will be fine.

Tammy Pilcher  Judith, I hope you get your surgery date soon and this waiting will be done! I know that is an awful part of this journey! God bless you!

Wiliam Height  2nd and 3rd opinions are good. You must be comfortable with your surgeon, that is the most important decision you make in this process. If I was I state away from Oh, I would consider Cleveland as an option. This is your heart.

Linda Whitney  I flew from Alaska to Ohio because Cleveland Clinic is the best (in many opinions) and there is nothing in this neck of the woods to compare. Yes, it was expensive. But who cares? Some things have no price....

Judith Collins  Cleveland Clinic was going to be next. I have a lot of connections with UK because I worked with the cardiologists from there while working at VA Med. center which is right next to UK. The cost is not a factor because I have to use Medicare part A due to my age.

Lenore Mitchell  I agree with all the comments. I myself decided to travel from Colorado to Cleveland Clinic for my mitral repair in January, and I'm so glad. It's much more convenient to have surgery near home, but William is right on - this is your heart! Good luck.

Virginia (Ginger) French  Judith, Glad you are finding a place and surgeon you are comfortable with! It is your life, and when my cardiologist told me I had to go out of state and why, it was another stressor. But I was blessed to be in the exact right place with the surgeon I believe God chose for me, and with the knowledge I gained and decision made, my stress level dropped and became relief. May you have the same level of comfort in your decision.
Blessings and prayers, Ginger

Bob M  Great news! I pray that your surgery will be textbook and your recovery will be uneventful. The day of your surgery will be a new day with a fixed heart. God bless and rise up!

Terry Shermeister   Judith thank you for your comment and it puts my mind at ease with this procedure. All this stuff is a little stressful.

Greg Milis  Don't worry your arteries will be fine you are a young person and you will not fell any pain during the exam. Just have to wait 6-9 hours before go home.

Kenneth Cole  I had an Angiogram last week, worst part was being hungry and the wait before the procedure. It was not a big deal.

Tammy Pilcher  Judith, I hope you get the same results I got after my cath, clean arteries! Yay! I hope they can do it in your wrist. That's how they did mine and it wasn't bad at all. Prayers and best wishes!

Judith Collins  I am going to have it in the wrist. I worry because my Father died at an early age with cardiac arrest. But who knows it was a long time ago before we have all the new methods for diagnosing heart disease. Thanks Tammy for your prayers and wishes it means a lot.

Susan Bach  Have you set a date ? I know your scared, but it sounds like , from your symptoms , it's time. I'm 3 weeks post op of Aortic valve replacement, and my surgeon said I did it just in time, my valve was almost destroyed and I probably would not have lived another year.
So, if ya have any questions or concerns, that's what this website is about, and I highly recommend you get Adam' book " Heart Valve Surgery". It tells you EVERYTHING you will need to know , on your upcoming life saving surgery and recovery. Good luck

Judith Collins  Thanks Susan and Tammy. I am happy I am going to have surgery asap since the waiting is terrible. I really appreciate everyone on this site. I have Adams book and am going to read it again before surgery.

Judith Collins  I will Kenneth. I didn't think I would be scared but I sure am now. I will have cardiac cath. this coming week and then surgery soon after. Good luck to you.

Mary Myers  I would let your doctor know that your experiencing symptoms like short of breathe. I experienced some. I needed a mitral valve replacement. Once I had the heart cath done and met with my cardiac thoracic surgeon my family and I decided not to wait to long for surgery. I am 8 months post op and feeling wonderful! Am so glad that I did not wait any longer. Please read my story if you want. I chose a tissue valve. You will be fine, just try to focus on the positive. I was a nervous wreck until two weeks before my surgery. Then I just let go and trusted in God. Sending hugs your way. We are all with you on this journey.

Judith Collins  I am having a stress echo this week so maybe it will show aortic valve getting tighter. Thanks for your support. I will read your journal.

Tammy Pilcher  Hi Judith, I thought I would share my experience with symptoms too. I was misdiagnosed as having asthma years ago and was used to having shortness of breath and chest tightness with exertion. So when my symptoms started happening more frequently, even sometimes without exertion, I assumed my "asthma" was getting worse. When I was finally correctly diagnosed, my cardiologist said I was actually experiencing heart failure symptoms. My bicuspid aortic valve was already to the critical stage with an AVA of 0.39cm2 and an AV mean gradient of 82mmHg. I had severe concentric left ventricular hypertrophy. I was very blessed for this to be found in time to be fixed. I had it replaced almost 5 months ago and I'm doing great! I have not had to have any asthma medication since. So, yes, symptoms may start gradually and then progress. I wish you all the best with your surgery. If I can answer any questions, feel free to ask.

Judith Collins  I have been diagnosed with asthma too. This feels different than the asthma bouts. It happens when I go up an elevation . Thanks for your reply. I am so glad you are doing well.

Tammy Pilcher  Mine was also much worse with going up elevation. Yours might also end up being due to your heart problem instead of asthma. I was glad to find out I didn't have asthma after all. At least with the heart problem there was something to fix it! Best wishes!

Virginia (Ginger) French  Judith, the symptoms can come on very slowly or they can suddenly get very bad. My cardiologist explained to me that there is no way to know what a person will experience. I had symptoms that were so similar to what I had been living with for years from a brin injury (no chest pain or shortness of breath) - vertigo and fatigue.

It took another member of this heart family who was reading my journals to see that I was having a worsening of symptoms that could be due to my heart. I will always be grateful that Terrie Syvertsen took the time and effort to finally wake me up. Bless her, she talked to me by phone on a Sat night to make sure I got it into my head.

As it turned out, my valve had gotten much smaller pretty quickly after monitoring it for ten years. I e-mailed one of the valve surgeons and he knew from the info I gave him from my echo that my valve was in critical condition.

So you are doing exactly the right thing - getting an echo. It will give the information needed to know whether your valve has gotten smaller in area. Mine was closing fairly rapidly.

One of the big things I have learned from all of this, and it is true in pre- and post-op periods is that it is very important to "listen" to one's body and take action. That action may be calling a physician or slowing down or even just taking a nap. But your body will tell you what to do if you continue to pay attention to it.

You are not being paranoid when something does not feel right. You are doing a good job of taking care of yourself. No one can sense what your body is feeling except you.

Will look forward to hearing what your echo shows. In the meantime I am keeping you in my prayers.

Love and hugs, Ginger

Jim Hernandez  The shortness of breath was my only true symptom of my condition. At first it seemed gradual but since I work a physical job, it seem to jump on me quickly. It tied in with my constant lack of energy and forced my cardiologist to order a TEE, which lead to a diagnosis of severity with my mitral regurgitation. And thus now a day and a half away from surgery! Trust your instincts!

Virginia (Ginger) French  Judith, You are so TOTALLY right. This is a BIG DEAL and no one, not even the surgeons and care team, can adequately understand what you are facing. Thankfully, you are on this website, and so many of us have been on the place in the Journey where you are now.

It does not matter what anyone else thinks. This is an extraordinary thing to "wrap one's head around" and face. But you will do it, and you will be fine.

There were several things I told myself as surgery approached. One of the big ones was to tell myself to relax and take a few deep breaths. To go with the flow and ask any question I wanted - whether what someone was doing or how something was going to feel or, really just anything.

The last thing was to remember that I needed to give myself a break and not expect to be bionic woman or something like that. Yes, I have feelings and there were ups and downs and I just did my best to concentrate on the ups and get rid of the downs; as my sister would say, just stomp on the devil!

And I spent about 20 minutes every day giving myself time to relax and either listen to music or pray or meditate or concentrate on my breathing.

So two days before surgery when they were prepping me for my heart cath, I was in rhythm. I told myself to relax and took some deep breaths. I reminded myself to be flexible, do what I was told, and go with the flow. And I was relaxed enough to ask some questions that had not been answered yet. (It was like a dry run for the surgery!)

Take heart (sorry, bad pun) and believe in yourself. Have faith that the One who made you will bring you through this and draw strength there.

Judith, If I have not just bored you to tears, feel free to hit me back with whatever is on my mind.

I am praying for you, and I am not alone in that!
With hugs and love, Ginger

Judith Collins  Thanks Ginger, I really appreciate your responding to my comment. I am a firm believer in God but I know things can go wrong even if I am a healthy person with no other health problems except being born with a bicuspid aortic valve. People that have not gone through major surgery does not know how worried you are when you have to face it.

Virginia (Ginger) French  Rest assured, Judith, that many of us know how you feel and are here to encourage you and lift you up. Until four years before my heart valve replacement, I had never undergone a major surgery. Then suddenly there were four in six month's time, including two for cancer.

To be honest, they were of little value in preparing for the heart valve replacement. Having one's heart stopped and being on a heart-lung machine is terrifying, and so I asked my surgeon how long I would be on the machine and how long my heart would be stopped. His answers gave me comfort.

And I know my surgeon had already done thousands of replacements of the same valve before I showed up on his radar. That also improved my outlook.

By the time the day of surgery came, I was no longer concentrating on the things that could go wrong. I tried to place myself in God's hands knowing a lot of people were praying for me, and my job was to relax, be compliant, and be obedient.

I actually had the easy part - I was sleeping through it all. My husband and daughter who were waiting and others who were relying on them for information had a much worse time than I did.

Be flexible, my Mom used to say, and you will not break! Rest in God's comforting hands and have faith. You will be fine.
Love and hugs, G!

Virginia (Ginger) French  I think it was an Indian saying that you can never really know a Man until you have walked in his shoes...Remember to have faith and lean on God for strength. I am very serious, You will be fine! Blessings!

Linda Whitney  Judith, everyone I speak to tells me the same thing, "Oh, you'll be fine." And I know intellectually that's probably correct, but nobody knows the anxiety that goes with it. I've literally exhausted myself worrying and I am so ready to be on the other side of this. Good wishes to you my dear, and God Bless us all!

Penny Prichard  It's a very big deal for anyone going through it. Everyone faces stress at different levels. My friends were thinking it was nothing until I explained exactly what they did to repair and then attitudes change. I'm a very positive person so try not to look at any negatives for this adventure. I've seen many surgeries in my lifetime so I have a way different perspective than others. No one should ever say it's not a big deal because it is. Good luck on your journey. Positive thoughts and healing hugs your way

Eleanor R  I think people just want to "console" with the "no big deal" response, and they don't know what else to say. Or, they have no idea whatsoever about the surgery. Someone on the site was working from home and told her supervisor she would be off work for at least two weeks, and he wanted her back at work on day 5! She probably was only just being released from the hospital on day five. No clue! My daughter had sent me a link from youtube with a video about the surgery. I never watched it, TMI for me, but her point was that when anyone showed such ignorance I should send them the link in a short email saying "thanks for asking about the surgery, here is what it is like". Of course they will be shocked if they open it, but my daughter is a teacher and believes that generally we are all curious beings and will open links (hence, all the viruses that invade computers today). We cannot educate the world, so just take it in stride and mark it as lack of information and finesse on the part of the person making the stupid remark. We know better!

Judith Collins  The funny thing is she and I are both health care providers so she should know better. I guess she doesn't know anything about heart disease and surgery for the valve replacement.

  Hi Judith. Welcome. Please feel free to read my journal and ask questions. I was diagnosed with what you have. I am almost 5 months post op now. I had a repair, not a replacement, and an aneurysm in my ascending aorta.

Judith Collins  How long did you wait until you were diagnosed before having surgery? I am worried more about the aorta than the bi-cuspid valve.

  My story is I found out 7 years ago I had an aneurysm and we tested every year for it's size. That was hard. Two months before my surgery (this past Sept.)I found out I was in trouble. I switched surgeons in the final days leading up to surgery because I found one who could repair my valve instead of replace. The first surgeon's schedule was crazy - I was told he did lectures all around the world and his schedule was busy and the total wait time was two months - it took me a month just to get an appt (that was with my cardiologist sending him a note that he was worried about me). The surgeon I ended up picking, Dr. Stewart (MT. Sinai) scheduled my surgery as fast as they could - I had to wait 4 weeks and that was only because my insurance was tricky and they had to work things out. It all worked out great, I ended up having my surgery only a day past the original date. I was getting dizzy spells and fatigue, like never before, those last two months (new symptoms to me) and the waiting was hard. I had to take something to help relax me a little as the waiting and symptoms were hard to deal with. I understand what you are going through. Some people get in right away, others are told they have to wait. It's awful. Do what you can to get in earlier (I am sure you have). A lot of us can relate to what you are feeling, believe me.

Judith Collins  Thanks, I am OK with the waiting right now. I am a medical professional and deal a lot with cardiac patients and I know their is a certain criteria that must be meant before surgery is done. My cardiologist is very good so I know he will be cautious because he has been wanting me to have surgery for awhile. Cardiac surgeons have the final say and I trust mine to do what is best.