Judy's Journal

It was 4 weeks ago today that I had the less-invasive transcatheter valve-in-valve procedure using the Edwards Sapien 3 Ultra.  My bioprosthetic valve, which was installed in 2016, was severely stenotic, calcified, and regurgitant.   It was time one way or the other.  I was over the moon happy that the trans-catheter option was on the table.  I can say that the procedure went better than anyone, including the surgeon, could have expected.  They were able to pierce my sternum on the first try, the valve was seated on the first try, and the gradient was better than anyone expected.  I had no pain at all after the procedure, unlike my experience with open heart surgery.  My time in the hospital was also much shorter.  Bumps in the road after the procedure were due to medications.  I am prone to nosebleeds and already on warfarin as well as a baby aspirin for permanent A-Fib.  My new regimen is warfarin along with 75mg of Plavix, no baby aspirin.  I will be on Plavix 5 more months.  I had a very bad nosebleed a few days after being home that led us to the ER.  And a 2nd nosebleed about a week later.  Not as bad as the first, and the ER doctor was able to get it to stop.  She also gave me a couple of new tips on how to get the bleeding to stop.  So far, no more nosebleeds & I see my ENT doc tomorrow.  Another hiccup was based on dosages of metoprolol and lisinopril.  I had an incident of very low blood pressure that led to an ambulance ride to the ER.  The recommendation made by my cardiologist and surgeon was to reduce the doses of those two meds.  The results have been amazing.  My blood pressure has never been better.  My husband was told by the Structural Valve Team that my heart is remodeling and, because of the more efficient blood flow, I'll be seeing some positive changes.  So, 4 weeks out, and I give high praise for the Sapien 3 Ultra valve and the Structural Valve Team at St. Joseph's Main Hospital in Tampa, Florida.  Dr. Harrington and his team are amazing.  

My bovine hybrid mitral valve had its 10th anniversary in January and it looks like we’re not going to celebrate #11.  Calcification, leaflet problems and regurgitation are the trifecta of problems. My annual echo gave my cardiologist reason to order the TEE. So far I’ve had TEE, cardiac cath, CT with contrast of my heart, lung function test and Carotid ultrasound.  I just got word this afternoon that my results have been reviewed by the valve team and looks like I might get a green light for TMVR.  One more appointment and hopefully we can get this on the calendar.  Time flies! 

I can't believe that it's already 13 weeks. A note to those of you waiting for surgery, before you know it you'll be looking in the rearview mirror at your surgery. Focus on the future. I've been in cardiac rehab for 16 sessions and loving it. 27 minutes on the treadmill 17 mins on the bike. Doing some free weights and an arm rowing machine machine. Feeling incredible and so glad that I did the surgery and didn't postpone for any longer. My big bonus is that I don't have to worry about pulmonary pressures. A couple of days ago when we got into the car after a bit of a walk I asked my husband if he heard that? He asked me what , and I said the sound of me NOT out of breath! I'm able to walk our pulling dog, I've been able to get back on my potters wheel and throw. I feel better than "back to normal" because my old normal was not all that great. My breasts are still numb and that's really the only thing that is a bit annoying. It feels weird. So if that's my biggest complaint after all of what's happened I'm ecstatic. I'm looking forward to my next visit to my cardiologist on May 10. My cow valve seems to be chugging along and I'm so grateful for that. My husband and I comment often how this whole process has been so much easier than we ever expected. Good luck to all those who have surgeries coming up and to those that are starting with the healing process. Follow your post op instructions to the T and try to stay positive.

Today is 6 weeks post op for me. I had my appointment with cardiologist today, third of Dr visits. I see her in 2 months and she's referring me for cardiac rehab. So happy and can't wait to get started. I've been walking increasing the time slowly and my stamina is increasing. Pretty much pain free I'm happy to report. My scar had healed beautifully and my breasts are still numb. Seasonal allergies are my only complaint. My husband devised a system for me to be able to take our dog out to pee. Dog is a puller and surgeon suggested that I wait a few weeks before I take him for a walk. It's amazing how the time has flown by and really happy that so far I haven't felt any pangs of depression or lost my appetite. I think that's helped in my recovery. My surgeon has encouraged me to "get out there" so I've started driving again and feel ok with it. I was worried that the seat belt would hurt but it's ok. We've gone out to dinner with friends, gone shopping, and I've been able to do some light cleaning. I've also received the ok to start to ease my way back into my art projects. It's amazing how at certain phases of recovery resting felt best and now being active feels better. I have to make sure that I don't over extend myself so I try to limit myself to an hour or two at a time. I've been able to prepare our taxes, which usually gets put off until early April. I've also had a chance to re-evaluate how I want my online pottery business to evolve. And that's got me pretty excited. Staying busy and being able to rest has helped and I'm blessed to not have to rush back to a job outside of the house. I can see how 6 weeks could be too early for a full time job. As a wise person told me we all heal differently. Try to concentrate on your own healing journey. All my best to my zipper cousins.

Almost 4 weeks since surgery. I keep hearing in my head the words of those before me saying that after surgery my main job is to rest and heal. And that along with breathing and walking have been my tasks. So far so good. The incision is healed nicely. The daily migraine that I was having shortly after coming home has stopped, I'm not sure if getting back on the metoprolol is the reason but happy to be headache free. I got a UTI last week and was able to recognize symptoms called surgeons office and they ordered home health to collect urine and also phoned in script for antibiotic. Result confirmed UTI and that he had prescribed right antibiotic. I have 2 more days for that. I find that I get up early with husband and by 8:30 am taking nap. Then after lunch another rest. Yesterday was a red letter day. Husband took me out to lunch! Came home and napped. At night I'm still sleeping in recliner. Every so often try bed but so far I'm still most comfortable with the angle of the chair. I'm also still getting a little help in shower from husband. My big annoyance today is that portions of my breasts are numb. My right breast at the same time it's numb it also itches. I'm curious if this means that the feeling is starting to come back. Husband has been amazing through all of this and I'm so grateful to have him. Luckily im able to be on my own so he's able to go to work. He's got it from both ends with his aging parents, dad with severe stroke and mom with Alzheimer's. They live at a senior living facility which is a saving grace. I don't know what we'd do if they were living with us. So there are always things to be thankful for. I see surgeon next Monday for follow up visit. And hopefully there will be more things to one thankful for then too.

We got the all clear to come home last Wednesday. My INR was the last piece of the puzzle and it was nice to stay another day. Kind of scary coming home. My big problem now is figuring out a good place to sleep. Bed is not an option yet because it's too mushy and I end up sliding down and get myself stuck. So far best has been recliner. I'm up walking and doing the exercises and spirometer because I really want to make sure that this is a success. Getting rest during the day is helping and so far not really anxious for visitors. Seems like small things wear me out. Lots of prayers and positive thoughts to those of you on the upcoming surgeries board.

Done! Last Thursday I had OHS to replace or repair mitral valve. Ended up being replacement with Bovine valve. Repaired Tricuspid with ring and clipped the appendage. I've been having sharp paings in my right breast that they bell me are more than likely nerve related, I will tell you all that I highly recommend this hospital, Morton Plant Hospital. The staff here is amazing and they heart floor is set up with rooms that take you all the way through recovery when you're ready to come home. It's great because you don't have to worry about changing rooms. The food is great, and I love the view, looking out over the water. With surgery behind me I can say that so far there have been ups and downs. starting out my heart rate aand bp were low so I wasn't able to make progress right away. I've gone through all of the landmarks, the removal of the breathing tube, which was rough for me. They kept telling me to relax and I kept biting the tube.. but eventually they were able to get it out. Luckily hat was in the early days so it's a faint memory. my foley catheter came out pretty fast, chest tubes out yesterday. monitoring wire one out and one clipped and left in today. This morning I finally moved my bowels so that was a bit milestone. every day I'm down for xrays. Today was busy with meeting with rehab nurses and everybody working to get me out of here. My husband and I would not mind at all if I stayed wednesday. I haven't had a lot of practive getting out of the bed and that's the one thing htat I think that I need my confidence built up on. Hilarious I packed a bag with toiletries, faace cleaning wipes, electric toothbrush, etc. I had the bag with me for my time in hospital prior to surgery but my husband had to hang onto the bag while he was in the waiting room. He took it home and it's been there ever since. I hav not had my phone or ipad, no head phones, no long loose pants. So at least at my hospital they've been able to provide everything that I need. I've been able to get great sleep. I've only taken one pain pill today and I think I'm doing ok Today's worst of was the removal of the dressing. I'm very sensitive to tape and when she took it off it hurt, but not level 10 hurt. The removal of the wire was a very weird feeling as it came out and the doc warned me in advance. But everyone is different. So For those of you on the upcoming surgeries board, good luck, you;ll push through this and measure your improvements by the week not the day. You'll turn around and you won't believe hot well you're doing. I walked so far today 700' without a walker I'm typing on the internet setup that they have at the hospital keybord and mousepad and monitor is tb screen on the wall. I can't see it all that well so apologies for all of my typoes.

Day 2 was jamm packed. I had transesophegial Echo, which was actually kind of fun. There was a very nice male nurse with me from start to finish and we ended up having a lot in common. Because they knock you out right after drinking the numbing stuff and you wake up after its all done, it was no big deal. I was told that there were no clots and I have no holes in my heart. This will also give my surgeon another view prior to going in. Because I was off food and liquids prior was ravenous so ordered up some food. Still on heparin drip until tonight. The routine blood draws to check PTT are bearable. Since I've been in therapeutic range they only have to do every 12 hrs and I'll come off the drop tonight or this afternoon. theyre also doing some sort of nasal swab of stuff to help prevent MERSA. Happy for all of these precautions that are being taken. Also happy for my beta blocker tha suppresses adrenalin and keeps my heart rate down. Looks like I'll be able to reduce the dosage when I get home. Feeling much better than I thought I would and mentally ready. Visualizing a positive outcome. Whatever works.

Had to be at hospital at 6:00 am today. We arrived early. Got checked in at admitting and we were taken up to the cath wing. I was escorted to a smallish room with a tv that had relaxation video playing. You could change to other channels but I opted to keep it on the relaxation loop. Blood was drawn to check my coagulation and finally results came down that I was at 1.5 which was great. All systems go. I've had caths before, I think a total of 5. I've been awake for 4 and now sedated for 2. I don't remember anything after the second injection. Those are some great drugs. Cath went well no surprises. Got back into the little room and they began the pressure on the entry site. I had to keep my right leg immobilized and I was laying pretty flat. Ate a sandwich and drank water on my back. I hate this part of the process because my lower back ends up hurting. It was so good to be able to get up and walk at 4:30. Then I was taken for X-rays and an ultrasound of my carotid. I was told that it couldn't have been better, so that was great to hear. Had a fantastic dinner that included grilled salmon with lemon ginger butter sauce, veggies, and lemon angel food cake for dessert. The room that I was moved to for the next two days is beautiful. There's a fantastic view of the water. Surgery day on Thursday I'll move down one floor. So now I'm one more day closer to recovery and my new normal.

One week from today. Countdown continues. Had a wonderful dinner out with the "girls" last night and continue to be so thankful for such a wonderful group of friends that we have. I've been working on some final clay projects and gearing up to shut down my online business temporarily. And dropping off pieces at a couple of local galleries. Last night was my last warfarin dose for a while, since I have my cath on Monday. It's amazing how time has managed to fly by and I'm grateful for the peace of mind that I have. This site has helped me to be able to put things in perspective and from the posts of those that have come before me, helped me to realize that this is something that I can do. We can all do it. The odds are in our favor! Good luck to all of those that are on the Upcomiing Surgeries board.

That I may not be bad enough to have the valve replaced. I start to second guess things and wonder if I should wait until I'm in worse condition. As I sit here at the computer, I feel great, as I walk slowly, I feel great. I can do a short jog without any problems, I made it through my last stress echo and didn't pass out. But then I do things like walking from the car to inside the store, taking the dog out on leash, walking up the incline of our driveway and I then say to myself, ok girl, it's time. I was all set to have the MVR 6 years ago and then at the last minute when they did my cath, they said that I should wait, that I wasn't bad enough. So six years later, my pulmonary pressure is in the 60's, I've been told that it's in the range of moderate-severe, some charts that I look at say that it would be severe. I don't know that there are any really great reasons to not do the surgery now. I'd like to do it on my terms vs as an emergency surgery. I don't want to wait so long that I end up with permanent lung damage. I'd really like to be able to do things like walk up hills and keep up with my husband when we're walking. Now he's realized that I can't keep up so he's slowed down for me. I just find myself dreading the post op recuperation. Being very emotional and on the verge of tears. I need to hold it together because my husband's way of holding it together is by not allowing negative thoughts to creep in. I'm trying, but .... So this missive of trying to get this stuff off my chest seems to help. I know that I can't talk to my wonderful husband about this stuff because I think he's taking this harder than I am. So my heart brothers and sisters, you are my sounding board.

So someone said stay busy, that staying occupied will help the time go by. Well, this weekend has been a doozy. We got a phone call at 6 am Saturday from the security guard at the senior living facility that my in-laws live in. Husband's mom was feeling dizzy and they were going to call ambulance. Husband rushed over found out which hospital and I had to take care of dog and head over to sit with his dad, who is a stroke victim, paralyzed on right side. Husband stayed with his mom at hospital and I stayed with father in law for most of the day. Hospital kept mother in law overnight for observation. The conclusion was that her potassium was a little low and her heart rate was very low. Now she needs to go see cardiologist and her primary care doctor. Hopefully, I can get her into see one of the two docs this week, if not, it's going to be on husband's to do list. I go into hospital one week from tomorrow (Monday). Husband has decided to not tell his parents about my surgery until after it's over with and he can give them good news, vs giving them something to worry about, which they would do. Luckily his mom came home from the hospital today and seems to be fine. And fun time this morning, we had brunch with father in law. Dining companion was a friend of theirs who as luck would have it has a terrible cold, he was coughing, I was cringing, and leaning away, covering my face. I kept thinking that my main instruction from the cardiologist's office was that my job now is to not get sick. If this man passed his cold to me...

As predicted time is moving forward at a fast pace. I'm finding that I can push thinking about surgery aside when I work on my art projects. Of course now as I'm sitting in a hospital waiting room for my father in law it's on my mind. I'm in countdown mode and trying to get my to do list taken care of.

I couldn't do this without friends. My buds from the art club I belong to presented me with a huge bag of goodies to do while recuperating. A set of 3 journals, books to read, a dog magazine, coloring book with pencils and colored markers, box of chocolates, cans of Arnold Palmer. just amazing. Then was contacted by girlfriends that want to take me out for a girls night out next week. It's overwhelming but makes me feel so good to know that my husband and I have such an amazing support group.

OK ladies - I saw in another post that it's a good idea to have a front closure bra for post op stability and support. I'm scouring the internet and see that there are a few that look like they might work. Any recommendations for front closure bras?

I woke up this morning thinking that surgery was 2 weeks from today. Weird, then I looked at a calendar and realized that it's 3 weeks from today. Doing a little time travel, bending the space and time continuum. Before I know it, it actually will be 2 weeks to surgery.

I woke up this morning thinking that surgery was 2 weeks from today. Weird, then I looked at a calendar and realized that it's 3 weeks from today. Doing a little time travel, bending the space and time continuum. Before I know it, it actually will be 2 weeks to surgery.

Just by a fluke I called my insurance company to check on something and during the douse of our conversation I mentioned that I'm going to be having OHS, she asked when, and then checked the computer and said that they hadn't receive requests for pre-certification from anyone. I asked how long the review period took and she told me about 3 weeks. I'm scheduled for 1/21 surgery and 1/18 cath. I called both cardio's office as well as surgeon's office & waiting for callbacks today. If this surgery doesn't happen as planned my big challenge will be calming my husband down. I'm glad I called insurance company, at least I can start lighting some fires now vs at the last minute.

So my surgeon told us that after surgery should be back to normal activities after 6 weeks. How realistic is that number? Part of my normal activities include being a ceramic artist. I throw on the potters wheel, lift 25 lbs of clay etc. when I mentioned that to doc he said to just start small and get husband to lift the bags of clay. I'm trying to get my head in line with the downtime that I'm going to have to take away from clay. Also I sell online and through galleries and would like to give them an idea of when I'll be "back". Part of my plan is to throw a load of mugs (I make a lot of mugs) get them to the point where they're ready to be glazed and save them for when I start to feel better and can sit for a little while and paint and glaze but before I have the strength to throw. How have some of you spent your free time during recovery? Should I just shut the clay business down until I'm 100% and concentrate on my rehab? I fear that I'll go bonkers.