Judy's Posts

I just passed my 6 month mark! My aortic valve replacement REDO is now definitely in the past. The best decision I made was to seek a second opinion at Cleveland Clinic after the cardiac surgeon pulled a 'fast one' on me at Univ of Pennsylvania. My first valve lasted barely three years before it started leaking - no explanation, perhaps the valve was simply an outlier ?! However, all went well in March. I am absolutely fantastic - no side effects, no health problems, no bad memories. My husband and I sing the praises of Dr. Lars Svennson and his amazing team at CC to anyone and everyone in Philly and beyond. We just returned from a fun trip to Canada, and are looking forward to going to Israel in a few months to celebrate my granddaughters' Bat Mitzvahs. I welcome the opportunity to connect with anyone facing OHS. It certainly helps to hear from someone who has had two replacements in less than five years and has gone on to be a better and stronger person. Hopefully, this will be the last one for a LONG TIME!

Hello everyone! I am now 16 days post-op. and one week back home in Philly after my AVR redo in Cleveland. The first night ( last Thurs.) was tough - I couldn't sleep and was feeling very emotional. I was concerned that I was going to have some real difficult sleep problems. However, miraculously, the next night, and every night thereafter ( keeping fingers crossed!) I have had a really great sleep. I take a shower, rub cortizone cream on the skin sensitive to all the bandages, etc, take one 500mg Tylenol, two baby aspirins, and an OTC sleeping aid tablet ( would you believe a Costco Kirkland brand?!) I am a stomach sleeper, so for the first AVR in 2012 I had great difficulty sleeping on my back. However, this time I can sleep on my side - the incision ( which is much larger than the first time) is remarkably comfortable with my side-sleeping pattern. I am hoping that my 'mind over matter' approach to sleeptime keeps me in good stead, because there are very few more miserable experiences that not being able to sleep after OHS. I have not been napping, though. Since I stopped taking the pain meds in the hospital, I haven't felt very tired. A tip, gals - I wear a sports bra ( a very soft one) 24/7 - really helps.