Michelle's Journal

Phyllis Petersen  I had a side entry and robotic in October 2016 and my right breast is still tender to the touch. The side incision, however, is barely visible and no problem.

Lilly Black  Yes absolutely! it took me 2 years for my sternum and the tissue surrounding the incision to no longer feel pain. It takes time for the sternum and tissue to heal. I hope you have a quicker recovery than I did :)

Lisa McLaughlin  I had a mini-sternotomy on January 22 and still have some tenderness/soreness on either side of the incision. I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one!

Tina Maroon  Michelle when I had my OHS 3 yrs ago I experienced the same kind of pain that you did. I am sure in time it will get better!!

Lisa McLaughlin  Hi Debbie, for aortic valve replacement the mini sternotomy incision is smaller than the full. They still have to cut through the sternum but my incision was less than 3 inches.

Michelle E  Thanks everyone - it is good to know that what I am experiencing is within the norm. Once when getting into the tub my hand was in the wrong position and I immediately felt something like a muscle tear in the left breast. I was 2 months post-op and had been doing well, so I guess I got careless. Alternating heat and cold packs along with ibuprofen was all that was recommended. A painful reminder that I'm not all the way healed!

jerome stark  glad to see you are home, isn't it amazing how fast you become breathless.Our super cold air is making things more difficult.

Bonnie Stone-Hope  Hello Michelle,
My biggest challenge after the surgery was breathlessness. Actually needed to use a CPAP machine for 3 nights in the hospital as they were concerned about the potential for pneumonia. The spirometer helped a lot.
So glad you are doing so well.

Barbara Wood  My surgery was rescheduled because of a cold & cough. I'd call my surgeon's office, they'll make a decision...Best of luck- I know how stressful it is to have an issue like that come up right before surgery!

Bonnie Stone-Hope  Hello Michelle,
I had the wires, and healed very nicely. The rigid sternal fixation was not offered, but even if it was, I would have chosen the wires. Healing was easy, very little pain. No regrets.

Michael Neverisky  Hi Michelle, I have mitral valve surgery scheduled for Thursday and asked my surgeon about this. "Do you use wires or titanium plates?". His answer was both! Here's a short article I found for reference:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1110578X16300086

Michelle E  Thank you - good points on both - I may not have a choice as I have osteopenia and one article states the sternum needs to meet a baseline density and thickness in order for the screws to securely attach.

Michael Neverisky  Due to an endocrine issue, I am a 59 year old male with osteoporosis. I was diagnosed... maybe 4 years ago. I have brought this to the attention of the surgeons with whom I spoke, particularly the one who advocates plate fixation, and he thought is was a non-issue. Many of their patients, he asserted, have that condition. My advice in this matter, as in all things related to heart surgery, is ask many pointed questions. And repeat the question to a different doctor. I found that a few things I assumed, or inferred from what I read online, were incorrect.

Barbara Wood  I had the plate closure 8 months ago. I also have osteopenia & I've had previous chest radiation. I understood that was the reason for the plate vs the wires - the wires were considered to be possibly unstable in my case ( the radiation can cause bones to be " crumbly"). I had no problem with healing & no pain. So many people talk about pain when sneezing - I didn't have that either!

Michelle E  thank you - yes I intend to ask the doctor, although I heard back from his nurse and she thought they only did the wires. She had not heard of the plating. After getting a jump on some of the post-op education, it makes me wonder why the plate method isn't more common. I am not looking forward to the down time and trying to keep my sternum stable. How does one sleep?

Rita Savelis  Oh, Michelle, I feel for you.
I felt like you before OHS. It was scary, but also unreal. You can only move forward one day at a time. There is something very lonely about the process, even with lots of support from family and friends. And, no, it can not be compared to anything else. It was unlike any other surgery I ever had. But everyone's experience is different.
My only advice is to allow yourself to recover at your own pace. Give your body the time it needs to heal.
My doctors told me before OHS "You will be tired for a long time", and I was glad for this honesty because then I didn't feel like I was outside of any norm, or that I should be more energetic faster.
Wishing you a smooth OHS and a smooth recovery.

Michelle E  Rita thank you for your insight! That is one thing I'm having trouble with - accepting that recovery is where the real work begins and it can be a long process indeed. As you mentioned, everyone is different - all I can do is read, research, ask questions and hopefully there won't be too many surprises on the other side of surgery. Your openness is appreciated - !

Jill Dahl  It's a trip for sure. The surgery is long, but if you have confidence in your surgeon and his/her team and the hospital, you will be fine. This time, even though I was healing early In recovery, I found I was bored. I guess that stems from the improvement I felt. You will be weak, but do your walks. You will be amazed at how quickly you improve. You will feel like you have a new heart and lungs. Freedom.

I am finding the main problem I have is sleeping. Others say the same thing. I sweat a lot after exertion early post surgery. Between the new BP pills and metoprolol, but as my GP mentioned, stress hormones after surgery contribute greatly to the problem. Once I understood my body I got better and calmed down. Get your medication where you want it. Call if it isn't right. I haven't done enough of that

My GP hasn't been the greatest for prescriptions. She is slow to get them to the pharmacy. I am going to look for another doctor. Finding one is difficult because all the good ones aren't taking patients. I saw her before and after surgery yet she took her sweet time with my scripts after my husband called three times and had to wait until the next day to get it. Make sure you have a good GP with a backup system. Mine is in private in a part-time practice and doesn't have an on call backup system.

Your body will have been through a great deal of stress, especially with the heart/lung machine. Your heart has been stopped and cooled and it's workings taken over by a machine, it's not happy, but survives and comes out of its unhappiness after a couple months gradually. Maybe you won't have the HL machine. But after a week or so, you will notice little improvements and be happy about that because you know you are healing.

After surgery, your heart will pump differently, your pulse possibly faster. I felt like I had a plywood box in my chest and the heart was hitting it each time it beat causing my shoulders to jutter. This is normal and gets better with time. It is annerving though. Just weird stuff like that can get you down. Cry if you have to. Do what you need to do to deal with it. Meditative breathing, listen to yoga nidra meditations online on the Insighttimer.com. Restful music. Reading. Most of all breathe. That is the most healing thing we can do for ourselves and stress will cause you to breath less deeply. A few deep breaths through the nose calms the body, mind and spirit. Also, know that people are praying and sending healing thoughts. Lots of them. I found that very humbling

Adhere to the sternum instructions the staff gives you whole heartedly. Use the pillow, especially when riding in the car with your seat belt on. You don't want to mess that part of recovery up. Do exactly as they say.

For me, four weeks made a great deal of difference in how I felt. I knew I had made it and normal life would return.

We are all different and on our own journeys. This is what I experienced. I had a second aortic put in after only five years. My husband and I were very scared and upset because it was so soon. We cried before a lot, but I wasn't feeling good and wanted to get the surgery over and so did it on December 7, 2017. One year after a second spinal fusion surgery. No more December surgeries for me if I can help it. You will be fine. I will tell you one thing; heart surgery as scary as it is ia much easier recovery than back surgery. But heart surgery hits deep into out soul. Dealing with that can be hard. Remember all those rooting for you. They want to know how you are.

Good luck.

Civita Fahey  The waiting is the worst part.. our imaginations can be so "creative", it is scary but have faith and confidence in your surgeon and the Lord and you will do great.. its a huge operation but you can do this.. focus on the recovery.. prayers coming your way.

Rita Savelis  I second everything that Jill wrote. What a helpful insightful honest account!
Being aware of various OHS "side effects" that are fairly common can be helpful so that you don't get nervous that something outside of the norm is happening.
Sleep problems, temperature problems, discomfort, exhaustion, an intense awareness of the sternum....
Pre-surgery anxiety fades and post surgery anxiety and questions begin. But you will have gotten through part of it.
Your heart will have taken a shock and amazingly it will recover, but not in one day!
Keep taking deep breaths and keep writing.
Take care.

Michelle E  Ladies thank you! Yes knowledge is empowering, especially being aware of the weird adjustments that are normal but can throw you into a tail spin. I had to laugh at Jill's 'plywood box' analogy. But it does confirm what others have said about the heart beat needing time to adjust to a normal rhythm. I was feeling a bit anxious and depressed before I logged on. Girls, you have lifted my spirits!

Rose Madura  My former cardiologist (now retired) was definitely a "wait for symptoms" person. My new cardiologist (plus two other opinions) couldn't believe I hadn't yet been advised to get the surgery based on my echo. I would go ahead as planned. I don't like the idea of waiting for heart failure symptoms.

  Hi, Michelle. I was asymptomatic, but my ejection fraction was reduced from my heart working to pump blood through a severely calcified valve. My cardiologist was most concerned with the pressure gradients in my heart. I had a TAVR procedure to replace my valve and feel so much better. Even though i didn't think i was symptomatic prior to the surgery, i realized i was once i had a valve which allowed my heart to pump more blood through my heart. I am glad i did it when I was relatively healthy.

Anna Jones  My cardiologists keeps telling me to wait also. He doesn't think my symptoms are bad enough. I feel terrible... exhausted all the time, swollen ankles, some chest pain. I've been pushing to have my records sent to the surgeons. So, my cardiologist/interventionist has agreed to perform the heart cath Jan. 15.

I agree with the above, waiting until you are sicker doesn't seem to be the logical approach.

Rita Savelis  Ideas on this are very different because it is NOT an exact science. You can have mild symptoms for a long time and be okay. Others may not.
No one wants to get to a point where your heart is getting damaged, but that does not happen at the same time for everyone. That's why you are being watched closely.
Every situation is individual and you can not really compare your situation to others.
You will have a pre-surgery period in your life, and a post-surgery period in your life.
Once you are being watched, doctors tend to check on you often.
You need to find a surgeon you trust and be vocal about how you feel. Then that surgeon will explain why he is proceeding the way he/she is.
Some patients want surgery earlier than they have to. I hear you. It's an anxious time.
In retrospect I would have waited longer.
But I hear you on the feeling that you just want it all over.

Barbara Wood  Like Karen I thought I was asymptomatic before surgery, then realized afterward that I must have been since my energy level improved so much after. I was in the wait & see stage- echos every 3 months - for a year before surgery. My third AFib experience was the deciding factor in my case. For me the whole experience has been a positive one- I was active beforehand, now I'm active with far more energy & stamina. I'm in the sooner better than later camp.

Michelle E  Ladies thank you for your valuable insight - it is not likely that I will back out. As with any life- changing decision perhaps it's not possible to be 100% certain but i still prefer to be pro-active than to have the decision taken out of my hands. Bless you all.

Lisa McLaughlin  I had a heart cath at the end of October and found some good information on the Cleveland Clinic about the procedure and what to expect. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/cardiac-catheterization

Bridget Supple  http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/Conditions/More/HeartValveProblemsandDisease/Recognizing-the-Symptoms-of-Worsening-Heart-Valve-Disease_UCM_461630_Article.jsp#

Gerald Poulton  Good news Michelle, get it done and move on to the recovery side. It is still a shock when you hear it, even though you are just waiting to hear it, but it is good news not bad. Keeping walking as much as you can and I suggest lots of deep breathing and holding your breath with lungs full, they take a kicking from the surgery 💪

Gerald Poulton  Hi Michelle, 2 months post opp and had the same valve issue as you but I had a aortic artery anurism as well. I was moderate and then the next 6 month echo put me at critical, I was still Asymptomatic. That brought on the meeting with the surgeon to give more the info and set a date. Even though the valve was critical there was still not an immediate rush for the surgery. At that time they said without surgery I had about 1-1 1/2 years so you are probably a LONG way from heart failure. So dont freak out you are fine, just talk to and trust in your doctors 😍

Jennifer McInerney  Hi Michelle, I have severe asymptomatic aortic stenosis. I was moderate for about 25 years. Then six months ago I went to severe. I am still asymptomatic. My Cardiologist told me I could be like this for several years . I am closely monitored which I think is the most important thing. Mentally it's tricky always wondering if everything is a symptom.

Barbara Wood  I was pretty asymptomatic with severe mitral regurgitation. I was monitored with echos every few months & told to call my cardiologist if I started to feel any shortness of breath or fatigue during exercise ( I used an elliptical every day) & that would signal that it was time for surgery. You want to catch it before there is heart enlargement or heart failure. I waited close to a year being watched, then had AFib, & that signaled surgery. It wasn't an emergency situation though, I waited another 4 months to get the surgeon I wanted.

Civita Fahey  Michelle I had very minor symptoms and my stenosis was on the border line of moderate to severe back in October of last year. The surgeon I spoke with said since I had even the minor symptoms it was time to think of surgery.. He said it wasn't an emergency and he didn't want to get to that point so he said anywhere in the 3-9 months time frame. I had it in April of this year. I had been monitored with echos every 3 months for about a year, every 6 before that. I think the trigger is if you are feeling some kind of symptoms, even minor.. Mine were some SOB when going up the stairs and walking fast. I basically felt like I had to catch my breath.. Also I avoided things that would make me feel that way, like walking up hill etc.. So, I probably was denying them for a while..Its a terrifying thing to hear you need OHS, but, I'm glad I did it and its behind me now.. I feel so much better and am pretty much back to normal, about 85%. I also had a bicuspid valve..ask any questions you need, be glad to answer.. this site was what go me trough it.. along with family of course.. people on here have all been in the same boat.. take care

John Dodson  Hi Michele, did they mention having a stress test? That's usually a next step. I agree with Civitia, even mild symptoms deserve more investigation. I rationalized away shortness of breath and fatigue for some time, until I passed out running to catch a plane a couple of months ago. Tough to rationalize that one away. In any case, you prepare by educating yourself, which you have started to do by signing up for this site - a very informative supportive group!

Michelle E  Thank you all for the information. It is concerning that the docs seem to want to wait until things start going bad. I'm pretty new to this. I had mild stenosis at 60 with no follow up from my doc at that time. I was not that proactive until a year ago and I am alarmed that now I've moved into the severe category. And that's with diet changes & exercise. I'll be 65 in December. Like Jennifer said it's hard not to think everything is a symptom! I really appreciate you guys checking in with me. I feel like part of the family now. Your stories help alleviate some of the fear. Bless you!

Rose Madura  I was unspent with my former cardiologist (who retired) because he kept saying we should wait until I have symptoms. My new cardiologist said that is "old school thinking". If your doctor is saying to wait, maybe a 2nd opinion is in order.