Renee's Journal

Jill Porter  Thank you for this. My surgery is next Tuesday at Yale New Haven Hospital and its good to hear an encouraging story.

Delise Becker  So glad to hear that you are feeling better and enjoying walking. Best wishes for continued progress and healing.

Deena Elani  The best feeling ever to be where you are, Renee. -- on the other side of the tunnel  and walking strong. Congrats.

Rose Madura  Sounds like you are doing well. As is often said on this site. Slow and steady wins the race. Regarding taste, my taste buds were messed up for several months but it all went back to normal. It's a journey. And you are doing well. Nap when you need to and be as active as you can.

Rita Savelis  It's strange how OHS can affect taste buds. Your whole body, hormones and organs has been through this ordeal and needs time to recover. I didn't really desire any food for a long time - just ate because it's what one does. I especially did not want anything sweet. Be good to yourself and eat whatever you have cravings for, and your taste should come back when it comes back. Take care.

Klara Čičić  You are doing great. Take one step at a time. My taste came back after 2 weeks, but each person is different. It is completely normal and it will come back! Take care. 

STEPHEN MORRIS  I remember I was blaming hospital food...I was so disappointed when my first meal at home had that "metallic" taste as well. But it does come back to normal.

Dana Eyre  I found that once you're back up to close to normal in activities the body starts to reconnect everything... 6 weeks for me...

Katherine Jensen  My taste and appetite came back after 3 weeks or so… could have went a little longer as far as I was concerned,, ( for the weight loss)!😊

Pam Schroeder   My sister says here taste came back after she got off the blood thinner…hope that helps 


Good luck 

Robert Miller  Back pain from laying on my back after surgery was my biggest issue. I guess I should have asked for back massages from my wife... I slept on our reclining couch for the first couple of weeks (btw, that's a good excuse to purchase a bed with reclining function). I used pillows to prop me up a bit to a side position, initially just a little and then I increased it. I still felt stiff but didn't use any medicine.

Joanna Politi  I'm glad to hear you're doing well! I had my surgery 2 years ago and boy do I wish I knew about this site back then! 

Cathleen Weed  Anhedonia after open heart surgery can affect appetite. I found that it's important to only eat foods you crave and not worry so much right now about the type of food. This will help you regain an appetite. Your cardiac rehab will help you so much in several ways. It will increase your appetite through exertion/exercise but also will improve your mood tremendously. I suggest cardiac rehab to everyone. I've had 3 open heart surgeries (aortic valve replacements) and 1 TAVR. I did cardiac rehab after each open heart surgery. You'll meet some great nurses ( I'm also a nurse ) and PT's, along with other recovering patients. It will help you see the light at the end of the recovery tunnel! You'll get there and feel better than ever. I tell everyone, when it comes to open heart surgery, things get worse before they get better just due to the sheer magnitude of the surgery and recovery process. That's just the way it is. You're on the other side of it now! Things will continue to improve over the next two months as you do cardiac rehab. Best of luck! 

Danny Mahoney  Luckily I had no taste issues.  I’m 8 months post surgery with no side affects except for slight neuropathy on my right side.  Best of luck and keep pushing forward!

Renee Leunig  Thanks to everyone who shared thoughts and experiences with taste buds. I’ve recovered my taste. Much easier to over indulge, but I’ve tried to remain mindful. Don’t mean to be rude, but I haven’t figured out how to reply to a comment. 

Susan Lynn  Sounds like great progress, Renee! Congrats! If your cardiac rehab class is like mine, they'll start you really slowly. As a couch potato, I found the initial classes pretty easy. As long as your blood pressure and heart rate are within acceptable levels, they will increase the challenges slowly. Good luck and have fun!

Susan Lynn  Renee - Sounds like you're doing well. Sadly, the fatigue hangs on for awhile. I was a big fan of the afternoon power nap for several months. You'll have days when you feel like a rock star and others when you're completely spent. Rest when you need to - you'll get back to your normal routine when you're ready. Continued success with the remainder of your recovery.

Pamela Gregory  Hi Renee. I know these narcotics have a bad rap from abuse but they were made for issues like "Open Heart Surgery". I don't think you need to feel funny for staying on top of your pain. You will heal quicker if your body is relaxed and comfortable. I personally could not tolerate oxi-anything so they put me on tramadol for a few weeks and it was really easy to wean off of it quickly. I can tell you are not going to abuse any medication they give you. I hope you will feel much better soon

Marie Myers  Good post by Pam. I think getting a good nights sleep will benefit your recovery, and I wouldn’t  feel badly about using 1/2 of a pain pill and Tylenol to sleep better. I did the same for an occasional “lousy night” in my recovery time. 

Richard Munson  Just the fact that you are concerned tells me you will not become addicted. I know they are addictive but sometimes it seems like some people are more easily addicted than others. No idea why. 

George Gardopee  Hi Renee. You have made an excellent choice in going with Dr. Gillinov. He repaired my mitral and tricuspid valves a year and a half ago just before I turned 70. He is as you said one of the best there is and the Cleveland Clinic is an outstanding facility.  I was very fortunate in that I had no complications and almost no pain after the surgery. I had been hoping for minimally-invasive surgery but I ended up with a sternotomy.  I found it to be very tolerable - I wish I had known before as I lost a lot of sleep worrying about it.  The recovery from the sternotomy takes longer (6-8 weeks for the bone to heal) but I found that if I avoided lifting, pushing, or pulling it was not difficult to deal with. Good luck with your upcoming surgery. You can ask anything in this forum - the people here are amazingly supportive and knowledgeable.

Pamela Gregory  Hi Renee. I had an Aortic Valve Replacement and Aortic Root Replacement along with repositioning my coronary arteries. I also traveled to the Cleveland Clinic from DE. Dr. Roselli did my surgery with a mini-sternotomy. I was hoping for a mini-thoracotomy (through the ribs, no broken bones) but that wasn't right for me. As George said, if you let the bones heal without stressing them it isn't as bad as your mind might take you. Klara (from this site) had the thoracotomy a few weeks before my surgery and convinced me that sternum was the way to go. She had a lot of pain for a while. They will take great care of you in Cleveland

Renee Leunig  That’s encouraging George. I am a bit worried about the sternotomy, but a very compliant patient. I’m keeping a positive outlook.

Marie Myers  I had a full sternotomy for AVR and aneurysm repairs, and did not find it to be that painful. I would describe my post op time as “generally uncomfortable”. My upper back and shoulder muscles were much more sore than my chest. I hopefully you will be pleasantly surprised like I was!

Rose Madura  I had a full sternotomy as well will little pain. If you stay ahead of the pain it is manageable.  Like Marie, most of the pain was upper back and shoulders. 

Annette Sterzel  I also had full sternum surgery 4 months ago I chose it. I had more fear of invasive surgery. There is a little pain but nothing Tylenol couldn’t handle. Feel so much better now. Thoughts and prayers are with you. 🙏

Thomas Brusstar  I had a mitral repair through a sternotomy in July 2018.  It was easy.  48 hours after surgery I could manage the pain with just Tylenol.  (It was the drainage tubes that really hurt right after surgery, and once they're gone after a day or two it was fine.)  The sternum needs to heal, and that does take time, so don't lift and yank things for a while.  BUT they really don't have to cut or pierce any muscles for a midline sternotomy, whereas going through ribs etc requires cutting through more muscles.  So some (including my surgeon) said there can be less pain with a pure sternotomy.  I believe it is also true for any surgeon that a sternotomy lets them work faster while you're on the bypass pump -- and the less time on that pump, the better for recovery.  So I wouldn't be scared of a sternotomy.  Today, coming up on 5 years later, my scar is hardly noticeable.

Louise Moore  Hi Renee and welcome to the club!  I also chose Dr. Gillinov at CC to replace my mitral valve (bio) and repair my tricuspid  ( Feb. 2022.)  Had my 1 yr. check up at CC and not only are my valves working perfectly but my pre surgery very enlarged left atrium has returned to normal size - an added bonus.  You are in great hands with Dr. Gillinov and the whole team at CC.  George Gardopee has written a great diary of his experience which helped me a lot pre surgery - take a look and know you've got friends and our full support on this site.  Like George, I had no pain from the full sternotomy and you will have meds in case you do.  You can trust the team there, they are all extremely experienced, and work together like a fine tuned orchestra.  It's great you're a very compliant patient, you'll be part of the team there! 💞👍🏼

Richard Munson  I love to sweat. Sweating is good. Just drink a lot, and take a shower after or you stink.  Yea sweat. 

Renee Leunig  Guess I’m just a sweater. I love my body pump classes even if they make me feel like a sweat hog.  
I’m hopeful that I’ll be able to continue for years to come.
Thanks for your comments.

Kenneth Southard  I sweated a lot in the months prior to my surgery too before I knew what it was.  Everybody told me that it was anxiety that I was suffering from, as I had a lot going on in life.  I believed it too.  However, I had never had anxiety before.  Turns out what it was, was all the strange feelings from the mitral regurgitation, fast heartbeats, PVCs, just feeling off were driving the anxiety, not the other way around.  After I got the diagnosis, I admit that I was worried at first over that, but much of the anxiety lifted, as I finally knew what it was.