Rick's Journal

Richard Munson  You can deal with it but not overcome it. It may be more traumatic than the surgery. Think about life if you don’t have it

J Alexander Lassally  Indeed, we are all traumatized post surgery - PTSD situation of sorts... No great advice than to give time, set expectations low and focus on sleep, walks, and good diet... Maybe binge Netflix... I did !   It is okay not to be remotely close to 100%

Pamela Gregory  I tried to do things that I enjoyed with people I enjoy being with. I also got some Xanax from my Dr. to help me sleep. It is really hard to control the anxiety before the surgery but a few people recommended breathing techniques too that helped a bit. Box breathing is what I think it was called. 

Richard Munson  Jal is right. No matter what you do, its always going to be the elephant in the room. Maybe it should be, its serious surgery

Rose Madura  Just try to remind yourself that the odds Are in your favor for a successful outcome.  It's a lifesaving surgery so it will prolong your life.  

Grace Mason   I was also extremely anxious before my surgery and asked my GP for something to help. He gave me the lowest dose of lorazepam and it was just enough to calm my mind without affecting my days. Listening to calming pre- surgery music and meditations I found on Spotify also helped.

Melinda Donahue  Rick, I understand how you feel 💯. What I felt and still feel not to the same extent can be compared to buyers remorse. I was asymptomatic prior and was told that what I had was a very serious condition and could be deadly. I scheduled surgery immediately and experience some ups and downs during surgery and during recovery. I read a lot, and I always think about the what if that are out there. I think about things that many people don’t like endocarditis, having to go back into find material left in my body. I understand the surgery was meant to improve my life as many of the survivors on this website have patiently pointed out to me.  It’s very hard to keep those thoughts out of my mind and I’m trying very hard each day. I try to do something more! Something which resembles my life pre-September 4 that is helping a lot. You are not alone.

Valerie Allen  Hi Rick, I’m unclear whether you are a week presurgery or a week post surgery. Presurgery the stress was intense for me but I worked on it the same way Grace did. After surgery I think most people are relieved with occasional fears popping up if something feels different. Overall I think it is important to do some relaxation exercises, tapes, meditation, the Calm app. so you are not hyper-focused on this one thing. You’ll get through it!

Chris Germano  Rick,

 I'm in the same boat.  My surgery is on 10/27 and the anxiety is here.  I'm doing what exercise I can... Kayaking, walking, and mowing the lawn. And Meditating .. starting this week, I'm gonna try to meditate every day with Guided meditation audio from YouTube. I read on this site somewhere that a lady stated something to the effect... " The worst that can happen is I die during surgery, and I won't know about it. If I don't have the surgery, I'm guaranteed to die because of my aorta valve condition."  When you put it in that perspective... it's all in the universe's hands. These doctors are the best and this procedure has been done 1000's of times in almost every hospital.

Breath, deep breaths--- in and out. let go and let be.

all the best

Rose Madura  I don't know the answer to your question but if it were me, I'd start by asking the hospital what the process is. They will surely know how to direct you.  

Robert Miller  Contact the insurance company to check if they will cover a second (or third) opinion. Make sure the doctor is in-network or your bill might be much higher. As of the actual billing, it's my understanding that you need pre-authorization from the insurance company. Then the hospital will deal with all of this after the surgery. Care is another thing. I didn't need any as I had the support from my wife. But it's probably good to discuss this with the potential surgeon and then with the insurance. 

Yumiko Ishida  A lot of people on this site have gotten virtual consultations from Cleaveland Clinic. I’m sure they are used to patients from out of state and know how to navigate the insurance situation. Like Rose, I suggest you contact the hospital / clinic and tell them what insurance you have because, ultimately, they are the ones that have to file the claim.