Vickie's Journal

Well, it has now been six months since my valve replacement and now I\'ve found out my new valve has a small leak. Anyone have this issue after surgery? Good healing vibes and prayers being sent to those recovering and those about to have surgery and those waiting to have surgery!

Well, just when I thought I was doing so well and getting ready to go back to work I developed this huge lump on my rear end and please excuse if this is too much info. but I\'d like to know if anyone else experienced this - maybe it was from sitting? It\'s not a hemorrhoid I don\'t think as it\'s close to that area but also close to the other area in the lower booty cheek. It\'s not a boil as it has no head or way to drain but whoooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeee is it ever painful to sit or walk or get up from sitting and now I\'m running a low grade fever so will definitely have to see the doc tomorrow as I don\'t want any chance of any infection settling into my new valve. Anybody ever experience this? Any insight would be great. Sending prayers and good healing vibes to those recovering and and prayers and good thoughts to those who are waiting. Be Blessed, Vickie

Well, day 23 is here. I had my post op followup with my surgeon this past Wednesday and he said I could drive, I can go back to work 2 or 3 1/2 days for 2 or 3 weeks then fulltime as tolerated. He also said I could start lifting weights (light of course) as tolerated. He said my 20 minute walks are enough right now because of the beta-blockers I am still taking and they won\'t let my heartrate get up too high and it\'s possible if I go longer I may hit a wall and just not be able to go any further and will have to call hubby to come pick me up. :) Surgeon says I can discuss with my cardiologist on when to wean me off the beta blockers. I\'m on the lowest dose twice a day (something like 12.5mg) metaprolol. I\'ve been driving and doing a lot of walking and shopping in the stores (I don\'t know what made me think tackling Sam\'s Club wouldn\'t make me tired) and am tired but I feel pretty good. My problem is that I seem to have lost my desire to cook meals and have gained a serious sweet tooth. That will be something that I will have to overcome. With all that I\'m doing the shower still wears me out more than anything although it feels really good. My best wishes to all of you in the waiting room and to all of you recovering. Vickie

Well, surgery was Friday! Minimally invasive replacement of the aortic valve at 8 am. I wasn\'t too crazy about the stuff that follows this type of surgery - you know from reading others\' journals, the breathing tube removal, the pic line removal, the chest tube removal then the catheter removal, etc. BUT these are steps that must be taken to get you where you want to me. My nurses at the hospital were 90% all good. No place is going to be perfect in my opinion and for the most part they were good. The systems they have in place are very very good. I got to come home today and am glad to be home but probably have overdone it even though I know better so I\'m going to go rest now. Sending prayers to all those recovering and all those going in to get theirs done. Be blessed, Vickie

Well, time to report is 7 am tomorrow morning. I had a huge crisis. Since my cardiologist office did not send my surgeon the echo disk his staff called my cardiologist and asked for the disk and they said they would overnight it. Well that was a week ago and surgeons office says they have repeatedly asked for it and today they said they would mail it out tomorrow. Whooooooooooooooooeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee can I just tell you how upset I was? Doc says he needs the echo to determine where to make my cut (chest or on one of the sides through the ribs). :) Soooooooooo I finally got it straightened out and have it in my possession to take with me tomorrow morning. YIKES!!!!! Now that it\'s all straightened out I am grateful that it worked out but WOW was I stressed. Okay now to breathe and take it easy and get my mind prepared for tomorrow! I wish you all well, whether your are recovering or preparing for surgery! Be Blessed Vickie

Good morning I\'m going in for my pre-op appointment today and they will give me a time to be there for my surgery tomorrow. I\'m soooooooooo looking forward to getting it done and getting on the road to recovery. Blessings, prayers and good thoughts going out to all of you recovering and those of you getting ready to have surgery! Be blessed Vickie

OK so today I got my permanent crowns on (yep I did take my antibiotics prior to the dental work). Thursday is pre-op and Friday is the day. Hope you are all doing well and for those of you having surgery and recovering from surgery I wish you a smooth surgery and a quick recovery! Be Blessed Vickie

Well, yesterday I had a CT scan - wow that was a weird feeling but uneventful. :) The doc says to get the crowns done so Monday I\'ll be doing that. They gave me a prescription for some antibiotic ointment that I have to swab my nose with for three days prior to surgery and bathe with antibacterial soap at least four times including the day of surgery. Thursday will be pre-op day and then Friday is \"THE DAY\"! I can\'t wait to get it done and get on the road to recover and feeling GREAT! I hope you are all doing wonderful! Be Blessed Vickie

Oh and two weeks ago I was having crowns put on two broken teeth and my new crowns came in this week and I am scheduled to have them put in on Tuesday. I called to cancel the appointment as I don\'t want to have anything going on with the dentist office as far as germs or infection of my gums or anything before my surgery on Friday and they said I should let the surgeon know that I have temporary crowns in my mouth with temporary cement as when they put the air tube in they might come unstuck! So surgeons office will let me know whether I need to finish out the permanent crowns before surgery or if I can wait. WOW there is so much to consider. Anybody else have any dental issues before surgery? Be blessed Vickie

My surgeon\'s office called today to tell me I am scheduled for Friday, April 1st! WOW I can\'t believe it is happening so soon but I am thrilled. I\'m not feeling very nervous at the moment because I have known my whole life this day would come but the night before surgery I will probably be a little jittery. I know it\'s all going to work out great though and that I am going to feel like 20 again and I just can\'t wait. Prayers and good thoughts go out to all of you who are preparing for surgery and recovering from surgery! I just know that you are going to be good as new!! Be blessed Vickie

Well even though I had to wait 2 1/2 hours to see my surgeon he was worth the wait. Once he sees my echo which hopefully the cardiologist can get to him soon, he said he can either do a small cut at the very tope of my sternum or he can go in through one of my sides but it will feel like a pulled muscle and the recovery time will be about as long as a pulled muscle would take. So, needless, to say I am thrilled with this news and have prayed about how grateful I am to have found him through this heart valve surgeon database. He says that my shortness of breath and general tiredness will get worse and that we need to do the surgery within 2 - 4 weeks. I told him I will take the first available date he has because I am ready to get it done and get back to better than normal!! Thanks to you all for listening to my ranting and raving! Adam this all started with you since had I not ordered your book and found this site I never would have searched your surgeon database and would not have found Dr. Paul DiGiorgi. Thank you for this. Be blessed Vickie

Ummmm once you got to your appointment with your surgeon how long did you sit in his office until you saw him? I\'ve now been waiting two hours and still counting?

Well, The day is here for me to meet with my surgeon for the first time. I\'m a little disappointed in that the cardiologists\' office did not give him everything he needed. Thanks to Mark who posted in my guestbook suggesting I call the surgeon\'s office to make sure they have everything! I called and they did not have the actual heart cath procedure on cd - they only had the doctor\'s notes. They also don\'t have the echo as they said it\'s on tape and they don\'t know how to get it on a cd. WHAT??? I don\'t think that I\'m the first patient they\'ve had in years and years to need these scans for a surgeon??? I did manage to get the heart cath cd but I had to insist that he needed it and that I would come and pick it up. No echo though - just doctor notes. YIKES!!! Hopefully he will have what he needs. I did not have a TEE test as the doc was afraid to lower my blood pressure with anesthesia. So hopefully I will find out some time frame for surgery. I\'m getting very very tired quickly every day and feeling very short of breath most of the time. Yesterday I could barely keep my eyes open all day long. Well, gotta go get my rest before tomorrow. Hope you are all doing well and for those of you scheduled for surgery tomorrow and those recovering, my prayers are with you! Be blessed Vickie

Well I\'m counting down the days until I meet with the surgeon one week from today. Since the cardiologist told me that I can\'t do anything except just what I need to do to get through my daily life I feel like such a slug. I was working out and getting in the best shape of my life and now nothing. Sooooooooooooo I\'m trying to stay positive and make good food choices but without physical activity it\'s hard to keep the weight down. That kind of bums me out. It\'s awesome to read all of your stories though and to watch your improvements post op as you are able to get busy living! Hope you are all feeling good today! Be Blessed Vickie

Well, my surgeon seems to be a very busy guy and the earliest I can see him is March 23rd. I\'m so ready to get this moving. I guess when they say that your aortic valve is in the severe category that doesn\'t mean it needs to be replaced right away! :) I\'m just feeling a little bummed out because I\'m ready to just get \'er done. As for the aortic aneurysm - my old cardiologist says I have it and new temporary cardiologist (because of an insurance snafu) says I don\'t. Hmmmm either I do or I don\'t. Hopefully the surgeon will clarify. Hope this finds all of you doing well! Vickie

Hi everyone!! WOW - I love reading all your stories and seeing how you are all doing and how you got through it all. Thank you for sharing. How long did it take from the time you had your first consult with your surgeon to have the actual surgery? Also if your cardiologist had already done the heart cath did the surgeon have you do another one? I\'m not crazy about that as after four days I\'m still bruised and sore (not unbearable - just uncomfortable). Thanks again for all of your advice and input. Vickie

Okay so I have been through the database on this site and have written down three who seem to be really good and are in my insurance network. Hopefully I can get the ball rolling and get it done soon.

Thank you all for your wonderful posts and for all the great info you are sharing with me. I had the heart cath on Wednesday and it wasn\'t too bad. The 15 minute hard compression afterwards was the hardest part! :) Had to miss work for all three days as they said I could not sit at a computer for long periods of time yet and that is what I do as an IT Analyst :) I sit all day and work with software. So anyway, the doc says that my valve is at the severe stage at .6 and he also had me do another echo afterwards so he could look at the mitral valve and get a measurement of the aortic root. I have a follow up with him on Monday. He says that my arteries are all wide open to compensate and that he will not do the TEE test on Monday as he can\'t take the risk of giving me the anesthesia and lowering my blood pressure so I\'ll find out what is next on Monday. Hope you are all doing well and feeling well. I asked my old cardiologist (who I can\'t see anymore until the insurance snafu is worked out) who he was going to refer me to for the surgery and it is a Dr. Calbeira in Tampa. Are any of you familiar with him? Thanks again for all your info and good wishes and for sharing your stories. Vickie

Hi Everyone - I\'m so happy to meet all of you! Tomorrow I go in for the heart cath then on Monday I\'ll be having the TEE test to have everything prepared for my visit to a surgeon. I was born with a bicuspid valve and exhibited few symptoms most of my life except getting tired more easily than most people or maybe not being able to push as hard physically as others. Now I have symptoms along with an aortic aneurysm so am in need of repair of the aorta along with a valve replacement. This Heart Valve Surgery book was sooooooo helpful to prepare me for what lies ahead and I am looking forward to getting it done and getting my life back. Doc says I\'ll be good as new once I\'m recovered. Looking forward to reading all of your stories and finding out about your experiences. My biggest problem is that I had a cardiologist I trusted and had been seeing for two years and because of an insurance snafu I had to see a doctor I don\'t know so finding a good surgeon will be tricky.