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Hi All,
Well, it is now Day 7 post-myectomy and I wanted to stop by, fill you in on how things are going, and say thank you for all the great help and support before and after the surgery! I apologize in advance if i get a bit long-winded here. You should know me by now
I know for a fact that I would not be having such a smooth recovery had it not been for you folks, and I do mean that literally! Were it not for this board, I would not have been out of my bed like a shot and down the hall every chance I could get to check the computer. LoL. I attribute a large part of my recovery to the fact that my room was on one end of the ward, and the public internet terminal was on the other. Talk about dangling a carrot in front of me! I got my walking in, and then some.
I was in ICU for a good twenty-four hours following the surgery, but only because there were no rooms available in the step-down unit. A large chunk of that time was spent parked in a corner of the ICU to make room for more needy folks. Once I finally did get to my floor the following day, the nurses would not let me out of bed right away to use the computer (probably because I was having continuing fluid issues), and I got in a whole heap of trouble when they caught me trying to sneak out to do it behind their backs. (Mental note to self: Do NOT cross the nurses in a cardiac unit.) Yikes! They were talking about having to strap me down, and the scary part is that I don’t think they were joking
I didn’t really experience the Day 3 turn-the-corner thing. For the most part, the first twenty-four hours were the worst, and it has simply gotten better from there. Pain has not been a huge issue. I refused morphine as soon as I was able to, and the percocets have done the trick just fine since Day 2. I haven’t needed any painkillers at all since the trip home from Cleveland yesterday (Day 6) which I think is a good sign. The trip was not bad at all, and we even stopped for ice cream at the Dairy Queen, did a little shopping, and had a nice dinner along the way. Nobody could believe that I just had open-heart surgery six days prior. I was very very tired by the time I finally got home, but other than that, no complaints.
Don’t get me wrong… I am NOT some brave person when it comes to pain. I’m a typical guy, and as big a baby as they come. But in all honesty, it just doesn’t hurt that bad, and not nearly as much as when I had my kidney yanked out in 2000. Perhaps I was simply prepared for much worse. The extracted tooth hurts much worse tonight than anything directly related to the surgery.
I was a bit shocked when they took me to get a stress echo on Day 3. I was so alarmed at the mere thought of it, that Dr. Lever himself came in to administer the amyl nitrate and try and calm me down a little. I just couldn’t believe that anyone would put a newly repaired heart through that. I’ll tell ya, I watched that screen with sweat pouring off my face, seeing my heartrate go up and up and waiting for the big POP. LoL. I haven’t gotten the results yet, so I can’t tell you what my new gradient is, except that the tech said it looked good.
I’m glad to be back home in my apartment at school. I definitely do NOT like to be pampered, and will ultimately do much better if left alone to my own recovery. I like that I am forced to care for myself, and believe that this can only expedite things. My cardiologist and the hospital are within walking distance, and the grocery store is only 1.2 miles roundtrip by foot. I have already been there today to do light shopping and fill my prescriptions. I’m going to try to make the trip every day (to keep my backpack under the required ten pounds), and I’ll get my daily exercise at the same time.
It’s still way too early to tell whether the myectomy will ultimately be successful or not, so I will not comment on that. Immediately after the surgery, I went right back into tachycardia so I’m back on the atenolol. I’ll need to take that for the long haul. I’m continuing to have fluid problems, and in fact I’m already back to my pre-surgical weight, so we’ll be putting me back on the diuretics tomorrow for sure. But it’s only Day 7, and I have high hopes that after all the surgery-related stuff is out of the way, I’ll be feeling much better than I did before. I have not had any bouts of A-Fib yet, and although it is still very much a possibility, I have been told that since i made it through the first week already, it is a very good sign that I may not have to deal with A-Fib at all
Thanks again! I’m feeling great, and glad to be home.
Jim
(edited for spelling)
Well, it is now Day 7 post-myectomy and I wanted to stop by, fill you in on how things are going, and say thank you for all the great help and support before and after the surgery! I apologize in advance if i get a bit long-winded here. You should know me by now
I know for a fact that I would not be having such a smooth recovery had it not been for you folks, and I do mean that literally! Were it not for this board, I would not have been out of my bed like a shot and down the hall every chance I could get to check the computer. LoL. I attribute a large part of my recovery to the fact that my room was on one end of the ward, and the public internet terminal was on the other. Talk about dangling a carrot in front of me! I got my walking in, and then some.
I was in ICU for a good twenty-four hours following the surgery, but only because there were no rooms available in the step-down unit. A large chunk of that time was spent parked in a corner of the ICU to make room for more needy folks. Once I finally did get to my floor the following day, the nurses would not let me out of bed right away to use the computer (probably because I was having continuing fluid issues), and I got in a whole heap of trouble when they caught me trying to sneak out to do it behind their backs. (Mental note to self: Do NOT cross the nurses in a cardiac unit.) Yikes! They were talking about having to strap me down, and the scary part is that I don’t think they were joking
I didn’t really experience the Day 3 turn-the-corner thing. For the most part, the first twenty-four hours were the worst, and it has simply gotten better from there. Pain has not been a huge issue. I refused morphine as soon as I was able to, and the percocets have done the trick just fine since Day 2. I haven’t needed any painkillers at all since the trip home from Cleveland yesterday (Day 6) which I think is a good sign. The trip was not bad at all, and we even stopped for ice cream at the Dairy Queen, did a little shopping, and had a nice dinner along the way. Nobody could believe that I just had open-heart surgery six days prior. I was very very tired by the time I finally got home, but other than that, no complaints.
Don’t get me wrong… I am NOT some brave person when it comes to pain. I’m a typical guy, and as big a baby as they come. But in all honesty, it just doesn’t hurt that bad, and not nearly as much as when I had my kidney yanked out in 2000. Perhaps I was simply prepared for much worse. The extracted tooth hurts much worse tonight than anything directly related to the surgery.
I was a bit shocked when they took me to get a stress echo on Day 3. I was so alarmed at the mere thought of it, that Dr. Lever himself came in to administer the amyl nitrate and try and calm me down a little. I just couldn’t believe that anyone would put a newly repaired heart through that. I’ll tell ya, I watched that screen with sweat pouring off my face, seeing my heartrate go up and up and waiting for the big POP. LoL. I haven’t gotten the results yet, so I can’t tell you what my new gradient is, except that the tech said it looked good.
I’m glad to be back home in my apartment at school. I definitely do NOT like to be pampered, and will ultimately do much better if left alone to my own recovery. I like that I am forced to care for myself, and believe that this can only expedite things. My cardiologist and the hospital are within walking distance, and the grocery store is only 1.2 miles roundtrip by foot. I have already been there today to do light shopping and fill my prescriptions. I’m going to try to make the trip every day (to keep my backpack under the required ten pounds), and I’ll get my daily exercise at the same time.
It’s still way too early to tell whether the myectomy will ultimately be successful or not, so I will not comment on that. Immediately after the surgery, I went right back into tachycardia so I’m back on the atenolol. I’ll need to take that for the long haul. I’m continuing to have fluid problems, and in fact I’m already back to my pre-surgical weight, so we’ll be putting me back on the diuretics tomorrow for sure. But it’s only Day 7, and I have high hopes that after all the surgery-related stuff is out of the way, I’ll be feeling much better than I did before. I have not had any bouts of A-Fib yet, and although it is still very much a possibility, I have been told that since i made it through the first week already, it is a very good sign that I may not have to deal with A-Fib at all
Thanks again! I’m feeling great, and glad to be home.
Jim
(edited for spelling)
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