Open heart surgery and realistic chest cracking recovery

[myg30]

Morning all, First I want to wish everyone a safe healthy and happy thanksgiving. Enjoy time with all your family and friends and make a phone call to someone you lost touch with, just to say hello, how are you ?

Ok now, it seems my heart cath yesterday shows several blocks (6) and double blocks in same artery. Open heart surgery is in my very near future. As always the timing is bad (not that it’s ever a good time) and I’m concerned when I’d realistically be able to do basic chores around the home and yard. Grocery runs, carry the bags, play with the dogs etc... I’m 63 and live in residential area, no more country living since we moved. I know everyone’s different but the bs they feed you is never real.
What have some of you experienced as real time recovery ? Be able to fully take care of yourself ?

In case things don’t work out, I’d like to take this time to thank all of you here for the
help and information with casting reloading I’ve received from you since I began reading on here. Your all a great bunch and I’m proud to say I’ve been part of the Castboolit community. I’ve bought and sold to many of you and it’s always been a pleasure dealing and making new friends.

Thank you, Mike

[osage]

I can't answer your questions but wanted to say that I hope surgery goes well.

[cabezaverde]

I had 5 bypasses back in 2012. Recovery for me went quite well.

They will give you guidelines in terms of lifting, etc. Follow those and make sure you do the physical therapy they will prescribe.

Best wishes on this. This surgery is not as much of a big deal as it was 25 years ago.

[Joe504]

Just wanted to add, my father went through major heart surgery about the same age, the recovery was slow, he followed the guidelines given and did all the PT they prescribed. It was several months, but, he was better then before once he did recover.

BUT!!!

One thing they did not mention, and we have learned by our own research, is that depression, sometimes major depression, is a common side effect of major surgery.

Please be aware of that. If you feel unnaturally down, of your mood is awful after the procedure, let your DR and family know. It's common, and pases with the normal healing process.



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[GregLaROCHE]

My father in law had surgery in April and came to visit us in Alaska in August. He was in great shape by then. He was much energy and stamina tan before the surgery.
I wish you good luck with the surgery. Listen to what the doctors say about recovery and don’t over do it. You may find other’s experiences on YouTube.

[Cosmic_Charlie]

They will give you a little gizmo to help you practice taking deep breaths. You need to have your pain controlled well enough so that you can breath properly. Pneumonia can set in otherwise. Take your pain meds and breath.

[Hogtamer]

Get off all the meds they give you afterward as quickly as you can. As Joe mentioned above, depression can be dangerous and is often a side effect of those meds. That was the experience for my Dad.

[super6]

I had my aorta artery replaced last November. Yes it is some what different than what your going through but expect 6-8 months for heavy work! Hope every thing goes well for you!!

[Hickok]

Mike, prayers in the Name of Christ Jesus for a successful operation and a complete recovery!

[BJK]

I had a triple bypass done 3 years ago after a very minor heart attack when I was 66.

Expect to be laid up for awhile. Expect to wake up weak. After all, they are going to kill you and keep you alive with machines. I don't remember what it's called but they'll give you shots in your belly skin that will make you black and blue. I think those shots are given to suck the water that they had to pump into your veins to keep your organs alive. No B/P means they die. So they pump water in to keep the B/P up. You'll also have tubes in you to suck out the stuff that leaks from all the cutting. Regarding the breathing apparatus already mentioned... Yeah, do that as Rxed and do more of it as well, you also need to build strength. You'll be disappointed in what you can do, but persevere. Right before discharge they'll remove the tubes and you'll see why you couldn't do as much as you thought you could when breathing. About 5' of tube will be pulled out and the lungs and the tube try to occupy the same space, so the lungs can't inflate fully. BTW, when it's pulled out ypou might think it'll hurt, but it doesn't it just feels very strange. You have a vacuum sucker hooked up to those tubes to suck out the fluids. You won't be doing much for a month and after a few weeks your strength will start to return. But follow the Drs orders. I think it was a month before I could drive or even use a seat belt properly since the breastbone needs to heal. I think it was the same time that I was told to return to full functions. You should get phase 2 PT, and you want to make use of that. That's an exercise program that you'll be directed to do under medical supervision, you'll be wired up for it. They might also offer phase 3 cardiac rehab and take that too. It's exercise that you direct rather than the staff directs but still under their medical supervision, no wires. I'm still doing Phase 3 after all these years. For me it's a good deal $25/month for 2x a week, but I continue to have issues that I'm trying to fix with exercise, otherwise they need to slice my femoral arteries open and scrape them out. I'd prefer not to have that done. But there are others in P3 that don't have PAD (peripheral artery disease) and have been there even longer than I have. It's smart to exercise the heart muscle.

Good luck with your surgery. I didn't tell you the things I did to frighten you away. but they just won't tell you what to expect after the surgery. It's all done for your good and to make you survive.

OH! The food! They put me on a low sodium diet from a normal American high sodium diet. Going from one to the other cold turkey sucked bigtime! Bring money for delivery food. Expect the same diet.

Also expect to be in bed with activities restricted while in the hospital. One night I was up and about with the sucker disconnected but following me around still hooked up. A nurse saw me and asked if I was authorized. Since I authorized myself I answered in the affirmative. Where was I going? Remember the food was terrible? I was on the way to get some lemon ices. I lived on those and still lost 10# in 5 days. Sodium and food go together, but now I've had time to break the sodium addiction.

OK, so my brother came up to help soon after my surgery and I told him my pre heart attack symptoms and he told me, "I have that too.". I suggested that he not go to the emergency room but see a Dr. soon. He had a quad bypass a month after mine. My eldest brother had his the month after. I knew my father died of a massive heart attack. But I didn't know that my grandfather on Dads side also died of a heart attack. So I'm guessing it genetic. Duhh! Right? We try to warn the family but everyone is superman. If we had only known we'd all need the surgery maybe we could have gotten a group rate.

[RustyReel]

I had a tripple in the middle of June. I'm 72. I could barely get in the truck the week after to go home from the hospital. Home health nurse and home pt gal was great. You gotta get moving as soon as you can. If you are on Medicare or if your health insurance provides it, do the 36 PT sessions. Made a world of difference. I think it was 12 weeks before they said I could to upper body stuff but the treadmill and bike helped a bunch. Still not 100%. Picked up a few bags of mulch from the store last week and by the time I loaded and then unloaded them from the truck I was ready for a nap! But I'm getting better, walking every day, and TRYING to follow better eating habits.

As far as the surgery goes, it was no big deal. Most of my pain was mostly discomfort from having to lay on my back so long. Best of luck and don't worry or get depressed over it.

[tinsnips]

Just got back from rehab 10 minutes ago that is part of the recovery process. Had triple bypass Oct. 5, 2 weeks in the hospital only because of my lungs . The breathing tube is the only thing that really bothered me had to leave it in longer than normal . Can't really say I had much pain at all no pain pills at all. You will be awful weak at first but it gets better I still have days where I am dog tired but it seams to go away. I would want someone to be there full time when you get out of the hospital most important to not lift anything til your doctor says you can . You do not want to break the wires in your chest I repeat you don't want to break those wires. Good luck you will be just fine . Give yourself plenty of time to heal.

a

[Beerd]

Mike,
The one thing I can add to the above is that a positive mental attitude goes hand in hand with having a successful recovery.

I had a similar procedure (valve replacement) done in April 2014 and thought it prudent to lay off the heavy kicking rifles & shotguns for the rest of that year.
Sure there was some discomfort for a week or two and you will become very fond of your cough buddy.

But I think the worst part for me was the ITCH around the incision site. I about went crazy scratching with all the staples and wires and sutures that the docs used to put me back together. Seems like it took 2 years for that to quit.

Best of luck to ya!
Beerd
..

[Kraschenbirn]

Been there, done that: triple bypass in April, 2020. If they can plan that far ahead for your procedure, it sounds like they caught yours sufficiently early; I went in through the ER at 7P on a Sunday night and was in surgery at 6AM the following morning.

What BJK said pretty much covers my experience. +1 on taking advantage of whatever rehab your provider has to offer...and FOLLOW IT TO THE LETTER!! Had my 'coronary event' on 04/17/20...walked out of my final Phase 3 rehab session, fully released to resume all normal activities, 09/02/21. Yes, was still pretty weak, physically, but strong enough to resume my regular (three times a week) workout program with reduced weights and shortened cardio periods. Today, I actually feel better and have more energy than before my 'event'.

Good luck and just hang in there. You're gonna have some rough spots but just remember: if you can feel that bad, it means you're still alive.

Bill

[BJK]

So much about my surgery is coming back to me. And no one will tell you what to expect, you'll just be a piece of meat that needs to be professionally worked on.

I was calm before the surgery. I KNEW that if it didn't work out where I was going. I'd been there before so for me it's not a matter of faith. And if it did work out I would just have to wait a little longer before getting there, so either way I was covered. The anesthetist came to me and told me a little of what to expect, very little, and told me some pretty bad jokes. Then they wheeled me into the very cold surgical room that looked more like a shop than a surgery. There was a separate room with windows. I later learned that's where the team that was monitoring the machines keeping me alive were. Then they hooked me up to stuff, a team doing this and that all at once. Then I was covered with warm blankets and soon after that I came to in recovery. I have no idea how long the surgery took, but I do know that according to US News and World Report where I had mine done is one of the 10 best in the country at least back then. You might want to see which is the best in your area and have it done there.

You'll have maybe 10-12 people on the entire team working on you.

I felt sorry for her, but on the day after the surgery I just was in no mood, I was a hurtin' unit and still a little under the anesthesia. It's a teaching hospital where I had mine done and I assume it was one of the students (an absolute doll!) came up and asked me what or how I felt? I responded, "Like a lobster that got cracked open.". She replied, "Well it's a little more precise than that.". I laugh about it now but at the time I probably shouldn't have said that. Oh, BTW, it's Maine so we all know about cracking lobsters open.

How do I live today? Diet? Do research into diet. The FDA lies to us it's a political organization now. But do your own research. I eat anything I want as far as fats. My Dr' tells me that people would kill to have my LDL/HDL numbers. They're generally in the area of 70/70. We're all built the same as far as fat utilization. I do take a statin to control what my liver makes. But ingested fats are not the problem. Other things are. OK, here it is, but do your own research. Carbs cause cracks in the vessels. Cholesterol is the mortar that plugs the cracks (basically). Cholesterol is good. But it builds up. Eating fats drives the LDL down. We're all built the same way. The liver can also produce too much hence the statin. You'll be on a statin as well if your body can tolerate it.

My diet to get that 70/70 result? Chicken skin is back on the menu, I eat full fat cheese, butter, steaks, burgers, sausage, eggs and yes, my LDL/HDL hovers around 70/70. What do I eat for carbs? I try to stay under 20 grams/day. I'm in ketosis burning fat for fuel. I'm also losing weight slowly. It means no bread, pizza, potatoes, rice, grains of any type, no fruit, but for some reason black and red raspberries are OK, I have to check and see if pomegranate is OK. I suspect it is as well as Star fruit. All veggies are carbs, but green veggies are low so I can eat as much of that as I want. No sugar, instead Erythritol and Monk fruit extract. For bread stuffs I make my own using low carb flour or nut flours. After a time I learned to cook low carb.

Thanksgiving dinner? Well have a turkey, and eat the skin. We simplify the meal and have for years. I'll make dressing loaded with veggies and low carb bread, it's delicious, homemade Cranberry sauce that's sweetened with Erythritol and an orange. Yes the orange isn't on the approved list. I'll probably go over 20 grams of carbs for that meal. I've been meaning to make a pumpkin pie with the crust made of nut flour and the innards again sweetened with Erythritol, but I haven't done that yet. The wife isn't in ketosis, I am, but she pronounces the meal delicious. Oh, gravy? Can't thicken it with flour or starch so I use other thickeners, guar gum, xanthan gum, or glucomannan, they all work and are all naturally derived even if they aren't household words. I don't eat much, don't need too in ketosis, and the wife eats like a bird. It's enough for us.

How long will your surgery be good for if you don't change your diet? I have no idea. I've talked to some folks who had theirs done 20+ years ago.

I miss potatoes, pizza and bread more than you can possibly know! I didn't get to be a great baker by not liking what I was baking. In tests on rats the testers found that carbs were more addictive than opiates. I believe it. It's not easy to stay in ketosis.

[RickinTN]

I hope your surgery goes well. Prayers sent your way.
Rick

[Jim22]

You have my prayers as well. You are younger than I so I still have that to worry about. There is a lot of wisdom in the comments above. Physical therapy is very important. Hope you have good support at home.

Jim

[Rapier]

Just so happens, yep, this is my 90 days after OH surgery. I had 11 stents, two bad valves and was told 30-40 years prior to, I would require bypass surgery one day.

Usually, due to possible complications, a very long list, they will push you back for surgery until it becomes absolutely necessary, just roll with it, trust your cardiologist.

The cardio vascular surgeon and hospital where you have the surgery done are very important as is your cardiologist, they should work as a team. Needless to say the best, is normally the better choice, if you have the option, and you should ask questions. The cardiologist should need to do a heart internal pressure test before the surgery, similar to having a stint put in without a stint.

My cardiologist did his internship at John Hopkins, went to wok at UAB, specializes in mechanical disentigration of heart artery blockages and worked with the now head of cardio vascular surgery at UAB. He left UAB to became a senior partner in a medical group in NW FL. These two coordinated my surgery at UAB, pre op interview and actual surgery. This was no accident, I looked them up and asked my two regular doctors, who they would choose? I did not just walk in the door and say cut on me. If you have a little time, do some references and research before you jump.

The hospital should give you a written list of possible complications for you to sign off on, some are very serious, plus they may give you videos explaining possible complications. The pre op interview is to make very sure you understand how serious the surgery is.

I was told, “this is what we plan to do, we may need to go furthur depending on what we find.” As an old paratroop NCO I know about everything going south when you step out the door. I was scheduled for a quad bypass and two valves, what actually occurred was an all heart arteries R&R, all valves, heart out on the table, put on a rebreather, plus on a heart machine circulator, all stents removed, basically the surgeon rebuilt rte fuel pump, put in new fuel lines and did a valve job. Eco after was 80% function, amazing, 6 hour surgery. I got my 2 dollars worth for sure.

I felt pretty much like I did after hitting a wall at 60 in my 63 Impala, without any seat belts. Steering wheel stopped me pretty good that night. I was sore for a month.

Two days after the surgery, I told the nurse to stop all of my pain meds, the next day they said to me, “you are leaving here tomorrow morning.” I left at 8:00 AM and I rode 6 hours home in my PU, wife driving. No pushing, no pulling, no driving no shooting, and a 1/2 gal of milk limit on lifting. They pull your pectoral muscles and it will take some time to recover from that little deal.

When I got home I started walking 1 mile every morning, with a 3.5 lb dumb bell, switching hands, very important, the walking. You will loose your appetite for 2-3 months, I lost 30 pounds after surgery. You will learn to sleep on your back if you do not do so now.

The breast bone takes 90 days to heal and mend. The arteries made from veins in your leg, are sewn together with permanent sutures, usually the external body stitches are dissolving, I am allergic, so mine were all black nylon. If you smoke, stop, really stop, 3 months before surgery, get the coughing gone. If you do not stop smoking, well before, it will retard healing and you will start coughing immediately after surgery, could be enough to break the wire retainers that hold you together. I saw this with three friends and my mother, it ain’t good.

You will end up with a long chest scar, multiple abdomen drain tube scars, neck scars from the circulator hook up if you have one of those. A shunt scar in your chest. Foley catheter. You will only know about it all after, from all of the tubes hooked up to you. This all done after you are out.

They will induce light coughing after surgery, you do not want any uncontrolled heavy duty coughing going on.
You will have some pain, at different times, just push on, with Tylenol after you quit the pain meds. They will not kick you loose from the hospital until you get off IV pain meds, so you may just need to grit teeth and spit.

If you have questions you can drop me a PM or just post. I am 76 years young, 45+ years a diabetic, on pills, have high blood pressure, allergic to all poly compounds, no C-19 vaccines possible, so my run up was interesting, I kept my glucose at around 100 and my BP at 100/55….the two, uncontrolled, in combination, are not so good with heart surgery.

They will want a written list of your meds and the hospital internist should tell you the ones to stop or modify and give you some others. You may well end up with whole different list of meds to take after the surgery.

Best of luck to you. Keep a Positive attitude. Be especially nice and of good cheer with your nurses, they do give all the shots.

[BJK]

Dittos, good luck with it. But it must be done. Your heart muscle must get it's oxygen to work.

FWIW, I had no pain meds and was on the lightest of them only to, as the nurses told me, "to have something in me if I needed them later.". They did put me on opioids for the shortest time while I was out until I came to and when I came to I called a halt to it. They will want you to defecate and on an opiate I might not have defecated for maybe a month or so it seemed to me. I don't remember what I allowed them to give me but it was NOT an opiate. I had no pain at all. The seatbelt shoulder harness was the most discomfort and I would hold it away from my incision as my wife drove. I think I discovered a towel or something similar put between me and the shoulder harness worked fine. I think the Dr told me not to do that but it made far more sense than no cushioning at all, just air and my hand.

I'm going to tell you what all of the nurses told me. You're still young, you'll do fine. Give thanks for that. It's just something to do as some of us age. Relax and trust in YHVH. He'll do what you need and he gave us surgeons that do their best.

The person next to me in the room snored worse than a steam locomotive so I couldn't sleep, and the night nurse and I would have conversations and she told me alot. About the water that had to be removed, yada, yada.

[Joe504]

Another note, if you have family and friends available, make sure someone is in your room 100%of the time.
If your a private person who doesn't want to bother people, suck it up. You need an advocate with you.
Nurses are busy, and if you need something, they may be slow to respond, but if you have someone with you, they can go to the nurse desk and that tends to get a quicker response.

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