Cathy Burgess - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

2876 days ago

Joshua Wright, Matthew Russo, Jane Welp reacted to this

hello all. havent been on in a while and wanted to check in. i had my surgery feb. 3,2017 for aortic valve replacement. i'm doing good so far. i had a little ...Read more

hello all. havent been on in a while and wanted to check in. i had my surgery feb. 3,2017 for aortic valve replacement. i'm doing good so far. i had a little trouble with a fib at first but it straightened out. i was at huntsville heart center and i had fantastic nurses and doctors. i would recomend them to anyone. now im just trying to make it through recovery. just wondering if anyone else still gets tired really easy. or am i just really impatient

pam williams Hi Cathy I am 3 months post op from my avr and I think probably you are being a wee bit impatient it' ... Read more

pam williams Hi Cathy I am 3 months post op from my avr and I think probably you are being a wee bit impatient it's a major op ,everyone is different I know I feel much improved but I still get days were I tire more easily than others,hang on in there you are doing good

Joshua Wright I was 25 when I had my surgery (about 7 months ago) and I was sleeping quite a lot for a good month o ... Read more

Joshua Wright I was 25 when I had my surgery (about 7 months ago) and I was sleeping quite a lot for a good month or more after my surgery. It's good to keep moving, but it's also important not to push yourself too much. (I was closer to the pushing myself too much). You will get better shortly!

Steve Lewis Hi Cathy, Im 8 weeks post op AVR. At 4 weeks I generally felt great but did have days where I tired e ... Read more

Steve Lewis Hi Cathy, Im 8 weeks post op AVR. At 4 weeks I generally felt great but did have days where I tired easy and just wanted to sleep. I would get fustrated because I wanted to do more, but needed more sleep.

I know how fustrating it can be. As has already been mentioned you need to be patient and listen to your body and not over do it. As my 3 year old granddaughter says "rest is best" (thanks to Children's television)

Larry Ring Hi Cathy....I had my surgery 2/6, so we are on the same healing track. I think getting tired easily ... Read more

Larry Ring Hi Cathy....I had my surgery 2/6, so we are on the same healing track. I think getting tired easily is part of the norm. I chuckle over the fact that a shower causes me to 'sit and rest' for a few minutes. It's normal. We are healing! Prayers to you.

Steven A Husted you have had a major surgery your body needs time and rest to heal i know i had days i felt tired an ... Read more

Steven A Husted you have had a major surgery your body needs time and rest to heal i know i had days i felt tired and days i had a lot of energy it does get better

Phyllis Petersen I had minimally invasive mitral repair on 10/13/16 and I still get tired too easily!

Meredith Bray You are impatient :) I was still taking naps 6 months after surgery (OK, maybe I was milking it a lit ... Read more

Meredith Bray You are impatient :) I was still taking naps 6 months after surgery (OK, maybe I was milking it a little...or was I?) Anyway, you can expect to get tired easily for several months, because your body is using so much energy healing from the surgery and getting used to new rhythms and pressures etc. I remember the first day I went back to work as a CDL driver. By the time I drove to work, did my work, and drove home i was flat-out bushed. *BUT* it felt different than before. i was still tired, but it was a good tired, not the fatigued-for-no-apparent-reason tired.
So don't overdo your activities, take plenty of time to rest between activities like meals and showers and walks. Naps are your friend!
-Meredith

Lisa Giaccone My mom is 1.5 weeks and exhausted!

Rita Savelis I was exhausted, not tired, exhausted (!) for months after OHS. I was told this is normal and was so ... Read more

Rita Savelis I was exhausted, not tired, exhausted (!) for months after OHS. I was told this is normal and was so relieved my doctors had forewarned me.
Let your body heal. This is not a race. There is no normal that is the same for everyone.
Take care, Cathy.

Cathy Burgessposted a journal

2932 days ago

i was first diagnosed with aortic stenosis a couple of years ago[2014] at the time it was considered moderate and i had no blockage so i was set for monitering. ...Read more

i was first diagnosed with aortic stenosis a couple of years ago[2014] at the time it was considered moderate and i had no blockage so i was set for monitering. i had a nightmarish experience with this first cardioligist, i refused to go back to him so i was referred to my current one, whom i really like and feel comfortable with. she shoots straight with you and puts it to you like it is. i would rather it be this way. i went for a check up and the murmur that i have had gotten worse, so i was sent for an echocardiogram, and it went step by step to here i am waiting for a date for surgery. i have never been in the hospital before or put to sleep. nothing, and now im facing open heart surgery. needless to say, im petrified! at least i am somewhat familiar with heart surgery because my dad had bypass surgery and my brother had surgery for valve replacement. apparently this problem is hereditary cause i also have a first cousin who went through it and is doing great 4 years out. i will be lucky to have walking around sense by the time i go in. at work i cant stay focused, cant remember things for any time. the people i work with have been great about it all. im just ready to find out a for sure date and get this going and get on with the rest of my life.

Civita Fahey Hi Cathy welcome to the group.. I have not had surgery yet but am scheduled for the spring. this is a ... Read more

Civita Fahey Hi Cathy welcome to the group.. I have not had surgery yet but am scheduled for the spring. this is a great group with so much information. We all feel the same as you and those of us who have not had surgery yet have the fears but it helps so much to read and speak to those who have been through it and have been so successful.

Maggi Turner Hi Cathy - like Civita above I have not had my surgery yet. It is scheduled for next Tuesday (10th) ... Read more

Maggi Turner Hi Cathy - like Civita above I have not had my surgery yet. It is scheduled for next Tuesday (10th) It is all getting very scarey for me now, but I have learnt so much from this site and been reassured by so many people who have been through the same. Ask any questions even if you think they are trivial there will always be someone to give you reassurance and advice. Also read Adam's book - it will answer so many questions.

Steve Farthing Yes, same here. Have not had OHS yet. Probably in spring for mitral repair. You have my complete s ... Read more

Steve Farthing Yes, same here. Have not had OHS yet. Probably in spring for mitral repair. You have my complete sympathy regarding the waiting and anxiety. In my case, I did have surgery around 1971 for a spinal disc fusion. They wheeled me in to the OR and asked how I was doing. I said I was extremely nervous. They answered back that the surgery was completed. I though they were making a joke and wondered why they would do that. But then I reached up and felt a foam collar on my neck where the bad disc was located and realized that, yes, it was done. I had no recollection of falling asleep for the procedure so it seemed this strange conversation took place and the procedure magically got done as if by alien abduction. But the problem remains for my mitral repair how to reduce that anxiety beforehand even though I know it will work about the same way - just a blip - a nanosecond - in time.

Steven A Husted yes i agree read my story and some of my posts it was not that bad and when it was over i asked the n ... Read more

Steven A Husted yes i agree read my story and some of my posts it was not that bad and when it was over i asked the nurse when they were going to start and she said it was all over wow i was surprized and my recovery went very well also

Deborah Hudson I was petrified before my surgery. It is 7.5 weeks after now. I am doing great. I made it through. So ... Read more

Deborah Hudson I was petrified before my surgery. It is 7.5 weeks after now. I am doing great. I made it through. So have hundreds of others. What has helped me the most is reading Adams book and talking to people on this website.

I grew up in Dothan Alabama. Which hospital have you chosen? I went to Atlanta.