Chuck Wagner - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

100 days ago

Hello all, I hope you are all doing well I am about 5 months out of aortic value replacement (mechanical) and lately (last 3 weeks) my stomach is getting ...Read more

Hello all, I hope you are all doing well I am about 5 months out of aortic value replacement (mechanical) and lately (last 3 weeks) my stomach is getting very upset, nausea, trouble sleeping. Is it getting worse. Could the drugs I'm on take that long to damage my stomach? (like warfarin) or is it likely something else. Thanks for any guidance or wisdom. Yes, of course I'm working with my doctor :-)

Yumiko Ishida Sounds like some kind of inflammation to me. Unless there is blood in your stool I don’t think it� ... Read more

Yumiko Ishida Sounds like some kind of inflammation to me. Unless there is blood in your stool I don’t think it’s related to warfarin. Hope you figure out the culprit and feel better soon!

Robert Miller It's probably something you want to address to your doctor. My guess is that it's not the medicine as ... Read more

Robert Miller It's probably something you want to address to your doctor. My guess is that it's not the medicine as you tolerated it just fine the first 4 months. Sure it could be that it slowly got more an more irritated but I find this less likely. But maybe it could be something else. So you probably want to talk to a doctor.

Robert Miller It's probably something you want to address to your doctor. My guess is that it's not the medicine as ... Read more

Robert Miller It's probably something you want to address to your doctor. My guess is that it's not the medicine as you tolerated it just fine the first 4 months. Sure it could be that your stomach slowly got more an more irritated but I find this less likely. It could be something else, though. So you probably want to talk to a doctor.

Marie Myers Have you tried any acid reducing meds? I was sent home on famotidine 20 mg as a preventative med. Aft ... Read more

Marie Myers Have you tried any acid reducing meds? I was sent home on famotidine 20 mg as a preventative med. After about 6 months or so I was able to eliminate it. The stress of heart surgery and the start (for me) of a daily baby aspirin are enough to cause gastritis. Have you consulted a gastroenterologist?

Larry Peterson Chuck,
I had nausea and headaches with metoprolol succinate (extended release) after my surgery ... Read more

Larry Peterson Chuck,
I had nausea and headaches with metoprolol succinate (extended release) after my surgery and they switched me to metoprolol tartrate (2x daily) and it mostly went away. Recently switched beta blockers to atenolol and nausea is gone.

Chuck Wagner hello all, Thanks for the comments. Yumiko, yes, the cardio team doesn't think it is the heart meds, ... Read more

Chuck Wagner hello all, Thanks for the comments. Yumiko, yes, the cardio team doesn't think it is the heart meds, Robert, I am working with the doctor, thanks. Marie, I hope to see a gastroenterologist this week. Larry, I was on metoprolol early, not for a few months. Just restarted Pantoprazole.

Chuck Wagnerposted an update

183 days ago

Hello all, I hope your recoveries are going well. I'm 9 weeks out of a AVR with 2 CABG. I walk fast three times and day, some of it hilly and I feel like ...Read more

Hello all, I hope your recoveries are going well. I'm 9 weeks out of a AVR with 2 CABG. I walk fast three times and day, some of it hilly and I feel like I'm ready to start a light jog. I started briefly on the tread mill at the Y. But when I ran on the sidewalk and jogging trails the bouncing had me concerned me. Anyway, I haven't found any great info on the internet about when it is ok to start jogging. (and even biking) Any guidance or experiences for me? Thanks!

Robert Miller It's best to consult with your surgeon. But my thoughts are that with jogging you want to wait 12 wee ... Read more

Robert Miller It's best to consult with your surgeon. But my thoughts are that with jogging you want to wait 12 weeks. Treadmill should be fine as there isn't much impact. Biking I probably also would wait 12 weeks. The concern here is that in case you fall, there is probably a big impact on your chest. Depending on your physical condition after surgery, there is a higher chance of falling if you feel dizzy all of a sudden. I started to have some dizzy spells sometimes so when I went swimming in the ocean on our vacation, I mostly just swam along the shore rather than out to the ocean as I usually do.

Chuck Wagner Robert, thanks for the comments. I'm in cardiac rehab and I'm getting advice from them now.

Chuck Wagnerposted an update

198 days ago

Hello all, I hope everyone is doing well and moving forward. For me I am about 6+ weeks out with a aortic value replacement. I was a thin guy before going ...Read more

Hello all, I hope everyone is doing well and moving forward. For me I am about 6+ weeks out with a aortic value replacement. I was a thin guy before going in and my weight was dropping and was one of the indications of aortic stenosis. So now I hoping to add some weight back. My appetite is good and I'm eat well but the weight just remains that same. I'm am doing a lot of walking and very light yoga. Anyone have any advice or experience on gaining good weight after heart value surgery? Thanks for any feedback.

Rita Savelis I hear you Chuck. Once thin, always thin. I haven't really gained any weight since heart surgery 9 ye ... Read more

Rita Savelis I hear you Chuck. Once thin, always thin. I haven't really gained any weight since heart surgery 9 years ago. All I can say is eat whenever you want and whatever you want. Most of us tend to gravitate towards our usual weight whatever it might be. Take care.

Yumiko Ishida I am still working on putting weight back on, but the advice I got was to increase protein intake, an ... Read more

Yumiko Ishida I am still working on putting weight back on, but the advice I got was to increase protein intake, and to take it right before or right after exercising. It helps to rebuild your muscle. You are using muscle even when walking and doing yoga.

Valerie Allen Yumiko, do you take a protein drink or protein rich food?

Yumiko Ishida In the morning I “flavor” my collagen and/or bone broth protein powders with decaf. When I exerci ... Read more

Yumiko Ishida In the morning I “flavor” my collagen and/or bone broth protein powders with decaf. When I exercise I drink whey protein. I put MCT powder in both of those. When I was desperate I did not worry about how much fat was on the meat I ate, but now try to eat leaner cuts. Fatty cuts were providing calories but calories alone didn’t seem to help much with my weight, so now I am trying to put on muscle mass. With the “coffee,” whey protein, and preference for leaner meats, I am averaging about 140 grams of protein a day.

Chuck Wagner Ok, thanks Rita, I'm a 'always kind of thin' guy. Just trying to get back to in normal weight of 150 ... Read more

Chuck Wagner Ok, thanks Rita, I'm a 'always kind of thin' guy. Just trying to get back to in normal weight of 150 lbs (68 kg). I was in Paris about a year ago. Very nice. Yumiko, My nurse also said to add protein Thanks