I’m having a hard time figuring out a balance between doing enough activity and doing too much. I feel stuck. I get worrried about pushing myself too much ...Read more
I’m having a hard time figuring out a balance between doing enough activity and doing too much. I feel stuck. I get worrried about pushing myself too much and I find myself trying not to jinx myself when I get a good report on something. Any tips or suggestions?
Rose Madura I always have said you want to be the tortoise 🐢 and not the hare 🐇. And Richard is correct - ... Read more
Rose Madura I always have said you want to be the tortoise 🐢 and not the hare 🐇. And Richard is correct - listen to your body. Have you signed up for cardiac rehab? Many on this site sware by it. Being hooked up to a monitor let's them feel better about pushing themselves. I had so many complications that I didn't do rehab.
Karen Hadden No cardiac rehab yet. I’m only 2 1/2 weeks post-op
Grace Mason I would do 3 short walks a day up to a mile each, if I felt up to it. And then increased activity a l ... Read more
Grace Mason I would do 3 short walks a day up to a mile each, if I felt up to it. And then increased activity a little bit each week or so
Marie Myers I started cardiac rehab at 3 weeks. When are you starting rebab?
Dan Fouratt Richard is right about your body will let you know. I have pushed my body and it reacted well, five w ... Read more
Dan Fouratt Richard is right about your body will let you know. I have pushed my body and it reacted well, five weeks post surgery. I asked many times leading up to surgery and post surgery for a number but never got one. Trust your body. I have gone over 13 miles in a day. For the last several weeks I try for 10 plus miles a day. I keep close tabs on my heart rate and it really have never been stressed, little time spent over 100 BPM. Good luck
J Alexander Lassally No specific advice. Lay low the first month and gradually increase... your instincts will tell you wh ... Read more
J Alexander Lassally No specific advice. Lay low the first month and gradually increase... your instincts will tell you what you are ready for... But I know, the sternotomy incision is always an elephant in the room - too much, more movement, not enough?!
Tiago Rocha Be easy with yourself. You will find that balance. Allow time to heal. Your body needs it. A day at ... Read more
Tiago Rocha Be easy with yourself. You will find that balance. Allow time to heal. Your body needs it. A day at a time.
Rita Savelis There is no right or wrong. You are a singular person and no body is like yours. Do what feels right ... Read more
Rita Savelis There is no right or wrong. You are a singular person and no body is like yours. Do what feels right or do nothing at all. Your heart has been through a lot. Imagine it as a broken leg that needs to heal. Don't overthink things. Trust your instincts.
Susan Lynn At 2 1/2 weeks, you might consider taking 5 min. walks 3 x day inside your house. Next week, add a... Read more
Susan Lynn At 2 1/2 weeks, you might consider taking 5 min. walks 3 x day inside your house. Next week, add another minute or two to each one in between a couple of power naps. Keep your showers short - they were more exhausting than exercise during my recovery. Take it slow. You'll progress when you're ready.
Christine Maiorano I'm 2 1/2 weeks post op walking about 2000 steps a day. However I completely agree with Richard. List ... Read more
Christine Maiorano I'm 2 1/2 weeks post op walking about 2000 steps a day. However I completely agree with Richard. Listen to your body and do what feels right☺️
Yumiko Ishida I think it depends on how much you are retaining and how low/high your BP is. You don’t want it to ... Read more
Yumiko Ishida I think it depends on how much you are retaining and how low/high your BP is. You don’t want it to be too tight if your BP is on the high side. I used to wear high compression stockings for long airplane rides, but they are literally a pain to put on, and I can’t imagine having to deal with it when you’re already in pain. If your main complaint is fluid retention and not super low BP, until such time as you find the perfect compression stockings, I suggest ankle pumping or drawing the alphabet.
Jennifer Fuller I’m not sure if they are appropriate for you, but I really like the Wellow socks I bought after sur ... Read more
Jennifer Fuller I’m not sure if they are appropriate for you, but I really like the Wellow socks I bought after surgery. They’re moderate, graduated compression. I find them easy to put on and comfortable to wear. A nice choice if they offer enough compression for you.
Ok, so I’m home. Got home yesterday. Thank you for all the well wishes! Good things:
. I got 5am surgery slot, so I was in ICU and recovery by ...Read more
Ok, so I’m home. Got home yesterday. Thank you for all the well wishes! Good things:
. I got 5am surgery slot, so I was in ICU and recovery by noon. I ended up one night in ICU. I would highly recommend a note pad and paper to write on and communicate afterwards. I remember them saying “can you read that, do you know what that says”? My husband kept the notes and I have no idea what I was writing even though I felt it was clear as day at the time! 😉
2. Dr Roselli and is team were pretty cool - just the whole process of them stopping to talk with you, I really felt like they truly cared about me. I cannot say enough about how cool he is as well. it’s pretty crazy seeing all of the beds lined up for surgery in the hall - completely blew my mind that I got to experience that.
3. I LOVED my guy Bret in ICU. He was absolutely amazing!! Just so sweet, calm and reassuring - def what I needed. I do not remember them taking the breathing tube out.
4. I was in surgery, then to icu, transferred to step down the next afternoon. Everyone kept saying I looked so good, my labs were good, chest was good so It was certainly positive. That being said, there’s def some holes in communication happening between nurses, techs, assisting etc. I’m extremely grateful my husband spent the 1st 2 nights with me. If you can, I’d find someone who can at least be there for night or day, not everyone is available.
Now to the help questions: 1. It definitely hurts more than I thought for breathing in. 2. I’m low on potassium/anemic. Is this normal? they have put me on a potassium pill and say it will go away. 3. Fatigue/tired - my feet and body feel like I have 10lb bowling balls strapped to them
im sure they’ll be more to come -
Rose Madura Glad you are home and recovering! Slow and steady. ❤️🩹
Yumiko Ishida Yay, home! You look great! Everything you mentioned is normal. They will eventually go away. It is ju ... Read more
Yumiko Ishida Yay, home! You look great! Everything you mentioned is normal. They will eventually go away. It is just going to take time.
J Alexander Lassally Rocking it. I loved two of my ICU nurses at CC also. They were both near deity status for me.PS I was ... Read more
J Alexander Lassally Rocking it. I loved two of my ICU nurses at CC also. They were both near deity status for me.PS I was super anemic also. Par for the course. It remits eventually. Part of the sternotomy song and dance... That fatigue is indescribable to non warriors.PSS - Yep breathing tough. Don't obsess on spirometer, but take nice deep-ish breaths while you do your slow walks. Purse your lips and do several rounds of breathing. It worked well for me and felt less draconian than that stupid spirometer.
Marie Myers Yes, the low potassium and anemia are both common. It may take a couple months to get your blood cou ... Read more
Marie Myers Yes, the low potassium and anemia are both common. It may take a couple months to get your blood count back up, so the fatigue will be around for a bit. You are looking good!
Karen Hadden J Alexander - yes! There 2 nurses plus I the one guy was a nurse - Alex - he was wonderful. It re ... Read more
Karen Hadden J Alexander - yes! There 2 nurses plus I the one guy was a nurse - Alex - he was wonderful. It really matters when they show compassion. Also - good to know on the spirometer. I was given 3 different ones 🤷🏼♀️ and I didn’t get a heart pillow but I had ordered one weeks earlier so my husband had brought that in.
On a side note - I had 2 nurses trying to figure out how to change my pain pump 😫🤦🏼♀️ they were calling and asking if anyone knew the code. Now certainly it probably wasn’t a big deal from their perspective, but it does make you start getting a little concerned- it’s like some things I don’t want to know you don’t know - 😜 Plus, I found it hard to keep saying “they already gave me that”. 😳
Karen Hadden Thank you Marie - good to know for sure! I’m also trying to eat good foods with iron and potassium ... Read more
Karen Hadden Thank you Marie - good to know for sure! I’m also trying to eat good foods with iron and potassium to add some help.
Adam Pick Go Karen! Go! Wonderful to hear Dr. Roselli and the Cleveland Clinic team took such great care of you!!!
Fyi, I can relate to so much of your post-op experience. Yes... I had some pain while breathing. Are you keeping up with your spirometer exercises?
Adam Pick Go Karen! Go! Wonderful to hear Dr. Roselli and the Cleveland Clinic team took such great care of you!!!
Fyi, I can relate to so much of your post-op experience. Yes... I had some pain while breathing. Are you keeping up with your spirometer exercises?
Yes, I became anemic after surgery.
Yes, I was fatigued as well.
There is no rush to feel "normal". We all heal differently. Take it easy. You have been through a lot. Just take it day-by-day and the issues above will hopefully resolve over time.
Quick question: Has anybody mentioned cardiac rehab to you yet?
See patient reviews, physician biography, videos and contact information for Dr. Eric Roselli, heart surgeon, in Cleveland, Ohio.
J Alexander Lassally Hey Karen - Yes. Shared experience. Was your god ICU a silver / white haired man. About 55 ish? That ... Read more
J Alexander Lassally Hey Karen - Yes. Shared experience. Was your god ICU a silver / white haired man. About 55 ish? That name rings a bell...
Valerie Allen Karen-so you are home 5 days later? You look fantastic! Do you have to go back for 1st follow up in ... Read more
Valerie Allen Karen-so you are home 5 days later? You look fantastic! Do you have to go back for 1st follow up in a week or so?
Christine Maiorano Happy you’re home! I had my surgery for mitral valve and tricuspid valve repair on 4-10 ! Dr Gillin ... Read more
Christine Maiorano Happy you’re home! I had my surgery for mitral valve and tricuspid valve repair on 4-10 ! Dr Gillinov was great! I’m still in cardiac step down. Tomorrow I’m scheduled for an echo. I’ve found fatigue is a big issue. Much like you I feel at least 10 lbs heavier. My potassium was low so I’m still receiving supplements.
Ana Brusso Welcome home and to recovery. God bless you
Dan Fouratt Karen, 5 days impressive. I am slightly a head of you at 24 days post surgery. for the first two wee ... Read more
Dan Fouratt Karen, 5 days impressive. I am slightly a head of you at 24 days post surgery. for the first two weeks even the thought of sneezing gave me sheer fear, but it does get better. I was originally on furosemide with required a potassium chloride pill. I was on two a day when released, this dropped to one a day after my AFlutter event and then to zero a few days later. I became a big fan of my afternoon nap, as that gave me the energy to stay up to 8:00, so yes being tired is normal. All will get better.
Suelynn Hanegraaf Happy to hear you are home! Rest and restore! Hoping to go home soon too. A bit longer hospital stay ... Read more
Suelynn Hanegraaf Happy to hear you are home! Rest and restore! Hoping to go home soon too. A bit longer hospital stay because I developed a-fib and heart flutter.
Dan - I am certainly dreading that sneeze for sure - I read it can be a doozy!
J Alexander - his name was Brett and he was definitely younger. In fact, most everyone who I encountered were younger than 40 for sure.
Valerie Ann - I am home, I was in ICU night, step down for 3 nights. I had a smaller incision done, so that was good and I’m sure because of my early surgery time it made a difference. I do have my follow up on the 18th.
Valerie Allen I’ll be in surgery on the 18th, hopefully early!
Daneen Douglas Congratulations! Glad you are doing well, Karen! Looking well!
I bought protein powder - specifically pumpkin seed protein powder. I thought this would be great for adding to any milkshakes or food the first few days ...Read more
I bought protein powder - specifically pumpkin seed protein powder. I thought this would be great for adding to any milkshakes or food the first few days after surgery. Any thoughts on if this will be allowed? I can’t do many of the protein shakes becasue if the fillers that trigger migraines.
Marie Myers I don’t see any thing wrong with that plan. I added whey protein powder to my pre and post op shake ... Read more
Marie Myers I don’t see any thing wrong with that plan. I added whey protein powder to my pre and post op shakes to help with healing.
Dan Fouratt No issue according to my dietitian that I worked with. Be ready for a different texture in your food. ... Read more
Dan Fouratt No issue according to my dietitian that I worked with. Be ready for a different texture in your food.
Anyone deal with migraines and/or vestibular migraines here? If so, how did you prepare and how was it handled post-op? I definitely get triggered by hunger ...Read more
Anyone deal with migraines and/or vestibular migraines here? If so, how did you prepare and how was it handled post-op? I definitely get triggered by hunger or lack of food and sleep issues, so I’m trying to find out if there’s anything I can do before surgery or anything I need to mention for after. Thanks in advance for any helpful suggestions and Happy Easter🐥😉
Brian Ruff I’ve had vestibular migraines in the past. Aside from proper rest, two things that have always hel ... Read more
Brian Ruff I’ve had vestibular migraines in the past. Aside from proper rest, two things that have always helped me have been small, frequent meals and staying very hydrated. Happy Easter!
Jennifer Fuller My doctor prescribed a protocol that included drinking a pre-surgery drink the night before and morni ... Read more
Jennifer Fuller My doctor prescribed a protocol that included drinking a pre-surgery drink the night before and morning of surgery. The idea is that you can consume calories to prevent hunger and give your body a start on healing but in a way that’s safe for surgery and anesthesia. That might help?
Jamie Griffith I had occasional (once every couple months) migraines prior to my OHS and have a dramatic increase in ... Read more
Jamie Griffith I had occasional (once every couple months) migraines prior to my OHS and have a dramatic increase in migraines post surgery. Most are actually ocular migraines and no severe headache ensues. My surgeon said this increase is fairly common. It hasn’t been a problem for me, now 4 mo post-op, but I didn’t realize there was a correlation of migraines and OHS. I used to proactively take immitrex when a migraine ensued, but given I haven’t had the migraine pain, I haven’t been needing to take the medication since the sugery. A very odd change for me.
Valerie Allen It seems many of us get ocular migraines and it is a good piece of info to be reminded this COULD inc ... Read more
Valerie Allen It seems many of us get ocular migraines and it is a good piece of info to be reminded this COULD increase for a while after surgery.
Scheduled to have my heart catheter on April Fool’s Day. I’m definitely trying to send positive thoughts out for an easy procedure and in my wrist would ...Read more
Scheduled to have my heart catheter on April Fool’s Day. I’m definitely trying to send positive thoughts out for an easy procedure and in my wrist would be very helpful. Since my surgery got moved up, I am feeling the pinch of getting last minute items together. I’ve started to listen tot he guided imagery audio that the clinic provides. It’s very soothing to listen to.
Daneen Douglas I think I will download some of that as well!
Valerie Allen I’ve found meditating to be so helpful so the guided imagery audio sounds good! I haven’t receive ... Read more
Valerie Allen I’ve found meditating to be so helpful so the guided imagery audio sounds good! I haven’t received that. Is April 9 your new date or has it moved earlier? I’m the 18th.
Valerie Allen Nancy and Barbara also have April dates!
Daneen Douglas Wow! There are a lot of April surgeries coming up! We’ve got this Ladies!
Karen Hadden I’m on the 9th - it got moved up to help accommodate someone coming from out of town and couldn’ ... Read more
Karen Hadden I’m on the 9th - it got moved up to help accommodate someone coming from out of town and couldn’t find a hotel room becasue of the eclipse. 🤦🏼♀️
Pamela Gregory Hi Karen. Although no one wants to have OHS, How lucky are you to live in Cleveland and have Dr. Ros... Read more
Pamela Gregory Hi Karen. Although no one wants to have OHS, How lucky are you to live in Cleveland and have Dr. Roselli! I traveled from Delaware to have Dr. Roselli a year and a half ago at age 55. He is wonderful and the Cleveland Clinic is an outstanding hospital for heart patients. You have a wonderful support system in place with your chocolate lab and your husband too! I can honestly say that the waiting is the worst part. Stay ahead of the pain when its on you. In my experience they were pretty good at pain management. Pain was my biggest fear and I could tolerate it ( I am a wimp as far as pain goes ). So glad you are at the #1 heart hospital in the US. I will be sending positive thoughts and prays you direction
Karen Hadden Thank you Pamela! I feel that I am most fortunate about the Clinic❤️ I am such a wimp with the p ... Read more
Karen Hadden Thank you Pamela! I feel that I am most fortunate about the Clinic❤️ I am such a wimp with the pain as well - so certainly concerned about dealing with it. What helped you when you came home? How was your pain?
Ok, so I had my Cardio Ct yesterday and all was well. No aortic aneurysm. I still have to do my Cath on 4/1. April Fool’s Day, go figure. I’m a bit ...Read more
Ok, so I had my Cardio Ct yesterday and all was well. No aortic aneurysm. I still have to do my Cath on 4/1. April Fool’s Day, go figure. I’m a bit nervous about that - my Cardiologist made it sound pretty simple, but several posts I’ve read make it seem difficult, in the sense that it would take a couple days to recover so now I don’t know what to think.
Valerie Allen Karen, I had it in my wrist and there was just a sore wrist. I didn’t think in terms of recovery fr ... Read more
Valerie Allen Karen, I had it in my wrist and there was just a sore wrist. I didn’t think in terms of recovery from it at all. It was simple. Do you have a date?
Daneen Douglas Yeah it is simple! I just thought it was a little more tender in my wrist than when they go through ... Read more
Daneen Douglas Yeah it is simple! I just thought it was a little more tender in my wrist than when they go through the groin. But it’s just a couple days needing to be careful moving the wrist.
Susan Lynn I also had mine done through the wrist. It's a simple procedure that takes about 20 minutes. You... Read more
Susan Lynn I also had mine done through the wrist. It's a simple procedure that takes about 20 minutes. You just have to avoid putting too much strain on your wrist the next day. It's a piece of cake! You'll do just fine.
Darrell Malone I had mine through the wrist on the 8th. I worked myself up with nerves but like the others it was v... Read more
Darrell Malone I had mine through the wrist on the 8th. I worked myself up with nerves but like the others it was very simple. Didn't really feel anything.
Karen Hadden Oh my gosh - thank you everyone!!! I cried myself to sleep with visions of horror and agony. I’... Read more
Karen Hadden Oh my gosh - thank you everyone!!! I cried myself to sleep with visions of horror and agony. I’m trying not to let my anxiety get the best of me, but last night definitely caught me off guard
Marie Myers I was worried about it also, but it was far easier than my worrying mind would have me believe. You c ... Read more
Marie Myers I was worried about it also, but it was far easier than my worrying mind would have me believe. You can do it!!
Pamela Gregory No biggie. Mine also through the wrist. No dishes for a day or two
DeWayne Adamson Come home after procedure and take it easy for 2 days.
Rita Savelis Cath procedure is simple. You are awake but groggy. If they use the groin you have to lie down for a ... Read more
Rita Savelis Cath procedure is simple. You are awake but groggy. If they use the groin you have to lie down for a few hours afterwards. You might have a bruise. It's not painful and you go home after the procedure. Don't overthink it. Best of luck.
Grace Mason Mine was planned for the wrist but ended up being the groin. It wasn't difficult or painful. There wa ... Read more
Grace Mason Mine was planned for the wrist but ended up being the groin. It wasn't difficult or painful. There was a lot of pressure on my groin to plug the incision after the procedure was done and I had to lie down for a few hours. They brought me lunch of my choice afterwards while I was resting. Hardest part was eating and drinking lying back 😉
Sue Maize I’ve had both wrist and groin and neither was a big deal. The most uncomfortable part (that also ma ... Read more
Sue Maize I’ve had both wrist and groin and neither was a big deal. The most uncomfortable part (that also made me chuckle, mind you) was the sense that I was peeing myself while the fluid circulated my system! 😅