William True - Heart Valve Journal

My Journal

1384 days ago

Rose Madura, Susan Lynn, Shannon Gray and 2 others reacted to this

It’s taken 15 months, but I am finally starting to feel really good in my recovery. I spent the first year trying to return to top physical form as fast ...Read more

It’s taken 15 months, but I am finally starting to feel really good in my recovery. I spent the first year trying to return to top physical form as fast as I could, and I never really let my heart heal. I pushed and pushed until my heart had enough. That’s when things started to shut down. I couldn’t walk upstairs, I couldn’t help around the house, and I couldn’t be the father I want to be. I was killing myself by trying to force my heart to recover. All manner of tests confirmed that my heart was structurally fine, but it was simply overloaded. At the start of 2021, I had to make a change. I cut my cardio training in half. I added strength training to build back my body’s testosterone and re-ignite my metabolism. In just a few short weeks, I started to build muscle again, regrow hair and I finally have energy at the end of the day. I went from asking God to simply take me to being incredibly happy once again to be here with my family. 2020 was a strange year, and I will say 2021 looks to be headed in a much better direction. I hope this new vigor and enthusiasm continues. Every journey to well is different, and no two paths look the same. I am stronger for having blazed this, but I do wish it had been a bit easier. I am reminded frequently that the heart is a very interesting part of the body. In many ways there are is still so much that is unknown.

Jennifer Barnett It's tempting to push the exercise too much but it really is all about pacing yourself as the fatigue ... Read more

Jennifer Barnett It's tempting to push the exercise too much but it really is all about pacing yourself as the fatigue from surgery can continue for a while. I returned to
work too soon and tired walking too much and just got extremely tired. My surgery was almost 4 years ago and I I still have to be careful with stress, sleep nutrition, exercise etc. Sounds like you're doing well now and have it worked out , good luck on this interesting journey.

Susan Lynn William - Glad you're feeling well! Excellent post - it is so easy to overdo it especially when ther ... Read more

Susan Lynn William - Glad you're feeling well! Excellent post - it is so easy to overdo it especially when there are those intermittent energetic days. For many of us, we're simply not accustomed to the experience of a recovery of more than a week or two. We expect to feel better and rebound quickly. OHS is different and sometimes our hearts give us a little reminder that we need to slow it down. Wishing you continued success! ❤

Great post William. In this site people talk about listening to your body and be patient with it. You ... Read more

Great post William. In this site people talk about listening to your body and be patient with it. You finally listened to your body and I’m so glad you are doing well now. Continued recovery and be well. God bless you

Joseph Heinzmann I needed this. Thank you. I pushed it too hard in week two post surgery and took a step back. But thi ... Read more

Joseph Heinzmann I needed this. Thank you. I pushed it too hard in week two post surgery and took a step back. But this past week was much better as I moderated things. It's hard to be patient but it's necessary. Glad you're doing better!

Rita Savelis The heart is an interesting part of the body. And it's glad you gave it a small break. Take care Will ... Read more

Rita Savelis The heart is an interesting part of the body. And it's glad you gave it a small break. Take care William.

William Trueposted an update

1805 days ago

Dan Baltazor, John O'Neill reacted to this

I am 5 weeks post-surgery and experiencing some worries about recovering the cardiac fitness I had prior to surgery. I have tried cycling several times since ...Read more

I am 5 weeks post-surgery and experiencing some worries about recovering the cardiac fitness I had prior to surgery. I have tried cycling several times since my operation, but I cannot generate half my pre-surgical power without my heart beating too rapidly. My resting heart-rate is 30 beats higher than it was just before surgery, and I am wondering if others who were very fit prior to surgery experienced the same. At 38, I am on the younger end of the typical demographic. I am finding it very hard to find stories from people my age about how quickly they were able to return to their physical peak. Hoping to start swimming again next week!

Robb Smith You are about a month ahead of me, in terms of surgery, but I have had other surgical procedures in t ... Read more

Robb Smith You are about a month ahead of me, in terms of surgery, but I have had other surgical procedures in the past. I wouldn't sweat it, being only 5 weeks out. The advances made in surgical techniques in terms of short-term, post-operative recovery are amazing, but the reality is, you still had someone in your chest, changing the status quo profoundly. Be patient and trust that you WILL get back into the swing of things, just not as fast as you might have hoped. Ask yourself, are you better today than last week? two weeks ago? etc.
You'll be exercising hardcore before you know it.
Cheers!

William True Thanks Robb. Best of luck in your recovery!

Catie B I'm neither young nor an athlete, but you're very early still. :) Has your cardiologist prescribed ca ... Read more

Catie B I'm neither young nor an athlete, but you're very early still. :) Has your cardiologist prescribed cardiac rehab for you? It's a great and well-monitored program, and they don't allow your heart rate to climb too high.

Harris Chrysanthou Hey William, I had my aortic valve replaced with an ON-X valve 8 weeks ago. I am 27 years old and I w ... Read more

Harris Chrysanthou Hey William, I had my aortic valve replaced with an ON-X valve 8 weeks ago. I am 27 years old and I was very athletic before surgery (heavy weight lifting, long runs). My resting heart rate after surgery was 15-20 beats higher but now this is getting back to normal again. I am much better that 2-3 weeks ago and I am walking about 5KM per day. Next week I will try jogging a bit

William True Catie,
I tried the cardiac rehab for a week at the hospital, but the team there was not used to deali ... Read more

William True Catie,
I tried the cardiac rehab for a week at the hospital, but the team there was not used to dealing with a patient like me. I went to my coach and we came up with a rehab plan. I talked to my cardiologist and he approved my rehab plan, so I have been doing my own thing. (I know that sounds scary.) It means less frequent touches with the medical team, which is probably a big source of my anxiety.

William True Thank you Harris! It is really great to hear that you saw some significant improvement between weeks ... Read more

William True Thank you Harris! It is really great to hear that you saw some significant improvement between weeks 5-8. I am very hopeful for something similar. I have also been walking and exercising on an elliptical machine. It helps me immensely to hear your feedback!

Harris Chrysanthou No problem 👍 We can keep in touch!

Mike Roskowinski Hey William I had my surgery back in May of this year. When I got home my heart rate was way high. ... Read more

Mike Roskowinski Hey William I had my surgery back in May of this year. When I got home my heart rate was way high. Before surgery I was always in the 50's. After surgery the first few weeks I was constantly in the 80s and 90s which made it really hard to sleep and do anything. Your heart just went through major trauma with your surgery so it takes some time to get back. I am finally back to 63 as my resting heart rate. My cardiologist also gave me Metoprolo to help settle things down a little bit. Maybe you can ask him. I did 23 days of cardio rehab and was finally back in the gym within 3 months. I waited the full 13 weeks for my sternum to heal before I started lifting heavier weights. It is a process and takes time to heal. Just keep walking and following what they tell you and soon you will be back to everything. I am back to everything I was doing prior to surgery and feel good.

Jeffrey Dyer I just finished my 19th week since my surgery and I can't say it any better than Mike. My heart did ... Read more

Jeffrey Dyer I just finished my 19th week since my surgery and I can't say it any better than Mike. My heart did the same thing. In fact, that was one of my first questions while in the hospital..."My heart feels like it's pounding out of my chest and my resting heart rate is in the 90's...is this normal?" Answer...yes. My resting HR is now down in the mid 60's to mid 70's...Just keep walking. I'm still walking...You're doing great! Things slowly get better. The first 95% of your healing will be within 8 weeks. The last 5% will take a year...and it sucks!

Mike Roskowinski Take your time with this. Shaq's son had surgery in December and was cleared to play in March

https ... Read more

Mike Roskowinski Take your time with this. Shaq's son had surgery in December and was cleared to play in March

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2019-08-05/ucla-shareef-oneal-heart-surgery-shaquille-drew-league

Shaq's son Shareef O'Neal feels blessed to play basketball again after open-heart surgery

https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2019-08-05/ucla-shareef-oneal-heart-surgery-shaquille-drew-league

Shareef O'Neal is back on the court after undergoing open-heart surgery in December. He's playing in the Drew League as he prepares to return to UCLA.

Chris Calhoun ask your cardiologist if you need to change your BP MEDS - I was on metropolo and we changed to Coreg ... Read more

Chris Calhoun ask your cardiologist if you need to change your BP MEDS - I was on metropolo and we changed to Coreg and Entresto it made a big difference for me

Tracy Fallu I am 50 (not as young as you) 2 years post mitral valve repair. Although I completed several marathon ... Read more

Tracy Fallu I am 50 (not as young as you) 2 years post mitral valve repair. Although I completed several marathons pre surgery, I still chose to complete all 36 sessions of cardiac rehab as it provided monitored vitals but most importantly helped with the mental aspect of recovering. Not many discuss that portion of recovery, but allowing your mind and anxiety to heal is a HUGE part of the process. During cardiac rehab I slowly worked from a walk to a slow jog and lift some light weights. By 6 months, I was cleared to train again. At 10 months I completed a half marathon and have gone in to complete a full marathon. Training is different, some days harder than others but I enjoy what my body allows me to do.
I hope this gives you some hope. Hang in there, 5 weeks hasn’t been that long.

William True Thank you all so much for your replies. It feels really good to know I am not alone in feeling a sma ... Read more

William True Thank you all so much for your replies. It feels really good to know I am not alone in feeling a small sense of trepidation about recovery. All of your stories and inspire me!

Catie B It's terrific that you have a custom plan in place. Pretty amazing work you're doing!

Chris Purvis It will come back and does take time. I was very active prior mainly CrossFit/HIIT style training. Th ... Read more

Chris Purvis It will come back and does take time. I was very active prior mainly CrossFit/HIIT style training. The faster beat will settle down over time. I know it’s frustrating but everyday if you try you will make small strides back to you old self.

Marie Myers In this case, the “slow way is the fastest way” to where you want to go. Listen to your body! It ... Read more

Marie Myers In this case, the “slow way is the fastest way” to where you want to go. Listen to your body! It is way to early in your recovery to be thinking about attaining your prior level of fitness.