Recovery from LAD stent

@ordiver1 Thanks for replying. How are you doing on the Prasugrel (Effien)?. They switched me off Clopridigel (Plavix) and added baby aspirin. I have naturally low blood pressure (and cholesterol for that matter, go figure), and the blood thinners make me dizzy. They also contribute to getting terribly large and ugly bruises on my hands and arms. But I guess I come by that naturally as my mother had the same. Thin skin. I can brush up against a door frame and get a bruise. I researched Effien, and it evidently is very strong stuff and they won't keep you on it for longer than 6 months nor would they even prescribe it to you if you're over 75. Have you had any noticable side effects? Today is my 4th day out and I feel remarkably good. I can start driving today too! Thank God!

@smotu, welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. You’ve already had quite a journey, from your bypass nine years ago to finding out that one graft had collapsed and you had several significant blockages. I’m glad you’re feeling so well physically just a few days after the procedure.

What really caught my attention, though, was what you said in your follow-up, that this time it is “hitting me like a ton of bricks.” It sounds like your recovery nine years ago was very different. You had people around you for six weeks, meals taken care of, and PT every day. This time you’re home alone with time to think about what happened while also being temporarily limited in what you can do. That sounds like quite an adjustment.

You mentioned looking forward to cardiac rehab. Do you know when you’ll be able to start? And besides getting back into better physical shape, what are you most hoping rehab will help you regain — strength, confidence, getting back to your normal routine, or something else?

I’m also glad you asked others about their experiences with prasugrel (Effient), bruising and dizziness. Those are good things to keep your cardiology team informed about, particularly if the dizziness or bruising changes or concerns you.

And I smiled at your 100th-birthday reminder. 🙂 I hope you’ll keep us posted as you recover and get started with cardiac rehab.

@jlharsh Hello Janell. I think having this happen unexpectedly at age 71 and being alone has really made me take stock of my life and where I am and what my path is for the next ten plus years.

Much more personal stuff that my compromised health situation has put front and center.

I have been dating a beautiful woman for the past 8 years. We got engaged 5 years ago. But literally three days after that event, her grandson, who she has raised since he was twelve, went off to college and tried to commit suicide. That changed everything for us.

Very long and complicated story, but she committed 100% of her time, energy and resources to getting him healthy and back on track to get a college degree. Our relationship has devolved to “just dating” and a year ago she broke off our engagement and wanted a relationship without the implications of being “engaged”.

In the last several months she has backed off even more, yet she continues to tell me how much she loves me, etc, etc. but she has changed the dynamics of how often we see each other and if I spend the night.

Her boy just finished his first semester of a new four year degree program at Stephen F Austin University. This is after taking six years to get a two year degree at the local community college. He started at a four year university here in Dallas, dropped all his courses his first term but didn’t tell his Mimi.

As you can imagine, that was huge. She made him re-enroll for spring term, we got engaged and he tried to commit suicide. It was really a cry for help, as he literally didn’t pull the trigger. But Mimi left him there thinking he would pull out of it or something. He didn’t and this time flunked every course.

That started this long odyssey of her insisting that he gets a degree. She got him the help he needed and he took one or two classes for years until he got his associates degree and got accepted at SFA this past spring term.

It came to light after he enrolled in the major “they” chose for him that it would take another three to four years!

He actually did well and got A’s and B’s to his credit and has been home all summer working and taking one online course, which he also got an A on.

But in the meantime his Mimi has become so fixated on him (and the damn, large, obnoxious, super high energy Australian shepherd she got him as an emotional support dog), that I literally have become her third priority.

I retired in February at age 71 and decided to spend time on multiple health check ups that I didn’t have the time for while working: Eyes, hearing, dental work and heart health.

That uncovered my blockages and led to my operations and brings me to today.

I am a 71 year old in poor health dating a 72 year old who has no intent of living with me in any form or fashion until her grandson “launches” in three or four or even five years.

Now I’m on a fixed income. The master plan was that she would sell her large, 3000 square foot house that has an oversized lot and a large swimming pool and downsize to a much smaller townhouse or something and we would cohabitate and live happily ever after.

She makes very good money but now has committed to working until her grandson graduates and launches. The whole plan is unrealistic and will not go well. She is in relatively good health now, but she will be 77 or 78 by the time he graduates and “launches”.

So, I am taking stock of my life and this latest heart set back has really opened my eyes to my own mortality and my future prospects.

I know, it sounds like a personal problem wrapped up in a “dear Abbey “ letter. But this is why it’s hitting me like a ton of bricks.

From my point of view, she has become dysfunctionally fixated on her grandson and their dog. The boy is now 24 and the poster child for what one might define as a “snowflake”.

The old maxim of three is a crowd applies here and unfortunately for me, I have been relegated to being the third wheel.

So, there you have it. I am looking forward to the rehab to refocus my activities on getting healthier and I know that exercise helps you tremendously on both the physical and mental aspects.

Frankly, I don’t think this eight year relationship is sustainable and we’ve come to a decision point that must be addressed, but I don’t want to. But I also know that I can’t go on like this for the next four or five years.

So, that’s my story. We shall see what happens in the next couple of months.

@jlharsh Hello Janell. I think having this happen unexpectedly at age 71 and being alone has really made me take stock of my life and where I am and what my path is for the next ten plus years.

Much more personal stuff that my compromised health situation has put front and center.

I have been dating a beautiful woman for the past 8 years. We got engaged 5 years ago. But literally three days after that event, her grandson, who she has raised since he was twelve, went off to college and tried to commit suicide. That changed everything for us.

Very long and complicated story, but she committed 100% of her time, energy and resources to getting him healthy and back on track to get a college degree. Our relationship has devolved to “just dating” and a year ago she broke off our engagement and wanted a relationship without the implications of being “engaged”.

In the last several months she has backed off even more, yet she continues to tell me how much she loves me, etc, etc. but she has changed the dynamics of how often we see each other and if I spend the night.

Her boy just finished his first semester of a new four year degree program at Stephen F Austin University. This is after taking six years to get a two year degree at the local community college. He started at a four year university here in Dallas, dropped all his courses his first term but didn’t tell his Mimi.

As you can imagine, that was huge. She made him re-enroll for spring term, we got engaged and he tried to commit suicide. It was really a cry for help, as he literally didn’t pull the trigger. But Mimi left him there thinking he would pull out of it or something. He didn’t and this time flunked every course.

That started this long odyssey of her insisting that he gets a degree. She got him the help he needed and he took one or two classes for years until he got his associates degree and got accepted at SFA this past spring term.

It came to light after he enrolled in the major “they” chose for him that it would take another three to four years!

He actually did well and got A’s and B’s to his credit and has been home all summer working and taking one online course, which he also got an A on.

But in the meantime his Mimi has become so fixated on him (and the damn, large, obnoxious, super high energy Australian shepherd she got him as an emotional support dog), that I literally have become her third priority.

I retired in February at age 71 and decided to spend time on multiple health check ups that I didn’t have the time for while working: Eyes, hearing, dental work and heart health.

That uncovered my blockages and led to my operations and brings me to today.

I am a 71 year old in poor health dating a 72 year old who has no intent of living with me in any form or fashion until her grandson “launches” in three or four or even five years.

Now I’m on a fixed income. The master plan was that she would sell her large, 3000 square foot house that has an oversized lot and a large swimming pool and downsize to a much smaller townhouse or something and we would cohabitate and live happily ever after.

She makes very good money but now has committed to working until her grandson graduates and launches. The whole plan is unrealistic and will not go well. She is in relatively good health now, but she will be 77 or 78 by the time he graduates and “launches”.

So, I am taking stock of my life and this latest heart set back has really opened my eyes to my own mortality and my future prospects.

I know, it sounds like a personal problem wrapped up in a “dear Abbey “ letter. But this is why it’s hitting me like a ton of bricks.

From my point of view, she has become dysfunctionally fixated on her grandson and their dog. The boy is now 24 and the poster child for what one might define as a “snowflake”.

The old maxim of three is a crowd applies here and unfortunately for me, I have been relegated to being the third wheel.

So, there you have it. I am looking forward to the rehab to refocus my activities on getting healthier and I know that exercise helps you tremendously on both the physical and mental aspects.

Frankly, I don’t think this eight year relationship is sustainable and we’ve come to a decision point that must be addressed, but I don’t want to. But I also know that I can’t go on like this for the next four or five years.

So, that’s my story. We shall see what happens in the next couple of months.

8-16-26. Hello all. I am a 71 year old, overweight male and had a triple bypass nine years ago. Since then I was diagnosed with mild COPD and sleep apnea, so use a CPAP machine. When I got my triple I asked the doctor how long these things last and he said about ten years. I asked how do you know and he said we monitor you. A year or so ago out of the blue, my right foot and ankle started to swell. I retired in February and decided I should get myself checked out now that I had the time. The swelling was really the catalyst, but I embellished some symptoms to pressure my cardiologist to run some tests because he was reluctant to do so. First a sonogram. That detected some abnormalities. Then a CT scan. That really showed some serious issues. Then, three weeks ago, a cardiac catherization procedure. That surgeon said my blockages were too complex and rescheduled me for four days ago with another surgeon. One of my bypasses had collapsed and I had three blockages; two at 80% and one in my LAD (the widow maker) at 90%. I was in and out in one day. The surgeon put me on a very strong blood thinner called Effien and a baby aspirin plus the meds I had been on: Atvorstatin and Losartin. Took me off of Plavix and replaced with the Effien.
Here it is, three full days later and I feel close to 100%. 😎. The first day I was wobbly and tired but I feel good now. I had a bout of severe cramping and diarrhea after each procedure. My Doctor says it’s unrelated. I have had IBS -D all my life, but had not had any issues for two months prior. I think the diarrhea must be a reaction to the contrast die or something as I had it after each procedure. Very unpleasant and completely flushed my bowels over a period of several hours. Then it passed and I was fine.
Has anybody else experienced this? It seems to be a one and done.
I feel lucky to be alive and I’m looking forward to doing the rehab and moving on with my life.
It’s really quite amazing how routine the procedure has become. In and out the same day. Thank God for the skill of my surgeon and the advanced technology we have today.
My surgeon told me the stents were made out of cobalt and should last at least thirty years. So I am circling my calendar on my 100th birthday to remind me to have them checked out. 😉.
Other than experiencing severe bruising on my arms and hands and feeling very mildly dizzy from the Effrien combined with the baby aspirin, I feel fine. I walked maybe a half mile this evening and did fine, other than having to deal with the heat here in Dallas. I’m still overweight and out of shape but I will be working on that soon and look forward to at least another ten years of healthy living 🙂❤️‍🩹.

@smotu, thank you for sharing more of what is behind that “ton of bricks” feeling. With retirement, recovering at home, and so much uncertainty about what you want the next chapter of your life to look like, I can understand why cardiac rehab feels important to you for more than just the physical recovery.

You mentioned wanting to use rehab to refocus on getting healthier, both physically and mentally. I’d like to bring @briarrose, @thankful and @cynaburst into the conversation because they have talked about cardiac rehab, and they may be able to share if it helps with confidence or a sense or normalcy after a heart event, or what part of rehab is particularly valuable, and more.

@smotu, have you been given a start date for cardiac rehab yet, and what are you most looking forward to being able to do again as you regain your strength and confidence?