1. < Heart & Blood Health

Terrified: Soon to have open heart surgery, so many questions

Posted by mrsjaxx727 @mrsjaxx727, Nov 13, 2019

Soon to have open heart surgery and i am terrified aboit how much pain there will be of how long the ventalstor will be on me im terrified of it all..has anyone had this surgery and tell me expect or am i over thinking it ?

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mikeynorth | @mikeynorth | Mar 29, 2022

Good luck and my biggest recommendation is to be very friendly with the nurses and doctors. If they like you, it will go better.
Also, getting up and walking as soon as you are able.
I was careful how much pain mess they administered as I started to get hallucinations, so I only requested when necessary.
Mike

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1 reply
Teri | @tsc | Mar 31, 2022
In reply to @coralbells1 "How encouraging to read this! My surgeon is still not sure what he will do until..." + (show)
@coralbells1

How encouraging to read this! My surgeon is still not sure what he will do until he opens me up! I’m not concerned about the surgery, but the recovery! Surgeries go well with me, it’s the restless legs, bowels that have a mind of their own, the foggy brain, etc. that concerns me! I love to walk, but my bladder fell a few months ago and I was mentally and physically preparing for that surgery when my mitral valve started to have major issues. Now I’m preparing for open heart surgery and the major bladder surgery is pushed into the long away future. Thank you for the suggestion of pushing a cart (mine will be the little one at at Food Lion, because the ones at Wal Mart are so damaged they hurt my bladder). I love to walk in our woods, but I think I need an even, level surface at first!

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Hi @coralbells1, I had a mitral valve repair in May 2019 before I had any symptoms other than a heart murmur. The surgery was not very painful. I had some complications, like a build up of fluid in my pleural cavity and irregular heart beat. I wound up staying in the hospital for two weeks after the surgery. I agree with @mikeynorth you'll get better treatment if you are pleasant, cooperative and appreciative. I don't remember taking much medication for pain. The worst thing that happened was tubes inserted throgh my back to remove fluid (called bilateral pig tails) Ugh. They did get me up walking right away. Recovery was slow, I had some help from friends and could manage most chores (minimal) around the house. I'm glad I had the surgery when I did and I wish you the best.

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coralbells1 | @coralbells1 | Mar 31, 2022
In reply to @mikeynorth "Good luck and my biggest recommendation is to be very friendly with the nurses and doctors...." + (show)
@mikeynorth

Good luck and my biggest recommendation is to be very friendly with the nurses and doctors. If they like you, it will go better.
Also, getting up and walking as soon as you are able.
I was careful how much pain mess they administered as I started to get hallucinations, so I only requested when necessary.
Mike

Jump to this post

Thank you! I will be friendly with the staff as my Father and Mother were doctors and I would hear their comments at mealtime about problem patients! I usually don’t require a lot of pain medicine.

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1 reply
mikeynorth | @mikeynorth | Mar 31, 2022
In reply to @coralbells1 "Thank you! I will be friendly with the staff as my Father and Mother were doctors..." + (show)
@coralbells1

Thank you! I will be friendly with the staff as my Father and Mother were doctors and I would hear their comments at mealtime about problem patients! I usually don’t require a lot of pain medicine.

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Good luck coralbells. My stepdad was a dr and Mom a nurse.
All the best
Mike

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1 reply
lioness | @lioness | Mar 31, 2022

@coralbells1 I'm a retired nurse and yes coming pts got the worst treatments from aides ,I also had a triple bypass in 1996 you,ll be fine 🙂 attitude helps .I'm sure you ve been told this

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2 replies
coralbells1 | @coralbells1 | Apr 1, 2022
In reply to @mikeynorth "Good luck coralbells. My stepdad was a dr and Mom a nurse. All the best Mike" + (show)
@mikeynorth

Good luck coralbells. My stepdad was a dr and Mom a nurse.
All the best
Mike

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Thank you for your encouragement!

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coralbells1 | @coralbells1 | Apr 1, 2022
In reply to @lioness "@coralbells1 I'm a retired nurse and yes coming pts got the worst treatments from aides ,I..." + (show)
@lioness

@coralbells1 I'm a retired nurse and yes coming pts got the worst treatments from aides ,I also had a triple bypass in 1996 you,ll be fine 🙂 attitude helps .I'm sure you ve been told this

Jump to this post

I usually have a good attitude and I try to treat others the way I want to be treated. Thank you for your encouraging words!

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lioness | @lioness | Apr 1, 2022

@coralbells1 Your welcome you,ll be fine just smile when you go in

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1 reply
ihaq1 | @ihaq1 | Apr 2, 2022

i dont think that pain is the major problem usually...cardiologists are usually nice enough as are cardiac nurses...pain is something that is manageable...the problems usually are in complications ...any worries you have... talk to the surgeon about before rather than after...

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