Acute pericarditis after sternotomy

Posted by mikeneverwired @mikeneverwired, Jun 4 8:04am

Hi Folks,
I had a sternotomy a few months ago to repair two aneurisms in my ascending aorta. That all went well after a couple bouts of afib were resolved. Although my incision is healing well, I had a lot of chest swelling and pain near the lower part of my incision area. The doc did a CRP test (it was almost 10x normal levels) and diagnosed acute pericarditis. I am taking cochicine daily and the swelling is down and the pain is less, but both are 'still there', 6 weeks after starting cochicine. None of this is inhibiting my exercise, but when I lay down at night, I can still hear lung crackling when I take a deep breath. Is this a normal thing and should just be patient or ??
Thanks,

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gloaming | @gloaming | Jun 4 11:32am

I would advise patience for at least two more weeks. Colchicine and methotrexate take three months, usually, to be fully active, or so my readings tell me. My wife is about to start the latter for rheumatoid arthritis, and the physician warned her it will take three full months for full effect.

It's disappointing, the pericarditis, but it seems to be quite common after cardiac surgeries, even after internal catheterizations. Just stay actively monitoring yourself without developing anxiety if you can manage it. If things begin to go south, or have stalled, do not hesitate to let the specialist dealing with you know.

mikeneverwired | @mikeneverwired | Jun 4 11:52am

Thanks for that useful input. My doc did say 3 months but I am impatient, hoping for a faster recovery. I have had one setback when I over-exercised but am trying to moderate as I want this pericarditis gone for good and cannot wait to get off all these meds.