At work, my desk is situated so that I can look out into the hall at a door. The door is partly made of glass so I can see what’s on the other side. I’m sure most people would find this distracting because the temptation to peek out at others is something we all do. What’s made this all the more interesting for me is that on the other side of the door is a ward of post-op patients. So every time I start to let my mind wander and look up, I’m reminded of my own time in hospital. And if I really think about it, it hasn’t been very long at all – my operation was in May but it feels a lifetime away.
Things have changed so much and I’m reminded about this every time I see one of the nurses patrolling the neighbouring ward with one of those damn machine-on-wheels saying “blood-pressure and pulse time...”. Even the rattling of the wheels is enough to remind me of those sleepless nights waiting to get disturbed by the nurse! And then there’s the visit from the families. I know I should be giving the patients some privacy, but as they can’t see me, I can’t help but watch as loved ones come over and read the paper beside them or try to cheer them up. The one thing I am glad about however is the fact that I can’t smell that hospital food when it’s brought around to the patients!
Thursday 10 December 2009
The Other Side of the Glass
Tuesday 17 November 2009
Wired
A lot of things have happened since my last post. After looking around for a job since my operation in May, I’ve finally got one. Well technically I have two part-time ones. They’re both Assistant Psychologist posts working with people living with chronic pain. Seems everything’s worked out quite nicely as I nabbed the positions when I’m finally fully fit! I should point out that it took me almost 100 applications to get these jobs, and that including me browsing a jobs website around a week after my surgery in the patient computer room (whilst pumped full of medication which made it extremely hard to read anything at all!).
On the topic of psychology...where have all the psychology bloggers gone?! Seems that everyone’s had to dash off into hiding after one anonymous blogger was outed to her company.
In terms of my heart there are a few things to mention. Sternum wires...god damn them! They leave these in you after sawing your ribcage open and it holds everything together during the recovery. They don’t bother to take it out as it would require another operation. I have a mental image of what my chest x-ray would look like...lots of jagged lines all over the place, tied in knots to hold the bones together. Why do I bring this up? Well I’ve noticed that I can feel them poking out slightly. If I arch my back out in a stretch I can feel a wire poking out uncomfortably. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, but it sure is annoying!
I went ahead and got the swine flu vaccination. Seems I’ve had a bad reaction to it as it’s sent my heart rate up to a 100 and given me some bad symptoms. I’m hoping these will pass...I worked hard to get my pulse back down to 70! So if you’re a patient and thinking of getting it, just consult your cardiologist. Opinion tends to vary depending on the cardiologist.
Part of my keloid scar has reduced thankfully, but it still looks hideous and sticks out. I’m considering the dreaded injection of steroids which apparently can help. Will decide a bit later on...
On the topic of psychology...where have all the psychology bloggers gone?! Seems that everyone’s had to dash off into hiding after one anonymous blogger was outed to her company.
In terms of my heart there are a few things to mention. Sternum wires...god damn them! They leave these in you after sawing your ribcage open and it holds everything together during the recovery. They don’t bother to take it out as it would require another operation. I have a mental image of what my chest x-ray would look like...lots of jagged lines all over the place, tied in knots to hold the bones together. Why do I bring this up? Well I’ve noticed that I can feel them poking out slightly. If I arch my back out in a stretch I can feel a wire poking out uncomfortably. I don’t think it’s anything to worry about, but it sure is annoying!
I went ahead and got the swine flu vaccination. Seems I’ve had a bad reaction to it as it’s sent my heart rate up to a 100 and given me some bad symptoms. I’m hoping these will pass...I worked hard to get my pulse back down to 70! So if you’re a patient and thinking of getting it, just consult your cardiologist. Opinion tends to vary depending on the cardiologist.
Part of my keloid scar has reduced thankfully, but it still looks hideous and sticks out. I’m considering the dreaded injection of steroids which apparently can help. Will decide a bit later on...
Thursday 17 September 2009
I'm Strong to the Finish, when I Eats Me Spinach
Is it just me or are all GPs useless? Cue my rant:
Every time I visit my GP I wonder how the hell he’s managed to keep his job for so long. Instead of looking at you while you speak, he stares at the computer. This is no exaggeration. Recalling my last visit to him, I think the only time he looked at me was to give me my prescription. It’s quite worrying to be honest because he doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in patients so if I had personal problems I would be reluctant to discuss them with him. But saying all that, he’s the perfect doctor compared to his colleague.
I had an appointment with her today about my INR. My blood is clotting too quickly (the level is 1.6) and that’s very dangerous for someone in my position because I’m at a big risk of a stroke as the blood can clot on my mechanical heart valve; and that clot can travel to the brain. Now the usual way doctors and nurses calculate how much medicine I need to take is with a computer. Simple? Not for this specific doctor I saw today. She seemed to think calculating it by a chart would be better than the computer. That made me cautious but I thought, hey, she’s the doctor after all. She then said I should come back tomorrow. TOMORROW?! It’s an emergency considering how low my blood is and she wants me to wait a day? I then told her exactly how to open the program on the computer to calculate the dosage, but she didn’t trust me. In the end I asked for my original doctor to calculate it and ring me back. Which he did. Thank god. He might not look at me but at least he knows what he’s doing! It’s quite scary to think these people are in control of my anti-coagulation levels...
In terms of why my INR is so low...I'm not sure. It's been stable for the last month or so, and the only thing I can think of is that I had spinach two days ago. Apparantly it's high in Vitamin K, which interacts with my medicine and causes the blood to clot quicker...Damn...I better be more careful from now on. I also learnt that if your heart beats very rapidly then there is a risk of a clot forming. This little piece of information has torn apart my plans for sky diving next year. God damn it...what a rubbish day.
Every time I visit my GP I wonder how the hell he’s managed to keep his job for so long. Instead of looking at you while you speak, he stares at the computer. This is no exaggeration. Recalling my last visit to him, I think the only time he looked at me was to give me my prescription. It’s quite worrying to be honest because he doesn’t exactly inspire confidence in patients so if I had personal problems I would be reluctant to discuss them with him. But saying all that, he’s the perfect doctor compared to his colleague.
I had an appointment with her today about my INR. My blood is clotting too quickly (the level is 1.6) and that’s very dangerous for someone in my position because I’m at a big risk of a stroke as the blood can clot on my mechanical heart valve; and that clot can travel to the brain. Now the usual way doctors and nurses calculate how much medicine I need to take is with a computer. Simple? Not for this specific doctor I saw today. She seemed to think calculating it by a chart would be better than the computer. That made me cautious but I thought, hey, she’s the doctor after all. She then said I should come back tomorrow. TOMORROW?! It’s an emergency considering how low my blood is and she wants me to wait a day? I then told her exactly how to open the program on the computer to calculate the dosage, but she didn’t trust me. In the end I asked for my original doctor to calculate it and ring me back. Which he did. Thank god. He might not look at me but at least he knows what he’s doing! It’s quite scary to think these people are in control of my anti-coagulation levels...
In terms of why my INR is so low...I'm not sure. It's been stable for the last month or so, and the only thing I can think of is that I had spinach two days ago. Apparantly it's high in Vitamin K, which interacts with my medicine and causes the blood to clot quicker...Damn...I better be more careful from now on. I also learnt that if your heart beats very rapidly then there is a risk of a clot forming. This little piece of information has torn apart my plans for sky diving next year. God damn it...what a rubbish day.
Saturday 12 September 2009
Healin' Tape
As you’ve probably noticed I haven’t been updating my blog as regularly as I used to. One of the main reasons for that was because, heart-related, there wasn’t much to say. The aim of the blog had always been to provide a site where future patients could come and see what the experience would be like before their own surgery. And I felt if I deviated off that track and wrote about other things...well that wouldn’t be good! But I am aware that a blog that gets updated rarely would not get read...so give me some feed back people! Is it just heart related stuff that you’re after or other topics too?
Getting back on track, I consider myself pretty healthy now. In fact, fully recovered. It’s strange because my family and friends always ask how I am and it’s getting quite irritating now. Although I shouldn’t be annoyed because they mean well! I think it’s always harder on them because they had to witness what I went through and it always looks worse to them. That’s not to say it was a walk in the park! So now I’m doing a lot of running, weights, and even bought an exercise bike. I know, I’m turning in to a fitness freak.
The only sign of my surgery is the scar. It’s still quite unsightly because it’s raised a rather large (keloid scar). My GP offered my the option of injecting the scar with a steroid which can help...but the stories I’ve heard of how painful that is made me refuse. So instead he offered me something called Haelan Tape. Keep that in mind if you have a keloid scar yourself! I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how annoying those things are and Haelan Tape actually works. It’s like Sellotape that you place on the scar and throughout the day it will release some form of steroid on to the scar to reduce the size. I’ve been using it for about 2-3 weeks and the size of the scar has reduced dramatically. I would post a picture but I don’t think you’d like to see that! Hopefully it will go away eventually.
I’m still taking Warfarin (obviously, otherwise I’d be dead!)and my anticoagulation level is pretty much stable (if you don’t know what I’m talking about shame on you! Have a read of some of my older posts to do with INR/anticoagulation/Warfarin). I know have to see the nurse every two months or so, which is great compared to the 3 times a week when my INR was unstable after the operation.
Getting back on track, I consider myself pretty healthy now. In fact, fully recovered. It’s strange because my family and friends always ask how I am and it’s getting quite irritating now. Although I shouldn’t be annoyed because they mean well! I think it’s always harder on them because they had to witness what I went through and it always looks worse to them. That’s not to say it was a walk in the park! So now I’m doing a lot of running, weights, and even bought an exercise bike. I know, I’m turning in to a fitness freak.
The only sign of my surgery is the scar. It’s still quite unsightly because it’s raised a rather large (keloid scar). My GP offered my the option of injecting the scar with a steroid which can help...but the stories I’ve heard of how painful that is made me refuse. So instead he offered me something called Haelan Tape. Keep that in mind if you have a keloid scar yourself! I’m sure you don’t need me to tell you how annoying those things are and Haelan Tape actually works. It’s like Sellotape that you place on the scar and throughout the day it will release some form of steroid on to the scar to reduce the size. I’ve been using it for about 2-3 weeks and the size of the scar has reduced dramatically. I would post a picture but I don’t think you’d like to see that! Hopefully it will go away eventually.
I’m still taking Warfarin (obviously, otherwise I’d be dead!)and my anticoagulation level is pretty much stable (if you don’t know what I’m talking about shame on you! Have a read of some of my older posts to do with INR/anticoagulation/Warfarin). I know have to see the nurse every two months or so, which is great compared to the 3 times a week when my INR was unstable after the operation.
Sunday 2 August 2009
Temptation
Today was the first time I was confronted with beer since my operation. I went out and a few people had some pints...and I have to say I was giving a few glances to those glasses. It was like something out of an M&S commercial (to my non-English readers, M&S have some amazing food advert videos that leave you wanting to lick the television screen). Those glasses had drops of water forming because of how cold the drink was...and the head of the drink was perfect...and the colour. God I sound like such a freak! Being on Warfarin doesn’t mean you’re entirely banned from alcohol, but you do have to be careful. It interacts with the medication and can make your blood clot quicker/slower, depending on the individual. And right now as my anti-coagulation level isn’t stable, i’d rather not start alcohol yet. Part of me (the sensible part) is just saying to not bother with drink. I used to drink to get drunk...but I don’t know now...we’ll see!
Now on another topic, I’m aware I have two types of readers: people interested in aortic valve replacement, and then a few psychology readers. Now to not alienate either side...I’m going to attempt to bring them together. Let’s go: I have a job interview for an Assistant Psychologist which just seems perfect for me. Part of it involves giving psychoeducational talks to cardiac rehabilitation patients. The other part is involved with chronic pain (something I have good experience in already). It’s like the job was written just for me! I really feel I could make a difference and work with passion in the cardiac rehabilitation part of the job. I would have a really good understanding of what patients are going through...the ups and the downs, the physical aspect...and I think clients would appreciate what I had to say because I have gone through the process myself.
On another note, I’ve started to do more activities. Namely football in the garden with my younger brother. I used to get really tired doing this prior to the operation (and even fainted once – the warning sign to have my operation), but now I’ve noticed a slight increase in my ability. Well that, or I’m just seeing an improvement when it’s not there. I’m sure there is one...I mean my valve has doubled in size to what is considered normal, so it means I’m getting plenty more blood around my body. Only time will tell I guess!
Now on another topic, I’m aware I have two types of readers: people interested in aortic valve replacement, and then a few psychology readers. Now to not alienate either side...I’m going to attempt to bring them together. Let’s go: I have a job interview for an Assistant Psychologist which just seems perfect for me. Part of it involves giving psychoeducational talks to cardiac rehabilitation patients. The other part is involved with chronic pain (something I have good experience in already). It’s like the job was written just for me! I really feel I could make a difference and work with passion in the cardiac rehabilitation part of the job. I would have a really good understanding of what patients are going through...the ups and the downs, the physical aspect...and I think clients would appreciate what I had to say because I have gone through the process myself.
On another note, I’ve started to do more activities. Namely football in the garden with my younger brother. I used to get really tired doing this prior to the operation (and even fainted once – the warning sign to have my operation), but now I’ve noticed a slight increase in my ability. Well that, or I’m just seeing an improvement when it’s not there. I’m sure there is one...I mean my valve has doubled in size to what is considered normal, so it means I’m getting plenty more blood around my body. Only time will tell I guess!
Saturday 25 July 2009
Resting Heart Rates
So, interview over with. My ticker coped quite well mainly because I wasn’t too stressed out. There weren’t any questions that really stumped me so all was good. I thought that would be the worst kind of situation for me to be in after major heart surgery, but it appears I was wrong. The next day I found out I had 2 more interviews...one of them involving a presentation. Now I’ve always found these stressful! Being up there forced to talk about something will definitely make me go red, and get my heart pumping. But I know, I should really stop complaining! I’m back on my feet doing exercise so a little presentation won’t really do too much harm!
I started to some weights as well against the advice of my cardiologist. He told me that when you do weights it can put an added pressure on the heart because of the blood vessels in the arm (you can tell I’m not medical doctor!). He said that based on this, although there was no evidence to support his theory, that it could end up making my aortic root grow slightly larger than the valve. Now if there was evidence for this I would have listened to him... But on a forum I visit dedicated to people who have had valve replacement, there are plenty of people doing weights with their doctors’ knowledge and doing just fine! I think I have to exercise some caution in the things I do but I’m not just going to limit myself off from activities. I’m only 23 after all!
Oh, and thanks for the comments guys, nice to know people are actually reading the blog!
I was browsing the internet and came across this little piece of information. The average heart rate should be around 70-75 for most people. Which is where I seem to be falling at the moment. My aim is to get it right down to the 60s (lower heart rate is better!).
I'm also beginning to check my INR less often. INR is a number that tells you how fast your blood clots. 1 = normal. With someone on anticoagulation (Warfarin), the number rises meaning the blood takes longer to clot. My INR seems fairly stable now and exactly within my target range of 2.5. So at the moment I'm checking it once a week now (initially it was every 2 days!). So that's another weight off my shoulders. In terms of icreased bleeding or bruising...I really haven't noticed a difference. I don't seem to get bruised any easier than I did before I started taking the Warfarin so I'm happy with that too!
I started to some weights as well against the advice of my cardiologist. He told me that when you do weights it can put an added pressure on the heart because of the blood vessels in the arm (you can tell I’m not medical doctor!). He said that based on this, although there was no evidence to support his theory, that it could end up making my aortic root grow slightly larger than the valve. Now if there was evidence for this I would have listened to him... But on a forum I visit dedicated to people who have had valve replacement, there are plenty of people doing weights with their doctors’ knowledge and doing just fine! I think I have to exercise some caution in the things I do but I’m not just going to limit myself off from activities. I’m only 23 after all!
Oh, and thanks for the comments guys, nice to know people are actually reading the blog!
I was browsing the internet and came across this little piece of information. The average heart rate should be around 70-75 for most people. Which is where I seem to be falling at the moment. My aim is to get it right down to the 60s (lower heart rate is better!).
I'm also beginning to check my INR less often. INR is a number that tells you how fast your blood clots. 1 = normal. With someone on anticoagulation (Warfarin), the number rises meaning the blood takes longer to clot. My INR seems fairly stable now and exactly within my target range of 2.5. So at the moment I'm checking it once a week now (initially it was every 2 days!). So that's another weight off my shoulders. In terms of icreased bleeding or bruising...I really haven't noticed a difference. I don't seem to get bruised any easier than I did before I started taking the Warfarin so I'm happy with that too!
Saturday 18 July 2009
Interview, Job Offers and a Racing Heart
I went to see my cardiologist and all seems well. The only issue is that I have developed something called a keloid scar. A keloid scar looks elevated and as it’s been bloated right up, and is very pink. But I can live with that. The cardiologist says that some people are just prone to developing it after surgery and that is should heal on its own. However, a quick search on Google tells me it might not be common for keloids to heal...-gasp- lying doctor! Well either way I’m not too worried because as long as my heart is functioning then the scar can look however it wants!
Now for the big question – swine flu. Rest assured people, swine flu is not more risky for people with valve replacement! However, my GP did say that if I do feel any flu symptoms they will put me straight on the medicine as a precaution. And in terms of normal flu, it now seems that I have to be given a flu jab every winter just like my granddad! I actually don’t mind this either because I hate getting the flu so bring on the jab!
Now another topic. In terms of any dental appointments. For those of you that are new to this topic, it’s common for heart patients to have antibiotics before any type of dental procedure because the nasty stuff in your mouth can go straight to your heart and cause an infection. Now for some reason the guidelines have been changed saying there is no evidence that antibiotics help and your dentist will probably tell you that you don’t need it. Don’t listen to him! There is a lot of criticism about this decision to say antibiotics aren’t needed, and there doesn’t appear to be any clear evidence either way. So until some researchers out there give some hard evidence, just take the extra precaution. Especially if you have a mechanical valve.
I feel like I’m writing a blog for the NHS...so let’s add a personal touch before I bore you all. My heart rate seems to be going down. On leaving hospital it was stuck around 90-100 bpm. What I’ve noticed for myself is that with exercise, the resting heart rate seems to go down. Half an hour on the treadmill every few days or so does the trick. Anyway, right now it’s slipped down to the 80 point (high 70s on a good day!) which is great. The only problem I had was being thrown into a stressful situation – a meeting with a researcher and his team to discuss a project. My heart was racing throughout – partly because this researcher can be very intimidating at times, but also because I was offered a job! He has money to throw at a project I’ve developed, however he wants to take control and turn it in to something else with a different focus. I think it will benefit the clients I see but I’m going to turn down the job (I’m mad I know). And on the job front I also received my first interview!! That also sent my heart racing but I haven’t noticed any problems. My interview is next Tuesday and I just hope I can stay calm and not have anything strange happen – e.g. suddenly get chest pains and get distracted because of my worries!
P.S. For the person who found this blog wanting to know about sex... Yes you can have sex after valve replacement. As soon as you can handle stairs then you can go right ahead...just use your common sense.
P.P.S. Anyone with any questions about the whole surgery experience, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll answer it in my next post if I can!
Now for the big question – swine flu. Rest assured people, swine flu is not more risky for people with valve replacement! However, my GP did say that if I do feel any flu symptoms they will put me straight on the medicine as a precaution. And in terms of normal flu, it now seems that I have to be given a flu jab every winter just like my granddad! I actually don’t mind this either because I hate getting the flu so bring on the jab!
Now another topic. In terms of any dental appointments. For those of you that are new to this topic, it’s common for heart patients to have antibiotics before any type of dental procedure because the nasty stuff in your mouth can go straight to your heart and cause an infection. Now for some reason the guidelines have been changed saying there is no evidence that antibiotics help and your dentist will probably tell you that you don’t need it. Don’t listen to him! There is a lot of criticism about this decision to say antibiotics aren’t needed, and there doesn’t appear to be any clear evidence either way. So until some researchers out there give some hard evidence, just take the extra precaution. Especially if you have a mechanical valve.
I feel like I’m writing a blog for the NHS...so let’s add a personal touch before I bore you all. My heart rate seems to be going down. On leaving hospital it was stuck around 90-100 bpm. What I’ve noticed for myself is that with exercise, the resting heart rate seems to go down. Half an hour on the treadmill every few days or so does the trick. Anyway, right now it’s slipped down to the 80 point (high 70s on a good day!) which is great. The only problem I had was being thrown into a stressful situation – a meeting with a researcher and his team to discuss a project. My heart was racing throughout – partly because this researcher can be very intimidating at times, but also because I was offered a job! He has money to throw at a project I’ve developed, however he wants to take control and turn it in to something else with a different focus. I think it will benefit the clients I see but I’m going to turn down the job (I’m mad I know). And on the job front I also received my first interview!! That also sent my heart racing but I haven’t noticed any problems. My interview is next Tuesday and I just hope I can stay calm and not have anything strange happen – e.g. suddenly get chest pains and get distracted because of my worries!
P.S. For the person who found this blog wanting to know about sex... Yes you can have sex after valve replacement. As soon as you can handle stairs then you can go right ahead...just use your common sense.
P.P.S. Anyone with any questions about the whole surgery experience, feel free to leave a comment and I’ll answer it in my next post if I can!
Sunday 12 July 2009
Please Let Me Jump Out of a Plane After Life Threatening Surgery...
So I was curious to see what the main reason was for visitors stumbling upon this blog (other than being a regular reader). To my surprise...nearly every person who finds this from Google is wanting information on swine flu and aortic valve replacement. Now I’m not here to mock anyone but I did find how one person found this site funny: “Will having a pig valve give me swine flu?” That did put a smile to my face but I felt it was important to say that you will not get swine flu like that! If you catch it, it will be from another person. You have nothing to worry about having a pig valve if you choose that route.
The rest of the people seemed to want information on swine flu and valve replacement in general. Now I don’t have the answers concerning the risk to valve replacement patients yet, but I am seeing my cardiologist tomorrow and plan to ask him this question and will put the answers on here for anyone curious.
My appointment tomorrow is the usual follow up to check how my sternum and scar are healing, and to see how my heart is. I thought it was a good idea to make a list of questions I wanted to ask:
• Will I be able to do sky diving?
• Is the yellow gross puss normal (I only have a tiny bit left on the scar)
• Will I be able to fly a plane? No, seriously. (I want to get a license for that!)
• When can I start running? (I’ve only been doing brisk walking now)
• When can I do weights?
I don’t plan to ask when I can go back to work. I already know that I can, but plan to visit my GP and give a sob story of how the supermarket I work for makes me pull heavy cages and life heavy things. Hopefully I can get a month extra off! Oh...by the way, don’t call me a cashier! Whenever someone asks what my career is I casually say Research Assistant (and conveniently miss out the voluntary part!)
As an update of where I’m at 8 weeks post-op...I feel no pain really apart from when I wake upin the morning. Even then, this is usually minimal. Sneezing can still make me feel like a bomb has just gone off in my chest but apart from that, it’s okay! I’m also walking very briskly now (at a speed of 6km an hour). I tend to walk about 3km a day – gets you very sweaty after all that work. I feel like I can if I wanted to but want to wait to see what the doctor says first tomorrow. I think I’m recovering quite quickly but that might be down to my young age. I can’t wait to test myself on the treadmill to see if there’s an improvement in my stamina like I was promise! Oh, and before I forget, my pulse tends to rest around 90bmp. I’m not happy about that, but have noticed if I do regular exercise it will come down. If not, then it goes back up. Need to ask the cardiologist about that.
The rest of the people seemed to want information on swine flu and valve replacement in general. Now I don’t have the answers concerning the risk to valve replacement patients yet, but I am seeing my cardiologist tomorrow and plan to ask him this question and will put the answers on here for anyone curious.
My appointment tomorrow is the usual follow up to check how my sternum and scar are healing, and to see how my heart is. I thought it was a good idea to make a list of questions I wanted to ask:
• Will I be able to do sky diving?
• Is the yellow gross puss normal (I only have a tiny bit left on the scar)
• Will I be able to fly a plane? No, seriously. (I want to get a license for that!)
• When can I start running? (I’ve only been doing brisk walking now)
• When can I do weights?
I don’t plan to ask when I can go back to work. I already know that I can, but plan to visit my GP and give a sob story of how the supermarket I work for makes me pull heavy cages and life heavy things. Hopefully I can get a month extra off! Oh...by the way, don’t call me a cashier! Whenever someone asks what my career is I casually say Research Assistant (and conveniently miss out the voluntary part!)
As an update of where I’m at 8 weeks post-op...I feel no pain really apart from when I wake upin the morning. Even then, this is usually minimal. Sneezing can still make me feel like a bomb has just gone off in my chest but apart from that, it’s okay! I’m also walking very briskly now (at a speed of 6km an hour). I tend to walk about 3km a day – gets you very sweaty after all that work. I feel like I can if I wanted to but want to wait to see what the doctor says first tomorrow. I think I’m recovering quite quickly but that might be down to my young age. I can’t wait to test myself on the treadmill to see if there’s an improvement in my stamina like I was promise! Oh, and before I forget, my pulse tends to rest around 90bmp. I’m not happy about that, but have noticed if I do regular exercise it will come down. If not, then it goes back up. Need to ask the cardiologist about that.
Sunday 5 July 2009
Kindness, Samaritans, and All that Type of Jazz
Going through a major operation makes you realise how kind people can be. From the time in hospital people who you might not have thought gave a damn about you will turn up to give you support. Now I’m not complaining about this at all – it really is wonderful to know people care and it certainly has changed the way a view different people and made me appreciate distant family members more. And out of hospital I’ve received cards from so many people I don’t even know. For example, my mum’s work colleagues got together to write out a very nice card and give some gift vouchers. Now the cynic in me just thinks they’re doing that because they have to, but no. It doesn’t stop there. Some of her colleagues have actually gone on (religious) fasts when I was in hospital as a kind of prayer for me to get better. Now that really is touching – people you don’t even know doing that for you. I used to think people like this were few and far between but this experience has shown me there really are lots of nice people out there. God, I sound like a tree-hugging hippie full of love now!
Apparently my friend said that people at the place I volunteer at have been asking about me too. The next time I go there I need to make sure to say hello to everyone I pass because I don’t want to offend these people who I don’t know, but know me. Is that a bad thing? I really don’t know how they know me because I’m sure I’ve not met them – maybe I’m one of those terrible people who forget people. Oh damn, that has to change if that’s the case!
Also, in an entirely unrelated bit of information, I’ve applied to volunteer at the Samaritans. And no I’m not seeing the world in a new light now before you start rolling your eyes! I actually think it will be a good perspective to help people who have/are going through things a lot worse than me. And hey, it should help me develop as a person and maybe get one of those elusive Assistant Psychologist jobs!
Apparently my friend said that people at the place I volunteer at have been asking about me too. The next time I go there I need to make sure to say hello to everyone I pass because I don’t want to offend these people who I don’t know, but know me. Is that a bad thing? I really don’t know how they know me because I’m sure I’ve not met them – maybe I’m one of those terrible people who forget people. Oh damn, that has to change if that’s the case!
Also, in an entirely unrelated bit of information, I’ve applied to volunteer at the Samaritans. And no I’m not seeing the world in a new light now before you start rolling your eyes! I actually think it will be a good perspective to help people who have/are going through things a lot worse than me. And hey, it should help me develop as a person and maybe get one of those elusive Assistant Psychologist jobs!
Friday 26 June 2009
Drugs, Cheese, and Puss
So apparently I have yet another infection. Fun times! This time it’s on my scar. Puss = bad. No matter how much you have of it, it pretty much means there is an infection. So if any of you ever get into that situation after surgery, go straight to your GP. They’ve given me antibiotics and I don’t seem to see any more puss but I still won’t be happy until I’ve seen my cardiologist in 2 weeks time. GPs just seem to be...rubbish.
Now, for life with a mechanical valve. For one thing there is a constant ticking every time the heart beats. Before my operation I was pretty worried about this because if I came to hate the sound...I would be pretty much stuck with it. And there’s no way of listening to it before you have the surgery! The sound comes from the two mechanical valve leaflets opening and closing. Having lived with it for a month now I can safely say that no-one has anything to worry about this. A lot of the time I just don’t hear it – whether I’ve blocked it out or not I don’t know. IN fact, I’m pretty sure my family hear it more than I do. Even when I do hear it, it’s so soft that it just doesn’t get annoying. It’s become part of me, like the sensation of my heartbeat.
Of course having a mechanical valve means taking Warfarin (aka Coumadin in America) for the rest of my life. Not to go in to the details again as I’ve covered this at the beginning of my blog when it started, but Warfarin is an anti-coagulant which slows down how quickly blood will clot. This is important because normal blood will clot on the valve and cause a stroke. The other side is that if the blood is too anti-coagulated (i.e. takes too long to clot), it can cause a fatal bleed (e.g. in the brain).
This sounded terrifying to me before the operation but I will say that living on Warfarin really is a breeze. Yes you have to go for regular blood checks, but if you’re confident enough you can do these independently. I recently bought a machine which checks how anti-coagulated my blood is. This means I can test at home in my own time, then email the results to my nurse/GP. They will then calculate how much dose of Warfarin I need. I will say that if you’re not willing to purchase one of these machines then you will have to go to your GP/clinic every week or so, which can be a hassle for working people.
There are a lot of myths regarding Warfarin but if you do some reading around it should help calm your nerves. Yes Warfarin interacts with a huge amount of things – Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Broccoli (no loss there), Cheese (gasp!). The list is endless. And it’s not just limited to food and drugs. Even the amount you exercise can impact on your anti-coagulation level. But for people considering having a mechanical valve, the key thing to remember is you don’t have to change your life greatly. I still eat just how I used to. You don’t alter your diet, but the dosage of Warfarin you take. As for drugs...well I was never one for them and you can still take paracetamol for aches and pains. The fact that you bleed more easily shouldn’t be an issue – the only time it will be a problem is in a trauma situation (e.g. a car crash).
Now, for life with a mechanical valve. For one thing there is a constant ticking every time the heart beats. Before my operation I was pretty worried about this because if I came to hate the sound...I would be pretty much stuck with it. And there’s no way of listening to it before you have the surgery! The sound comes from the two mechanical valve leaflets opening and closing. Having lived with it for a month now I can safely say that no-one has anything to worry about this. A lot of the time I just don’t hear it – whether I’ve blocked it out or not I don’t know. IN fact, I’m pretty sure my family hear it more than I do. Even when I do hear it, it’s so soft that it just doesn’t get annoying. It’s become part of me, like the sensation of my heartbeat.
Of course having a mechanical valve means taking Warfarin (aka Coumadin in America) for the rest of my life. Not to go in to the details again as I’ve covered this at the beginning of my blog when it started, but Warfarin is an anti-coagulant which slows down how quickly blood will clot. This is important because normal blood will clot on the valve and cause a stroke. The other side is that if the blood is too anti-coagulated (i.e. takes too long to clot), it can cause a fatal bleed (e.g. in the brain).
This sounded terrifying to me before the operation but I will say that living on Warfarin really is a breeze. Yes you have to go for regular blood checks, but if you’re confident enough you can do these independently. I recently bought a machine which checks how anti-coagulated my blood is. This means I can test at home in my own time, then email the results to my nurse/GP. They will then calculate how much dose of Warfarin I need. I will say that if you’re not willing to purchase one of these machines then you will have to go to your GP/clinic every week or so, which can be a hassle for working people.
There are a lot of myths regarding Warfarin but if you do some reading around it should help calm your nerves. Yes Warfarin interacts with a huge amount of things – Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Broccoli (no loss there), Cheese (gasp!). The list is endless. And it’s not just limited to food and drugs. Even the amount you exercise can impact on your anti-coagulation level. But for people considering having a mechanical valve, the key thing to remember is you don’t have to change your life greatly. I still eat just how I used to. You don’t alter your diet, but the dosage of Warfarin you take. As for drugs...well I was never one for them and you can still take paracetamol for aches and pains. The fact that you bleed more easily shouldn’t be an issue – the only time it will be a problem is in a trauma situation (e.g. a car crash).
Saturday 20 June 2009
Scar
So considering it’s exactly one month post-op, I thought it would be best to talk about my scar. A lot of people worry about this, but personally I’m not too concerned. A scar is a scar and as long as your heart it ticking away it shouldn’t be an issue. Admittedly, straight after surgery it might not look pretty. Red and black scabs will form over it and you mustn’t get it wet. But fear not if you’re going to have the surgery! The scabs will start to fall away and be replaced by a pinkish line where new skin has grown. If you are concerned about the aesthetics of the scar the most important thing is not to let sunlight get on it for the first year for an extended period of time because it will become more prominent. Eventually it will became faint, but it will always be there. Personally I think it ‘adds character’! It’s pretty unique and I’m beginning to like it already!
It’s also remarkable at how quickly the scar heals. For those curious, here’s a picture of mine one month after surgery:
For those not too familiar with such things it might look a bit repulsive (my brother still can’t look at it!), but apparently it’s quite a good scar. A nurse actually said it was the best scar she had seen. In time I’m expecting the pink and red to disappear and be replaced by a fine line. But it will always be there and I’m happy with that. For those of you who are considering key-hole surgery to avoid having a big scar, I’d just like to add my two cents... It’s really not a big issue and why would you want to limit the accessibility to the heart just so you can have a smaller scar. Quite a few surgeons have spoken against this type of surgery because they feel it limits what they can do in unexpected circumstances.
Now, for anyone wondering if this blog has anything worth reading now that my surgery is over I just have to say YES IT WILL! There’s the whole issue of how to live life on anti-coagulation and a mechanical valve, which I know a lot of future patients want information about!
It’s also remarkable at how quickly the scar heals. For those curious, here’s a picture of mine one month after surgery:
For those not too familiar with such things it might look a bit repulsive (my brother still can’t look at it!), but apparently it’s quite a good scar. A nurse actually said it was the best scar she had seen. In time I’m expecting the pink and red to disappear and be replaced by a fine line. But it will always be there and I’m happy with that. For those of you who are considering key-hole surgery to avoid having a big scar, I’d just like to add my two cents... It’s really not a big issue and why would you want to limit the accessibility to the heart just so you can have a smaller scar. Quite a few surgeons have spoken against this type of surgery because they feel it limits what they can do in unexpected circumstances.
Now, for anyone wondering if this blog has anything worth reading now that my surgery is over I just have to say YES IT WILL! There’s the whole issue of how to live life on anti-coagulation and a mechanical valve, which I know a lot of future patients want information about!
Wednesday 17 June 2009
Wordle, Wordle, Wordle!
Okay so I've got tagged in this by Sonia so thought I'd give it a go. It's from a thing called Wordle which creates 'Word Clouds' from different websites as well as words you put into it. So I thought it'd be interesting to see what this blog looked like as a Wordle...
See if you can find the sentence - "Good Heart Get Bad". Thank you for the positive thinking Wordle! Anyway, I thought this one looked a bit doom and gloom so I tried one with what I'm thinking at the moment:
You can tell someone's been applying to a lot of jobs today!
I'm not sure how the tagging thing words but I tag everyone (is that allowed?! I call it lazy tagging; Mass tag) to do one as well.
See if you can find the sentence - "Good Heart Get Bad". Thank you for the positive thinking Wordle! Anyway, I thought this one looked a bit doom and gloom so I tried one with what I'm thinking at the moment:
You can tell someone's been applying to a lot of jobs today!
I'm not sure how the tagging thing words but I tag everyone (is that allowed?! I call it lazy tagging; Mass tag) to do one as well.
Sunday 14 June 2009
The Operation - Live
For those of you who want to see what the surgery entails, head on over to: www.channel4.com/explore/surgerylive/surgical1b.html
You can watch the whole show on 4 on Demand if you're in the UK. It's a fascinating programme where they show the surgeon repairing a mitral valve. This came on television when I was in the hospital but there was no way I could watch it. After recovering a bit and when I was at home, only then could I watch it! I will say if you're going to have surgery soon, think carefully if you want to watch this...
You can watch the whole show on 4 on Demand if you're in the UK. It's a fascinating programme where they show the surgeon repairing a mitral valve. This came on television when I was in the hospital but there was no way I could watch it. After recovering a bit and when I was at home, only then could I watch it! I will say if you're going to have surgery soon, think carefully if you want to watch this...
Thursday 11 June 2009
Home Time!
So, fluid around the heart after my initial operation. Apparently this is ‘usual’ in patients who have heart surgery. You can also get fluid in the lungs too which can also be drained. For the fluid around the heart I was put under general anaesthetic again because they take a needle and insert it towards your heart to drain the fluid. Not something you want done whilst you are awake! I woke from the operation just as they were moving me off the operating table and boy was I in a lot of pain. But I kept reminding myself it was nothing compared to having your heart cut open. This seemed to clear up my coughing and I felt a bit better.
So finally, could I go home? No. I had an infection – E. coli. I go into hospital to get one thing fixed and I pick up a damn infection! It was at this point I stopped setting myself goal posts on when I would be going home because it just ended up disappointing me when it didn’t happen. My family were great and continued to come every morning and evening to bring me food and keep me company. I do wonder that if I had the operation when I was much older like most patients, would I have coped as well?
The days went on and they gave me antibiotics to tackle the infection and after a grand total of 2 and half weeks, I was finally released! I had planned on being in there for 5/6 days but in the end, what’s another week or so? I left a card for all the nurses and health care assistants – they really do such a great job and get paid so little for the long shifts they do. Don’t ever be rude to them if you’re in hospital yourself! They keep the whole place ticking.
On a different point, the experience has told me not to apply for a health care assistant job in the mental health field. I really could not handle the long shifts and I think the things they have to put up with are very difficult. I totally respect anyone who has gone down that route for psychology though because in a way it is good hands on experience.
The moment you step outside the hospital you feel better. The fresh air, seeing everyone on the buses going to various places. It all helps. Luckily I didn’t have to go on public transport because that would have been difficult – can you imagine just being released after open heart surgery and going on the London Underground at rush hour?!
So finally, could I go home? No. I had an infection – E. coli. I go into hospital to get one thing fixed and I pick up a damn infection! It was at this point I stopped setting myself goal posts on when I would be going home because it just ended up disappointing me when it didn’t happen. My family were great and continued to come every morning and evening to bring me food and keep me company. I do wonder that if I had the operation when I was much older like most patients, would I have coped as well?
The days went on and they gave me antibiotics to tackle the infection and after a grand total of 2 and half weeks, I was finally released! I had planned on being in there for 5/6 days but in the end, what’s another week or so? I left a card for all the nurses and health care assistants – they really do such a great job and get paid so little for the long shifts they do. Don’t ever be rude to them if you’re in hospital yourself! They keep the whole place ticking.
On a different point, the experience has told me not to apply for a health care assistant job in the mental health field. I really could not handle the long shifts and I think the things they have to put up with are very difficult. I totally respect anyone who has gone down that route for psychology though because in a way it is good hands on experience.
The moment you step outside the hospital you feel better. The fresh air, seeing everyone on the buses going to various places. It all helps. Luckily I didn’t have to go on public transport because that would have been difficult – can you imagine just being released after open heart surgery and going on the London Underground at rush hour?!
Tuesday 9 June 2009
The Nice Nazi
When I arrived at the third floor I was given a shared room with another patient. Something I wasn’t happy with but given my situation, anything was better than being in ITU. I was hooked up to a lot of machines which were all very temperamental. The IV machine would go berserk if you bent your arm and would not shut up until a nurse heard it and switched it off. The good thing however was that in such a state, you don’t have to get up to use the loo. After the operation you are given the honour of having a catheter stuck right up you. Not to get in the details but it took a few days for me to gain the courage to look down to how the catheter was attached. Let’s just say you do not want to accidently pull the tube or worse still – have someone step on it and pull it with their foot!
Moving on to more prettier things (I know, this post creates such wonderful images doesn’t it?!), you won’t be allowed to have a shower for a good few days. This is because of the wound on your chest and the pacing wires which hang out of your wound. I think they’re there to set the pace of the heart if anything bad happens and you’re not meant to get them wet. Either way, not having a shower for a good few days is NOT nice. The smell is awful and I found myself apologising every time someone came close! So a word of warning for future patients – take deodorant with you!
Now you might remember a few posts back I mentioned testing how music impacted on my pain after surgery (after doing some research on pain and music myself). To put it bluntly, it did not work. The pain was too intense for me to even want to listen to music. Part of me now questions the research I’m doing but I try to remind myself that I was in a different situation and for some people it might be helpful.
A lot of doctors stopped by to visit and the only thing I asked them was when was I leaving. Because I’m young I was aiming to be out of the hospital after 5 days. It became a running joke with the doctors that I wanted to get out at all costs. The problem was, what I wasn’t prepared for was catching an infection. They planned to release my after 6 days but then the bad news came. I was staying for a good while longer until they found out what I had and got it under control. Any rational person would accept this but I was furious. I wanted to get out. Let me have the medicine and I’ll take it at home!
As the days went on my wound healed more and my pacing wires came out – something not very painful but for some reason it made me very tired to the point of not being able to move. The good news was that I could shower and walk around. Eventually I managed the stairs with the physiotherapist and they were happy for me to go home. Too bad the doctors still wanted to keep an eye on my infection!
I kept myself occupied by walking around and I met a few people on my journeys. One appeared to be a nice man and he told me about his time in the hospital. It was at this point I noticed the swastika tattoo on his hand. At this stage I need to point out I’m brown and found this very strange. Was he a reformed racist? Did he see me as being different because I was in the hospital with him? I really wanted to ask but his young daughter was there too and thought it would be inappropriate.
As the days progressed I developed a bad cough which would happen every time I spoke. The doctors eventually told me I had fluid around the heart irritating my lungs and they needed to operate again on me to drain it...
Moving on to more prettier things (I know, this post creates such wonderful images doesn’t it?!), you won’t be allowed to have a shower for a good few days. This is because of the wound on your chest and the pacing wires which hang out of your wound. I think they’re there to set the pace of the heart if anything bad happens and you’re not meant to get them wet. Either way, not having a shower for a good few days is NOT nice. The smell is awful and I found myself apologising every time someone came close! So a word of warning for future patients – take deodorant with you!
Now you might remember a few posts back I mentioned testing how music impacted on my pain after surgery (after doing some research on pain and music myself). To put it bluntly, it did not work. The pain was too intense for me to even want to listen to music. Part of me now questions the research I’m doing but I try to remind myself that I was in a different situation and for some people it might be helpful.
A lot of doctors stopped by to visit and the only thing I asked them was when was I leaving. Because I’m young I was aiming to be out of the hospital after 5 days. It became a running joke with the doctors that I wanted to get out at all costs. The problem was, what I wasn’t prepared for was catching an infection. They planned to release my after 6 days but then the bad news came. I was staying for a good while longer until they found out what I had and got it under control. Any rational person would accept this but I was furious. I wanted to get out. Let me have the medicine and I’ll take it at home!
As the days went on my wound healed more and my pacing wires came out – something not very painful but for some reason it made me very tired to the point of not being able to move. The good news was that I could shower and walk around. Eventually I managed the stairs with the physiotherapist and they were happy for me to go home. Too bad the doctors still wanted to keep an eye on my infection!
I kept myself occupied by walking around and I met a few people on my journeys. One appeared to be a nice man and he told me about his time in the hospital. It was at this point I noticed the swastika tattoo on his hand. At this stage I need to point out I’m brown and found this very strange. Was he a reformed racist? Did he see me as being different because I was in the hospital with him? I really wanted to ask but his young daughter was there too and thought it would be inappropriate.
As the days progressed I developed a bad cough which would happen every time I spoke. The doctors eventually told me I had fluid around the heart irritating my lungs and they needed to operate again on me to drain it...
Monday 8 June 2009
ITU
The first day after my ventilator had been removed was extremely bad. Despite being full of drugs, everything hurts. Now what no-one ever told me was that there is a positive and negative side to pain relief medication. The positive...well that’s obvious! Less pain, hurrah! The negative? Nausea. When you take anything stronger than Ibuprofen your head just starts to spin and everything makes you sick. In ITU I was given a nurse whose job it was just to look after me and no-one else. The first thing she tried to do was to get me to sit up. It took such a long time because it feels the weight of the world is pressing down against your shoulders to keep you in bed. Eventually with some help I managed to move into a chair. Bad move because that was where the nausea kicked in.
I started to throw up on the nurse and a physiotherapist who was younger than me (keep in mind I’m 22!). What makes it worse is that when you feel nauseas, everything makes you sick. Even the bowl they gave me to throw up in smelt bad and made me throw up more. This was the point I hit the floor and started to cry. Something I didn’t think I would actually do, but I was naive to think I could go through such a major surgery without getting upset. I told the nurse I wanted to go home and she did her best to comfort me. Luckily my family weren’t around to see that. Eventually I managed to apologise to the nurse and physiotherapist for throwing up on them and they helped me back in bed.
Later that day people came to visit and I think it was good for them to see me able to speak. My recovery seemed to be going well because at the end of the day they moved me to the High Dependency Unit, which is a step down from ITU. Basically there is one nurse per every two patients. Things seemed to float along here and I don’t remember too much about this. I was then moved to the second floor later that night, and told that the higher up the building you go, the more progress you’re making!
The operation will take a lot out of you and you really lose your appetite. I struggled to eat anything. I think I managed one bite of a sandwich before throwing up. The problem is that you’re weak, but you don’t want to eat which will make you even weaker. Eventually in the middle of the night they moved me to floor 3, the ward I initially came to the night before my surgery...
I started to throw up on the nurse and a physiotherapist who was younger than me (keep in mind I’m 22!). What makes it worse is that when you feel nauseas, everything makes you sick. Even the bowl they gave me to throw up in smelt bad and made me throw up more. This was the point I hit the floor and started to cry. Something I didn’t think I would actually do, but I was naive to think I could go through such a major surgery without getting upset. I told the nurse I wanted to go home and she did her best to comfort me. Luckily my family weren’t around to see that. Eventually I managed to apologise to the nurse and physiotherapist for throwing up on them and they helped me back in bed.
Later that day people came to visit and I think it was good for them to see me able to speak. My recovery seemed to be going well because at the end of the day they moved me to the High Dependency Unit, which is a step down from ITU. Basically there is one nurse per every two patients. Things seemed to float along here and I don’t remember too much about this. I was then moved to the second floor later that night, and told that the higher up the building you go, the more progress you’re making!
The operation will take a lot out of you and you really lose your appetite. I struggled to eat anything. I think I managed one bite of a sandwich before throwing up. The problem is that you’re weak, but you don’t want to eat which will make you even weaker. Eventually in the middle of the night they moved me to floor 3, the ward I initially came to the night before my surgery...
Saturday 6 June 2009
Day 0
So it’s been a long while since I’ve posted but I’m finally out of hospital. There’s a lot to talk about but I think the best way to do this is go one chunk at a time, instead of one huge post that no-one will want to read!
When you go for your operation you’re asked to come in a day before so they can run some general tests on you and get you admitted. It felt very strange because everyone there is recovering from an operation and having problems with pain and nausea whilst I’m walking about easily and wondering what’s on television that night. I got to meet the nurses who were all very nice, and then the anaesthetist who would put me to sleep the next day. He wrote me up a drug to help me sleep that night, which I initially thought I wouldn’t need but I did take it in the end. At this point I still wasn’t nervous, but that all changed the next day. Word of warning by the way: to any future patients, hospital food is very bad so if you’re lucky enough to get regular visitors, have them bring lots of food!
On to the day of the operation. Mine was scheduled for 8am and despite the sleeping pill I found myself waking up at 5:30am. Probably my brain unconsciously getting me ready for the operation. You have to have a shower and clean, and if you’re a man you have to shave your chest! Once that was done you get kitted out in some very trendy hospital gear – a gown and some anti-clotting tights. About half an hour before the operation the nurse will give you another pill to help you sleep. It makes you feel very drowsy and probably a little ‘drunk’. I remember talking a lot of rubbish to my family when they came to my room.
A porter then came to wheel me away on the bed. I said my goodbyes to my family and I think this was when I started to feel nervous. But things start moving so quickly that you’re soon faced with the anaesthetist. I tried my best to remember everything that happened but for the life of me I cannot remember being knocked out. I just remember the thing the place over your mouth.
From what I’ve been told my operation lasted about 3 hours. My family went to get breakfast because it’s not good to be waiting there and worrying. I was taken to ITU (aka ICU) after the operation. I don’t remember when I awoke but my first memory is my family around me. I couldn’t speak because I had a breathing ventilator down my throat which is very uncomfortable. I just wanted that damn thing out! I eventually started to communicate by spelling letters in the air; and then my family got a pen and paper which I could write things on. My memory of this whole period is very blurry because I was so full of drugs.
Eventually the ventilator was removed and I was suddenly aware of just how much effort breathing takes. The worst thing is that your throat is so saw and dry that you cannot talk – it’s more of a dry growl than coherent words. I drank sips of water but it did eventually go away slowly. From what I remember of that I just drifted off to sleep so I think I shall leave the next part for the next blog post.
When you go for your operation you’re asked to come in a day before so they can run some general tests on you and get you admitted. It felt very strange because everyone there is recovering from an operation and having problems with pain and nausea whilst I’m walking about easily and wondering what’s on television that night. I got to meet the nurses who were all very nice, and then the anaesthetist who would put me to sleep the next day. He wrote me up a drug to help me sleep that night, which I initially thought I wouldn’t need but I did take it in the end. At this point I still wasn’t nervous, but that all changed the next day. Word of warning by the way: to any future patients, hospital food is very bad so if you’re lucky enough to get regular visitors, have them bring lots of food!
On to the day of the operation. Mine was scheduled for 8am and despite the sleeping pill I found myself waking up at 5:30am. Probably my brain unconsciously getting me ready for the operation. You have to have a shower and clean, and if you’re a man you have to shave your chest! Once that was done you get kitted out in some very trendy hospital gear – a gown and some anti-clotting tights. About half an hour before the operation the nurse will give you another pill to help you sleep. It makes you feel very drowsy and probably a little ‘drunk’. I remember talking a lot of rubbish to my family when they came to my room.
A porter then came to wheel me away on the bed. I said my goodbyes to my family and I think this was when I started to feel nervous. But things start moving so quickly that you’re soon faced with the anaesthetist. I tried my best to remember everything that happened but for the life of me I cannot remember being knocked out. I just remember the thing the place over your mouth.
From what I’ve been told my operation lasted about 3 hours. My family went to get breakfast because it’s not good to be waiting there and worrying. I was taken to ITU (aka ICU) after the operation. I don’t remember when I awoke but my first memory is my family around me. I couldn’t speak because I had a breathing ventilator down my throat which is very uncomfortable. I just wanted that damn thing out! I eventually started to communicate by spelling letters in the air; and then my family got a pen and paper which I could write things on. My memory of this whole period is very blurry because I was so full of drugs.
Eventually the ventilator was removed and I was suddenly aware of just how much effort breathing takes. The worst thing is that your throat is so saw and dry that you cannot talk – it’s more of a dry growl than coherent words. I drank sips of water but it did eventually go away slowly. From what I remember of that I just drifted off to sleep so I think I shall leave the next part for the next blog post.
Monday 18 May 2009
Off to See the Wizard
So tomorrow is the penultimate day. I’m being admitted in the afternoon where I think they will show me around and introduce me to the staff. Of course the doctors and surgeons won’t be there because they’re far too busy, and I say this without any tone of sarcasm (I’ve already met the doctors and surgeons a few weeks back)! So my first night at hospital will be pretty comfortable depending on the type of dinner they give me... I wonder if they take requests... Pizza...mmm...
Anyway, back on topic! After my night’s sleep I’m going to be carted off to surgery which I’ve been told takes place before 9am. I don’t think I’m going to like waking up that early in a strange environment. And from there...well I have no idea! But I’m going to try and remember as much as possible to write down in this blog because I know there will be some people who are preparing for the same operation who want more information about the process.
So as you’ve already figured out, this blog won’t be updated for a while. I’m expecting to be in the hospital for about 6-8 days...and you know what, I’m still not worried about it! I think tomorrow when I’m actually inside the hospital then that will really test my nerves. What’s kept me relaxed about the whole thing is that the nurses don’t see you as another patient, but as an individual. I’ve rang the hospital a few times for various questions and the nurses know me by name as soon as I speak. They actually remember the last conversation we had on the phone, even if that was 2-3 weeks ago. And they’re also not in a rush to brush you off – I find myself being the one who has to try and end the conversation!
So anyway that’s that. Everything’s set and the next time I post I should be on the way to recovery (assuming nothing gets delayed)!
P.S. I just realised I’m going to miss the Champions’ League Final...nooooo! I have my priorities clearly set as you can tell.
Anyway, back on topic! After my night’s sleep I’m going to be carted off to surgery which I’ve been told takes place before 9am. I don’t think I’m going to like waking up that early in a strange environment. And from there...well I have no idea! But I’m going to try and remember as much as possible to write down in this blog because I know there will be some people who are preparing for the same operation who want more information about the process.
So as you’ve already figured out, this blog won’t be updated for a while. I’m expecting to be in the hospital for about 6-8 days...and you know what, I’m still not worried about it! I think tomorrow when I’m actually inside the hospital then that will really test my nerves. What’s kept me relaxed about the whole thing is that the nurses don’t see you as another patient, but as an individual. I’ve rang the hospital a few times for various questions and the nurses know me by name as soon as I speak. They actually remember the last conversation we had on the phone, even if that was 2-3 weeks ago. And they’re also not in a rush to brush you off – I find myself being the one who has to try and end the conversation!
So anyway that’s that. Everything’s set and the next time I post I should be on the way to recovery (assuming nothing gets delayed)!
P.S. I just realised I’m going to miss the Champions’ League Final...nooooo! I have my priorities clearly set as you can tell.
Friday 15 May 2009
Finally Putting My Degree to Use
I haven’t really spoken a great deal about my personal life, so let’s change that. Also, this post is also related to valve replacement, so fear not if you were just after information regarding that! Currently I’m a Research Assistant in the area of psychology, investigating the role of music chronic pain. I’ve always had a strong interest in the area of pain and music, so two years ago at university it was an area I was reading up on. Now one piece of research I did come across concerned patients who had just had open heart surgery. The researchers found that patients who listened to sedative music after their procedure had 70% less pain distress compared to patients who received standard chair rest. Of course when I came upon this research I had no idea that I would be in a position to see how this worked on myself! I was always under the impression my operation would be minor - through my veins in my arm. Obviously I was naive and did not understand my condition fully.
So, the geek in me is now quite interested in running a little pseudo-experiment whilst in hospital to see if and how the music can help me. Part of me doubts the impact it could have. But considering that I’m currently asking clients who suffer from chronic pain to exercise with music, I strangely think that I have some sort of obligation to at least try. What’s the worst that could happen, right?!
On another simple note, for those of you reading this in preparation for your own operation I’ll answer a few simple questions that I myself had:
Look at that, I haven’t even had my operation and I’m becoming an expert already. Go me!
So, the geek in me is now quite interested in running a little pseudo-experiment whilst in hospital to see if and how the music can help me. Part of me doubts the impact it could have. But considering that I’m currently asking clients who suffer from chronic pain to exercise with music, I strangely think that I have some sort of obligation to at least try. What’s the worst that could happen, right?!
On another simple note, for those of you reading this in preparation for your own operation I’ll answer a few simple questions that I myself had:
- Gowns are provided by the hospital. Imagine if hospitals didn’t do this? I’m pretty sure there would be cliques forming over the type of gowns people wore!
- Operations usually take place in the mornings, possibly even before 9am. Make sure you find out if your surgeon has been in an all nighter. Do you really want him going in your heart with a lack of sleep? And this is not a silly concern because it does happen and operations are cancelled because of it.
- Be prepared to be tossed around the surgery calendar at short notice. Nothing is confirmed until the day you turn up at the hospital and you know you have a bed.
Look at that, I haven’t even had my operation and I’m becoming an expert already. Go me!
Saturday 9 May 2009
Patch Adams and ....Swine Flu
A week and a half away from surgery and the updates I can make regarding the wait is a little thin at the moment. So I thought I'd take this opportunity to talk about something related, but also different: Robin Williams. How is this related? Well I'll come to that in a second but can I just say that he is the funniest man alive! He's a brilliant actor (c'mon, don't tell me you weren't moved by that film Jack!) but the best of him is his interviews and stand up. He's so full of life and energetic. Well a few weeks back I found out that he also has Aortic Stenosis. For those of you aren't patients of this heart disease I'll quickly remind you that it's the narrowing of the aorta and if left untreated it will close up completely. He had his surgery a few weeks back and is apparantly making a good recovery.
I think for some reason it's reassuring to know that someone you admire has gone through what you are about to and made it out okay. No I'm not one of those crazy fans (I realise this post might make me sound like one). I'm sure thousands of people are in my situation at the moment and 95% of them will make it out of surgery, but as I said it feels different when it's someone you're a fan of. Given his age, and the amount of energy he has (the guy literally bounces off walls) it's that cliched thought of - if he can go through it and recover, then so can I.
On a different note...what a time to go into hospital! I heard that there are around 800 suspected cases of Swine Flu in America at the moment. God knows how many there are in England at the moment. Knowing that you're going to have your chest cut open, the sewn up again and be susceptible to infection has made me very cautious. I'm literally ducking out of the way every time someone sneezes. Knowing my luck I will catch the damn thing then infect everyone in intensive care unit at the hospital.
Or is that all a myth and you only catch it if you have sex with a pig?
I joke of course.
No really, stay away from the farmers.
I think for some reason it's reassuring to know that someone you admire has gone through what you are about to and made it out okay. No I'm not one of those crazy fans (I realise this post might make me sound like one). I'm sure thousands of people are in my situation at the moment and 95% of them will make it out of surgery, but as I said it feels different when it's someone you're a fan of. Given his age, and the amount of energy he has (the guy literally bounces off walls) it's that cliched thought of - if he can go through it and recover, then so can I.
On a different note...what a time to go into hospital! I heard that there are around 800 suspected cases of Swine Flu in America at the moment. God knows how many there are in England at the moment. Knowing that you're going to have your chest cut open, the sewn up again and be susceptible to infection has made me very cautious. I'm literally ducking out of the way every time someone sneezes. Knowing my luck I will catch the damn thing then infect everyone in intensive care unit at the hospital.
Or is that all a myth and you only catch it if you have sex with a pig?
I joke of course.
No really, stay away from the farmers.
Thursday 30 April 2009
Twists and Turns
My surgery was scheduled for next Wednesday, 6th May. Having been ready for this moment since late December when I was told that I needed operating on, I was in the right sort of mindset for it. It's hard to explain for people not in the situation, but you have to mentally prepare yourself what is to come. I went out and bought all the things I need for my stay in hospital - toothbrush, towel etc. At the end of it all I was actually 'pumped up' for everything - looking forward to everything getting sorted and starting my journey of recovery.
And then I got a phonecall. My date of operation has been pushed back to the 20th May. Why? Because emergency patients are brought into the hospital for surgery, pushing back waiting list patients. Now I understand the reaon behind this - if I was in their position I would want surgery ASAP. But in a selfish point of view, it has totally thrown me. Now I have a longer wait till my surgery. All my plans are messed up. I was applying to jobs which I had the possibility of attending an interview post-surgery, but now this is very unlikely given the change of date. The worst thing is sitting around and doing nothing. I want to get fixed, and I want it done now! It sounds childish but it's the way I feel. It just seems I've been putting my life on hold for a long time, waiting for this moment and it keeps eluding me.
And then I got a phonecall. My date of operation has been pushed back to the 20th May. Why? Because emergency patients are brought into the hospital for surgery, pushing back waiting list patients. Now I understand the reaon behind this - if I was in their position I would want surgery ASAP. But in a selfish point of view, it has totally thrown me. Now I have a longer wait till my surgery. All my plans are messed up. I was applying to jobs which I had the possibility of attending an interview post-surgery, but now this is very unlikely given the change of date. The worst thing is sitting around and doing nothing. I want to get fixed, and I want it done now! It sounds childish but it's the way I feel. It just seems I've been putting my life on hold for a long time, waiting for this moment and it keeps eluding me.
Saturday 25 April 2009
Tying Up Loose Ends
So with a week and 3 days until I go into hospital, I find myself in the odd state of slowly wrapping up everything in my life. I haven't really gone in to my personal life but now's a better time than never. I volunteer as a Research Assistant at a hospital, as well as doing some volunteering at a charity, and then I work at a supermarket (which I plan on leaving very soon now that I have finished University!). So in this last week I have been running around trying to get things sorted for when I will be in hospital. I've said my goodbyes to the people I volunteer with and I have 2 days left of paid work at the supermarket. Not to sound macabre but it feels like I'm planning for my death! Of course I don't actually think I will die, but the way I have had to think of every little thing and make sure it is sorted is a little strange.
I've been reading up some more about people's stories who have had heart surgery. Apparantly sneezing after the operation is a big issue and it can blow open the sternum wires (which are there to hold the sternum together after surgery). I'm really worried about this so I'm monitoring how often I sneeze this week and trying to find ways of stopping them. Apparantly holding your finger against the bone between your nostrils at the bottom of your nose helps. We shall see...!
I also need to buy some things for the hospital. But I need to ring them first. Do they have showers in the hospital? Do you shave there? Is there an actual bathroom or do you always use a bedpan? I need to get these questions answered!
By the way, I went to Thorpe Park (a theme park, see one of the previous posts) and had no problems at all. I did avoid the major rides but the ones I went on were hardly childish so that was good. Can't wait till I recover from surgery and do some sky-diving!
I've been reading up some more about people's stories who have had heart surgery. Apparantly sneezing after the operation is a big issue and it can blow open the sternum wires (which are there to hold the sternum together after surgery). I'm really worried about this so I'm monitoring how often I sneeze this week and trying to find ways of stopping them. Apparantly holding your finger against the bone between your nostrils at the bottom of your nose helps. We shall see...!
I also need to buy some things for the hospital. But I need to ring them first. Do they have showers in the hospital? Do you shave there? Is there an actual bathroom or do you always use a bedpan? I need to get these questions answered!
By the way, I went to Thorpe Park (a theme park, see one of the previous posts) and had no problems at all. I did avoid the major rides but the ones I went on were hardly childish so that was good. Can't wait till I recover from surgery and do some sky-diving!
Tuesday 14 April 2009
Heart Pain
As there's about 3 weeks left till my operation, I thought it would be a good idea to post an update of sorts. Ever since being told I needed an operation I've found myself more aware of my heart. Little aches and twinges are now much more noticeable. Now the cause of this is either two things: Knowing my heart is in a bad state so things that I didn't notice now are more prominent in my mind; or...there is a change now in my heart which is more clearer after the diagnosis.
Or even more annoyingly, it could be a mixture of the two. For example, when I haven't eaten for a while I find my heart aching. I don't think this is anything too serious. Also, in the evenings I'm more aware of my heart, but my cardiologist has told me this is a normal sensation. What I think is more serious is that I get more out of breath going up and down stairs. Two or three flights of stairs are enough for me. Also, very mild games of kicking a football around in the garden quickly gets me out of breath. I've just come in from a 2-3 minutes outside (no running) and my heart is twinging. Is this a normal thing for people about to undergo surgery? Leave some comments to let me know your thoughts!
I really can't wait for surgery...then I won't have these problems! On another note...I'm planning to go to Thorpe Park (a theme park) next week...I think I better ring my nurse to ask if that's actually a good idea...
Or even more annoyingly, it could be a mixture of the two. For example, when I haven't eaten for a while I find my heart aching. I don't think this is anything too serious. Also, in the evenings I'm more aware of my heart, but my cardiologist has told me this is a normal sensation. What I think is more serious is that I get more out of breath going up and down stairs. Two or three flights of stairs are enough for me. Also, very mild games of kicking a football around in the garden quickly gets me out of breath. I've just come in from a 2-3 minutes outside (no running) and my heart is twinging. Is this a normal thing for people about to undergo surgery? Leave some comments to let me know your thoughts!
I really can't wait for surgery...then I won't have these problems! On another note...I'm planning to go to Thorpe Park (a theme park) next week...I think I better ring my nurse to ask if that's actually a good idea...
Saturday 4 April 2009
Waiting
So I on Tuesday I went for pre-admission and to see the surgeon. My parents came along with me and we turned up for 12pm. The nurses are very friendly and really make you feel at ease. The first thing they did was take a blood test - I'm assuming this was to check for any infections and such. This is fairly straight forward...unless you have a fear of needles like the person after me did! But it really is harmless. What no-one ever told me was that to check for MRSA, you get to long sticks made of soft material shoved up your nose. When they showed me them and said they needed a swab from me, I automatically opened my mouth thinking that's where they would be poking me... After that they take your blood pressure, check your weight and height and that's the end of the tests.
On to see the surgeon? I thought so, but no. We had to wait four hours for him because he was delayed in theatre. Because of the wait the nurses decided to talk to us more. They asked a few questions about my medical history and then went on to describe the days following my operation. It was the first time I actually felt light-headed about it. I didn't know if it was because I hadn't eaten for so long, or if it was starting to get to me. After the talk they decided to show us around the rooms. First stop was ITU where we would be after surgery. It seemed very noisy and there were tons of machines around the place; but the patients seemed to be sleeping through it all. Not an ideal place to be but we were told it was only a short term stop after surgery. Once we recovered enough (a day or two later), we would be moved to a standard room. I tried to check if there was a TV but couldn't get a good look! I think I was expecting something a lot more comfertable, but I can't really complain - a bed's a bed right?
After this was done, a lot more waiting...and finally the surgeon arrived. He was a little eccentric in my view, throwing some jokes around and laughing a lot which I guess did put me at ease. The first question I asked was about the ON-X valve and he had to hold back a laugh - I assume people have asked him before about this. In his view he was unprepared to use the valve until concrete evidence was out regarding its performance. He knew I did my Masters in Research Methods and went on to explain his reasonings with stats and experimental design. What he said did make sense in that a lot more patients and time would be needed for any generalisable findings. I still had some sort of hope for using the ON-X valve but in the end I settled for the St. Jude. ON-X are used in the U.K., but I guess it depends on your surgeon. In my point of view, Warfarin wouldn't be that big of a deal to take for the rest of your life. And the risks posed by it aren't as bad as the rumours out there.
We then threw some questions at him. For those of you out there who wanted some more information on Warfarin, I would highly recommend you doing your own research. What he did say to me however, was things like playing football shouldn't be a problem, or day-to-day knocks on the head. Even eating greens (which can interact with Warfarin) shouldn't be that big of a problem. He did a good job of keeping me calm. Even when I went to sign the consent form acknowledging the risk involved - 5% mortality. I did hesitate at that figure but not having an operation is simply not an option.
It certainly is a strange thing talking to someone you know will soon have there hands inside of your body!
On to see the surgeon? I thought so, but no. We had to wait four hours for him because he was delayed in theatre. Because of the wait the nurses decided to talk to us more. They asked a few questions about my medical history and then went on to describe the days following my operation. It was the first time I actually felt light-headed about it. I didn't know if it was because I hadn't eaten for so long, or if it was starting to get to me. After the talk they decided to show us around the rooms. First stop was ITU where we would be after surgery. It seemed very noisy and there were tons of machines around the place; but the patients seemed to be sleeping through it all. Not an ideal place to be but we were told it was only a short term stop after surgery. Once we recovered enough (a day or two later), we would be moved to a standard room. I tried to check if there was a TV but couldn't get a good look! I think I was expecting something a lot more comfertable, but I can't really complain - a bed's a bed right?
After this was done, a lot more waiting...and finally the surgeon arrived. He was a little eccentric in my view, throwing some jokes around and laughing a lot which I guess did put me at ease. The first question I asked was about the ON-X valve and he had to hold back a laugh - I assume people have asked him before about this. In his view he was unprepared to use the valve until concrete evidence was out regarding its performance. He knew I did my Masters in Research Methods and went on to explain his reasonings with stats and experimental design. What he said did make sense in that a lot more patients and time would be needed for any generalisable findings. I still had some sort of hope for using the ON-X valve but in the end I settled for the St. Jude. ON-X are used in the U.K., but I guess it depends on your surgeon. In my point of view, Warfarin wouldn't be that big of a deal to take for the rest of your life. And the risks posed by it aren't as bad as the rumours out there.
We then threw some questions at him. For those of you out there who wanted some more information on Warfarin, I would highly recommend you doing your own research. What he did say to me however, was things like playing football shouldn't be a problem, or day-to-day knocks on the head. Even eating greens (which can interact with Warfarin) shouldn't be that big of a problem. He did a good job of keeping me calm. Even when I went to sign the consent form acknowledging the risk involved - 5% mortality. I did hesitate at that figure but not having an operation is simply not an option.
It certainly is a strange thing talking to someone you know will soon have there hands inside of your body!
Sunday 29 March 2009
The Fear
It's almost a month before my operation and I'm not scared one bit. I say this honestly, not trying to put on a brave front or with the intention of saying 'look at me, I'm tough'. It really isn't a big deal to me. People have spoke about feeling light headed when thinking of the operation, unable to stand. I wonder if more closer to the time, when I'm in my hospital room the day before the operation, maybe then I feel some of this fear. But right now it doesn't seem like a big deal to me. When I tell people I'm having a heart operation I always find myself following up with the phrase "It's really not a big deal, the risk is like 1% and it sounds worse than it actually is". Am I mad?
I will admit however, when I first found out about the operation I was in a bit of a daze. But that lasted all but 5 minutes. Why so short? A bird decided to leave it's 'white mark' on me as I walked down the street and I couldn't help but laugh.
Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just a rather passive person...I'm not sure this is a good thing however.
P.S. Am I the only British patient who didn't have their condition fully explained to them, or is this common in our country? I was always told that my condition was not too serious and that it could be fixed with the old 'balloon in the heart' operation. The first I heard about open heart surgery was when I was told I needed the operation. I really love the NHS for many things, but the lack of involvement I've had is really frustrating. Lucky for me I'm aware of how it works in America so I'm more proactive in engaging with doctors, doing research online (finally I can put my Research degree to use and easily understand the journal articles!).
I will admit however, when I first found out about the operation I was in a bit of a daze. But that lasted all but 5 minutes. Why so short? A bird decided to leave it's 'white mark' on me as I walked down the street and I couldn't help but laugh.
Maybe it's me. Maybe I'm just a rather passive person...I'm not sure this is a good thing however.
P.S. Am I the only British patient who didn't have their condition fully explained to them, or is this common in our country? I was always told that my condition was not too serious and that it could be fixed with the old 'balloon in the heart' operation. The first I heard about open heart surgery was when I was told I needed the operation. I really love the NHS for many things, but the lack of involvement I've had is really frustrating. Lucky for me I'm aware of how it works in America so I'm more proactive in engaging with doctors, doing research online (finally I can put my Research degree to use and easily understand the journal articles!).
Thursday 26 March 2009
Choices, choices
It's an dilemma that many have faced - what type of valve should I have. Once you know you need a valve replacement you will be offered the following choices: tissue valve or mechanical valve. Simple right? No.
Tissue valves can come in the from an animal, a human donor or even yourself (i.e. the Ross procedure, where a person's pulmonary valve is used to replace their aortic valve). With a tissue valve you won't have to take any medication and can leave a relatively normal life assuming things go correctly. However they have the drawback of only lasting a certain amount of years, usually around 10. After that another operation would be needed. Mechanical valves on the other hand are intended to last life long meaning one operation. The drawback? Taking the drug Warfarin for the rest of your life to keep your blood thin and prevent strokes. But also continually monitoring your level of medication to make sure you don't have a hemorrhage. The other problem is increased bleeding from cuts, more bruising, and avoiding contact sports.
So, that's that (and if you're a patient I'm sure you've heard this all before many times). Now when I was first told about this my initial reaction was to go for a human valve. At 22, being on Warfarin for the rest of my life really does not seem appealing. It would mean around 60 years, touch wood, of fretting about knocks to the head, blood tests etc... But thinking about it more and more... I've read about so many people having problems with tissue valves - leaking etc. There's also the fact that tissue valves degrade quicker in young people. If a valve only lasted 8 years that could in a (excuse the pun) heart beat. I would always have it in the back of my head, counting down...
More recently I've heard about a certain type of mechanical valve - the ON-X - which is being used in America at the moment. They're running clinical trials to test how well the valve works without Warfarin, or with patients taking aspirin. The research is in its early stages and I should be very sceptical as there are no concrete results out just yet...but I can hope right? However, although the ON-X is becoming fairly common in America, the U.K. has not caught on just yet.
Americans seem to be heavily involved in choosing the type of mechanical valve they have. Which isn't surprising given that they have to pay for the surgery! But in the U.K. the process is very different. Patients don't seem to have any say at all in the choice of mechanical valve. I got in contact with my surgeon and he seems very reluctant to use the ON-X valve. We're going to have a discussion next week about it but I don't hold out much hope of convincing him.
On a lighter note I googled a picture of my surgeon and I think he looks like Mr Spock. He seems to leer at the camera in a predatory way...I wish I could post a picture but that would reveal who I am! And you never know, he may just stumble upon this blog and decide to do a botch job of my valve as revenge!
Tissue valves can come in the from an animal, a human donor or even yourself (i.e. the Ross procedure, where a person's pulmonary valve is used to replace their aortic valve). With a tissue valve you won't have to take any medication and can leave a relatively normal life assuming things go correctly. However they have the drawback of only lasting a certain amount of years, usually around 10. After that another operation would be needed. Mechanical valves on the other hand are intended to last life long meaning one operation. The drawback? Taking the drug Warfarin for the rest of your life to keep your blood thin and prevent strokes. But also continually monitoring your level of medication to make sure you don't have a hemorrhage. The other problem is increased bleeding from cuts, more bruising, and avoiding contact sports.
So, that's that (and if you're a patient I'm sure you've heard this all before many times). Now when I was first told about this my initial reaction was to go for a human valve. At 22, being on Warfarin for the rest of my life really does not seem appealing. It would mean around 60 years, touch wood, of fretting about knocks to the head, blood tests etc... But thinking about it more and more... I've read about so many people having problems with tissue valves - leaking etc. There's also the fact that tissue valves degrade quicker in young people. If a valve only lasted 8 years that could in a (excuse the pun) heart beat. I would always have it in the back of my head, counting down...
More recently I've heard about a certain type of mechanical valve - the ON-X - which is being used in America at the moment. They're running clinical trials to test how well the valve works without Warfarin, or with patients taking aspirin. The research is in its early stages and I should be very sceptical as there are no concrete results out just yet...but I can hope right? However, although the ON-X is becoming fairly common in America, the U.K. has not caught on just yet.
Americans seem to be heavily involved in choosing the type of mechanical valve they have. Which isn't surprising given that they have to pay for the surgery! But in the U.K. the process is very different. Patients don't seem to have any say at all in the choice of mechanical valve. I got in contact with my surgeon and he seems very reluctant to use the ON-X valve. We're going to have a discussion next week about it but I don't hold out much hope of convincing him.
On a lighter note I googled a picture of my surgeon and I think he looks like Mr Spock. He seems to leer at the camera in a predatory way...I wish I could post a picture but that would reveal who I am! And you never know, he may just stumble upon this blog and decide to do a botch job of my valve as revenge!
Saturday 21 March 2009
The Beginning
What's the best way to start this blog? I guess I'll sum it up nice and quickly:
- I'm 22 years old, male, from London.
- I have aortic stenosis (which means my aortic valve is narrowing over time). If left untouched it would eventually close up, which is not good.
- I'm scheduled for surgery on the 6th of May, 2009.
So, why this blog? Well for the most part I felt it was important to share the process of getting an aortic valve replaced, for future patients who just might happen to come across this (assuming this blog will get any visitors!). There's also the fact that I'm only 22 and as egotistical (is that the right word?) as it sounds, I think that's a pretty rare thing as the majority of patients are a fair bit older when they have their operation. Finally, there's a lot out there on the internet about the experience of Americans in my situation, but the experience of British patients is kind of lacking.
Well there you have it! Stick with me on my journey and hopefully somebody will find this as useful read prior to their own surgery!
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