Mitral Valve op day 3

[Shopgirl]

Well what should I say...! I survived and it's been hard going. I'm up and about with most tubes/wires removed. Getting enough sleep has been impossible due to being in a busy (mixed) ward with bleepers going off for many reasons day and night. The food is dreadful (patients aren't eating) luckily there's an M & S in the hospital so that's helped. Some of the staff have been outstanding, others not. I think I already live a healthy life but I'm making an extra special attempt to when I get home as I never intend to do this again. I'm looking forward to getting home.

[pjbird2000]

Great to hear your on the mend. Mine was cancelled as I picked up an infection. Feeling positive reading your progress

[Shopgirl in reply to pjbird2000]

Sorry to hear that. Yep my progress has been rapid.

[skid112 Heart Star]

Glad to hear you're doing well. Agree on the hospital food plus the noise, not very restful at all. Hopefully you'll be out soon

[Hidden]

Great news you're up and about! You'll be home before you know it. in the meantime, I recommend the ham and egg sandwich from M&S lunchtime favourite of mine

[Shopgirl in reply to Hidden]

I had a ham and egg sandwich this lunchtime and thought of you!

[Hidden in reply to Shopgirl]

Ha! Hope you enjoyed it

[Advice1]

Hi Shopgirl

Good news and hope you feel better soon ,it is amazing how fast the healing is after Mitral Repair Surgery i had my Repair a few years back and still learning in my case and it's amazing how fast you can get going again back to your own self ,but sleep in the afternoon was very helpful to my recovery also listening to some relaxing music when it gets busy in hospital or when your home i found helpful to avoid the background beeps and to feel happy.I did get some feelings of blues after 2nd week home but it is natural as your body heals.

coughing and sneezing i tried to avoid that hurts!

I was lucky the hospital food was really good.

All the staff were outstanding ,but personally i don't think mixed wards are a good idea.

If you have had a Mitral repair or replacement you should keep your teeth and gums healthy going forward as there is a very slight small chance of Infectious Endocaditis ,but very small ,so i always take 1 single tablet 3gms of Amoxicillin from my GP 1 hour prior to each time i have my teeth cleaned from any procedure where the gums could bleed as i have an annuloplasty ring fitted to the valve) -and have my teeth privately cleaned every 6 months or once a year with 6 mth check ups at the Dentist.

Although Dentists will tell you you don't need Antibiotics and followthe N.I.C.E Guidelines ,but my surgeon said better safe than sorry which he recommends with the other 95% of Surgeons in England.But check with your surgeon ,drop a letter or email in the future ,as i don't know what particular procedure you may of had ,sometimes they do Mitral repairs only repairing the Native Mitral valve without using a ring used ,so may not need antibiotics at all in that situation .

I hope your recovery is good and soon and i would reccomend the rehab as it can be very helpful for an even quicker recovery and help with strengthening of the LV function i was told by my Cardiologist ,although i didn't do it myself ! when i should of really ,but after a few weeks back home started walking in the afternoons.

So really just listen to your body and rest if you need too.but you will soon see suprisingly how fast you body can start doing things again ,It is a big operation you've had ,but the support i got from the NHS Nurses and Doctors ,Surgeons was outstanding which i found in my case.

Any other tips i can help with don't hesitate to ask me,BTW Heartvalvesurgery.com is also a helpful resourse for patients its a American site

I wish you good health happiness and good luck too for your future .

[Shopgirl in reply to Advice1]

Thanks Advice 1, I did know that about dental health but it's good to be reminded.

[Fredders]

Glad to hear everything went okay. I always wear earplugs, doesn't cut out all the noise but does help. I make sure the nurses know I wear earplugs at night so they know when they try to wake me up to do obs - wish they'd let you sleep! I found the light was the worst thing. The nurses let us pull the curtains round slightly to block out the worst of the light, but that was on a cancer ward, don't think they'd like it on a heart ward cos they like line of sight. Hope you continue to make a great recovery.

[Shopgirl in reply to Fredders]

Thanks Fredders sometimes I feel surprisingly fit!

[Dazzler142]

Fantastic news you are up and moving around 😊well done you.

Plenty of fluids when you get home,i have become dehydrated 14 days after replacement

Take it easy and hopefully you get some rest

Jenny x

[Shopgirl in reply to Dazzler142]

Thanks Jenny I'll keep hydrated and you keep going strong too x

[Prada47]

Good to hear it all went well, Very Best Wishes for your Recovery.

Regards

Prada aka Frank W

[chrsfrm]

Hi Shopgirl. Was that Plymouth Derriford? Sounds like experience there too. I went in for a 5 day cabg, was there for 5 weeks after contracting MRSA and needing a sternum rewire operation. I lost a stone in weight. God bless M & S.

[Shopgirl in reply to chrsfrm]

Hi Chris no it isn't Plymouth! Sorry to hear that and hope you are mended now?

[laura_dropstitch Heart Star]

Great to hear you're up and about. Hope you get home to a quiet and comfy bed soon x

[Hidden]

Hospital food is supposed to be bad as it gets patients motivated to get home and free up a bed. Also we all become determined never to spend another night on a ward so we are motivated to stay away.

Good to hear you are recovering.

[Sina-6491]

Great to hear you are on the road to recovery. Well done for sounding motivated & about so soon.

Are you in the BRI, they have a nice M&S.

Same here, I was looked after by some really lovely medical staff. But some didn't quite messure up to what I would exspect from them.

You'll feel better by the day, especially when you get home.

Earphones do dull the noises & eye patch for the light.

One of our friends said they probs shut the curtains due to it being a cancer ward, I beg to differ.

Our curtains got shut all the time at night, straight after coming out of intensive care.

On two different units, we didn't have buzzers. On two different occasions on different wards, I couldn't get the attention of the nurses when in a great deal of difficulty.

On one of those wards, I was about 10ft from the nursing station.

One of those nurses looked at me a couple of times & just carried on talking to the nurse with her back to me.

It was only when I was litually hanging out of my bed that she suddenly ran over.

She tried to have ago at me.

I told her, I know you knew I was calling you. I was trying to call you quietly so not to desturb the other patients when they were asleep.

She denied it of course.

I said do you think I would keep trying to call someone who I could see clearly couldn't be bothered to help me.

If I could have helped myself, then I would have.

Anyway, in the end I made her help me into my chair. I was dar to sacred of it happening again while she was on.

The next morning this really nice nurse I had see the day before came in.

She wanted to know why I was a in the chair already and why I was asleep bent right over.

I told her what happened through the night. She wasn't happy and was really apologetic of course. See was a senior nurse, so I'm guessing she took it further.

Thank goodness they weren't all like that.

So don't stand for any nonsense, doesn't matter how tierd they are. They've taken on the job, so they should do it well 😕

[Shopgirl in reply to Sina-6491]

Hi Sina, yes it is the BRI. I guess there's good and bad everywhere. It would be good to PM you to discuss this further though. X

[Sina-6491 in reply to Shopgirl]

Yep feel free any time.

Mean time, get some rest, you've been through a lot 😊

[Nicholas55]

Hi Shopgirl

Good news that you are recovering. I had the same op about a year ago and I'd like to support all the points made especially

Time is hospital is tricky especially at night. I tended not to worry about sleeping at night and just caught up with my sleep whenever it worked for me. I used earphones to list to music and podcasts- anything that takes you to another place. Use visits constructively my wife and I planned dream holidays on the net for fun and did crosswords etc otherwise you run out of things to say! I should say I had endocarditis so I was in hospital for about three weeks after my op.

I strongly echo the points about rehab. But take things slowly - keep a diary so you can see your progress. Walking was key for me and build up slowly and follow the rules about lifting things strictly. It took me three months before I felt confident with my chest muscles.

I also agree re teeth. Make sure you have a check every six months. I consulted my surgeon because the dentist said I didn't need abs for a filling and he said I must have abs for any dental procedure- my GP sorted this out easily.

Lastly staying positive is essential - focus on your progress and not the niggles and problems because there will be lots of those.

So good luck, it takes time but you will get there.

Nicholas55

[Shopgirl in reply to Nicholas55]

Thanks Nicholas55 I like 'focus on progress and not the niggles and problems' we get bogged down with negative stuff and don't celebrate the good stuff- that's how I'm going to cope with my remaining time in here with the crazy noise.

[Madgranny2]

Congratulations! So pleased it's over for you and great you are corresponding so soon. I was still unwell probably due to the Codine I was given. Feel for you as the food in James Cook was also dreadful I hope you are having food brought in. Take care x