Hello eveyone, I hope you're having a good weekend. So exactly today a month ago (Dec 13) I was in theatre having my AVR and aneurysm repair. It's been quite a month!
As I've posted before, I feel very lucky that I came through the whole process with so few complications but I just thought I'd update any of you who are interested in how I'm doing at this milestone, or if it's helpful to others going through the same.
Generally things feel like they're going well, I'm pleased to say; I do feel I'm making progress, if slowly. The wound is healing - it's still itchy and very obviously not fully healed (which I wouldn't expect at this point) but everything seems to be going in the right direction.
Although I do still tire easily, I am gradually increasing my activity. I'm now walking most days between a mile and a mile-and-a-quarter so far. Plus, as our house is tall and narrow, over four storeys, doing lots of stairs every day. I'm still going to bed for a proper lie-down nap each afternoon, but gradually this seems to be getting shorter.
I'm down to one dose of paracetamol a day in the evening though I'm not a martyr to the pain and, if need be, will up the dose.
On that, and I suspect like many, I'm still experiencing "down" days; days when I just feel completely washed-out and don't even manage to get out of the house. I'm trying to be philosophical about them and listen to my body and just go with it and accept that some days that's what you need to do.
So I'm hoping this progress continues. My follow-up appointment is still four weeks' away (it's ended up being more like eight weeks rather than six because, I guess, of the Christmas break being in the middle of things) and so I'm hoping I will have improved further from where I am now by then.
I am also hoping to be able to begin easing myself back into work from pretty much the end of this month. I'm lucky in that I mostly work from home (so no commute) at a keyboard, so physical exertion isn't really an issue. I suspect it's more going to be a question of mental tiredness and a lack of concentration and things like that. But as I am self-employed I don't really have a lot of choice financially but to start to pick up the reins again at that point. I am expecting it'll be a case of doing chunks of hours here and there and then having proper breaks, rather than expecting I'll be able to throw myself back in fully straightaway. But I guess we'll have to see.
So, all in all, I'm positive about where I'm at at the moment and how things have gone/are going so far. My main conclusion (as many I know have said previously) is that this is a slow and steady process; you do have to accept you don't get "better" overnight, but so far so good. And the heart function itself does feel much, much better than it was pre-operation, which can't be a bad thing!
While I'm here, however, a few questions if I may to throw out, though I appreciate everyone's recovery is different.
1) Tiredness and stamina. As I say, this is still probably the biggest issue I'm experiencing, and only to be expected at this point. But what did other people find? When did they begin to feel their stamina returning? I'm sort of expecting not to feel fully back to "normal" and still tiring quite easily for a number of months yet, but in terms of, say, managing a full day without a nap or feeling the tiredness "fog" lifting, what have been people's experiences?
2) Lifting. I'm very much trying to stick to the "no more than half a kettle of water" advice, though there have been occasions where I've realised "oh that probably wasn't clever", things like picking up a full and relatively heavy bottle of fizzy water without thinking etc, even though, actually, it's felt fine to do so. So, again, what have people found as their recovery has progressed - have they been able gradually to do more (obviously within reason and being sensible) or has it been a question of sticking rigidly to no lifting for the whole recommended three months? And how about further down the line (and this is something I will aim to ask the surgeon next month too) for instance suitcases on holiday and that sort of thing?
3) Cardiac rehab. I'm finding I may be falling between two stools here in that the hospital (St Thomas's in London) said cardiac rehab would need to be arranged locally via my GP and my GP has said it'd need to be arranged locally via my local hospital (in this case Portsmouth) but my cardiology as well as my surgery has been at Guy's and St Thomas's (because I used to live in London and simply left in place when we moved away). So I have no connection with the Portsmouth hospital - I'm not on their books - and am keen, if anything, to keep any ongoing care/follow-ups at GSTT because I have found its care to be very good so far and see no reason to change as a result.
So what have other people found? How was their cardiac rehab sourced/accessed? And how useful have they found cardiac rehab to be? I'm planning independently to start swimming regularly again once the wound has fully healed and investigate other gym-based options in the hope that I may actually (for the first time in my life!) be able to get fit, or at least fitter.
None of these questions I appreciate are that serious in the wider scheme of things, but I'd be interested to get any perspectives people have. Otherwise, I hope all of you post-AVR are continuing to mend and heal well and progessing, and that this is at least a little bit helpful/reassuring to anyone waiting anxiously pre-AVR!
Happy Sunday....
Nic x
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