Extreme exhaustion

[Oldmasons]

My husband had infective endocarditis which mean AVR, mitral and tricuspid repairs and a patch in 15 Oct. He also had a occipital stroke on day 3 post op. Recovery is going very well. My question is extreme exhaustion, after no problems at all, he has struggled to get out of bed the last two days and is continually asleep. He feels very cold but no temp. Is the exhaustion a normal part of recovery?

[Sunnie2day]

Was he assigned a cardiac nurse, or given contact details for the cardiologist - either or both would be the go-to for reporting the exhaustion and feeling cold without a temperature rise. Hopefully it's not anything to be worried about but it's always best to contact the medics for answers to these sort of questions.

Failing that, have you tried the BHF Heart Helpline nurses? The following link is to their contact details page:

bhf.org.uk/informationsuppo...

By nearly all reports, the nurses are wonderful, very helpful.

Please keep us updated on how things go on for you both.

[Oldmasons in reply to Sunnie2day]

Thank you, I just called the nurse and had a good discussion. I am taking him to the Dr now

[Blackcatsooty]

I dont think its a normal part of recovery, but its exactly the issues that I get. All was great 3 or 4 months, then the fatigue set in. I cant help but note that we are both post stroke. And the fatigue from stroke is severe and common.I dont know if the fatigue is from AVR or Stroke or old age.

24 hour heart monitor next Wednesday, which is part one of the cardiac consultants response.

Colin

[Oldmasons in reply to Blackcatsooty]

We are at the hospital now, the Drs say fatigue this bad is often from the stroke. But they are doing full tests to make sure everything else is ok. Good luck with your 24 hour monitor

[Sunnie2day in reply to Oldmasons]

Update? I've been offline for several days but have been thinking about you. I hope things are resolving!

[Oldmasons in reply to Sunnie2day]

In hospital still (day 5), they have taken blood cultures and think it may be Infective Endocarditis (again)

[Sunnie2day in reply to Oldmasons]

I'm so sorry to hear that, you both are in my thoughts. Please keep us updated.

[Oldmasons in reply to Sunnie2day]

Thank you, I appreciate that, a lot x

[Oldmasons in reply to Sunnie2day]

Endocarditis confirmed - in the replaced valve and the ends of the pacemaker leads. The bacteria is streptococcus but different from previous, this one is found in a hospital. Antibiotic therapy started. We have a PET scan booked. The infection is only small so caught it in time.

[Sunnie2day in reply to Oldmasons]

I am SO sorry to hear that! Hospital acquired infections are difficult to treat if not caught early - you did exactly the right thing getting him to hospital so quickly. Please let us know how the scan goes, and how he gets on now.

And please do take time for yourself to recharge - even though just now things feel critical (despite a diagnosis and treatment started), you need to keep your physical and mental strength up so you can do the same for him.

((HUGS))

I hope you have some sort of support network to stand by you both during this nightmare time.