Graft site pain

[SRDS]

Another problem that my husband is having is at one of the graft site. Once he sits for a bit, then tries to walk, the graft site on one of his legs is too painful. Then he tries to move it for a while , walk on the spot a while, then it is fine. Anyone had similar issue?

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

A friend had a triple bypass after facing an exercise ECG for insurance purposes. He was a keen cyclist before and is now ten years later. Like your husband he struggled with bad discomfort where the veins had been harvested. This took around six months to resolve but it was a full year before he resumed cycling.

Bypass and other OHS (Open Heart Surgery) surgery and full recovery takes a while. You can't rush it. A friend of a friend had bypass surgery three months before me and actually was being me when I was four months in!

[SRDS in reply to MichaelJH]

Thanks MichaelJH for your reply. It does make sense what you said. You know how it is. When there is something new happening, one panicks. I will try to stay positive. And be patient. Thanks again.

[Mart25]

Rather oddly, many people find the sites where the veins were harvested more troublesome than the chest wound! My leg wounds were painful and I also had large areas of numbness. So when I knelt on the floor, my knees felt they were kneeling on very different surfaces. This is because there's a large nerve running down the leg (the saphenous nerve) which is right next to the vein they strip out for the bypass. So the nerve gets a bit damaged. Your husband's leg will have been a bit beaten up too and there's nothing the surgeons can do about it. But nerves and skin DO recover and in my case, my leg feels normal and the knee numbness has largely gone. It takes a long time - as MichaelJH has said. Definitely months rather than weeks.

[SRDS in reply to Mart25]

Ah it makes sense. Thanks for the explanation. It does make total sense.

[MountainGoat52]

Both my harvest sites (arm and leg) have impaired sensation due to nerve damage. At times they are painful and it is over 3 years since my op. Massaging does help, as indeed it does when my chest muscles ache. Overall it is a small price to pay for having a vastly improved cardio-vascular system.

[SRDS in reply to MountainGoat52]

Thank you GWP1952. I do the massages and it does seem to gi e him some relief. Even temporary. I suppose we will have to give the sites their own time to heal

[ChoochSiesta]

Yes! Exactly the same. I find it's a balance. Sit still for too long, try and move and it's agony, but that quickly improves as you move about. Move too much and later on, it's agony again. I walked 4 miles yesterday, got home and just fell asleep immediately, woke up and felt stiff and painful.

[SRDS in reply to ChoochSiesta]

Yup sounds about right. It is exactly the same for my husband. If yo identify mind me asking, how long ago was your operation?

[ChoochSiesta in reply to SRDS]

3.5 weeks now.

[SRDS in reply to ChoochSiesta]

Similar to him. He is 2.5 weeks

[Hidden]

Dear Shaivi

So sorry to not be able to give you anything positive, as my vein harvest site plays me up as well , some six months on.

I hate to moan because of what having them harvested has meant to my life, but sod it, it’s a wet Wednesday the dog ran off this morning, burnt my porridge and stewed my coffee ! So here goes,

Its like a creepy crawling type nerve feeling that builds to an ache that you can’t quite put your finger on where it is,

I’m 6ft 5” and all bloody legs, so the ache has a long way to travel. I tend to home work on my computer standing up until I feel it get worse { I don’t think it ever goes } then I sit, then stand then sit , you get it.

I didn’t find walking help my legs at all but realise the benefits of it to the rest of me, pain killing gel didn’t do anything, but soaking in a bath with magnesium init seems to quite them.

Good luck with it all, when mine play up , I just make out that they are reminding me the part they have played , to enable me to reply to you.

Take care

[SRDS in reply to Hidden]

Thank you Blue1958. Appreciate your kind words. I hope that your pain subsides. Thanks again