Hi all, fit ( or so I thought) 62 year old male never smoked regular gym goer most of my life. Back golfing and my part time job which I love. I have a beer but no hard drinks, diet was average but I did think because I exercised so much I could eat what I wanted. Low cholesterol 2.5 and border line type 2 diabetic. Cbgx4 surgery on 22/4/23 and I am really struggling emotionally and with anxiety. Is this normal?
No chest pain or breathlessness but still have left chest numbness and occasional tingling in left index finger. Climb stairs at work regularly and carry my golf bag. Probably looking for reassurance but head all over the shop.
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Jeanvaljean24601
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Like you I had a Cabg but x2 back in January this year, I am a few years younger 56, iam running three times a week (5 miles) and walking 2 or 3 miles on the days I don’t run, so I feel I’m doing fairly well. No pains other than the odd nerve twinges on the leg scar, left side of chest still numb but sometimes it does feel like the feeling is coming back but then it doesn’t.
Like yourself my emotions are all over the place but I can live with that to be fair, it’s a small price to pay considering, we are going on holiday to Corfu on Sunday and I have bought a book to read “Solve for happy” by Mo Gawdat, apparently it’s a good book according to Dragons Den Steven Bartletts podcast (worth a listen).
Thanks Richard, you sound like you have made good progress also. Keep up the running. I have done a couple but concentrating on the golf. I’m going to Italy next Saturday and I think this where this anxiety is coming from. Still getting aches and pains but it’s probably a 1/10 threshold . Still enough to get the head messed up.
Stay healthy and I wish you all the best. Thanks again
I had a 4 way bypass in May 2022. Your head will be all over the place and I get anxious just before a short car trip in this country so you are bound to be anxious. I have not flown again yet so please let us know how you got on with not just the flying itself but the inevitable stresses with checking in etc.
I still get some aches and pains and it took a year before the chest stopped feeling as if it was pulling when i bent over.
I suspect that once you get over 50 that the correct weight is a huge factor, in particular the waist size.
You have made a physically excellent recovery and well done for that
Emotionally and feeling anxious however is something so many of us take so much longer to get over than the op so what you are feeling is perfectly normal even though not nice at all
Those sensations you are getting I still get some after 2 years post op but next time you see your Doctor just mention it so they can reassure you and if you find you are really struggling with your anxiety you could self refer yourself for some Counselling as well as ask your Doctor to refer you but maybe now you are getting replies from others saying yes we feel or have felt the same that could be enough to help you work through this and you will
Thank you so much for your kind reply and words. I have been on this a few hours and already feel the reassurance. I have a check up on Thursday also , I will mention it then. Never having been in hospital or ever taken a tablet is a big life change already. My mind tells me that the nerve damage to the op will take a considerable time to get over but it doesn’t stop the negative thoughts. Thank you again.
Right, 71 year old with PCI, AVR and 1xCABG in May/June, 13 weeks today since OHS. Swimming but pecs are still sore so just back and breaststroke, frontcrawl is really painful. Rehab exercises help as did some manual work (sawing 3mm steel) yesterday.
I was warned of PTSD pre-op (!) but I've been extremely lucky as I've only had a handful of down days. I think a lot is down to attitude, I was determined to prove the doctors wrong as I was told I'd never get back to more than 70% to 90% of pre-op fitness. Well I'm doing the first park run of my life in the morning. My fitness is almost back to 3 years ago although I had a short spell of slightly better fitness inbetween but it is still early days.
Main sacrifice has been alcohol, I was probably drinking too much anyway but I'm down to 7 units a week most weeks now.
Probably, going back to my comment about attitude, is to think of the surgery as an opportunity to live life properly again, a second chance that most don't get. Just work on taking the positives out of what has happened and try to ignore the negatives which are minor compared to still being alive ...
Hi, thanks for your inspirational post. You seem very focussed so well done. I now know I am certainly not alone. I think this hyper vigilance i was told about is a thing. .I shall be trying to apply everybody’s positivity. Thanks again
Hi, I had OHS for AVR 4 years ago following a cardiac arrest. I spent the first year concentrating on my physical recovery and didn't give the mental side much thought, this wasn't a conscious thing it just happened that way. I did then struggle a bit and at about 18 mths was prescribed the app Feeling Good which I think of as mild meditation. I used it for about 3 mths, every day, and it made a difference for me and I still occasionally use it.On the physical side I still get the odd twinge and have problems sleeping on my left side, it gets uncomfortable in an unpleasant way. On a positive note I am fitter than I have been for years, run 2 or 3 times a week, had a weeks skiing in France last winter, doing Munroes with more ease than in past 15 years and am doing a climbing course this weekend in the Cairngorms!
For reference I was 50 when I had my op and ran once or twice a week.
I had a 4x CABG 20 months ago and very similar background to yourself. I am 100% now and feeling great.
It's a major op you will have pain that may randomly move around for a while yet but things improve. I have one thing that never has and that was where they took the vein from left arm, below the thumb the pad is still numb but other than that it doesn't bother me at all
Chin up, don't stress and look forward to a happy healthy future
I also had a cabgx4 back in 2021. Same age it is normal to have numbness on chest as sternum still repairing. Anxiety gets better but still have some today. Keep thinking you have a second chance in life so make the best of it as many don’t take care
Hi JeanvaljeanI had AVR surgery December 2021. Fit and healthy, minor symptoms which at 60 I just put down to getting older. Post surgery dealing with it mentally was almost harder than the physical recovery. I must have gone to A and E 3 or 4 times in the first 6 months ( not very proud of that frankly) convinced it had all gone wrong and I was at deaths door. I was hypera alert to any twinge or creak and had pretty constant low level anxiety. Someone told me it takes about a year before you feel 'normal' and 2 years before you find yourself forgetting at times that you've had surgery. It's perfectly normal. Hang in there 💪.
I can only speak for my husband who had a quad bypass in 2018. For quite a while his head was all over the place and weird dreams disturbed his sleep. our lovely cardio surgeon put it simply. "Your brain is still trying to make sense of what happened so let it wander. When you've got a lot more to occupy your mind, these feelings will gradually disappear".
Chest numbness is normal. Nerves and goodness what else was affected during the op will gradually mend.
Thanks for sharing not only your husbands experience but yours also. It can’t be easy being the wife or partner of the patient. I wish you both all the best
Thank you for your reply, I am now very much aware how cathartic posting my concerns will be. So many experiences to gain advice and reassurance from. Thank you very much
Hi, It's very early days after your op. A retired specialist said to me. Month at a time not a week. It took me 12months to feel anything like. I had a quadruple and a replacement heart valve. Try and forget about your operation. Look forward to your golf. Best Wishes C
Thank you for your reply. I have been very much thinking about it day to day. I have tried to do the week to week approach. It’s reading all the comments like yours that make me realise I am not unique. Golf yesterday and playing again today.
"I have a beer but no hard drinks, diet was average but I did think because I exercised so much I could eat what I wanted."
Maybe your anxiety is because, deep down, you know this has to change?
Has your hospital offered you a place on a cardio rehab course? Cardio rehab really helps dispel all the stories we tell ourselves to justify poor life style choices that are, quite literally, killing us.
Hi , thanks for the reply. I have cardio rehab by video. The nurse just really talks through what’s going on. To be honest I have had no problem altering lifestyle choices , I’m just more aware now what is in the actual food we eat.
I really appreciate your advice though. All the best .
It takes a long time to heal physically and emotionally.
Not everyone suffers the awful emotional roller coasters!! I did!! I cried mid sentence for 5 months!! It was awful. Really dark thoughts and bad dreams too. It took me 5 months before i could comfortably lie in my own bed again. I bought a recliner chair and slept propped up on my back for 5 months. Its baby steps all the way..I'm 8 months post op now and feel great. I still have some days where I am as flat as a pancake, and i still have some healthy anxiety but it's getting better as time goes on. My wonderful cardiologist said to me " you now have a healthy heart" "you no longer have heart disease" !!! He said that I would start to see and feel a difference in 6 months then in a year I would feel different again. My sternum area is still quite tight and tender and I still have some numbness in my breasts, but it's improving. It all takes time. When your in that awful dark place it's difficult to have positive thoughts isn't it?, Then when your feeling brighter it's easier to think positive!! Things will get better I promise. It just all takes time. You can be the fittest person going, not smoking or drinking and eating a healthy diet, and still have heart disease!! My situation was genetic so I was just waiting for it to be my turn!! I now don't smoke or drink and eat a very healthy low fat diet!! I'm doing everything I can to stay healthy. I'm sending all my good wishes and healing thoughts to you. Take care. Xx
That is a vey inspiring , open a positive reply and I thank you so much. I wish you many , many bright days and the pancake days are few and far between.
I also thought prior to this I had a great mental strength but it turns out not so much. I said in on an earlier reply this forum that this is very cathartic and your reply is an example of what I mean. Thank you very much .
Hi I found my head took a lot longer to catch up to my physical recovery after my cabgx4. I was 51 & like you thought I was doing everything in life to keep me healthy- had no signs with cholesterol or blood pressure. Had a “you’re completely fine” NHS review for over 50’s a few months earlier. I think that’s part of it - the fact you can’t believe it’s happened to you. I remember being told several times in hospital- well you’re not who we normally see here!! 4 years later I’m just grateful it was found & that I was fit to make a good recovery & my head eventually caught up!!! Tingling in chest stayed for 2 years & I still occasionally get them now. Good luck in your recovery ❤️🩹
Hi Gail, yes I get exactly what you mean. A nurse in hospital said to me with lifestyle changes you can turn this around. To myself I said this will be good and asked her what can I change. After all my answers to her questions, she said with a sad look, “you’ve just been unlucky”.
Thank you for another great piece of advice and sharing your experience. Very, very helpful .
thanks for the reply. The numbness doesn’t really bother it’s all the other aches and pains as a bi product. It seems I am definitely not alone. Thank you for your advice .
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