AVR OP COMPLETE

Hi everyone, Recovery day 2/3 at John Radcliffe Oxford, thank goodness got iplayer and spotify and long charging lead as it helps drown out all the noise and take yr mind off all the hard stuffHad op on Mon 8am, terrified never spent a wink Sun night, ok day 1 ICU on morphine pump but then up to single rooms in Heart Centre on just paracetamol begged and got oxycodol added

last night was horrendous

horrible especially last night as back hurt as much as front BUT TODAY made some progress, starting to get wires lines drains removed bit ouch ouch, made me sit in the chair again today and THEN I walked with nice physio Rhodri and used a proper toilet lol, had bedbath from a male student nurse from Chile and more nursing from Indian male nurse with very nice aftershave ha ha ha

theres not much dignity in here but a lot of nice young men xxxx 😂🤣😅😊😂🤣

My humours coming back because its the only way to get through the very long days but Im getting a bit tetchy

Surgical team very pleased with progress but after all that my valve was NOT bicuspid but very severely stenosed with a calcified area on the join between valve and heart so also tidied that up not sure how

Feel run over by bus, wound is large but Im a big sturdy girl lol

Had cpl episodes of AF but settled to normal but still a bit too fast and bp up

They arent giving me some of my usual meds , eg1 diabetic pill gone due to risk of ketoacidosis got temp insulin so no wonder body is wondering what to do especially aft feeding you apricot crumble and custard lol

Best thing is the positivity and encouragement from the wonderful staff

Back to update when poss

[BeKind28-]

Hello

We have already spoken and I am so pleased you are ok

I will just say keep calm around those young men or your BP will keep going up

Lovely to see your post and looking forward to reading about your recovery and how well you ae doing because I know you will do well as you always do you are a very strong lady x

[Yumz199725]

I remember seeing this on Facebook but so glad to see your update was thinking about you on Monday hope the pain eases off tonight hun x you made me laugh what you said though and so true there is literally no dignity on a heart ward lol I wasn't as lucky to have hot guys giving me a bed bath though 😉😁. Take care and look forward to your next update ❤️❤️x

[Ageingfast]

dear Jessica

Thank you for your post. Sorry to hear you are in pain. I never got that pain. And I was barely conscious for two days and then the pain was not bad. And I had a single room throughout. Hang on in there and you will soon feel a lot more comfortable. Then the period of rehab, which is improvement every day or two.

Very interested that you were not bicuspid. My surgeon found there was a little plastering to do which had not shown up until OHS. They don’t really know what goes on until the op starts.

Great that you are out of bed, well done, that’s the first big step forward.

That big scar is likely to shrink within weeks and mine is now nigh on impossible to see.

Home soon.

Next delight is when you can lie down flat to sleep.

Then you will soon have your life back.

Best wishes

Sooty

[Hidden in reply to Ageingfast]

Thanks Sooty sleeping on my back im really struggling with as I have prexisting back neck shoulser hip and knee probsAll of me seems to be wearing out ha ha

Just seen checking echo taken today

Looks AMAZING

Dr says my pain worse because my high BP AND HR between 95 to 110, they are adjusting meds x

[Ageingfast in reply to Hidden]

Oh my goodness. Back, neck and shoulder pain. I slept sitting up. But I didn’t have pre existing pains. Pillows under my knees helped a lot, so I didn’t keep sliding down. When home I had one pillow under knees and five pillows in a semi circle so I could sit up and sleep.

Hope the medics can medicate so your BP rationalises and the pains subside.

I found the painkillers were totally effective. Can’t recall which painkillers. I did have trouble post op with my left shoulder. NHS physio helped resolve that.

I guess I was lucky to have op in April/May so warmth of summer helped during rehab.

Just keep looking forward to getting your life back

Sooty

[Thanksnhs]

Hi great to hear that the op was successful and that you are in recovery but so sorry to hear about the pain you are having. I was in ICU for about three days and I don't remember much at all except lots of wires and beeping noises, I did have my own room when I went back to the HDU I think that helps a lot. I am sending hugs and I hope they will give you something to keep the pain better controlled and you will be discharged soon. Take care char x

[Hidden in reply to Thanksnhs]

Thanks CharYes ive got my own room ensuite shower, but being right outside main nurses station means its a lot of beeping whirring etc going on most of night lol

Had echo this morning looking good and I MAY go home in time for Strictly on Sat !!!!!!+!++

[Thanksnhs in reply to Hidden]

The last time my ward was outside the nurses station it was a nightmare all they done was shout I knew every Chinese takeaway they used and who liked what, they just didn't care about keeping us patient's awake all night, it was awful 😡 I have my fingers crossed you are home tomorrow night. Take care char x

[Pammy124prms]

hi jessica youre lucky all those nice docs around all i had when i had my ha was a right miserable old git,,,,anyway ive had 2 ha s and got kidney failure but im still clinging on, touch wood. i had a massive haemmorage after the first stent op lost 5 units of blood.was backa and blue from head to toe. i hope youre beginning to feel a bit better you wont yet believe me it takes ages .dont laugh and for gods sake dont strain when you have a no 2.when you start to feel better whatever you do dont tell anyone play on the fact that you still feel awful and need to be waited on for a long time yet,or the buggers will have you up walking a tight rope. if youre on aspirin and the like dont pick your nose whatever you do youll lose all your blood and rapid rhinos are worse than the ha,s. i looked like id done 10 rounds with jou bugner,i wont say try not to worry its very insulting of course were going to worry. but you will get better but itll take a while. if you want to borrow some of my meds ive got a better stock than boots.paracetamol are the safest thing you can have, ask if you can have ibuprofen as well i cant cos of the kidneys. take care sorry ive gone on a bit. chin up and relax....... stupid thing to say.

[Hidden in reply to Pammy124prms]

What a great inspiring message to read after another bad night last night, not so much the wound all sorts of other things especially little sleep will update more later as had 2 funny odd turns and need advice, back later many thanks ❤️

[Taviterry]

On a flippant note: I had my TAVI at the John Radcliffe in July and found everyone VERY nice. As you were taken with "a lot of nice young men" (how sexist and non-PC 😀), I can remark that it was quite pleasant having THREE young female nurses cleaning my incisions. I did twitch when a young man came in to take my lunch order as I sat (unsuccessfully) on a commode (and my boys' boarding-school accustomed me to lack of privacy - there were no doors on the toilet cubicles).

One downside was that I was relying on my mobile phone to contact friends & family and the signal in my ward was very bad.

[Hidden in reply to Taviterry]

You brought me a big smile with that in the small dark hrs of this morning thank you

My husband was an oilrig geologist and he had experience too of rig toilets where a door was unimportant to the crew

Waiting for this night to pass bf the drugs come round,please hurry as Ive given up got out and sat in the chair but pulse is 90 to 106 again overnight varying

my bed here is airfilled squidgy and almost impossible to move myself in as just slip slide back down the matrress banging feet on footboard lol

Brain also much like mush sometimes and awaiting verdict for going home as pulse is too fast sometimes just upped lisinopril to 20 mg teatime cut out amlopdipine, keep betas etc etc

Appreciate anyones input on these

Ill Update asap

Thank you