full heart bypass

[Lemon31]

I have had a full heart bypass after just over 4 months waiting. I am now nearly 3 weeks post op. Nobody could have prepared me of how hard this is. I know I will feel better and I am getting stronger each day. The emotional rollercoaster is the worse. I am sad, angry and trying to be positive all at the same time. I really think there needs to be more help with the mental side of this. Everybody can see your physical side but not what’s going on in your head.

[MousesMum]

hello

Im sorry to hear you’re struggling but I gather it’s perfectly normal. I read tons of pre-op advice and prepared to help my mum with this on the other side. She really struggled mentally pre the op and was in a deep pit most of the time for the first few weeks afterwards. However, she is now improving greatly (about 5 weeks) and seems more chirpy and “stable”. I think it’s only natural to feel really emotional after such a traumatic event. I wish you every success with your continued recovery.

[Lemon31 in reply to MousesMum]

Thank you so much for your reply. It is good to know of people’s experiences. ❤️

[DodgyTickerMum]

Hiya,

So sorry to hear you’re struggling at the mo - but know that those feelings and emotions are all perfectly normal after such major surgery. You’re only 3 wks post op, so it’s still very early days at the mo. Sleeping upright is so tricky in the beginning and being exhausted certainly doesn’t help either!

I felt so emotional post op and had quite a difficult recovery. It is hard to get your head around the enormity of what you’ve been through - especially when you’re still suffering, in pain and creeping about like you’re 109!

However, you will get stronger and feel physically better every day and that in turn, will help with your emotional recovery. This forum is so helpful with others who have experienced what you’re going through and can empathise exactly.

Time is a great healer and that is what we all need post op to recover - both physically and mentally. Keep going, know that you’re doing brilliantly and as my lovely Cardiac Rehab Nurse always says to me ‘Be Kind to yourself’.

If you mention how you’re feeling to your Rehab Team, they can refer you to a specialist counsellor for more support.

Take Care & get well soon. ❤️‍🩹

[devonian186]

You are probably at a low point at this stage as by now many people expect to be fully recovered. The mental aspect is rarely touched on and the realisation that you are not immortal is hard to cope with, especially when it might coincide with a plateau in the rate of physical improvement.

I would say it might be 8 to 10 weeks before you feel "well" physically and at that time you will likely note your mental health improving. That is by no means the end of your recovery but at the least you will likely have turned a long corner

[BobbyB1962]

Sorry to hear you're struggling a bit. It's still very early days and is perfectly normal to feel the way you're feeling. I found that once I was able to get out & about walking properly and then back to going to the gym etc it really helped the mental side too. However if needed you can always get referred by your GP for counselling.Good luck with your recovery 😊

[Dyllibobs]

Aw so sorry you're struggling at the moment, I hope it helps to reassure you that I felt exactly the same. Nobody really prepares you for the mental side of all this. I'm 10 months on now & feeling great so hang in there. Do talk to your family & friends as this will help, I didn't at first but found that it did help when I opened up. The Cardiac nurses are great to talk to & really helpful with advice. Hoping you're feeling better asap xx

[Billyjean123]

Do you have cardiac rehabilitation team in your area? Some of them have a counsellor attached to them. I found this really helpful. I think it's s great acknowledgment of the major impact these operations have on your mental health. I perfectly understand where you are coming from. I feel I have come a long way with this, it will improve. All the best

[Lemon31 in reply to Billyjean123]

Hi thank you for your reply. Yes I start my cardio rehab in June. Hopefully it will get better.

[Billyjean123 in reply to Lemon31]

I hope so. Take care 🙂

[Hidden]

👋 Hi Lemon31, I was 72 when I had my Bypass September 2022. I told myself I'd had a good innings and the wheels had to fall off sometime. The truth is I bottled it up, made a joke of it to my friends and family when in reality I was raging inside at my situation. How you're coping with your position at 53 yrs I have no idea! The sheer discomfort-lack of sleep 😴 your previous heart attack - stenting - bloody numerous meds no wonder you're struggling with the mental side of your situation.

When I was diagnosed with a severe stenosis of the LAD (the widow maker) and it could not be stented leaving the only option as a Bypass I was gutted. 18mths on I'm back playing tennis 🎾 no meds other than a daily Aspirin+Omeprazole and now knowing the complications that can arise from stenting I'm mighty glad that I had my Bypass.

I truly hope you feel better soon from six weeks on from my Bypass I suddenly felt so much better I sincerely hope you do too.

Best wishes,

Denis

[Lemon31 in reply to Hidden]

Hi thanks for your reply. It is good to know you felt a bit better at 6 weeks. It is really helpful reading other people’s stories. All the best.

[Coper10]

Hi Lemon31, I had to have open heart surgery aged 52, out of the blue when I had not had issues with my health previously. It was at a time when visitors weren't allowed and I was in hospital for a number of weeks. I have 2 children and not being able to see them and not knowing how things would turn out, was very challenging mentally. After the op I was just glad to be alive and be back at home. The booklet I was given mentioned after effects from surgery could be emotional. That was totally correct. The enormity of the operation kicks in afterwards. The restrictions on what I was up to doing also affected me, as I wondered if I would get back to normality. I would feel ok one minute and be chatting to my son and then, for no apparent reason find tears rolling down my face! Very disconcerting. I'd have a day when I felt good and then days when I felt so tired and very low. I began to think I wasn't making progress. To gain some perspective, I started putting a sad face in my diary on a down day and was able to see week on week that the sad faces got less which really helped. I also made a point of being kind to myself - if it was a bad day, that was ok and was just that day, acknowledging the next day could be different again. However I felt that day was ok. I also had some counselling which helped just to be able to talk about my experience. It's very true that once you are seen as being fixed physically, little attention is given to your emotional wellbeing! Be kind to yourself, don't pressure yourself, take each day as it comes - each day will be different. I wish you all the best in your recovery 🤗

[Lemon31 in reply to Coper10]

Hi thank you so much for your reply. It really helps me getting people’s experiences. All the best to you.

[Lowerfield_no_more]

Have you investigated what mental health support your GP surgery offers? Mine does 'Emotional Well Being Support' and 'Social Prescribing' both of which I was unaware of until recently. I have no idea how these work or how effective they are in these difficult times for GP practices but you could ask at your GP practice to see if there is anything similar there which may help you along.

[Lemon31 in reply to Lowerfield_no_more]

Thank you so much for your reply.

[MWIC]

I don’t know anything about what you’ve gone through- Just wanted to wish you the best and send positive vibes over the ether - give yourself time to adjust and heal and don’t start “assessing” yourself too soon

[Lemon31 in reply to MWIC]

Hi thank you for your reply this really helps.

[momander]

Hi,First of all congratulations!! This is major surgery so to get through it with no issues is wonderful. I had my cabg last January and the physical recovery was really quite ok. I expected worse. I just followed doctors orders and allowed time to be a healer. There were a few wee adjustments made with my meds in the early days as my heart became used to having been operated on. Now on to the emotional side!! I dont know about another hospitals, but the one I was in is now very old. My surgeon was a brilliant man and I will be forever grateful to him saving my life, bit he had no bedside manner at all, and I have had no dealings with him since my operation. I was handed a leaflet saying the sternum will be healed in 12 weeks and you should be OK to go back to work!! The leaflet gave you the basic does and don'ts and that was it. The emotional side was really awful for me!! I just cried and cried for months. Loads of dark thoughts and really bad dreams. Very very low indeed. No one tells you this!! I was angry too!! The why me!!?? My situation is genetic but still I felt I had been dealt a huge blow!! All I can say is it WILL get better, it just takes time. It took me approx 5 months to stop crying mid sentence. You will get there I promise. No one really understands how we feel either as they havnt been through it. It's a tough procedure to recover from that's for sure. Take care and take one day at a time. Xx

[Lemon31 in reply to momander]

Hi thank you so much for your reply. I am so glad you are feeling better. I know I need time and I should take one day at a time. This group has helped me so much.

[maggie80]

Hello, you'll be fine. Take your time recovering. I had a quadruple bypass and a heart valve replacement at the same time. The crazy thing about it. I had the one dizzy bout at the easter and had the op Nov'21. Just keep going. My first walk 24th Dec in a quiet country lane. You'll get there. xx

[Lemon31 in reply to maggie80]

Hi thank you so much for your reply. It is so good to know people’s experiences. All the best to you.

[DancingAgainSoon]

Hi I’m week 6 of recovery and I feel your pain, both mentally and physically. I had a quad bypass unexpectedly after an anaphylactic shock while on holiday. The unknown and not being prepared was so scary. Now I’m out and getting better which is great but the first few weeks were terrible for the mental side of things as I felt useless and anything that didn’t go as planned just made me go into melt down. But don’t despair please it really does start to get better and I’m only 3 weeks ahead of you. I hope you have a good Cardiac Rehab team supporting you and don’t forget talk to everyone about how you feel mentally otherwise they do just see the physical pain side.

Keep your chin up and get well soon.

[Lemon31 in reply to DancingAgainSoon]

Thank you so much for your reply. My problem is I don’t talk and I know this makes it worse. This is so hard but I am determined to get through it. I wish you all the best.

[DancingAgainSoon in reply to Lemon31]

Hi how’s everything going now ?