It's official, I'm having heart surgery on Feb 18th...wow, it's real now.

Revvy said:

Chesire, it'll be fine. Try not to stress out about it, they're gonna stress you plenty during the test. That's why it's called a stress test.

So it's day two back to work. I was SO exhausted last night, I slept like the dead. And evidently from 8pm on while watching the Tiger's Game with my GF evidently I would just start snoring on the couch.

M-W-F are going to be tough days, I switched my rehab to the first session @ 6:30 am, I need to get it done in an hour then race to my GF's place to take a shower and try to be out the door by 8am so I can be in work at 8:30.

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good tired or or sick tired?

i actually like being tired at the end of the day after having worked hard. you can hit the pillow hard and just drift off to imagination land. it's the weak tired that i can't stand.

FromZwolle said:

good tired or or sick tired?

i actually like being tired at the end of the day after having worked hard. you can hit the pillow hard and just drift off to imagination land. it's the weak tired that i can't stand.

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Not sick tired. Just that, even though my job isn't really all that physically active (I sit in a medical school's lecture auditorium media control booth for most of the day) it still was more walking than I've done in 12 weeks, plus getting up at 5ish to be ready for rehab, and doing a full rehab session. It was all more than I've done in a long time. I mean usually within an hour after rehab I'd fall asleep for 5-15 minutes on the couch, just dead out for a few minutes. Plus usually I didn't wake up til 7ish, so that's two extra hours I didn't get.

Glad to see you're getting back to some semblance of normal. Gotta be hitting the sack early on the mornings before rehab, it sounds like.

My first test went well. My only question is this... since I've been injected with a radioactive substance, when can I expect my super powers to manifest themselves? I've read lots of comic books and know how this stuff works, ya know.

ChshreCat said:

Glad to see you're getting back to some semblance of normal. Gotta be hitting the sack early on the mornings before rehab, it sounds like.

My first test went well. My only question is this... since I've been injected with a radioactive substance, when can I expect my super powers to manifest themselves? I've read lots of comic books and know how this stuff works, ya know.

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It's pretty instantaneous IMHO, but decreases with every trip to the bathroom.

Oh, one thing, don't be going into any airports or nearing the Us/Canada /mexican Border. A friend of a friend tried to cross into Canada here at Detroit, the same day as having a test, and supposedly he set off the passive radioactive sensors that you drive past as you enter the border checkpoint.

Revvy said:

Oh, one thing, don't be going into any airports or nearing the Us/Canada /mexican Border. A friend of a friend tried to cross into Canada here at Detroit, the same day as having a test, and supposedly he set off the passive radioactive sensors that you drive past as you enter the border checkpoint.

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I live about an hour from the border, plus there's radiation detectors at all the ferry docks here in Washington, so they automatically gave me a paper to keep on me for the next four days to hand over if that happens. It explains what I was given and how it can set off detectors with the hospital's contact info for verification.

Kinda odd tought... I'm radioactive!

The worst part will be all the lack of sleep due to the glowing!

Just got called that my stress test came back normal.

Great news 'Cat!!!

ChshreCat said:

Just got called that my stress test came back normal.

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that's great. it'll offset all your abnormal qualities.

FromZwolle said:

that's great. it'll offset all your abnormal qualities.

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Hey! I resemble that remark!

Congrats! Glow ON!

Hey, are you anywhere near San Juan Island? A friend of my friend from Freshops lives out there.

Both on islands in the Puget Sound. Not really close.

Great news! I wish I knew what a normal stress test was, every time I have one they end up poking around in my heart...

hows revvy?

1ratdog said:

hows revvy?

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I'm fine. I've been back to work for a couple of weeks. Just saw my cardiologist yesterday and the pacemaker guy last week and got taken off most of the drugs, and switched off the lisinopril which is making me cough back to losartran. I've been doing cardiac rehab 3 days a week as well.

Of course I probably just bit off more than I can chew and my BP's not liking it, but I'm right in the middle of attempt to rehab a condo so I can move into it this weekend. Been working on it the last couple of weeks. I originally thought I would have the month of June to do this but found it I have to be out by the 7th, or else I have to pay more money. So I've been cleaning and painting and have to redo my kitchen and bathroom as well as pack my stuff in the lost and get it moved by SUnday.

So that's why I haven't been online much this week. I had to use vacation time or else I'd lose it and marybeth took it off as well, so we're cranking away.

I really wish I could have eased back into life a little slowly after surgery, but it's not looking like it is meant to be.

Revvy, you need some buddies to come over and help get that stuff done! I wish I lived closer.

Took three weeks, 6 appointments and who knows how many doctors and techs and they decided that my heart is fine and the problem is that I'm just a little bit nuts. Well, I could've saved a lot of time and money and told them the second part.

Revvy said:

I really wish I could have eased back into life a little slowly after surgery, but it's not looking like it is meant to be.

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Isn't that always the case mate? Best laid plans of mice and men...

Just take it easy and listen to your body.

ChshreCat said:

Took three weeks, 6 appointments and who knows how many doctors and techs and they decided that my heart is fine and the problem is that I'm just a little bit nuts. Well, I could've saved a lot of time and money and told them the second part.

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peace of mind aint' always cheap, but it sure is valueable. congrats on the clean bill of health. :rockin:

I've got a close friend who went the local small clinic the other day because her left arm hurt... They ran thousands of dollars worth of test against her heart to find nothing wrong. She's about a buck ten with no family history of heart problems (which she told them a hundred times) but they did it all anyhow before they decided she pulled muscle.
Oh well, peace of mind is great and they let her know that her heart is perfect still at 50!

Looks like I've been gone too long... My uncle went through this surgery a year and a half ago...

Well, didn't get to wish you luck for the surgery, but glad to hear it went well...

Oh, have to mention that I talked to my mom and my grandmother had this same surgery in the 80's. She's working on her 9th decade right now and lil porky is still doing his job.

Really glad to hear that your doing better Revvy, how did the move go?

Also, no harm in being a little nuts 'Cat', my wife tells me everyday!

SurlyBastard said:

Really glad to hear that your doing better Revvy, how did the move go?

Also, no harm in being a little nuts 'Cat', my wife tells me everyday!

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The move went good. I still have a ton of stuff to do, but at least I'm out of the loft, and all the heavy lifting was done. I had some help from a couple folks from here, as well as family. Noone let me do anything really heavy lifting wise, so I used hand truck and moved boxes via the elevator, while the heave and big stuff went down wit other folks. (My GF counted the steps on the stairs up to my place, it was 33.) So nobody really let me do anything where the stairs were concerned.

Good to hear! I will crack a beer tonight in honor of you. Keep fighting the good fight! Prost!

How's your brew coming along? Tasted recently?

For some reason, I can't find the link (Probably in the earlier posts to this thread, but too lazy to read)

Wow. Today I officially graduated from cardiac rehab. I'm actually surprised, I didn't have any warning, that my 36 sessions were coming to an end. It's kinda sad, and a little scary actually- I feel like my "safety net" is gone.

For three days a week I was hooked up to a heart monitor, I figured if something was wrong, they'd know immediately. Plus with my tendency to push myself and not know when to quit, the monitor or the nurse monitoring it would tell me to back off. So I'm a little worried about not having that extra level of protection.

But I do know that there's been definite improvement in my physical well being.

For example I've worked myself up to a 10% grade and 4mph for 10 minutes. I found out a couple weeks ago that when you do a treadmill stress test they take you right to a 9% elevation and as some might recall on my stress test BEFORE rehab, I did 3.5 minutes before wiping out, and thought that my valve wasn't working. Now I did more than that elevation for longer.

Yay!!!

Now I have to find a gym, to keep this going.

awesome. keep it up.
best wishes,
bryan

That's outstanding Revvy. Keep at it, at least at level your comfortable with.

That's great news! Keep it up Revvy!

Hoohaa! You DA MAN, Revvy! Now, just keep it up! That's what I "forgot" to do about my exercise program...and it cost me dearly! Good work, Dude!

glenn514

Hey revvy I bought a bycycle and have been trying to ride 4 miles a day not so much lately since its been above 100 degrees every day this week but its a good easy workout!!!

manhattanksbrewer said:

Hey revvy I bought a bycycle and have been trying to ride 4 miles a day not so much lately since its been above 100 degrees every day this week but its a good easy workout!!!

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that's a slippery slope, my friend! a machine already replaced some of your heart, do you really want to replace your legs with another one?


good to hear from our other recovering patient.

Hi Revvy,
I've read so many of your posts (you and all the HBT regulars are admirable for sharing and sticking with the forums with such dedication) including some of this surgery thread over the past few months and yesterday you answered one of mine (thanks) so I thought I'd throw this out. You might take a day and read a book called Younger Next Year by Chris Crowley and Dr. Henry S. Lodge . It's easy to read (even funny at times) and a very practical approach to exercise and cardio-vascular "decay" that essentially praises anyone who is willing to do more "this year" than "last year"...like me. I've managed to lose 20 pounds and brew 50 gallons this year. Both are firsts! My best to you.

Good to hear you're doing well.

Recovering from a valve is no fun.

Glad you made it through surgery allright rev. Hope everything continues to go well for you in the future. Thanks for all that you helped me with on here

So tomorrow I see both the cardiologist and the pacemaker doc. It has been 7 months since my surgery. This is the first of my bi-annual check ups. I'm really curious to see if my pacemaker's been used at all in the last 6 months.

Revvy said:

So tomorrow I see both the cardiologist and the pacemaker doc. It has been 7 months since my surgery. This is the first of my bi-annual check ups. I'm really curious to see if my pacemaker's been used at all in the last 6 months.

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Aortic Valve?

Very common to knock out the SA node in the process. Sometimes it comes back, sometimes not. About half my patients that need one post-op end up normal sinus after a few months.

danmdevries said:

Aortic Valve?

Very common to knock out the SA node in the process. Sometimes it comes back, sometimes not. About half my patients that need one post-op end up normal sinus after a few months.

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Yup, that's my story. I didn't know it was so common, I just wish they had mentioned this as one of the complications and one of the outcomes. I hate having this lump pf plastic in me. I can still feel it.

Hey, if anyone pops in here, I just wanted to mention that one of our members Boswell is having Mitral Valve surgery today....so hold him in your thoughts.