Billy's Guestbook

Hi Art, that's great news that your surgeon was able to repair your valve! For several months after surgery, I felt great. I think my left ventricle and ejection fraction was back to normal within 3 months, maybe less. I started running 4-5 weeks after surgery and swimming at 7 weeks post-op. However, I think I was running off of a false energy caused by the relief of being on the other side of surgery. Looking back, I realized there were times I was more tired than I realized at that time, needed more naps than I realized "in the moment," and wasn't as completely recovered as I thought. I have not posted about this, but a couple months ago (about 10-11 months post-op), I started feeling something that was odd/different/weird. I felt palpitations and had other subtle symptoms that were hard to describe. I just knew that I was sensing some things that were different, and I was definitely concerned. I feared my valve may be leaking again. It not only impacted me physically, but it also weighed heavily on me and was a huge mental distraction. After a stress echo test in late November, my cardiologist told me that the repair was holding up perfectly, so that was a relief! But then what was causing me to feel these things I can only describe as weird/odd/different? We don't know, but the best guess is that my body may still be recovering. I was probably in better shape pre-surgery than I even realized and may have been pushing too hard and expecting too much a year out from surgery. I probably felt great if I was an average person that did not physically push myself as hard as I do (e.g., in swim training), but when trying to get back into the shape I was in pre-surgery, I definitely feel like my body may still be recovering. To directly answer your question, you're only 6 weeks out. Recovery is going to take time, and there will likely be moments of feeling great and moments of not being able to meet immediate expectations you may have of yourself. My cardiologist told me I likely would not feel normal until I got to the 12 week mark. My cardiologist (and also my friend) still reminds me to this day that my surgery was a major surgery, and my body may still be healing and adjusting to everything it went through 14 months ago. Stay positive! Rest when you need to rest! And feel free to reach out with any additional thoughts or questions!