John's Posts

Unrealistic Expectations After OHS This may get lengthy, but I wanted to share my thought and feelings with the group who will hopefully understand my thoughts .. Ist off I'm 65 , I’ve had heart issue for many years primarily Afib since 1991 , I had mild Mitral Valve Regurgitation for the past few years in 2017 I was diagnosed with Prostate Cancer and did my selected treatment which concluded with Radiation which was completed in June of 2018. I had been having some shortness of breath, but it escalated to severe shortness of breath and heart pounding literally out of my chest, fast forward to Dec 10, 2018 and two echo’s later was diagnosed with severe Mitral valve Regurgitation, and Tricuspid regurgitation . My Cardiologist said I needed OHS sooner than later , as you all know there are no other option , and referred me to a surgeon in NYC, being a veteran I have very few options but the surgeon they referred me to had 37 years of experience and specialized in Mitral Valve repairs. I met him and felt pretty confident after speaking to him. I know the VA Hospitals have a bad reputation but I have always had good service and care there , so after a TTE and cath they also discovered that one of my leaflet cordele had ruptured and this was the primary reason things went south so fast, they assured me after the surgery thigs would greatly improve and I’d be a new man. Ummmm ok I can’t express enough to anyone the mental and physical stress of OHS, and what you endure pre and post-surgery it has changes my life in that regard, how I think how I feel , I worry about everything that is happening and might happen so im one of them, but to me I have just reason. I am now 3 months post-surgery of my Mitral & Tricuspid repair , atrial appendage clipped , pacemaker lead severed , and a few other things done ,they could not fix my afib as the dr said there was quite a bit of scaring in my heart , while I am not huffing and puffing and my heart is not pounding out of my chest like prior ,I still feel really short of breath I actually think its gotten worse in the last few weeks, I also developed what they said were ocular migraines my eyes go out of focus and I get a headache a weird feeling to see things out of focus it doesn’t last long , or let you know when its coming but you know when it, I also had a foggy light headed feeling that has now mostly gone away thank God, my eyes at times feel like they o heavey I cant keep them open so I called the cardio and told here all of this and she said let do an echo I was worried something went wrong with the repairs , they did an Echo and they said I had faint to mild Mitral Valve Regurgitation but noting that would cause any of this so Are you post OHS and dealing with weird things happening that didn’t happen before, are you like me and were hopefully that things would greatly improve I'm told be patient , I know this I'm only 3 months but I come to realize that having OHS is a life changing experience it is to me I live in my world not of pity me but , having to come to terms what I have been thru , these groups help immensely as I come to know I'm not alone some of us bounce back greatly and I'm jealous of all those I see lifting weights and looking good and I sympathize with those who are struggling with various post issues like me so that’s my story I'm not overly religious but I do pray that God , helps me get back on track I’ve been through a lot of medical issues past few years I just want a break so I can have my normal like again . Thanks for reading John