Tracie's Posts

Am i reading this correctly that your surgery was 5-13-24? Today is only 5-20-24. Thats only 7 days after open heart surgery. It all sounds simple on paper, but make no mistake, there is no simple open heart surgery. You might be expecting too much, too soon. I am betting as each day goes by, things will get better and better as long as you don’t push the envelope. We all heal at our own rate. Give it some time. Your body needs to adjust. And it will. When i got home after almost 2 weeks in the hospital i never thought that a month later i would be doing as well as i was. And i was 79. Yes, i had minimally invasive but the key word is invasive not minimally. I wish you well.

Tracie, I'm glad it all worked out for just some comic relief. I think they should push squat exercises before the surgery. I've tried to elevate some of my sitting surfaces. Before hand, I went to Joanne's Fabrics and got a square of extra stiff foam that I put where I sit on my couch. The couch is getting old and a bit sunk down, I don't think I could get up without that foam.

I feel for you. You are only at the beginning of recovery but I remember those days. It's normal and in a few weeks, you'll look back and see how much you've progressed. I expected to be all good in a month (minimally invasive ) but Richard is right. Stress the invasive. It just means smaller scars. 😉

It's hard. Really, really hard. We all try to be encouraging and celebrating the victories here, but at times it is just awful. Fortunately, for most those awful moments pass and become fewer and fewer. Naps are your friends. Even just lying down for a while can help. Also, crying. Feel free to let it flow. Then blow your nose and move on with things. It will all be okay, but right now, it's okay if you think it sucks!

Here's a non-medicinal approach that worked for me: Support your head/neck/shoulders any way possible when resting, & when standing use impeccable posture. Head/Neck- use a travel pillow to support your head - your skull is HEAVY and takes a lot of energy to hold it up. Use the travel pillow and use that energy for healing. Shoulders - whenever you're resting, support your arms & shoulders by wedging pillows under your armpits and elbows. The takes the weight of your arms off your shoulders, so you're not using energy holding your arms up. Gives your upper body a chance to heal without working. Posture - when you're standing or walking, stand up as straight and tall as you can. This will help regain your core strength. So shoulders back, chin up, smile! Resist the urge to curl inward to protect your chest area. I found a therapist to give me a massage about 8 weeks post op - she helped me on the table, made sure I was comfortable, and it felt soooooo good! Good luck, I hope you find something that works for you. I just stuck to acetaminophen and it wouldn't touch the back pain at all. Meredith

My shoulders, neck and lower back were sore, too. Based on my experience, there isn't an easy solution. You can take some pain medicine like Tylenol but it just masks the underlying problem. Since the problem is temporary (until you can sleep normally) that's fine. I did use some hot cherry pit pillows to put around my neck and shoulder. This helped but didn't make it going away completely. You can use anything that warms up your tissue in the problematic area. If you have someone that can give you a slight(!!) massage, that helps. And if all that didn't help enough, add some meds.

Like Rita said Tracie, your body has been through a trauma. Many have posted about not having a BM right away—that’s when we’re regular, but there’s nothing regular about open heart surgery, so it takes a while for the body to adapt. Heck, I get constipated every time I get jet lag—that’s how sensitive I am to time changes….I can only imagine how much more with OHS. Hang in there! I’ll likely be lamenting the same soon enough! 😅 P.S. I’m not really sure there’s such a thing as TMI on this site. 😆

Sue—I travel a lot internationally for my work and had that problem. I am not a vegetarian at all but I now eat extra salad, fruit, nuts, and vegetables the day I fly and as much of those as possible in flight (coach meals are usually not ideal). Also drink tons and tons of water because flying dehydrates me so much. Then once at destination I keep on with the extra fruit/veg, look for soups, eggs, and avoid any big quantity of meat or bread/rice/pasta for a couple of days. It took me a long time to figure out what and how much I needed to do about this but finally got it down!