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Re: Good morning!

By: Decomposed in 6TH POPE | Recommend this post (0)
Wed, 26 Oct 22 6:13 PM | 52 view(s)
Boardmark this board | 6th Edition Pope Board 		Msg. 36847 of 60008
(This msg. is a reply to 36841 by micro)
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micro:

Re: “I want to ask De if he has had any physical changes or mental cautions as he continues to recover from that really serious operation he underwent.. Am I going to favor or be protective of my using my chest muscles for example?”Did they tell you you'd be fully recovered in a year? LOL. Don't you believe it!

My muscles and heart are as healthy as ever. They feel normal. But I don't feel 100%. It's the whole ribcage / shoulders thing. My sternum creaks when I inhale deeply. Sneezing always takes me to the brink of sharp pain... but it doesn't quite get there... which always comes as a relief. Once, when I wrenched my back, sneezing returned to being as bad as ever and stayed that way for weeks. If you can imagine having an uncontrollable sneeze coming... when you do that big, ultimate inhale and . . . there's so sharp a pain that the sneeze is stopped at the last possible moment. Until this started happening, I didn't even know it was possible to stop a sneeze at that point.

I didn't mind a bit when I got through that part of recovery.

You'd think that coughing would be painful too, but it never has been - even now when I've got a pretty bad cough.

The seam down my sternum feels weak and I imagine it always will. I'd *never* want to be punched there... so I guess surgery brought my barfighting days to a close. It feels like a hard one could crack it in two. I have little bumps every inch or so down the sternum, and I think they're from the wiring. They remain sore to the touch. And my shoulders still hurt a little - though, fortunately, not like they did in those early months. Like you, I'm not a fan of back-sleeping, but shoulder pain made it impossible to sleep on my side. That eventually improved, but it took a long time and still isn't like it once was.

A month after my surgery, I developed a stuttered gasp (Try doing four small inhales in quick succession with NO exhaling) It just started happening out of the blue one day, then every day, always happening as a spontaneous, solo gasp. Then it was happening every few hours. This wasn't painful. It resembled a hiccup in some ways... but it was odd and always attention-getting since it was like someone else had taken charge of my breathing. When I saw my cardiologist, I told him about it and he wasn't concerned or surprised. "The phrenic nerve must be irritated," he said.

The phrenic nerve runs from the brain to the lungs and tells them when to breathe. Because of its location, open heart surgery can damage it. Severing it can be fatal! Fortunately, when it is only irritated, it can heal itself... which mine did over the next two months.

There were other side effects, but they were (or are) mostly drug related. My pulse is freakishly low nowadays. A typical resting pulse is 53. When it goes below 50 I don't feel well. My BP is a lot lower too... 108/66 the last time I checked. Pre-surgery, it was dependable at 120/80. The doc says both were affected by the aortic stenosis (clogging) which forced the heart to beat too powerfully. (I was on the cusp of developing an enlarged heart.) With the stenosis gone, the heart didn't have to beat nearly as often to move the same volume of blood, so the pulse came way down. It probably affected my BP too.

Do they have you on a drug called metoprolol for the first 60 days? I was going to be on it permanently because it helps prevent arrhythmia (which I experienced once), but metoprolol lowered my pulse still more... down to 43 bpm at one point and made me kind of woozy. When I next saw my doctor, I told him and he took me off of it.

If you're using metoprolol, I suggest you get a little handheld EKG (they run $100 or so) to help you keep an eye on it.

That's it for my trouble report. Your mileage will vary.








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Gold is $1,581/oz today. When it hits $2,000, it will be up 26.5%. Let's see how long that takes. - De 3/11/2013 - ANSWER: 7 Years, 5 Months

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The above is a reply to the following message:
Good morning!
By: micro in 6TH POPE
Wed, 26 Oct 22 2:36 PM 		Msg. 36841 of 60008

Hi!

Its good to be able to visit the office and type and see y'all !

I am gradually getting stronger as I know De can relate to directly the healing process. So I feel better this morning than I have in a while.

Sleep remains the biggest thing as I hate sleeping on my back and I am somewhat confined by the width of the powered adjustable recliner. I am not small across the shoulders. Very thick chested and broad shouldered. A tad nnusual for somoene who has always been a couple inches less than 6 foot tall but it is exactly how my father was and my big brother who lives only 4 miles from me.

But I am starting today to feel a ittle more alert and not quite as sore in the healing chest area.

My post op checkup with the doctor yeterday was excellent and I am on right track. Nurses and therapy people cannot believe what I can do and most have closed the case files as there is nothing more they can do. Great news.

So I need to continue to heal and regain body strength.

Praise God for HIS answers to the prayers of all who sent them to the Throne if Heaven! THANK YOU!


I have been up now since 5:00 a.m. and watched t.v. in middle of night also.. I just could not sleep anymore.

I do not feel much like sitting at my desk and using the computer as it hurts my shoulders for sme reason.

This is quite an experience and while I do not recommend it for anyone, especially old codgers like Ribit or myself, I am grateful God uses Doctors to heal us make us whole again!
I will get out to vote at my precinct as it is not crowded the way it is set up.

Each day is a little better so I am encouraged looking forward to being almost normal again!

I want to ask De if he has had any physical changes or mental cautions as he continues to recover from that really serious operation he underwent..

Am I going to favor or be protective of my using my chest muscles for example?

Miz micro is informing me it is time to get off the computer so I need to say goodbye for at least now!

Hopefully will catch up with you all later today!

Thank yuou for your kind thoughts and prayers!

Your pal,

micro.....


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