Heart surgery recovery -- what's it like?

[pickaback]

Even though I had surgery as a child, I can no longer recall what the recovery process is like.
Since I have been told I will likely need more surgery some day, can anyone share their road to recovery? The ups and downs? Anything they found that made the road any easier?
Thanks.
pickaback :?:

[Sarah]

Hi,

There are a lot of posts about this in here already, so in addition to what people will post here, I highly recommend using the Search function to look for posts that contain the words myectomy, surgery or recovery.

take care,

S

[stmprscrpr]

I don't know if you are male or female, but if you are a woman, I would recommend that you get some comfortable undershirts with spandex for some support that you can wear around the house instead of a bra. The bra band was very uncomfortable on my incision.

As far as recovery goes, I'm sure you'll get a range of responses. I had a rough time, got an infection, and had lots of pain. My recovery was slow and it took two years before I felt completely better. Hopefully other people have better stories to share. My operation was for a mitral valve repair.

Dolly Y

[Kay Julius]

I had a myectomy on May 1 of this year and my recovery has been fairly simple. I agree that a sports bra would help. I place a medical pad where my incision was to keep from rubbing. I sleep in a recliner for comfort. Sleeping flat is still uncomfortable for me because of the pressure on the sternum. My surgery was on May 1 and I flew home on May 6. I was off work for 8 weeks, but felt I could have gone back sooner. I have a desk job, so that helped. I used perscription pain killers for about a week, but then was able to change to Tylenol for a week then nothing. I really had a good experience. If you would like to talk farther, please feel free to email me personally.

[Robert Hartwell]

Kay was right on when she said that sleeping upright helps. I too could not sleep flat or on my side without sternal pain. I was fortunate that my mom, who lives with us, owns one of those adjustable beds. Made all the difference in the world.

Bob