Frustrated-don't feel better

Frustrated

by betelayne - 2017-04-19 17:39:26

Be patient.It will get better .It's not as easy to recover from as people tell you.I am 7 weeks post op and I am getting there I'm not  where I would like to be yet.I still get tired getting dressed too .I read posts on here every day from people just like you and I  so you aren't alone.It's a long and lonely way back.I had one day to prepare for this .This is a great group.They have helped me .At least I know I'm not alone and what I have and am experiencing is not so unusual .I wish you well and someone more knowledgable than me will comment on your numbers.Take care.

Post operative recovery

by Selwyn - 2017-04-20 02:25:42

Welcome to the club. You are a bit of an astronaut having had 12 weeks of being given the run round waiting for your surgery. 12 weeks is a long time to have extreme fatigue, certainly it is enough to loose personal fitness  ( you should see how the astronauts cope after 12 weeks in space). Even two weeks of bed rest is enough to knock you back by more than that in getting back to fitness. You can expect over 12 weeks to get back to the fitness state you were in prior to the surgery.

I hope your pacemaker settings have been checked- you don't want to be on the fast rate response setting for exercise from what you are saying. It is worth checking with your department.

The actual ablation procedure is a minor intrusion into your right atrium. Personally, I did not notice any change in my heart after the procedure.  

I quite agree with you, your increased heart rate with walking is not normal. You may need to have your pacing thresholds checked or as I have mentioned your rate response. I would be pestering for some reassurance from that point of view. 

If you are taking medication(s), it may be worthwhile looking at whether these can cause your problems.

Do let us know how you get on,

Best wishes,

Selwyn

HELLO FROM TN

by BOBJ - 2017-04-20 11:03:54

I suffered the same thing fo a while. 

Did they put you on an antiplatelet? I noticed when they let me come off of mine that it helped a lot.

Either way it is a lot better now. It just takes time, patience, and persisitance.

Huge thankyou

by AuntieMame - 2017-04-21 02:25:28

Response sensitivity was lowered.  We'll see if that helps keep hr from going too high with just minimal exertion.

They added a beta blocker to deal with sinus tach... which is confusing bc the tech said I was no longer having sinus tach.  Took that last night and I was a zombie all day!  So, will not be taking that again!

I am on anticoagulant.... Savaysa.  So far i haven't noticed side effects, but will keep that in mind.

Glad to know recovery isn't as straightforward as I thought.  I had 2 c-sections and was walking upright the 2nd day.

Greetings from Brookhaven!

by donr - 2017-04-22 11:11:30

Some personal experience to illustrate what Selwyn said about long term inactivity:

1)  I had belly surgery twice in a period of a year.  Each one put me in bed for about 12 DAYS!  Then I got out of the hosp & spent another two weeks trying to get back to some semblance of normalcy. That was after  a period of essentially zero days inactivity pre-surgery.  I was 76 for the first & 77 for the second.

2)  I was washed out beyond belief post-op.  Second time was worse than the first!  Just putting on my socks left me panting & flopped back on the bed, exhausted, heart racing!

3)  Went to see my Cardio & he told me that there was a break point somewhere in the early 70's when you could expect to spend 4 days recovering stamina for every 1 day of bed rest type inactivity.   That calculated out to be about 4 months recovery time at a pace that required a lot of pushing my capabilities.  He was correct!  It took me 4 months to get there.

4)  He also told me that The deterioration was much faster than the recovery.  I had noticed that during a short hospital stay at age 66 in the run-up to getting my PM.  At that time, I was stuck in there for a battery of tests to determine what was wrong with me.  No bed rest, but about 7 days of inactivity.  I noticed at the second or third day that I was starting to feel kinda washed out. 

5)  At that point I recalled a bit of advice I got from an irrascible old soldier named Louis Truman (Harry Truman's cousin).  He told me that if I ever wound up in a hospital to get out of bed & walk - it will help you avoid pneumonia, which preys on "Old Men" who are inactive.  Good advice - he survived at least 4 bouts of it while in his late 80's & 90's. The last one finally got him at age 96. 

6)  So I'll pass on the advice from two experts - it's gonna take you a while & you will have to push yourself, it will not come easy!

7)  My cardio helped me by getting me into a "Stage III Cardiac Rehab."  That is a rehab aimed at people who have had heart surgery/heart atacks.  It is self-paced in a rehab clinic, but you are monitored & watched while doing it - "Just in case..."  It gives you access to exercise machines to increase stamina.  I was able to go from lasting no more than 1 minute on each of three machines to lasting 30 minutes on each.  Really helped me recover.

Donr

Frustrated

by Bela - 2017-04-23 19:39:15

Don't give up it three years since my implant and I have tiredness and flutter.  Sometimes I breakdown because I believe I should be better but with my CP and my husband I support I am able to cope   I also feel better withe regulars exercise