Feeling worse.......
Today makes 2 weeks since I had my surgery and I was doing really well. I guess I still am, but I don't feel as good as I did a couple days ago. The area to the left of my incision, on my left breast was numb but now it's really painful. I guess the numbness is going away and is being replaced with pain. It hurts so much more when I walk or move now. My neck is also hurting - I think that stems from the way I've been sleeping. I've managed to get to sleep on my side, but I've had to lay on the pillows really funky and I've probably got my neck outta whack. Anyway - I guess it's normal to have bad days after good ones, right? I know it's prolly not one of those recoveries where things are better each day - it would be nice, though, huh? Thanks for listening, Missy
Hi Missy, My quintuple by pass was 6 weeks ago and recovery has been steady but in "spurts". Right now I am where you are with the chest and neck: no pain, then weeks later numbness and now a jabbing pain. I too used pillows in a funky position (as I slept on my side for 6 weeks) and that has hurt my neck and shoulder blade area. Last night I FORCED myself to sleep on my back. I didn't get much sleep but it did take the pressure/pain/discomfort down a few notches today. Hang in there! Bob
hi missy. this is ron, the hurting and the numbness on your left side and breast is most probably from them takin the artery out there. on my first heart surgery they took mine and i had problems with it for a long time. it seemed to come and go. when they take that artery which is usually the first one they take then veins from your leg, but there is nerves in there that get messed up. they cut the nerves getting the artery out which in turn lets you know every once in a while sometimes a lot. on mine it didnt seem to make a difference what i did some times i could just be sitting and it would have an attack. this time they took all the veins from my leg and they cut the nerve down near my ankle and it is the same way. i have to really watch how i place my leg and not put alot of pressure on it there. and, yes you have good days then will have few bad ones. but every day you should be getting better. i can stress enough to get some exersize, walking and such, stuff that you can do that doesnt cause you a lot of discomfort. i am going on two months since my surgery and am getting better physicially every day. i died three hours after surgery for four and a half mins took them twenty-two mins to get me stabilized. i had a talk with my daughter about what went on and it still gives me chills and i get down more than i should about it. i guess some times it is best to not to know what went on. i talked to my doctor about the nerve in my leg and he said it is possible for it to grow back but is a slow proccess. i have bad days still. some times my chest feels like they just did the cut and split thing and pulling my chest apart. the muscles are pulled back as well as your rib cage in a not normal possission, so i guess it just takes time. she said that they kelp mine open for about two days and me knocked out for the same amount of time. my main problem now is with getting down and having a hard time keeping my spirits up. it is taking a lot for me to keep my selfestem up. seemed like for the 12 days i spent in the hospital i had visitors, some times 6 to 10 a day, now i just hear from my daughter. i almost feel that i should help her pay for her cell phone bill. but this to i hope will pass, i am going to start card-rehab soon so maybe that will help. lol, maybe they all thought i was going to leave this world and they were in my will. yes i do have a dry since of humor. good luck and keep your chin up things do get better with time. i hope i have helped you a little. ron Today makes 2 weeks since I had my surgery and I was doing really well. I guess I still am, but I don't feel as good as I did a couple days ago. The area to the left of my incision, on my left breast was numb but now it's really painful. I guess the numbness is going away and is being replaced with pain. It hurts so much more when I walk or move now. My neck is also hurting - I think that stems from the way I've been sleeping. I've managed to get to sleep on my side, but I've had to lay on the pillows really funky and I've probably got my neck outta whack. Anyway - I guess it's normal to have bad days after good ones, right? I know it's prolly not one of those recoveries where things are better each day - it would be nice, though, huh? Thanks for listening, Missy
Hi, I couldn't sleep on my back at all..I hug still an overstuffed pillow when I sleep on my side. One side is more comfy than the other side usually, the right side. Lor Hi Bob, Thanks for the response - I guess tonight I will try to sleep on my back although I HATE that position! I was so sick of it after I got out of the hospital that I did everything I could to get on my side - I think that was a big mistake!
Missy, They do say to stay on top of the pain. If they expected you to taper off, they should give you adequate warning..sometimes the numbness does wear off and then the pain and hypersensitivity to wearing clothing on your chest starts afterwards. I have been on pain meds since Dec 24th, due to complications of an incision infection and the mammary artery being taken, and without warning this week, the MD wouldn't Rx my pain med. So, cold turkey..but I had tapered down quite a bit, but it's still a shock without warning and could be dangerous. Does this mean you are not going to get more pain meds? Perhaps asking for a less strong one, depending on what you were on, might help. Lor I appreciate the response. I'm doing the walking - trying to add a little more every day. Just learned that I've probably been taking too many of the pain pills, although I was taking them as ordered. The nurse told me to stay on top of the pain - so I was taking 2 every 4 hours. Seems I was supposed to be leveling off with them, spreading them out - and using motrin sometimes, something that everyone failed to let me know. Now I feel like a drug addict or somethin! Thanks for the response, talk to you soon! Missy
i slept on my side from the minute i woke up and they said it was fine if it felt ok but they wanted me to alter sides Rose
Missy, I found they were much better in person at appts in prescribing ongoing pain meds, but when I called the surgeon's office once, they were "well, ok"..and then it seems like if my appts don't jive with running out, there has been more of a problem. They sure did leave you in the dark there and I wouldn't be afraid of telling your PMD when you see him, especially if you think you could use a solitary pill here and there as you never know one week to the next if you will steadily improve with the pain. I didn't.. for weeks and weeks. Have you seen the surgeon yet? Usually, you get one outpatient appt with him...and then generally you're done with him and see your MD or cardiologist next. I think it's because you were doing so well in the beginning, that there is a problem now. I complained of pain the whole time in the hospital, getting out, every appt, going back in the hospital, and to see my MD and cardiologist appts. Sometimes, some people have more nerve damage and pain than others..and the good ol breasts tend to pull and cause more problems. Good luck! Lor Hi Lor, I totally feel like they just left me in the dark....if I should have been tapering off, I would have! I just was doing what the nurse told me and takin the meds so I could exercise and stuff. Then when I call and ask for a refill, THAT nurse acts like I'm crazy. They have me on percocet - 2 every 4 hours. But now I'm supposed to go down to Motrin OTC, I suppose. And yeah, the sucky thing is that I'm having more pain now than I was a couple days ago. My breast and under my arm is like killing me (ok, not killing me but hurting very bad) and I have to be tapering off the meds. It just doesn't make sense, but I guess they know what they're doing. I don't know if I'll get anymore pain meds from the surgeon or not, not anytime soon I'd say. I'm calling my PCP on Monday though - I hope he'll help me out! Thanks for the response, Lor.
I am so sorry that you are having so much pain post-op. It is 7 weeks since my open heart surgery.I had a mitral valve repair, one bypass, and Maze. Three days after surgery, I had a venticular standstill that got me send back to ICU for 4 days.I was given pain meds from the day of surgery (Wednesday)until a week later. When I got out of the ICU and went to the floor I was off pain meds. I still had shoulder pains when I woke up in the morning, but nothing to take pain meds for.I was in the hospital 12 days.I went home with a prescription for oxycodone but did not even have it filled. I consider myself very lucky.. They also took an artery from my chest for the bypass. I never had any pain from that 9 inch incision at all, either in the hospital or after coming home. The drainage tubes caused most of my pain. BUT this past weekend my shoulders started hurting,in the back by my shoulder blades. I had the most pain I had had yet.It must have been just muscles and nerves because it finally went away. I found that what helped the most was massage and exercising my shoulders. So you see, it can start hurting quite a while after surgery.