2 Responses to information

1. buster_4 on 2008-06-22 00:49:32.920326

   My wife susan had an open heart by pass Jan 27th -05. She was doing as every open heart does, i guess, until one day she did not feel right. I took her to the emergency at the Heart Hospital, there she was tested and found white count a little abnormal. They recommended a xray-Sue did not want one, she feared they would find something bad. Came back and was told that she may have cancer around her lungs and a mass behind her heart. Since then she has lived with tramua and fear. The x-rays and a PET scan have not been diffinitive--now they want to to take a MRI she tried three times and could not do it. Since then we live each day like she has to heal from the heart by-pass. We do not talk about C and it seems to be a healthy way for her. No other symptoms other then heart systems, natural. When responding, PLEASE, do not mention C. She just wants to talk to someone who has had the same operation as she did. I had a bad virius for about 6 weeks durning this same time period. Await your response. Tom & Sue Milwaukee, WI

2. reggie_1800 on 2008-06-21 23:36:06.608077

   Tom and Sue, Welcome to the group. Bypass surgery is certainly not fun and there are lots of little complications. Most of us have had a few so if you want to know about anything just ask and someone on here will probably have an answer. I had bypass surgery over 2 years ago and had Dressler's syndrome after the surgery. That is pain in the upper chest area above the left breast and on my left side. It hurt everyday and I took advil for it and that stopped the pain but it gave me a burning in my stomach that I could not stand. After about a year the pain quit. It came back after about 6 months and now I have the pain mostly when I first wake up in the mornings and it gets better after I move around some. I have no idea what it is now but don't think its the Dressler's syndrome. It took me about two months to get over the worst of the surgery and then the new pain started. Sometimes the doctors really don't have an answer for you. I tell my internist and my cardiologist about all my little aches and pains and both of them often tell me I just have to live with it. My left leg where the vein was removed to use as part of the bypass grafts still feels numb and swells. My left breast feels numb and sometimes hurts from using the mammary artery. My legt has lymph fluid in it and sometimes it really hurts. I have arthritis and cannot take the vioxx, bextra or other such medicines so I just put up with it. I had severe depression and that still bothers me some but nothing like it did for the first year. It was scary for about a year and now it is mostly just anger and frustration which I think is normal for me. I take xanax, .25mg for anxiety which I have had most of my life and only use it when I feel anxious or panicked, lipitor 40mg for the high cholesterol, diovan hct 160/12.5 mg for high blood pressure, an aspirin a day to keep the blood thin and synthroid 50mcgs for hypothyroidism. I really wish looking back that I had gotten a second opinion on the bypass surgery but am pretty sure the results would have been the same. If it wasn't for the mental problems, I believe I would be all right. Just can't seem to recover the memory loss and now I worry about alzheimer's as I am so forgetful that I think that must be the problem. You seem to be doing good in your recovery. Know there are always some things you want to ask and its hard to know what to share until you tell us what you need to know. Good luck to you and hope this group can be of help to you. Ann

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