Symptoms returning after bypass
Hi, I'm new, and my name is Connie. I am 54, and underwent a triple bypass on August 10. I was pleased with my progress up until about 3 weeks ago. Slowly, not only did my original symptoms reoccur, but additional ones! I had been able to walk all day long without shortness of breath, and could walk and talk at the same time, which I couldn't do before. I never really had a heart attack or pain in the left chest before the surgery. The pain was in my right chest, and my jaw. I found my jaw locking up frequently. Now, the shortness of breath is back. Not as bad as it was in the 2 weeks before my bypass....but it's there. I find myself blowing/puffing out when I walk. I'm also having the indigestion, and nausea again. And once again, I want to spend more time asleep than awake. I had gotten rid of that fatigue after the surgery. The new symptoms are: In the last 3 weeks, my left arm/hand has become VERY HEAVY/ACHY. I find myself holding it with my other hand, or putting it in a pocket, or placing it on my chest when I walk, to ease the discomfort. It's also very swollen. I have sharp pains that shoot up the arm and into my neck....doesn't seem to hurt the heart. This didn't happen before the surgery. I'm swelling to the point I can't wear a watch or rings. My right leg/foot is also swelling badly. It feels so tight....like the skin will burst. I gained 6 pounds from Saturday night until Wednesday morning, when I seemed to lose most of it. Wasn't doing this much edema before. I'm having dizzy spells. I will be fine one minute, and then the next, I have a weakness that comes over me, and I grab something because I feel like I will keel over. It's gone as quickly as it came on. I saw a new cardiologist yesterday. He put me on lasix and potassium to help the edema. He also doubled my Altace. I'm scheduled for a resting nuclear test and heart sonogram on 11/3, and the 3 mi treadmill nuclear on 11/4. My blood pressure, which had been doing great....was 178/109 in his office yesterday. He asked me to purchase the cuff/digital monitor and record it 3 times a day, and to bring the machine to each visit to make sure it was in synch with his cuff. He thinks possibly that one of the arteries has come loose, or that the two in the back that they didn't bypass which were @ 60% blockage, may have worsened. I saw in my medical papers that I picked up from my gp that the reason they didn't stent those two were that they are small and that it was risky. I never knew the reason before, and it had not dawned on me to ask, because....I was pleased with my progress up until recently. The new cardiologist wants to try to get my blood preassure down, get rid of the edema, and check the heart sonogram, and nuclear tests before resorting to another angiogram. I guess that makes sense. My question is, have any of you had these type of problems after the bypass? Arteries that came loose, or clogs in others that resulted in having to go right back in? I'm a little worried about having anything done if it's those back 2 that were 60% clogged in August. Seeing the word RISKY kinda freaked me out. But so does the thought of having another bypass. I know it will happen again in 7-12 years; I just didn't expect the possiblity this soon! Thanks for any input... Connie
connieque@... writes: << My question is, have any of you had these type of problems after the bypass? Arteries that came loose, or clogs in others that resulted in having to go right back in? Connie I would discuss this with the thorasic/vascular surgeon who did the bypass and get his/her opinion as to what the problem might be.
I don't think that's an option. I heard the my surgery was one of the last he did; he RETIRED. I changed cardiologist simply because....the first guy was from India, and treated women like they needed to walk 10 paces behind him. Even though I had all my paperwork from my nuclear stress test.....he treated me so ugly when I went to my referred appointment. He picked up my paperwork records, slammed them on the desk and said, "Why are you here?" I explained that my doctors had stopped my stress test on the treadmill because there was too much blockage. They wrote in the report that I had 3 arteries at 90% blockage and some smaller ones in the rear at 60%. They recommended angioplasty, stenting, or possible bypasses. He again picked up and threw down my papers and said he didn't believe it. His reasoning was that the tests were sometimes flawed; I was a woman; and too young! After much more stomping around and slamming the papers down, he finally agreed to do my angiogram which had been ordered STAT! And he told me it was only to shut me up....that he still thought doing an angiogram was a waste of time and money. He did it. There was 90% blockage in the 3 that were later bypassed. Angioplasty would not have helped; another cardiologist was called in to stent....and couldn't, and they finally called in a 3rd who recommended at least a triple bypass. The doctor came into my room after the angiogram and told my husband and other family that he could not believe that I hadn't already had a massive heart attack. That I had had heart disease for over 30 years. And that he had really thought the angiogram was a waste of time and money because he expected the stress test to be flawed. I joked that at least I'd get out of housework for awhile. But that was not the case. The cardiologist then sent me home telling my husband it was ok to do vacuuming/mopping, dusting, normal chores. Thus reinforcing my husband's theory that I had just been putting on and was lazy because I had not been able to get out of bed for months. Extreme fatique and shortness of breath. I was under duress to be up mopping and vacuuming at 1 AM in the morning of the day that I was to be at the hospital a 5:30 AM to have my bypass. My husband had gone off to be before 10 pm. So unlike Clinton.....I didn't get to rest in a hospital for 4 days before my scheduled surgery. I was sent home to be a slave....because the doctor had reinforced that to my husband. I only found out later through rehab nurses that that is not the usual scenerio for someone with 3 times 90% blockage, and 2 times 60% blockage. In the intensive care unit after the surgery, all my nurses kept urging me to change cardiologist. But since he had apologized, I thought we could salvage the patient/cardiologist relationship, and I went back to him for a recheck a month after the surgery. It was a time when things were still going good. My surgeon had arranged for me to have 20 sessions of rehab (3 times a week). The cardiologist again, nay-nayed that.....telling me it was a waste of time and money. I went ahead and started the rehab. Because my surgeon hadn't been wrong in the first place, but the cardiologist had. Then the problems started. I'm in trouble again, and just couldn't return to the cardiologist. I had no confidence that he would help me, because he treats women like they do in 3rd world countries. He considers all my health needs a waste of time and money, and I just could not place my life in the hands of a guy who thinks women are expendable. So I got the new referral. The suggestion to go back to the surgeon with the problems is a good one, but....I found that he retired shortly after my surgery. I was one of his last patients to do. So....that's not an option to go to him. Although the new cardiologist is also from India. He did not treat me badly. And I liked the way he handled the attack plan. Thanks for the suggestion though! It's comforting to have people who have experience at this, and know the emotional ups and downs we are going through....because they've been there! Thanks so much, Connie Connie Turner