28 Weeks After Open Heart Surgery

The distance between Open Heart Surgery and Recovery is increasing!  After 28 weeks (over 6 months), most of the reading that I did on the recovery process is true - 6 months & you will see a change!  And I do!  My walking is improving.  Remember back in November?  I had trouble walking up stairs, or walking around the block!  Now I am walking over 30-45 minutes, with no problem.  And with my new meds, I seem to be able to take hills without having my heart monitor go crazy!  As a review, here are my heart meds:

Aspirin EC Tab                           81 mg                   1 per day            

Lipitor(Atorvastatin)                  40 mg                    1 per day            

Amlodipine                                   5 mg                   1 per day               

Plavix(Clipidorel Bisulfate)       75 mg                    1 per day              

Metoprolol(Lopressor, Toprol)   50 mg                   1 per day          

Isosorbide (Imdur or Isotrate)     30 mg                   1 per day  

The change last week was going from 100 mg of Metoprolol to 50 mg.  This is what they call a beta blocker, it reduces your blood pressure.  The only thing it did was make me feel tired and I still had the PVC's, but they happened at a lower heart rate.  And the new drug, Imdur.  This is a nitrate, it opens my blood vessels for and increases blood & oxygen throughout the body.  So, when I do my workout, my heart rate monitor does not indicate PVC's - but I still think I feel them.

I am planning on adding to my workouts starting next week.  So far, I will get the heart rate to 95-98 when I am walking uphills.  The plan next week will be to add 20 seconds of jogging on the flats.  So, for a 30-45 minute workout, I will add jogging 8-10 times.  I will also continue light weight lifying & pushups & situps.

The Imdur is still giving me headaches, but they seem to be decreasing in length.  Right now, I am getting the headaches about 3 hours after I take the Imdur and last for 4-5 hours.  Each day, I have been taking the drug 7 days, the length of the head aches decreasing in time and severity.

Come on jogging!!!!

Still Working on New Med - Imdur

I'm still trying to find a way to get past the headaches while using the new medicine - Imdur.  Today I took the drug at 6:30 AM.  I took the 30 mg pill on an empty stomach with 4 ounces of water as they suggest.  Here were the results:

6:30 AM - took Imdur
7:30 AM - ate breakfast - 3 pancakes & glass of OJ
7:45 AM to 8:20 walked - had no noticeable PVC's - got heart rate to 93
9:30 AM left for church
12:00 Noon home from church
12:10 - Headache started to become more severe
12:20 - Had lunch
4:15 Headache was gone

So, the headache lasted about 4 hours & I took two Advil around 2:30 PM.

More Info on Imdur

Here is what I found out about Imdur.

1 - Take on empty stomach with 4 ounces of water.

2 - Do not exercise until one-two hours after taking Imdur (Opps)

3 - Headaches are VERY common!

4 - No alcohol!

This med is the first that I have taken that is going to take some work & focus!

Imdur-Isosorbide

Imdur-Isosorbide

This is potent stuff!  What does it do?

Imdur is in a group of drugs called nitrates. Isosorbide mononitrate dilates (widens) blood vessels, making it easier for blood to flow through them and easier for the heart to pump.

 For the past few days it has given me a BIG headache!  The side effect listed are:

• fast, slow, pounding, or uneven heart rate;
  
• feeling like you might pass out;
  
• trouble breathing, blue-colored skin, tired feeling; or
  
• worsening angina pain.
  

Less serious Imdur side effects may include:

• headache, mild dizziness;
  
• warmth, redness, or tingling under your skin;
  
• nausea, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea;
  
• pain or stiffness in joints or muscles;
  
• hot flashes; or
  
• dry mouth.
  
   As I mentioned earlier, my exercise in the morning has been going well!  I have not seen my heart rate monitor go crazy one time!  And the headaches seem to be getting better!  I will try to drink more water and track my headaches!
  

A Look at My Medications

 The experiment continues, the doctors have changed my meds, again we are looking to get a handle on the PVC's.  The changes are as follows:

 Metoprolol - I am now taking 50 mg instead of 100 mg.  I told the doctor, when I did my exercise I felt lethargic and could not get my heart rate up above 80-85, and still had the PVC's around 78-80.  When I exercised before taking my meds in the morning I could get to 90-95 hart rate and PVC's would come around 90.

New drug - Isosorbide.  I have been on this for two days.  The first day I got the heart rate up to 90-95, and I had no VISIBLE PVC's!  And I felt good exercising.  The draw back is after lunch I have had headaches.  This is supposed to be a common side affect.  And I usually never have headaches!  I will keep an eye on this!

Medicines Old – Before Open Heart Surgery

Aspirin EC Tab                      81 mg                        1 per day                       AM

Lipitor(Atorvastatin)             40 mg                        1 per day                        PM

Singulair(Montelukast)          10 mg                        1per day                        AM

Aciphex(Rabeprazole)           20 mg                        1 per day                       AM

Medicines New – After Open Heart Surger

Amlodipine                               5 mg                        1 per day                        AM

Plavix(Clipidorel Bisulfate)    75 mg                        1 per day                        AM

Metoprolol(Lopressor, Toprol)50 mg                        1 per day                        AM

Isosorbide (Imdur or Isotrate)  30 mg                        1 per day                        AM

Results of Cardiologist Visit - 6 Month Checkup

The visit to the cardiologist proved to be very interesting.  The Blood tests were all good, the only work is the HDL, which will take some focus & weight loss to improve, plus continued exercise.  The results of the 24 hour heart monitor were fascinating!

For 22 hour period, my heat had 87,121 heart beats, and during that same time I had 1,621 PVC's!!!!

That was a surprise to me!  So, I must be having some during the day when I am not exercising!  As of now, they are not dangerous, but I cannot have a "run" (that is 4-6 in a row).  The "runs" only seem to happen when exercising.

So, here is the next experiment - a change of meds - Dr. Marwaha suggested the following, with some of my input.

The Metoprolol will go from 100 mg a day to 50 mg.  I noticed two things, 1-the Metoprolol makes me feel tired and when exercising, I have trouble raising my heart rate and the PVC's just will come at a lower heart rate.  So, we are trying to go to the 50 mg dosage.

A new drug, Isosorbide (Imdur or Isotrate).  This is a nitrate that is used for angina (heart pain) I do not have any pain, but this may help with any issues with my PVC's.

Found another website for a look at PVC's at the Mayo Clinic.

So, the experiment continues!  My next appointments are in September when I will see Dr. Worley who is the specialist with heart electrical issues.

Healing a Heart with Father's Day

It seems that after open heart surgery a lot of things seem different!  Today I was lucky enough to have both sons treat me to a round of golf!  Good weather, both boys together, and fours hours of quality time with my sons!  One reason golf is a great father - son sport!

As I said 6 months ago, one way I calmed my nerves was as I prepared for my operation on December 13, I focused on teeing off at Royal Oaks Golf Course, as the drugs put me to sleep, I played the first hole, then the second, then the third and the next thing I know I was waking up from surgery sometime late Monday afternoon on December 13th.

Well, today, June 19th, I had a chance to play the course for REAL, with my sons Jared & Josh!  What a difference 6 months makes and what a great day to be a Dad!

PS:  They also paid for it!