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[Jwrags]

I'm still an INR hostage. I was otherwise ready to go home two days ago. I'm still a long way from therapeutic. At 1.3 today. Target is 2-3.

I am going rather crazy. I need to stay out of prison, as it wouldn't suit me well.

They thought I'd finally be sent home today and allowed to do outpatient anti-coag management. The boss man said no. He's worried it's been too long and I could get a blood clot, so I'm sitting here with a heparin drip to bridge. Not my ticket home.

I'm super grateful for how well I'm doing. It's just a bump in the road. Better safe than sorry.

Here's a crazy tidbit about overcrowded hospital life these days: I was cleared for the step-down floor the day after surgery, yet I've been sitting here in the cardiothoracic ICU this whole time. There are no beds anywhere in this big-ass hospital. It sucks not having telemetry that would allow me to walk freely. Tough to complain, though, seeing what some of my neighbors are going through.

Keep in mind the INR can jump quickly so tomorrow it could be 3.

 

[Jenny]

I'm still an INR hostage. I was otherwise ready to go home two days ago. I'm still a long way from therapeutic. At 1.3 today. Target is 2-3.

I am going rather crazy. I need to stay out of prison, as it wouldn't suit me well.

They thought I'd finally be sent home today and allowed to do outpatient anti-coag management. The boss man said no. He's worried it's been too long and I could get a blood clot, so I'm sitting here with a heparin drip to bridge. Not my ticket home.

I'm super grateful for how well I'm doing. It's just a bump in the road. Better safe than sorry.

Here's a crazy tidbit about overcrowded hospital life these days: I was cleared for the step-down floor the day after surgery, yet I've been sitting here in the cardiothoracic ICU this whole time. There are no beds anywhere in this big-ass hospital. It sucks not having telemetry that would allow me to walk freely. Tough to complain, though, seeing what some of my neighbors are going through.

Hope they’re not charging you and your insurance ICU rates!

 

[tball]

Still here. INR hostage. Night 7.

Hope they’re not charging you and your insurance ICU rates!

I'm just doing my part to help pay for the new $388 million tower!

UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital to build additional tower

UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital (UCH) on the Anschutz Medical Campus will build a new tower to meet growing demand for complex medical care.

www.uchealth.org

 

[tball]

So awesome to be home, and I'm feeling great!

 

[LiquidFeet]

Congrats on making it through recovery!

 

[DanoT]

Still here. INR hostage. Night 7.

My situation is nowhere near as serious as yours but I am on Eliquis which as far as I know does not require INR monitoring. I'm just thinking you might ask your doc if their is a timetable for you for switching to Eliquis or if it is even possible.

 

[Jwrags]

So awesome to be home, and I'm feeling great!

Glad you made it home. But inquiring minds want to know…what was your INR?

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Glad you escaped. I don't recall any issues when my wife had a pacemaker installed. Almost like an outpatient procedure. It was long enough ago that she's down to a couple more years of battery life.

I had unusual, unexplained pain in the left shoulder yesterday morning that became almost electrical-like unbearable if I bent forward for something like helping my foot into a shoe. A 911 call brought an ambulance crew and a half hour ride to the nearest ER for repeated EKG and blood enzyme testing.

The ambulance EMT working on some credit wanted to insert an IV and made a painful, bloody mess. Worst by far of the multiple IV's I've experienced. She requested feedback and got it.

The ER folks were very friendly and helpful. You just can't be comfortable for extended periods on an ER sled. The XRay gals were friendly and cute as well as professional. The ER nurses got repeated blood samples out of the IV port, so I wasn't being stuck repeatedly.

The ER physician came in just before 7 p.m. to announce all testing indicated I'd be going home, but it was the end of her shift so she was leaving to paperwork to the next guy. So I sat on that bit of cushioned hell another hour and complained enough an RN finally presented the papers. ER was busy so I never talked to the late shift physician.

 

[LiquidFeet]

@Kneale, glad to hear you made it through the usual ER chaotic mess and got home in 24 hours. Did you ever get a diagnosis explaining your pain episode?

 

[Jim Kenney]

I just found this thread.

I too am on Eliquis blood thinners and also Metoprolol to slow my heart rate. It stems from an episode of Atrial-Fibrillation last fall. My doc did not want me to ski but I compromised and delayed the start of the season until Jan.

On March 3, I had a bad fall on a blue run. I presume I caught an edge as I was knocked unconscious (for about 30 seconds according to the first aid report) and don't remember the crash or anything leading up to it. I came to when a skier/witness started to remove my ski. I was concussed as well and stayed that way until shortly after the ambulance ride to the hospital started.

I spent the night in the hospital with heart monitors and they did an MRI which revealed no internal bleeding, and 2 cracked ribs. There was no pain on deep breathing or laughing and just a little pain on coughing.

That ended the ski season for me.

2 weeks ago they had me wear a heart monitor for 23 hours...I haven't heard back from my doctor, so no news is good news.

I am scheduled for an echo cardiogram this week and and MRI in a couple of weeks.

Dano, I hope you have a good and healthy summer!
Dano is one of our more senior Ski Talkers and has attended probably as many Gatherings as any active member.

This photo of Dano is from the 2020 Gathering at Jackson Hole:

 

[Posaune]

I'm just thinking you might ask your doc if their is a timetable for you for switching to Eliquis or if it is even possible.

Won't happen. You can only use Warfarin (Coumadin) with an artificial heart valve. I've been on it for years and there is no other option right now.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

LF: No clear diagnosis or even suggested possible causes. I'm directed to follow up with my regular physician, whose schedule is six months or more out. Laughable. My dad used to do surgery four or five hours, see 30 patient in his office, make house calls and deliver babies.

 

[LiquidFeet]

^ Darn.

 

[tball]

Glad you made it home. But inquiring minds want to know…what was your INR?

Only 1.7, the minimum ransom my surgeon set for my release!

It seems like they will probably have to up my dose. I am going to their nearby anti-coag clinic tomorrow. I also plan to get set up for self-testing to confirm I'm good each day before skiing.

It was lovely to sleep in this morning and escape groundhog day!

Every morning in the hospital was the same. 4 am blood draw, 5 am chest x-ray, can't sleep 5-6 am, so I keep checking the portal on my phone for my INR results, until 7 am, the resident and PA stop by to tell me the news I already know. They both seem rather unsympathetic to my plight, as they have patients who are genuinely sick they are worried about.

I was doing so well the last three mornings we had nothing to discuss but my INR. My vitals, ECG, imaging, and blood work were remarkably normal for someone who had just had open heart surgery. Just slight anemia (11.9 and increasing hemoglobin), fantastic for someone who never got a transfusion.

I'm so grateful and fortunate to be doing so well. Believe it or not, when I left yesterday, they let me walk (escorted) out of the cardiothoracic ICU on my own two feet, carrying all my belongings across that big hospital to where my wife pulled up the car.

 

[Sibhusky]

I'm directed to follow up with my regular physician, whose schedule is six months or more out.

I'd be changing physicians. I know mine is not accepting new patients these days as we've had such an influx of people in the last 24 months. I haven't had issues with all the cardio people I've been seeing either.

The vet has been making all kinds of rules about visits as well but they about owe me for half of the new building they are in after the last nineteen years, so it hasn't affected me.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

Got an appointment for Tuesday, where they had a cancellation. The area is growing steadily and the number of physicians and dentists dwindling.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

I HAVE figured out the source of my shoulder pains: I'd been setting up a waterbed that had been stored for a couple years and wanted to dust off
the mattress after it was laid out before filling. So I was standing next to a knee-high space queen-bed wide and reaching with a damp cloth repeatedly. Reaching mostly with the right arm, because I'm right-handed, but apparently tightening the left shoulder muscles while doing so. Seems that if you make enough of a new stress on old muscles, you get new aches and pains

 

[tball]

INR was up to 2.1 yesterday, finally in my 2-3 range.

I'm feeling fantastic! I hit 10K steps today for the first time since surgery (11 days out). A nice walk and a big Costco run with the family.

My challenge will be not overdoing it. My body was telling me to go for a run today, yet I don't start cardiac rehab until July 1st. They want you to heal up first.

My restrictions are harsh—no driving for four weeks and no lifting over 10 lbs for six weeks. I'm being cautious with sternal precautions, as it's not something you want to screw up. Seeing the kiddos show off their strength carrying everything from Costco for the first time was fantastic.

 

[Kneale Brownson]

A friend took a tumble while walking a while after his open heart surgery. Broke most of the stitches loose and had to have them done over. That includes the metal sutures.

 

[tball]

Update three weeks out from surgery: I'm doing fantastic! I saw my surgeon, and he couldn't be happier with my progress. Everything is looking great.

The plan to prepare for ski season is to start cardiac rehab on July 1st. I'll go three times a week for ten weeks and exercise while my heart is monitored, gradually increasing intensity. The goal is to get back to my pre-surgery baseline.

They will also work on slowly strengthening my sternum (which was sawed in half and then wired back closed ). That's the slowest part. They say it's 75% healed after 6-8 weeks, and then it can take up to a year to get to 100%. Everyone is different, but I'm happy it's feeling solid, and pain control has been manageable. Both are good signs.

I got a thumbs up on my goal to run a 5K in mid-October and another 5K on Thanksgiving as my final pre-ski season test, doing so under the guidance and approval of the cardiac rehab team.

Near term, I'm shooting for 10,000 steps/day. I've been walking 1.5-2.0 miles twice daily at my usual 20 min/mile pace and feeling normal. It's fantastic to have my heart working so well so soon. These are my steps for the last month. Surgery was on June 1st:

I'm so happy and grateful to be recovering so well!