jars' 2005 Fabia vRS

[Titanium_Man]

Frustrating day today.....didn't have a CT scan this morning that was meant to determine if I could have my valve replaced by going up through my groin (called a TAVI), which has a 2-day recovery time vs up to 12 weeks for open heart surgery (OHS), but no update as to why. Spoke to several nurses who could not tell me anything. grr! 

 

Decided it was a nice sunny day so would take myself for a coffee and some "fresh air" 😛  Went to get dressed then realised that the cleaner has taken my T-shirt thinking it was a pillow case 

 

Eventually I had a visit from a consultant, an hour after the planned meeting where they were gonna discuss my case, and was told that the aortic valve currently in my heart is too small to be replaced by the only type of valve they can use for a TAVI procedure 😞 So, as it stand at this minute my chest is gonna be sawn open again, most likely this coming Friday. 

 

Far from what I wanted to hear, but I have been reassured that due to my (usual) level of fitness (6 months ago I would be running rings around 18 year olds on a football pitch despite being 41  ) my body will be able to take another OHS, but I will need this new valve replaced in the next 20 years so they plan to replace the Aortic valve with my Pulmonary Valve as this will enable them to do the TAVI procedure when it needs to be replaced again. Gonna be a very loooong operation, which scare the $h!t out of me if I am honest.

 

 

Edited 27 April, 2022 by jars

[Breezy_Pete]

Dunno what to say other than good luck on Friday, and look forward to hearing about the success soon after. 

[AnnoyingPentium]

2 minutes ago, Pete_Ex-Wino said:

Dunno what to say other than good luck on Friday, and look forward to hearing about the success soon after. 

 

Can't offer much more myself than what Pete said.

[Titanium_Man]

Thanks guys.
 

Not gonna lie and happy to admit that I’m actually scared this time and there have been tears 😭 Can’t wait for Zee to get here to help me through this right now. 

 

Gonna be a very long and technically challenging op by all accounts, and a few months out of work due to the physical nature of what I do. 

[mac11irl]

i gave the initial post a love it for a couple of reasons-

admitting youre terrified and have had tears is healthy and yet not done by men in general even less so spoken about, the "brave face" being the norm. as such i commend that open honesty even among relative strangers.

 

weirdly the surgical decision is great - they are pre planning your future care by avoiding a more strenuous procedure in the future when you might not be as physically able to take that strain, instead setting up a much less demanding future.

also, the fact they are doing this preplaning means they clearly have great confidence in the surgery going well, you being physically able for it, and that the long term prognosis is "this lads gonna be around long enough to need a turbo upgrade in a few years so lets do the pipework now".

 

yes it will mean more work down time, but the benefits of being then able to work more effectively and potentially for a longer time.... thats worth the few days of fear.

 

[TMB]

It's only natural to be scared. There was a period a few years ago when I was waiting for MRI brain scans and there was a possibility I might have a brain tumour, so I can relate to the feeling terrified. Thankfully, it turned out that I have two relatively harmless cysts on my brain, and they also discovered that I was born with a chunk of frontal lobe missing - sounds almost comical but was quite a shock! Anyway, everything turned out OK in the end and I'm sure it will for you too. Sending positive vibes your way

[Titanium_Man]

Thank you guys. 

 

I wouldn't normally spill my guts to the internet, but I had to do something in order for me to move past the initial fear and become the positive, cheeky chappie I need to be to get through this. Normally, I would bounce stuff off Zee, but with her being in work I felt it wasn't fair to drop it on her at that point. 

 

A positive mental attitude does great things. Much more than some people realise.

 

After getting all that off my chest, I felt much better. Even more so after bumping into my consultant cardiologist on my way out for some fresh air. We had a very good and frank chat about all manor of things, which reassured me further. I also now understand that the deterioration of the Aortic Valve that was put in back in 2015 was expected due to they type they had to use for the emergency surgery I needed at that point. No time to prepare and / or set things up like they are able to this time. Shame they didn't explain that to us at the time as that would have saved a lot of worry and would have prepared us much better for the news I got yesterday. Oh well!

 

@mac11irl Your post hit the nail on the head  That's exactly what was explained by my consultant later yesterday afternoon after my above posts. And you're also bang on abut us men all too often putting on a brave face when we are feeling our worst. That is what nearly cost me my life back in 2015, which of course I learnt from and am now much more open about my thoughts and feelings. Not everyone likes that new side of me 

 

Thanks for sharing your experience @TMB  and sending me some positive vibes 👍 That is also a very unpleasant and worrying thing to go through. Glad it all worked out for you  

 

 

[TMB]

6 hours ago, jars said:

That is also a very unpleasant and worrying thing to go through. Glad it all worked out for you  

 

Cheers bud

[Titanium_Man]

Things are starting to get in motion. I’m being taken to the dental hospital at 11, which is par for the course with heart surgery. Once that’s dealt with I should then be given a date of when the saw will be dusted off 🤣

 

On another note, found out yesterday that an 18 yo barman at my local pub will be joining me here next week as he also has a severely knackered Aortic Valve that has to be replaced. Trying to get his contact number so I can offer some support as I remember just how scared and confused I was for op number 1. 
 

Still no sign of infection in any of the bloods and cultures they’ve taken since Friday….. yay 🤘

[Titanium_Man]

Day 6 in the big brother house 

 

Dentist went ok…. But a wisdom tooth is stuck behind a tooth that may cause an issue later down the line, so they’ve decided to not mess around and take it out tomorrow. 
 

Almost immediately after getting back to my bed I had a visit from the surgeon. Happy days as it turns out that it will be the same specialist who operated on me back in 2015. Very reassuring as he is one of the, if not THE best in the entire country for what I need doing.
 

The conversation went mostly well, but of course he was less simplistic about what is gonna and could happen compared to my consultant cardiologist. There is a chance that they may not be able to to this “Ross Procedure” and therefore have to give thought about what my second choice of valve replacement is going to be. Unfortunately, it’s ultimately looking like a mechanical valve is the only viable second choice. 
 

This is far from ideal as would mean taking a nasty blood thinning drug called Warfarin for the rest of my life, coupled with the need to stop playing sports because a heavy knock to my body could result in bleeding and / or dislodgement of the metal valve. I’m also gonna tick like a bomb 24/7 

 

I’ve already come to terms with everything and started to make lifestyle changes irrespective of what type of valve I end up with. 

 

They’re gonna give me a week to recover from the tooth extraction, so my operation has been confirmed for the 6th May, a week tomorrow. 
 

 

[TMB]

My dad went through the teeth preliminary stuff, and also had to take Warfarin for life. Never had any problems with the Warfarin. I hope the ''Ross Procedure'' doesn't mean that Tech1e is going to do your op

[Titanium_Man]

I dunno…. I’ve seen his work first hand so may be able to work on my heart 😛

[Breezy_Pete]

Would probably end up more powerful. 😊

[AnnoyingPentium]

Just now, Pete_Ex-Wino said:

Would probably end up more powerful. 😊

 

He'd have a 1.8T for a heart.

[TMB]

5 minutes ago, jars said:

I dunno…. I’ve seen his work first hand so may be able to work on my heart 😛

 

Very true 😁

[Titanium_Man]

3 hours ago, AnnoyingPentium said:

 

He'd have a 1.8T for a heart.

Wouldn’t have that, I’m a Pump Duse kinda guy….. but I am already “chipped” 

[skomaz]

I may be being thick but what's the teeth thing all about given its a heart valve op?

[Titanium_Man]

7 minutes ago, skomaz said:

I may be being thick but what's the teeth thing all about given its a heart valve op?

You're not being thick at all. 
 

Infections in the mouth have a direct feed to you heart, which can then attack the heart valve and destroy it. This happened to me in 2015, a condition called endocarditis and eventually turned in to full blow septicaemia. 
 

Having a full mouth checkup, including differing types of X-rays, will ensure that there is no pre-existing or potential future problems and / or infections that could ultimately destroy a new valve very quickly. 

Edited 28 April, 2022 by jars

[skomaz]

34 minutes ago, jars said:

You're not being thick at all. 
 

Infections in the mouth have a direct feed to you heart, which can then attack the heart valve and destroy it. This happened to me in 2015, a condition called endocarditis and eventually turned in to full blow septicaemia. 
 

Having a full mouth checkup, including differing types of X-rays, will ensure that there is no pre-existing or potential future problems and / or infections that could ultimately destroy a new valve very quickly. 

 

Well that's something I was never aware of but the dental check makes total sense now! 

[mac11irl]

@jars @skomaz

tha ks for asking and answering before i had to ask. it was new i formation for me too!!

[Breezy_Pete]

It's a(nother) good reason for looking after your teeth, by both diet and teeth-cleaning habits. 

[Titanium_Man]

Anyone seen the Netflix documentary “The Root Cause”? That’s very much worth a watch and very insightful to just how getting infections in your mouth (OK, in root canals) in certain places can lead to certain conditions within the body. 
 

There were several women who all had an infection in the same tooth and later all diagnosed with breast cancer. 
 

 Not selling it, I’m sure(!) but shocked the cr@p out of me!

[Titanium_Man]

Realised it's been ages since I posted a picture of me car not being worked on for a while, so here's a few of oldies for my viewing pleasure 🙃

Edited 2 May, 2022 by jars

[Titanium_Man]

Last day of freedom for a good few days as go under the saw and knife tomorrow at 9am now that I’ve had the final CT scan with dye put in my blood so they can see in internal workings of my heart in order to size up my replacement valve. This is going to be a tissue valve this time, most likely a cow rather than human! Also had a lung function test. Touch wood that this one lasts the distance given my lifestyle. 
 

Started the day by giving the student nurse the wrong name and date of birth as she was giving me my daily meds to see if she was on the ball… then refused the pills as they were “the boring type of pills”! Could hear my usual nurse chuckling behind me 

 

Oh the little things to keep my spirits up! And the nurses love the banter in all honesty! 
 

Thankfully, it’s another beautiful morning, so taken myself outside for the last bit of sunshine and fresh air for a fair few days, then final chats with the surgeon and anaesthetist this evening so they can reiterate the risks and go through the finer details of surgery and plethora of drugs I’m gonna be given.
 

Looking forward to the Oxycodone, which is much better than morphine 😛  

 

Already thinking about my recovery and trying to decide where I want to go on holiday during my recovery as that’s gotta be good for me, right!??! 

 

Edited 5 May, 2022 by jars

[Breezy_Pete]

See if you can persuade surgeon or anaesthetist to take some pics during the op for some 'unusual engine bay pics' for the thread?? 

 

Best of luck buddy; but don't worry, they won't let you die on the table, too much paperwork!