Seansmit17
Member
- Relationship to Diabetes
- Type 2
Hey all, I have posted here before but my account was taken by a spam bot so all my posts have been deleted.
Anyway, I have already had a HA back in 2016 and was stented x3. Back in Feb 27th I had another HA. Not as bad as the first.
I ended up in Royal Papworth hospital for about 4 weeks. Most of that was waiting. After an angiogram they decided not to stent and that bypass surgery was the best option.
I had that OP on the 18th March. They took a vein from my left leg for 2 of the bypasses and used the LIMA (Left internal mammary artery) for the other so a triple bypass.
Recovery in hospital was mostly uneventful. I am only 39. History of heart issues on my dads side of the family and I am T2 now treated with pills and insulin. Lucky me. Doomed from both sides!
I have some questions for anyone who may have also had CABG or know someone who has.
Chest wound
Its been healing ok for the most part. There are 3 small sections that are still scabbed over but when I shower those scabs tend to get soggy and come off. Should I avoid getting it wet for the time being and let the scabs stay there? Or does it not matter so much? I have been keeping the area clean with alcohol wipes between washes as I really don't want an infection.
Drainage Tube Wounds
These have been scabbed over for a good 2-3 weeks but show no signs of change or closing up. How long do you think it would take for that to happen?
Leg Wound
This wound is by far the worst and has been giving me so much trouble. Its not infected but they cut from my ankle to half way up my thigh to harvest the vein. My leg and foot have been swollen since the surgery and so far show no signs of improvement. It's hard to walk on that foot to the point that most of the time I can not put my foot flat on the floor with my weight on it as its to painful with the swelling. I have to walk on the ball of my foot.
Some days are better than others and I can walk with my foot flat on the floor but just not for long. I need to keep moving to help move the fluid out of my foot and leg. I got some compression socks to ware during the day today to see if that will help push the fluid back up my leg. I do raise my leg a few times a day for a bit if I am watching TV.
The other issue is parts of the cut, mainly above my ankle and my ankle are so sensitive to touch its painful for anything to touch it. Clothes, bedding... makes it hard to sleep but the codeine (when i get some more) helps with that so I can get some sleep. It's an odd sensation as a lot of the area is still numb and lacks sensation yet it stings at the same time!
--
The past 6 weeks have been surreal and it's still hard to believe I have had an OP that's usually done on people 20+ years older than me.
I was one of the youngest people on the surgery ward!
But if anyone has any ideas, suggestions etc it would be greatly appreciated.
My experience of the whole thing if you fancy a read,
I was not feeling to good on that Tuesday. My watch pointed out that my heart rate was low, 44 bpm. I went to the loo and went to lay down for a bit. I slept for a little bit and felt ok when I got up. A short walk to my local Tesco left me feeling a bit short of breath and tired. By the thursday I knew something was definitely not ok when one of the ladies I chat with in Tesco did not say good morning back to me but "You look like shit" lol A friend of mine also pushed me to go get checked so a call to 111 it was and they told me to go to A&E.
A&E did not really seem to get on with it so to speak since it was heart related. Took about 2 hours to get seen and have bloods taken. Once they checked the blood after another 90 Mins of waiting they then admitted me to Peterborough City Hospital. The bloods showed increased levels of Troponin. A heart attack had or was happening. ECG showed some slight changes and a echocardiogram showed reduced function down to about 90%.
I was transferred to Royal Papworth Hospital on the Saturday, Had an Angiogram on the Sunday. Then played the waiting game for the bypass surgery. During the angiogram I asked them to make sure they don't skimp on the sedation. My last angio back in 2016 was not a fun time and I did not get on well with it at all. I found it quite painful. So when the Dr lent over to me and said, Ok so we are not going to stent today. Bypass surgery will be a much better outcome for you, The person who was giving me sedatives etc said "He wont remember that, he's had a boat load of sedative" ... I remember. lol Knocked me out going back to the ward after though!
The surgery part of my journey was very odd, Things here moved very fast and was kind of scary. Went into the operating room, Got up on the bed/table. They put a sensor on my head to monitor my brain activity to make sure I was 100% out and a catheter was placed in my arm and they said, Ok Sean, We are going to put you out now ok? I was like ok.. And I was out. I didn't feel sleepy or anything at first I was just gone. I blinked and I was in Critical Care... Was like time travel! I went in for the OP at about 11.30-12 PM, They were done at around 4.30 PM and I woke up at about 12 midnight.
As I woke up but not 100% with it they removed the breathing tube. Was not as bad as i thought it was going to be at all. Quick and painless.
They had me on this inflatable mattress thing that refused to hold air so they had to transfer me to a different one. That was not fun at all even on morphine. They had to roll me on my side to put a board under me to then slide me over to another bed. That was quite painful. But was quick thankfully!
A few hours after I woke they stopped the morphine drip and I knew it. They didn't tell me but the pain was quite bad and I asked them if they stopped it. I was still given IV paracetamol and also given oral morphine that helped get the pain back down to a manageable level.
They also took out the 2 drainage tubes I had in. I was given some gas and air and I was NOT looking forward to this part. The first tube came out with out to much fuss. Felt very odd and maybe a little painful but was fine. The 2nd tube though, Even with the gas and air it felt like my insides were being pulled out with it. And the crazy thing is the nurse said that they usually take these out on the ward and not while in CCU and Id not get gas and air on the ward. That's nuts!
Later in the day they got me up and out of bed and into a chair, got some food down me. Not much as my appetite was left in the operating room. Soon after that they moved me back to the ward to recover. It wasn't until they had be stand up that I noticed they took a vein from my leg. I had not felt anything on my leg till then.
I had a vacuum bandage thing on my chest. That was quite uncomfortable. That was on until the day I left. I was out and back home 6 days after the OP. Recovery seemed slow at first. I needed help getting out of bed for the first 4 days and then all of a sudden on the 5th day I was able to get out of bed on my own, just about anyway. Also on the Sunday when I left they took out the pacing wires. The removal of these was again, Ok but felt odd. But nothing like the drainage tube removal.
So yeah, That's my experience. My GP has put me off work for 5 weeks and has be back at work on the 22nd April. Not a chance that's happening lol. The consultant at RPH said I will be off work for a minimum of 8 Weeks but could be up to 12 depending on what work I do. I only do hotel reception so no lifting etc there so I think Ill be off for another 2-3 weeks and then back to work. Sooner rather than later would be better as SSP sucks but I don't want to go back if I am not ready and my boss does not want me back there unless I am ready to go so that's nice that they are supportive.
It's time to get my diet changed a little bit and lose a little bit more weight. I am 5ft 4in @ about 83kg. Not to bad but still a little overweight.
Since being on Insulin for the past 6 months or so my A1C has dropped from 84 to 58. Just a little bit more to get off of that number.
Anyway. Sorry for the long post but thank you for reading it if you got this far!
Anyway, I have already had a HA back in 2016 and was stented x3. Back in Feb 27th I had another HA. Not as bad as the first.
I ended up in Royal Papworth hospital for about 4 weeks. Most of that was waiting. After an angiogram they decided not to stent and that bypass surgery was the best option.
I had that OP on the 18th March. They took a vein from my left leg for 2 of the bypasses and used the LIMA (Left internal mammary artery) for the other so a triple bypass.
Recovery in hospital was mostly uneventful. I am only 39. History of heart issues on my dads side of the family and I am T2 now treated with pills and insulin. Lucky me. Doomed from both sides!
I have some questions for anyone who may have also had CABG or know someone who has.
Chest wound
Its been healing ok for the most part. There are 3 small sections that are still scabbed over but when I shower those scabs tend to get soggy and come off. Should I avoid getting it wet for the time being and let the scabs stay there? Or does it not matter so much? I have been keeping the area clean with alcohol wipes between washes as I really don't want an infection.
Drainage Tube Wounds
These have been scabbed over for a good 2-3 weeks but show no signs of change or closing up. How long do you think it would take for that to happen?
Leg Wound
This wound is by far the worst and has been giving me so much trouble. Its not infected but they cut from my ankle to half way up my thigh to harvest the vein. My leg and foot have been swollen since the surgery and so far show no signs of improvement. It's hard to walk on that foot to the point that most of the time I can not put my foot flat on the floor with my weight on it as its to painful with the swelling. I have to walk on the ball of my foot.
Some days are better than others and I can walk with my foot flat on the floor but just not for long. I need to keep moving to help move the fluid out of my foot and leg. I got some compression socks to ware during the day today to see if that will help push the fluid back up my leg. I do raise my leg a few times a day for a bit if I am watching TV.
The other issue is parts of the cut, mainly above my ankle and my ankle are so sensitive to touch its painful for anything to touch it. Clothes, bedding... makes it hard to sleep but the codeine (when i get some more) helps with that so I can get some sleep. It's an odd sensation as a lot of the area is still numb and lacks sensation yet it stings at the same time!
--
The past 6 weeks have been surreal and it's still hard to believe I have had an OP that's usually done on people 20+ years older than me.
I was one of the youngest people on the surgery ward!
But if anyone has any ideas, suggestions etc it would be greatly appreciated.
My experience of the whole thing if you fancy a read,
I was not feeling to good on that Tuesday. My watch pointed out that my heart rate was low, 44 bpm. I went to the loo and went to lay down for a bit. I slept for a little bit and felt ok when I got up. A short walk to my local Tesco left me feeling a bit short of breath and tired. By the thursday I knew something was definitely not ok when one of the ladies I chat with in Tesco did not say good morning back to me but "You look like shit" lol A friend of mine also pushed me to go get checked so a call to 111 it was and they told me to go to A&E.
A&E did not really seem to get on with it so to speak since it was heart related. Took about 2 hours to get seen and have bloods taken. Once they checked the blood after another 90 Mins of waiting they then admitted me to Peterborough City Hospital. The bloods showed increased levels of Troponin. A heart attack had or was happening. ECG showed some slight changes and a echocardiogram showed reduced function down to about 90%.
I was transferred to Royal Papworth Hospital on the Saturday, Had an Angiogram on the Sunday. Then played the waiting game for the bypass surgery. During the angiogram I asked them to make sure they don't skimp on the sedation. My last angio back in 2016 was not a fun time and I did not get on well with it at all. I found it quite painful. So when the Dr lent over to me and said, Ok so we are not going to stent today. Bypass surgery will be a much better outcome for you, The person who was giving me sedatives etc said "He wont remember that, he's had a boat load of sedative" ... I remember. lol Knocked me out going back to the ward after though!
The surgery part of my journey was very odd, Things here moved very fast and was kind of scary. Went into the operating room, Got up on the bed/table. They put a sensor on my head to monitor my brain activity to make sure I was 100% out and a catheter was placed in my arm and they said, Ok Sean, We are going to put you out now ok? I was like ok.. And I was out. I didn't feel sleepy or anything at first I was just gone. I blinked and I was in Critical Care... Was like time travel! I went in for the OP at about 11.30-12 PM, They were done at around 4.30 PM and I woke up at about 12 midnight.
As I woke up but not 100% with it they removed the breathing tube. Was not as bad as i thought it was going to be at all. Quick and painless.
They had me on this inflatable mattress thing that refused to hold air so they had to transfer me to a different one. That was not fun at all even on morphine. They had to roll me on my side to put a board under me to then slide me over to another bed. That was quite painful. But was quick thankfully!
A few hours after I woke they stopped the morphine drip and I knew it. They didn't tell me but the pain was quite bad and I asked them if they stopped it. I was still given IV paracetamol and also given oral morphine that helped get the pain back down to a manageable level.
They also took out the 2 drainage tubes I had in. I was given some gas and air and I was NOT looking forward to this part. The first tube came out with out to much fuss. Felt very odd and maybe a little painful but was fine. The 2nd tube though, Even with the gas and air it felt like my insides were being pulled out with it. And the crazy thing is the nurse said that they usually take these out on the ward and not while in CCU and Id not get gas and air on the ward. That's nuts!
Later in the day they got me up and out of bed and into a chair, got some food down me. Not much as my appetite was left in the operating room. Soon after that they moved me back to the ward to recover. It wasn't until they had be stand up that I noticed they took a vein from my leg. I had not felt anything on my leg till then.
I had a vacuum bandage thing on my chest. That was quite uncomfortable. That was on until the day I left. I was out and back home 6 days after the OP. Recovery seemed slow at first. I needed help getting out of bed for the first 4 days and then all of a sudden on the 5th day I was able to get out of bed on my own, just about anyway. Also on the Sunday when I left they took out the pacing wires. The removal of these was again, Ok but felt odd. But nothing like the drainage tube removal.
So yeah, That's my experience. My GP has put me off work for 5 weeks and has be back at work on the 22nd April. Not a chance that's happening lol. The consultant at RPH said I will be off work for a minimum of 8 Weeks but could be up to 12 depending on what work I do. I only do hotel reception so no lifting etc there so I think Ill be off for another 2-3 weeks and then back to work. Sooner rather than later would be better as SSP sucks but I don't want to go back if I am not ready and my boss does not want me back there unless I am ready to go so that's nice that they are supportive.
It's time to get my diet changed a little bit and lose a little bit more weight. I am 5ft 4in @ about 83kg. Not to bad but still a little overweight.
Since being on Insulin for the past 6 months or so my A1C has dropped from 84 to 58. Just a little bit more to get off of that number.
Anyway. Sorry for the long post but thank you for reading it if you got this far!
