Hello all I am Lyndsey and I am 34 and live in the uk.
I had my ASD closure in July 2015 - I have been reading so many things about this and I realise everyone will experience things differently.
My surgeon told me its a procedure done every day and ill be fine within 3 days.
Wow what a load of rubbish - It was nearly three weeks before i felt i could get out and about alone.
Anyway what I want to know is the things I am experiencing now are normal? I know you are all not doctors but would just like some friendly advice and somewhere to rant as I think my family and friends are sick of hearing about me lol
I always new I had something wrong when i was younger it always hurt when I ran and the palpatations and shortness of breath got worse as I got older. I was told I was just Lazy. I went on to have 3 lovely babies and when I was in my 30's I then got pregnant again and suffered an awful stroke. Luckily me and my son pulled through that. Investigations were done and I was told a blood clot from my lung had gone through up my heart to my brain and gave me the stroke. They suspected I had a small PFO that had caused this.
Lots and lots of tests later the funding got pulled from the government for the PFO closure and I was told if it got reinstated again they would operate then.
Soooo after that I become pregnant with my 5th child last year and he was born the 5th of December, I felt really unwell after delivery and the doctors were concerned but couldn't find anything else wrong with me so i was discharged home, christmas day I felt dreadful and couldn't put my finger on it and just muddled through for the sake of the children. Boxing day came and me and my family went out for a walk and to get coffee when I felt like I was going to drop down, I thought I was just tired. We had some friends over that day and as the day went on I increasingly worsened. By say around 4pm I was shivering and sweating then throwing up so decided it was time to rest in bed. By 7pm I was worse again couldn't stand to even go the loo so my lovely partner called a doctor it was around 1am before they got to me, they examined me and I was rushed into hospital my blood pressure was so low I was almost dead.
It took them 3 days to work out I had sepsis and I spent a month in ITU and another 2 weeks on a normal ward. Its been awful but I am here and grateful for that. All the meds they gave me in ITU had made my heart react and it wasn't happy to say the least so the doctors spoke to my surgeon and they got it sorted so i could go see the surgeon. I did in and in July was my op - sorry I have gone on here but it gives you an all round picture - SO the pain was a lot worse and everything else I had before all of this, they took me in and did a transcatheter closure, I awoke in lots of pain and was told I didn't have a PFO i had 3 holes in my heart 18mm wide. I was kept in over night and then sent home.
SO the recovery bit well my groin was very sore and bruised the medication they put me on made me bruise very badly especially on my legs and arms. The pain and the headaches were so intense, they have eased up now, is it normal to have good and bad days? days were i feel that exhausted i just want to sleep and days were my chest hurts so much i can hardly breathe? I am so down i am sick of feeling ill!
My surgeon said I could do light exercise after a month I have tried I get so hot and the sweat literally pours of me and I feel so much pain and dizzy is this normal? I miss exercise and the benefits I have put on weight not sleeping well I just don't know how to tackle this anymore :(
Thank you for taking the time to read if you got this far ;-)