Just diagnosed with ASD and the thought of surgery is concerning.
The diagnosis came as a shock. I was pretty numb the rest of that day.
I went for an echo to prove my murmer wasn’t a concern for enlistment into the Army. Since it never held me back at anything in my life, I never suspected anything. During the echo the nurse did a bubble test which proved I had the hole. I apparently failed my stress test that day as well.
I’m concerened about a few things. I’m now afraid to do anything that raises my heart beat until further testing is done. I’m concerned that certain foods may make things worse. And of course super concerned with Surgery. The further testing will tell me if they will fix it via artery or fix it with open heart. The open heart option scares me. Can anyone help ease my mind.? I’m hoping to speak to a few people that have went through surgery already. Thank you.
Hi Amber, I am so sorry to hear about what you are going through because of this discovery. Firstly, you should relax and calm down as quite honestly the catheter process is quite simple. this is the one I underwent less than a year ago. I am age 47. I did suffer a lot for most of my life and did not know I had a hole in my heart. The surgery (if you can call it that) is less than an hour and recovery is a breeze. I do not speak of OHS as that is not what I underwent. Mostly, doctors use the catheter process. After the surgery, you need to rest for a few days and not lean forward or pick up stuff, The doctors will test you for nickle allergies and if ok then do this procedure. I was not tested for nickle allergies but it was ok. You should remain calm as raising heartbeats is not a good idea in general and try to be as normal as can be. Let me know if this helps. Reach out if you want to know anything else.
Hi Amber. Sorry to hear that. I got my open heart surgery last March. I’m 28 years old. and married. and Thanked God, im okay now. still recovery now. and im gaining weight now. i will be having my last 2D echo next week. Hmm. just trust yourself that you can do it and always pray to God to guide you and give more strenght to make your operation soon. Stay calm. and always think that everything will be alright soon and you’re be heal soon.
Hi Amber I guess you are in the states. I’m in the Uk. I have had an ASD from birth which was diagnosed when I was 17. I had it closed in February at the age of 66! I’ve had 2 children and a great life but it catches up with you. Yes it’s a scary time but the closure is so great now. Mine was 22 mm and closed by catheter through the vein in my groin. This site is great but you may also find the Facebook page Adult atrial septal defect ( hole in the heart ) helpful for chatting. All the best.
Wow! How come you waited so long to get it fixed? I’m hoping to go through
the groin procedure. How long was your recovery? Because of my breathing
and the pressures they want to fix it quickly. I live alone and no family
here. With 2 horses and a dog I can’t be down and out for too long. Thanks
for the reference to the facebook page!
It didn’t cause me too many issues until a year ago when my breathing became difficult when I had an infection. I guess before that it was a case of wait and see. I’m glad I did wait because the catheter closure is easy! The hard part is in your head coming to terms with the fact it’s your heart and you only have the one and imagining all sorts of things which can go wrong. I was in hospital for a little more than 24 hours but afterwards you are restricted for driving ( 2-3 days) for cath site to heal and in what you can lift for 2 weeks. It actually takes longer to heal properly but by 6 months your heart tissue should have grown over the device. Do try the Facebook site there are many more of us on there and you can ask all sorts of ’ silly ’ questions and know someone has been through it before. Several people have become friends in this way.
Amazing! Yes when I looked up a few issues it can cause it put light on alo
t of ailments I had. My breathing was one. We always thought it was
exercise induced asthma, but I always thought it was odd the medicine never
worked so I would stop using them. My breathing always got better the more
I ran but most recently it just felt like I wasn’t getting enough oxygen
and just thought it was from being out of shape from running. Guess I was
completely wrong. I did request to join the page. Thank you so much again!
No problem. You should be on the site soon. Try not to worry and get someone to help you with the animals post op.
See you on Facebook!
See you found lots of help on Facebook. All the best.
Yes thank you so much