Hi. I am 16 months post open heart surgery & I still find that sometimes when laying on my side, my chest hurts. I know it takes a while for the sternum to repair, but I didn’t think I would still get the soreness now. I was wondering if anyone else has this happen to them?
Many thanks
Petrina
Hi petrina, ive not been on this forum for so long! im 2 years post op and i still have chest pain nerve spasm etc.. its all very normal. Im not sure our bodies ever fully recover from such invasive surgery to the main core of our body. Are u doing exercises to help build ur chest up? i find doind light weights really helps i do them every few days
izzi
Hi Petrina and hi Izzi,
I have a similar situation I had open heart surgery December 2012 and still have lots of chest/chest cavity pain. Like you said Izzi, I am not sure our bodies will ever fully recover from such severe trauma that we have experienced. I feel pain still pretty often, but I agree it is worse while laying on my side. I have added "fun" of having a lung disease caused ny the hole in my heart. I have PAH and disc degeneration in my back. My muscles in my core and in my legs basically are nonexistent so I am starting over with a physical therapist. Uhg! It just continues! We have to believe the fatigue and stamina will get better...I hope!
~Laura
Hi Izzi, Laura & Dkel9307,
Thanks for your replies. Izzi, I started Crossfit 8 months post op & we do weights/kettlebells sometimes during our sessions. I find that push ups/sit ups can cause chest pain a day or so after sometimes too, but the pain while laying on my side was a little different. I haven't felt the pain while laying on my side for a while now, thank goodness!
I wish you all well in your recovery :)
Petrina