4 Weeks Post-Op

I just had my ER follow up with my doctor. I love my doctor and wish I had gotten to see her in the first place. As I originally thought, she thinks the heart episodes were likely caused by the anemia. Although my levels weren't critically low she looked at what my normal levels were and she said I typically run high so I had a huge drop. She also said that the beta blocker I am on can also make me tired. Phew, finally something that makes sense and starts to put the puzzle pieces together. She gave a good listen to my heart and detected no murmurs (yay!) and my blood pressure was good.

My biggest issue right now (with the heart stuff on hold for now) is to get some energy back, I have such low energy that the days are a struggle. I tried to go the gym yesterday but 12 minutes on the bike going very slowly and about 10 minutes going low and slow on he elliptical were all I could manage. I guess it's a start but it also made me start coughing and I know the patrons didn't appreciate me hacking next to them. Although I have been having a bit of caffeine to give me a little boost I did get the okay from my doc that a cup a day is okay (double yay!). She ordered a blood draw that will check my iron levels. Once my iron levels get back up we can move on to getting me off the blood pressure medicine (triple yay!).

Although my heart sounded okay today and the bp was good I am on a blood pressure med so it could go back up once I'm off it. Also, the results of my holter monitor are not back yet. They should be in next week.

So, here I am...exactly 4 weeks after surgery and I would say I am about 70% of where I was before the surgery. The pain is virtually gone except when I yawn, that stretches it just enough to give me a good twinge of pain. Ironically enough coughing does not hurt. There was a time when I thought the pain would never end so that alone is such a huge deal. I feel I'm on the right track to explain the heart palpitations and they are nowhere near what they were. Now I have to get over this cold, get off the bp med, get my iron levels (and energy level) back up, figure out what the holter monitor results say and then I should be feeling tons better. It still seems like a long road but the worst is over and it's going to be uphill from now on. She told me that it can take 3-6 months for the iron to get back to where it needs to be but it may not, it just depends. I should know where I am with that tomorrow.