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I was born with an irregular heart valve. I was told I was a textbook case, late 40's erly 50's, everything is fine, high blood pressure, then chest pains start.
At that point i was told you have a year or so to live.
I had my Aortic valve replaced with a mechanical valve. I was told the tissue valves (cow/pig/human) last only about 10 years, and I didn't EVER want to go through this again, so I opted for the mechanical valve. I was 47 at the time.
This was a little over a year ago. I have to take blood thinners for the rest of my life (small price to pay). 20 years ago I had issues with opiates and pain pills, I've been clean for over 15 years, and I feared relapsing if I was given opiates for this surgery so I refused them, and went through the whole ordeal with Tylenol. The pain was more than I could have ever imagined, but short lived.
I was home in 4 days, and in perfect health now. ALL of my health issues were due to my clogged heart valve. Today, my blood pressure, liver function, cholesterol (65), kidney function, INR (blood thickness), blood sugar (I USED to have diabetes), A1C, everything is all perfect now.
It's been a year and a couple months, and I'm feeling better and getting stronger every day, and every day I wake up is a blessing.
I AM guilty of not taking full advantage of my second chance, I really need to start walking more, working out, and eating better (I eat well, no fast food, just not regularly. Sometimes I'll go all day and only eat dinner).
Anyways, saw this thread, thought I'd share my story. I had my heart valve replaced, and all is fine. You can hear it from across the room if it's really quiet.
I'm glad to hear your ordeal came out well.
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