Has anyone here had bypass surgery?

My grandma had a triple bypass done and never returned from the hospital because she went into the surgery in really poor physical form. Her lungs were also not in great shape (she never smoked). She rotted away on machines and died four months later, having never left the ICU.

So the bad and the ugly in this case mostly depends on what condition your body is in going into the surgery.

I have no idea, but I wish you all the best. I make a lot of smartass comments on here but I mean this one.

OP, the husband of a friend of mine had a triple bypass last summer. The recovery was slow and painful, but he now feels much better than he has in years. He's already been playing golf this spring.

^^Oh, and he's 66 and pretty overweight. I think you'll be fine, OP!

OP, consider the case of former VP Dick Cheney.

At age 47 he had to have quadruple bypass surgery (1988). That’s as major as it gets, for bypass surgery.

At age 59 he became VP to Bush. Served eight years.

Then he had a full heart transplant four years later in 2012.

He is alive today at 84, and appears smiling in most photos.

Recovery takes time and the risk of complications is never quite zero, but the odds are hugely in your favor. If that odious old neocon fucker can do all that, you can handle a bypass. You’ve got this!

My partner did about six months after we moved in together. It was successful, though a mistake meant he had to go under twice. It will kill your sex life, but so will dying.

The recovery is hard. However, this is a very standard (expensive and profitable) surgery that follows predictable results. The time in the hospital is fairly brief. I thought he looked near death the day before he left, which is apparently the norm.

I could really go for some onion rings.

My mom had it. It’s amazing how many people came out of the woodwork and explained a family member had it.

They told me a few things that definitely were the same in my mom—it takes a full year to recover and a few months after you will likely go into deep depression, but you’ll come out of it. There’s a definitely connection between bypass and subsequent depression

^ forgot to add, my mom lived down for 30 more years

Down= fine

My grandmother had one when she was 80. Once she recovered, she had more energy and generally felt better. I remember taking her to the movies and she walked from the parking lot to the lobby to the theater without sitting to rest. She was happy with the outcome.

I had a triple bypass at age 51 (I'm not 59). The initial news is quite terrifying, no doubt.

Due to conflicting circumstances, I was in the hospital for five days prior to the surgery. I had that time to reconcile myself to the fact that I was about to undergo major surgery. By the time the actual day came around I was pretty Zen about the procedure.

The first night of recovery was difficult (they put a draining tube in you, which tends to hit up against the lungs). The night nurses were pretty liberal with the Dilaudid. It provided a lot of relief. One of the interns called the surgeon early in the morning and it was okayed to remove the drainage tube.

Post-hospital: the recovery was pretty good. They give you some nice painkillers. Of course there are restrictions i.e. no driving for a certain amount of time, don't lift anything heavier than 20lbs. etc. etc.

There were periods where I felt sorry for myself, but overall it wasn't terrible. The surgeon told me that, although this is major surgery, it is fairly routine at this point (thanks to advancements in medical technology). I do have a "zipper" down my chest, but have learned to view it as a battle scar.

Wishing you the best of luck and a speedy recovery, OP.

^^^ sorry, (I'm NOW 59).

Thanks everyone!

You need to find a good surgeon. If you have any medical friends, ask around. People who work in hospitals know whose patients do well, and which ones are hacks whose patients don’t get out of the ICU.

I know a guy who had quadruple in his early 50s. He had to have all his teeth removed before they operated.

Why the teeth removal?

My dad had a quintuple bypass—he died 9 years later.

Bacteria!

My father, at 80 and who had A-Fib, went into the hospital to have one stent put in one artery. There, they discovered he had many other blockages and dad ended having a quadruple bypass. He came out of the surgery OK, but 2 days later he had a stroke due to the A-Fib (combined with the toll the surgery took on him) and he died. But between the surgery and his death I was visiting him and made disparaging remarks about Ann Coulter and Sarah Palin (both of whom he liked) so I feel a little guilty if I exacerbated his condition.

Bummer about the zipper scar. Too bad there's no way around that.

Hi OP. I had triple bypass at age 59 1/2. Before that I had 2 stents put in several years previously. I had by biannual stress test and the results showed some abnormalities in my blood flow. I was sent for an angiogram and they determined I had gotten worse since my stents were pout in and I required bypasses of three arteries.. Because I had been on a blood thinner medication I had to wait several days for my blood to reach a normal level before the surgery. Fortunately bypass surgery is normal and almost routine today. The best I can tell you is not to worry about the surgery itself. The risk is actually very minimal, unless you have some other significant health issues. Afterwards they will make you get up from bed the very next day and go to the bathroom with assistance. But after that they will expect you to go on your own, and they will make you take walks in the hall twice a day to keep you mobile and to keep your leg circulation healthy. I had surgery on a Monday morning, and I was sent home Thursday afternoon.. At the time I felt my release was premature, but afterwards I realized it was sound decision. They also made me come back to the hospital the next day Friday as an outpatient to see my cardiologist. Again I felt it was cruel thing to do, but it was the best thing for me. By the next Monday I was taking shorty daily outdoor walks for a few blocks to my local pharmacy or grocery store . They recommend you try to keep mobile to keep your strength and to avoid any remote change of developing a DVT or clot. The worse thing about bypass is the sternum pain where they cut you open. It will be sensitive and at times painful until it heals. They say the healing takes 6 weeks or so, but for me it took longer. The surgery was 6 years ago, and I am still feel great and remain in the best health since my mid forties. Be sure once you recover that you lose weight and keep it off. Eat healthy food only, mostly plant based with some healthier fatty fish like salmon , mackerel, and sardines. It's normal to be anxious before this kind of surgery, but trust me you will get through it just fine, and you will fell noticeably healthier and less tired.

Fun Fact: My uncle had quadruple bypass in 1989 at age 50, and now he's 85 and still doing great. That's 35 years, he goes for walks regularly with my aunt, still takes vacation trips, and likes a good life.

I have had three members of my family who had quadruple bipasses in the late nineties/ early auts.

They golf.

OP, i want to to well, but I pray you don’t take up golf. It’s a white guy sport we should all shun.

R22 Just to add they gave me a 10 day prescription of Oxycodine. Since I heard about addiction stories, I decided not to take it, I took extra strength Tylenol instead. It worked fine. I still have that Oxycodine bottle in one of my drawers someplace unused, I should throw it out, I'm sure it's gone bad by now.

My mom had a triple bypass, Coronary Artery Bypass Grafts (cabbages) when she turned 80. She had to take time from work, but was back at work in 90 days pushing carts in an industrial bakery.

I believe that if they have done the surgery correctly, and you do the follow-up at home rehab, 90 days will get you back to normal.

One thing they don't tell you is that open-heart surgery results in 30% of people developing CKD. So you have to worry about your kidneys for the rest of your life.

If I have one suggestion, it is getting familiar with your Comprehensive metabolic panel tests, which should be done every six months. Learn to live for your eGFR.

Also, make sure you get follow-up Echocardiograms. She may have had triple bypass, but she died of a tricuspid valve failure.

She died at 93.

Oxycodone gave me sleep after colon surgery. I have four pills left from January surgery. I was scared as I addict to everything. I followed directions and it went well - not so well that I have an ostomy, but it is better than violent shits..

Oh and one thing my mom's surgeon said is that he wopuld rather work on a woman than a man, because women do the work to get better, but men like to be babied.

So if you are one of those pretty boy queens who like to be taken care of, congratulations, you will die earlier.

No advice OP, but wishing you peace.

R22 Me again. Just one more note, I was back at work exactly 4 weeks after my surgery. I could have stayed home up to 8 weeks, but I was going stir crazy at home, and my doctor gave me a letter authorizing me to return to work. And I did not get depression as some did above. I think returning to active life and getting back to your normal routines is vital. If you just sit around in pajamas all day watching TV and feeling sick instead of someone on the road to improved health, your mental health gets affected as well.

R6 How does it ruin your sex life?

Man they bust your ribs and spread them out for a while and that is what kills you with pain. That battery given to your body for hoursat the hospital will take long months to recover from.

R31 It's basically multiple broken ribs. A reasonable price to pay for getting a second chance to live a healthy life.

You're gonna be great OP.

Thank you! My appointment is next week and you've all talked me off the ledge.

You’ll want a bed coat and your own clogs.

I've never had bypass surgery OP, but I did have open-heart surgery when I was 29 to correct a congenital defect in my aortic valve. I was diagnosed with it as a toddler so I lived my entire life knowing surgery was inevitable. It scared the shit out of me and I would agonize over my annual (and eventually bi-annual) checkups. It got even worse when I was in my mid-twenties and developed an aortic aneurysm near my aortic root (caused by the aortic valve insufficiency), which is a ticking time bomb after a certain point.

Once I got the news that it was "time", I of course had an existential crisis and considered the fact that I could very well die from the operation, but it was also certain early death if I didn't get it fixed, so I knew the only way out was through. Strangely, the morning of my surgery, I was very calm and levelheaded. That was almost six years ago now. I have a mechanical valve and they did a dacron graft of my aortic root to fix the aneurysm, all during the same surgery. I'm on blood thinners for life, but that's a minor price to pay for me.

Recovery from open-heart is rough—I'm not gonna lie. I was only in the hospital for four days (including the overnight post-surgery in ICU) and that was mostly manageable, but it gets trickier when you are discharged. There is a lot that you can't do on your own at first, and it really made me realize just how much we take for granted when it comes to our bodies. My mom lived near the hospital where I had my surgery, so I stayed with her for about two and a half weeks before going home and being on my own. One thing that shocked me (and that they never told me about) was the nerve pain in my legs after the surgery. They cut through a lot of nerves during the operation, and it effected my legs in a way I would've never thought possible—in the first couple of weeks after the operation, I would have episodes where it felt like my legs were on fire at times. This resolved itself, and I would get occasional zaps from the nerves here and there for about 10 months before it finally went away (mostly painless—usually it just felt like there was an insect crawling up my leg).

Sleeping is also tricky in the early stages because it's almost impossible to lie down fully. I had a wedge pillow which was helpful, but even getting up from that was trying, and it's not easy to get comfortable for the first few weeks. It all just takes time. Getting up and moving is essential to recovery from OHS, so you have to make sure you're walking around enough, as you'll be instructed. It's the only way to regain your lung capacity and vitality. I felt relatively "normal" within a couple of months, though.

My surgeon told me the procedure I had was fairly routine, although on paper it sounded terrifying. I think bypass is probably the most routine heart operation out there, and it's done with high frequency. I had an excellent surgeon from Canada who I really trusted. I think that's important, especially for your own peace of mind. You'll be fine, but be prepared for the recovery process. You'll have your moments, but it's doable and countless people go through it all the time. I am very grateful that I live in a time where it's even possible. Had I been born 100 (or even 50) years earlier, I would've been dead before my 30th birthday.

Friend had a quad bypass at 47 - recovered fully, started to take his health seriously - lost a lot of weight and felt great and looked great by 49.

Then he started meth - but that's a different story.

OP, I had a double bypass in 2015 (I was 62 y/o at the time). It was a total wake up call. Started eating better, lost about 30 lbs, and exercised much better and religiously. 10 years later I’ve never been in better shape. My recovery was rougher than most (post op complications), but if things go well for you, you’ll be home in about 5 days. Good wishes to you, and all the best. I hope it changes your life as it did mine. Let us know how you do.

Your anxiety is completely understandable. Don't wait to get over it, just go get it done. You'll completely forget all about it in 6 months and you'll live a perfectly normal life. Speaking from personal experience.

My 71yr old brother just had it and is in his 3rd month of recovery. He has complications; he also had to have rotator cuff surgery on his right shoulder; but that was independent of the heart issues.

He's in pain still, but his wife, who's been waiting on him hand and foot, might have it worse! lol

Btw, they're Trumpers living in Florida - which is AWFUL, of course - but what's nice is, we actually have something we can discuss and stay in contact about, without having to discuss politics. (and I think he knows better right now to NOT bring up health care!).

[quote]He's in pain still, but his wife, who's been waiting on him hand and foot, might have it worse!

My mom's heart surgeon said that women know how to do the recovery work, but men like to be treated like babies...and they die.

You will be comforting your SIL long after your brother is dead, r40.

OP and others- Were you all overweight and or did you eat an unhealthful high fat/ high cholesterol diet ? If so did that clog your arteries and eventually require the surgery?

r42, I am overweight, I eat a high fat diet and my calcium rating is ZERO. My cholesterol is freaky low.

It's genetics.

My father was well into his 60s when he had a double bypass — recovery was surprisingly quick and he lived to very old age at 88.

R44- I would not call 88 years old very old.

My friends father lived to 106 years old. That is VERY old.

I had my bypass at age 59. If I live to a healthy and robust 90, I will be satisfied. Even without a serious health background like coronary disease, most people are no longer vibrant in their 90s.

No, but my health insurance is so bad that they perform all surgeries out on the bypass.

r45, Every one of my mom's siblings live to be 88 and my mom died at 93.

To me, 88 was not old and 93 wasn't very old.

I am aiming for 95. A good and healthy 95 who is struck by lightening.

I don't know anything about it, OP. I'm sorry though, that you're going through this. I had 3 seizures about a month and half ago. It knocked my heart out of rhythm and they had to shock it back . I don't remember much and I had no pain. It botherd me that I don't remember anything and I had no religious experience. I hope this will be an easy thing for you. Don't freak out you'll be ok. 🥰🙏

[quote]I don't remember anything and I had no religious experience.

Well, if that happened, you died and are now like one of those naloxone Zombies.

Naloxone reanimates the body after the soul has left.

Evangelical biology tells us this.

R42 OP here. My doc said it's genetics. BTW, my consult is May 14th and he told me I'd be joining the Zipper Club.

You may have a predisposition for coronary disease, but lifestyle is a significant contributing factor.

R45 I don't know.. Yes, 106 is insanely old, but let's not pretend like 88 years on this planet isn't a very, very long time.

80 is old. 88 is very old. 106 is a fluke of nature