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.