PFO Closure - Open Heart or Transcatherer 3

Hi Dejaboo,

It was supposed to be done Feb. 2nd, but they rescheduled that date as well (after rescheduling from Jan. 19th). Anyway, all's well that ends well. And, I think you'll be very happy to hear that I can STOP taking Plavix!!! I'm so excited about that too. So, as of today no more Plavix for me!

Take care and keep us posted whenever you can.

Greenhope

Great news Greenhope! I can't wait for the day that I can stop worrying about my health and get on with enjoying my life! My surgery is in two days...Thursday. I'm beginning to get a little nervous about it but am trusting that all will go well. I sure hope I heal up as nicely as you. I'm planning on going to Belgium in March with my MIL and that's just one month after my surgery. My Cardiologist told me that he sees no reason why I shouldn't be able to go. We bought the tickets yesterday. Of course we also bought insurance so my ticket can be refunded in the event I'm unable to go. I hope that's not the case though. This trip came up quite suddenly and my MIL has to go there to settle her grandparent's estate. She has MS and really needs me with her to help her out...and to have fun with her too! God willing I'll be able to go! I'll let you all know how my surgery went as soon as I can. Keep my in your thoughts and prayers please!

Thanks Dejaboo! I sure hope I feel good and don't have any problems post-op. This trip is a once in a lifetime opportunity and my FIL is paying my way. I sure wouldn't want to pass it up. Besides, me and my MIL are best friends and have a lot of fun together. I know I'll have to walk around on the plane especially due to being on the blood thinner medication. That's easier said than done though as the aisles are narrow and dark when you fly at night. Not to mention all of the arms and legs that hang out onto the aisles!

How long do you have to lie on your back after the surgery? I'm sure this will be the worse part for me too. I don't have a very friendly back but it will be worth it if the whole experience saves me from future strokes!

DeerMarie- I think one lays on their back for around 3-6 hrs. it does vary with each person. I think I was about 4 hrs before I could raise my head some. I did not stay over night- Seems like almost everyone does. I was allowed to sit in a chair after 5.5 hrs & left the Hospital at 7 hrs.

CatMom5- Maybe our Echos will be the same day- Mine is April 16. I am hoping for good news for you!
Dejaboo

Hi Everyone!

I had my surgery on Thursday and came home Friday evening. I feel great and have absolutely no pain. Everything went smoothly and I was thrilled that the experience was no where near as horrible as I was expecting. The worst part of the whole thing was having to lie flat on my back for 6 hours! Needless to say, the only discomfort I have now is in my lower back! LOL The follow-up echo the day after surgery showed that the patch has completely closed the hole! The hardest thing for me to do is behave because I feel so normal aside from a being a little tired. Good thing my Mom is visiting with me for a few days so she can slap my hand every time I attempt to do something I shouldn't! I don't mind though as it's nice to have her here and spoiling me rotten! We don't get the chance to see one another that often! I was sent home on Plavix and told to increase my aspirin to 325's rather than the 81's. They also gave me nitro in the event that I experience chest pain. I hope that I don't ever have to use it! I pray that in the weeks ahead I find myself with restored energy and no more of those nasty mini strokes or migraines! Thanks for all of your thoughts and well wishes. I'll keep you posted on my future appointments and hopefully my upcoming trip to Belgium!

Hello every one not been on for a while...... every thing was going good but now they think I may have been having TIAs! never had them before the closure, but I have been getting blindness in right eye followed by zig zags, my balance was really bad at the weekend I couldn't walk straight and was leaning to the right side this lasted about 15 mins, and since then I have had a hangover sort of head ( knd of thick head feeling) any one else had this after closure? my consultant thinks it is because the ASD was so large 33mm  

Hi Catmom5  Good to hear from you how are you doing? Good to see that every one still supporting every one else going through closure...... I remember when I first came on the forum over 2 years ago...... long time eh?

I had closure 17th Sept 2009 and i had a few probs after like burning poker pains through my heart and still had arrhythmia, but then about a month ago I started with the blindness in my right eye followed by zig zags, no headache followed just a real thick head feeling and very tired. These episodes could last up to an hour and a half but the tiredness all day. I can go up to a week with out any but then I can have one a day. My head constantly now feels like that thick head of a hangover. I still have arrhythmia and my blood pressure is high 97/155 after the procedure it was 70/110 and that was up until a month ago. I have been referred to the TIA clinic, and in march I will be wearing the monitor again fr 24hours (the one that traces your heart rhythm) and having scans. My consultant said that the TIA clinic will deal with my head and he will look after my heart. Even though this is happening and I feel sorry for myself, closure was essential for me because of the size of the ASD and where it is placed. I would not be here for much longer if I didn't have it closed, so I don't regret having it done. It might hopefully be migraines (although I havent had them for years). My consultant said sometimes with holes this size and having the palpitations still, can be small clots travelling round my body. He is hoping that it will just be migraines too. But I think the balance thing at the weekend caused concern too.

If any one else is reading this and you are due to have closure, please DONOT be put off many many people have closure and do not have problems it is only because my ASD was so large. The benifits from having it closed far out weigh the long term effects it would have. 

DeerMarie, thank you for replying.... what you described as TIA sounds like what I am getting. I didn't have PFO but ASD..... makes no difference to me they are both holes!  I was told the size of mine because it was so large. If your closure has worked you will feel a different person.... I still do in other ways, but in other ways I feel worse. Remember it takes 3 to 6 months for the hole to seal and also you have had a device fitted so it will take time to settle down as most people on here will tell you they feel so different and have also had similar side effects to what you are feeling.... that is a good thing about this forum we can all compare!   

Has Mamanus been on? how is she any one know?

Geenhope good that you still on here

Take care x

Welcome, You will find we are a friendly bunch here It is a relief isn't it to finally find out what is wrong? the procedure is okay and not as scary as I thought it would have been  

No not yet, it is the waiting game again lol. You know you are right it is the what ifs if you don't have it done. It is a scary time for you because it is the unknown, but you see when you have had it done you will notice big changes!

Just wanted to thank everyone for their candid inputs. A great place to compare notes, so to speak. Hope everyone who has had a PFO closure or is about to has the best of care and recovery. This is my first entry, so here goes.

I haven't had any strokes or TIA's, but I have often had Opthalmic Migraines (Aura w/o necessarily having the headaches), and have had about 3 bouts with Atrial Fibrillation (not any for 18 months now). I have been under a cardiologist's care on that, and the medicine I take, Rythmnol (along with really being careful about my alcohol consumption) seems to have worked quite well. I live at about 8200' in the foothills and noticed that I was waking up a little short of breath occasionally. I had my oxygen readings done overnight and found that at this altitude it should still remain above 90%, but my average was 87.5%. After a lot of pulmonary, sleep apnia testing (didn't have it) and cardio testing (including a TEE), the conclusion is that I have a PFO with a lot of right to left shunting when i strain (Valsalva) or cough. There is also an Atrial Septal Aneurysm and a small ASD concurrent with the PFO.

At any rate, I've been to two interventional cardiologists and one says I should definitely have the closure and that it would probably help the problem with the Hypoxemia (low O2) and maybe even the A Fib. He said it was a very easy procedure and that I shouldn't have any complications. After reading about all the struggles that a lot of you have had here, however, I'm giving it second thoughts. The other, more experienced cardiologist, however, said that there was no guaranty that the closure would help at all with the Hypox and could make my A Fib more chronic in the future. It seems (even tho it's not yet been fully proven) that the upside to the closure would be a much lower chance of having a TIA or stroke in the future, not to mention a more efficient pulmonary system and healthier heart!

Anyone have A Fib and a PFO/ASA? If so, do you think closure is a good idea. My PFO must open up fairly wide when straining myself as there was a lot of shunting during those periods. Thanks for any response in advance. I'm 64 years young and still have a lot of fun stuff to do yet, so I'd really like to get some good advice!

Howdy..... welcome and also to Mollymom 55. For me personally even though I am having tests for TIAs closure for my ASD was necessary. The hole was 33mm which is very large. If I hadn't had it closed eventually the strain on my heart and lungs would have finished me off! So even though I am still not back to normal, the closure  for me was the best thing I had done. Once I find out if I am having TIAs well that can be sorted with medication. I never had TIAs before the closure although I did have a suspected clot on my lung a few years ago.

 

I am sorry Mollymom but I can't answer your other questions. I am lucky I live in the UK national health service....... so we don't need health insurance.... I have had that many scans I am not sure what they are all called. I have lots of bog standard scans where they do a normal scan on the outside of your chest, then the one where I am sedated and a camera goes down my throat and looks at my heart ( never knew a thing ) then there was the double angiogram 2 separate probes with a camera one to look around my heart and one that went into the hole....... and then the one I hate the most MRI ( I am very claustrophobic ) and now I have just had a CAT scan and I am waiting for another MRI, oh and it looks like another sedated one with camera down my throat. But still not sure which is the TEE ....... you think I would know though wouldn't you after all those . But we are a friendly lot on here and someone will come on and be able to answer both of your questions.

If there is anything else that you would like to know, please post on forum there are quite a few of us who have had closure