Valve Replacement in 3 days
Hello, I am a 30 year old female with TOF about to get my pulmonary valve replaced in a few days. I have had 3 open heart surgeries all before I was 12. The last one was in 2009, and it was a pulmonary valve replacement. This time around they will be doing it via transcatheter and I am grateful I don't need a 4th open heart surgery. My pulmonary valve is regurgitating about 50% as of April.
My quality of life for about 9 months has been terrible. My daily symptoms have been extreme shortness of breath, very fatigued (napping during the day), persistent nausea, edema, chest pain, palpitations, very anxious, and irritable. I feel sick and tired all the time, the nausea is out of this world some days. I am unable to exercise at all since April, and I am typically a very active person. I have been feeling like this for many months now and worry that the procedure is too late and that my heart, body, and mind will not be able to heal and recover fully. How long has anyone else gone on feeling this badly? How long have you had to wait for this procedure? How was recovery? Does anyone have experience with persistent nasuea?! Sorry for all the questions, I know everyone is different and has a different experiences with TOF, but I am so nervous and wondering if all of this is normal before PVR.
I am also very anxious about the procedure itself. Looking for words of inspiration, or similar experiences, similar symptoms before PVR, anything to soothe my nerves because I feel very alone right now. However, I am so excited to finally get this procedure done. It's been a long time coming, and I just want to feel healthy in my mind and body again!