Post Edited By Moderator (els) : 5/5/2006 7:03:46 AM (GMT-6)
Hello all, I am from the crohns board but I recently had heart bypass. All is going well except I am still very irritated in my nose where a tube was run. No matted what I do this is making me sneeze,,and sneezing is like ,,well,,did you see (Alien)???How long was it for you before your chest did not hurt when you sneezed? Did it take a long time for your nose to be normal again? Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks....
Hey sniper, Welcome to the cardio forum. I am really sorry about the bypass surgery I know it takes a lot out of you. I haven't had that but I had a pacemaker implant and also 2 revisions done on the leads and those surgeries were terrible and took many weeks for me to get healed up. I have just gotten over placing my hand over my chest to protect the leads when I sneeze or cough ya know the psychosomatic thing. Anyway, hopefully someone who has underwent the same procedure as you will post a reply for you soon. Take care.
Thanks els. They gave me a pillow to hug when I caugh and it helps a lot, but a sneeze is another thing entirely. I dont have a pacemaker but I do have a medaport in my chest and its only one week older than the surgery so my whole chest is sort of asleep and tingling. Again thnks for the input...
If we would read the secret history of our enemies,we would find in each mans life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
Gee guys,,has knowone had open heart surgery here????
If we would read the secret history of our enemies,we would find in each mans life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
Hi Sniper, I went into your original post and just edited your title so hopefully other members will respond to your post. I do know we have people here that have have bypasses...I am so sorry no one has answered yet. 
Hang in there and we see if we can get someone.
Hang in there and we see if we can get someone.
Post Edited (els) : 5/6/2006 8:27:58 AM (GMT-6)
Thank you Els. Doesn't look like its going to help. I give up....
If we would read the secret history of our enemies,we would find in each mans life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
HANG TUFF SNIPER, SOMEONE WILL SHOW UP. THE BOARD HAS BEEN A LITTLE SLOW LATELY. SORRY I CANNOT HELP EITHER, JUST STENTS HERE BYE
Sniper, I haven't had heart surgery so I can't really help. However I do hope things get better for you soon. I have heard things do improve but it can be slow going at first. Hang in there and God bless.
Thanks Hopes and Dreamgirl. I am finding out that my chest is not healing as fast as it should because of the meds I take for crohns. I have an apointment this week with the heart spc. so I am going to ask some good questions about the meds I take. I am still surprised that no one with heart surgery here responded to my questions. I put on deodorant and everything before I came here.. Just kidding, I know sometimes on the crohns board we have to wait for the right one to see our post . We go pretty fast there though. Thanks again...
If we would read the secret history of our enemies,we would find in each mans life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
Hi Sniper,sorry for the late reply. I had quad bypass in 2002 and I didnt have the symptoms you described. So I really dont know what to say that would help you. I know what your talking about hugging the pillow while coughing or sneezing, it sure isnt a fun experience. Im sorry to hear you are having these complications with your chest, I know how painful it is. I hope the Doctors will be able to help you.You will be in my prayers. Oh, and we know you dont stink J/k. That was funny what you said, had to respond to it. Take Care and God Bless!
I am sorry Sniper that you the responses that you were looking for. This one forum kinda tends to go in spurts of how people post. And this is one of the slower times. I do hope you come back and visit us from time to time....take care ~ Elisha
Hello Sniper. I just now joined this forum. I endured 3, yes 3 open heart surgeries in only 3 years. I was healthy and had no reason for heart disease at 40 years old, but on 9-18-2001 I had the first of many heart attacks. In only 4 1/2 years I had the 3 open heart surgeries, 36 heart catherizations,an experimental surgery, and on July 14, 2005 - a life saving heart transplant. I am diabetic, which did not cause this heart disease. I have a genetic abnormality. I also have a dear friend who suffers with Crohn's disease. What I can tell you is when your immune system is compromised such as in your case dealing with Crohn's, your sternum will heal slower. It took me 5-6 months after my first open heart to not be hurting so much when I sneezed. Then I had a second open heart and I thought I would never heal up. But after a YEAR of sternum pain, the doctors finally did a CT scan and it revealed the sternum had never "come together". I had a complete "non-union" of my sternum. I did have to have it repaired but neither I nor the doctors anticipated another open heart surgery was in my future.
Now, since having a heart transplant and being on immunosupressive medications, my sternum is healing very slowly. Sneezing is HORRIBLE! and it has almost been 10 months.
I believe your sternum will heal slower due to the Crohn's. Plus, health issues, healing ability, and other factors will effect the bone's healing process. Keep an eye on it and if a couple of months go by without any improvement, ask your heart surgeon about doing a CT scan to check the sternum.
Keep posting your progress! Cindy
Thanks to you all. I am finding out that I am healing , just not as fast as I would like. My wife says I am impatient. I was told 6 weeks and so I was concerned, but if I know it takes longer I can deal with that. CindyS, sounds like you have been through the wringer ,,a few times....Sorry you had to go through all that and hope you are done with being cut on. My chest is wired together and I will keep the wire forever. I can caugh now with just discomfort, but a sneeze is something I dont handle well. I think I will heal up ok, but not as fast as I would like. I will surely keep a close watch on it. Thanks again and bless you all...
If we would read the secret history of our enemies,we would find in each mans life sorrow and suffering enough to disarm all hostility.
hi snipe, glad you got someone who could relate, both those ladies have been through a lot. keep posting.
Hi CindyS, I wanted to take a moment to welcome you to Healing Well forum. We are glad to have you and your insight. I hope you continue to visit HW and post. This is a wonderful site for support and information. Also the people here are just great if I can say so myself... Looking forward to hearing more from you.
Looking forward to hearing more from you.Elisha
Thank you. I have been searching a while for a good support forum. Glad to be here! Cindy 8^)
“Never let the sense of past failure defeat your next step.” Oswald Chambers
To Sniper
I wish I had joined sooner, my husband had triple bypass last september, a silent hear attack and the surgery the next day, He did have the pillow to hug for coughing etc. If there is anything I can answer or tell you, please ask. He is 45 years old. He is also diabetic. Each person heals at their own speed, he id very, very well. He was written up in a local magazine, called heart to heart. Believe this is true, he went back to work light duty in 28 days. He had surgery Monday, cam home Friday and walked to the mailbox on Saturday. I tell him he is superman, he had knee surgery two weeks ago and of course he is over it. I dont know why some people heal faster, than others. He said it was all in his mind, he would be okay and he said it was not going to stop him. Anything i can answer I would be happy to and I hope you are doing well
I think I sneezed the first time about 8 weeks after the bypass and was really thankful it didn't happen sooner!
Jeeez!
Jeeez!
Hi Sniper!
I had quad bypass in Feb and I can honestly say I don't remember sneezing at all. All I can remember is coughing into my red heart pillow. It was women's heart awareness week(boy was I aware 
) I can tell you I would do anything not to sneeze if I were you. I would use Mentholatum (sp)or something like that. It's not like a cough which is good for you after surgery. Good Luck!
oh wow, this brings back memories (not the good ones). when nick was 2 1/2 days old, he had his first open heart surgery. he got the hiccups 2 days after surgery and his little eyes would bug out of his head at each hiccup. the nurse told me it didn't hurt!! 
it was so obvious that it did hurt and hurt alot, so it was annoying to have her say it didn't. but there just wasn't much we could do for him. he got hiccups a lot those first few months but i don't remember when it seemed to stop hurting. i sure hope you heal more quickly and those sneezes stay away!
it was so obvious that it did hurt and hurt alot, so it was annoying to have her say it didn't. but there just wasn't much we could do for him. he got hiccups a lot those first few months but i don't remember when it seemed to stop hurting. i sure hope you heal more quickly and those sneezes stay away!