Pump Head

As I have made clear before, I am not a doctor nor the son of a doctor. Now my grandfather on my mom's side was a Vet, but I don't guess that counts. Even though I am not an expert I can tell you what has been one of the most frustrating of my recovery. I am almost four years post op, and basically feeling pretty good, but there is one residual effect of the surgery. My cognitive abilities are noticeably lacking, or in other words my memory is shot for a 50 year old, and I am not as quick on my feet as I once was. It frustrates me to no end, and in the past I believe the dulling of some of my cognitive skills was on source of my depression. 

I titled this post "Pump Head."  That refers to the possible effects of the heart/lung bypass machine. Feel free to google the term and you should have enough material to read for hours. No everyone seems to be affected, but there seems to be consensus among health professionals that the issue is real and many patients are a bit less in regards to mental capacity after bypass surgery.  

This is another one of those issues where I was so encouraged when I found out that I wasn't alone as I struggled to get back to something that approximated normal. In my case I started with a lass than desirable memory and it just got worse. The real problem can when I needed to think quickly on my feet. I found myself often searching words and responses that should have come quickly only to have the finally come to my mind long after the discussion was pointless.

I know there are many others out there, and I would love to hear from you. How have you coped? 

Sick and Tire of Being Sick

What do kidney stones have to do with coronary artery disease? Not very much I hope.  It is a little past midnight and I just got home from the emergency room after suffering complications from a kidney stone attack over two weeks ago. Last Wednesday the urologist removed a small stone and inserted a stent in my right ureter.  My body not being particularly thrilled with the insertion of a foreign object basically rebelled.  My weekend was most unpleasant, but Monday was supposed to be great because today was the day to get that stent out. Well out it came and within three hours my ureter has swollen shut and I experienced pain that I would not wish on my worst enemy, well at least most of my worst enemies.  I am no at home feeling much better, but wondering if I am just falling apart. I seem to be able to accept that reality in a much better frame of mind than I did after my heart surgery. I have said this several times on this blog, but it is so true. There is just something so different about heart surgery. I have experienced many things more physically painful than bypass surgery. Today being one of them.  At this moment I feel good. I was blessed with another day albeit a painful one. I got to look at some wonderful pictures of our granddaughter. I realization that I am married to the lady who is and has become my soulmate.

Do Doctors Really Get It?

My cardiologist gets it. A growing number of physicians are starting to get it, but many others seem to still be in the dark. I am talking about the depression that so often accompanies bypass surgery. Here is my simple wish. I want cardiologists and cardiovascular surgeons to talk to their patients before and after surgery about depression and for the patient and his family to be aware that the risks for depression are real, but are treatable. A bypass patient could be screened for depression while still in the hospital. In my case I ended up suffering for weeks not really knowing what was wrong. Like is so often the case my wife's strong suggestion to seek help is what caused me to take the first step which led to a visit to my family doctor and finally to the medication that I needed to help me recover from my depression. Not everyone who has bypass surgery gets depressed, but many do and unfortunately many of those that do never get the proper care for a medical condition that is just as real as coronary artery disease.