Ron posted (snip): >Because the open heart surgery is so protracted - about 4 hours - the level >of anaesthetic in the system is substantial and takes a couple of months to >be fully purged. I found that, like others with a chest zipper, I would >have irregular periods of hallucination (about 2 to 10 mins duration) for >up to about 3 months after the operation, with occasional occurances out to >about 6 months.< Ron and Chuck: My last ablation was 5 hours duration, fortunately all non invasive, being done through the neck and groin, but I did go through some protracted and weird "shaking spells" for a month afterward - very disturbing. The whole fibrillation thing has been a pain in the butt, and when one realized fibrillation often follows as a consequence of open heart surgery, I do hope the two of you don't have to suffer further medical ignominy. I got this in my e-mail the other day. I'm passing it on to the list as I found the wording sort of funny. Didn't realize kayakers "rowed!" Doesn't sound like it would fit in the recent thread on what a kayak is. *** Today's Tip: Kayaking for Fun and Fitness Going camping this summer? Consider renting a kayak at the lake or beach for family fun and fitness. Whether you're rowing solo or tandem, you can burn over 300 calories per hour while enjoying a beautiful summer day. Don't forget the life jacket. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ (c) 2005 HealthCalc.Net, Inc. All rights reserved. http://www.healthcalc.net Sent to: dalloyd_at_telus.net AcctID: hhs _______________ Doug Lloyd Victoria BC *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Thanks for the feedback, Ron and Doug. Last week I saw the surgeon who was originally scheduled to work on me (the one who did doesn't speak English well) and asked her when I might be able to return to kayaking. She recommended staying away from it for a year, but a large part of her concern seemed to be about the possibility of fibrillation brought about by cold water (she cited her own experience wading into Lake Superior). Today I saw my own doctor, who pointed out that the surgeon was outside her field of expertise in this matter. He suggested that my cardiologist would shorten that time considerably, and pointed out that exercise is an important part of recovery. (My doctor doesn't kayak, but he rows.) Moral: Always get a second opinion. I am walking every day for exercise, but find it difficult to do so on flat terrain for the simple fact that from my house all the streets go up. My doctor did say that some fibrillation is a common consequence of heart operations, as it is not unusual for nerves to get damaged; however, I have been fortunate not to have experienced any during my recovery. Like Ron, I have been given an inspirator to help restore lung function. The only hallucinations I had were before my discharge, and they were of the missing frame type: that is, I had jerky discontinuities in my vision that reminded me of nothing so much as missing frames in a motion picture. I was told in the hospital that some hallucinations were normal, but I haven't had any since I returned home. Chuck Holst *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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