Irritable Bowel Syndrome Message Boards | To Maria!Maria: open heart surgery story

I thought all I had was a VSD since birth. So when I was born the doctor told my mom that it would probably close. So I lived my life fairly normally for about 23 years. I knew my limits... I couldnt run or do anything too strenuous, but it didnt bother me. See I had a brother that died of Transposition of the Great Vessel. He died during surgery, so when the doc. told my mom that they could either operate when I was young or see if it closes, she let it go. To make a long story short, I started having some bad chest pains. Ended up going to the doctor had an EKG, and a catscan and found out that my heart was enlarged and majorly malformed. So I got a cardiologist and had an Echocardiogram and a Cardiac Catheterzation only to find out that I had Tetralogy of Fallot. I dont know how familiar you are with that, but I was never a blue baby, which typically Tetralogy patients are. So everything got worse for me and on April 30th 2007 they operated. I had my VSD that had gotten way larger closed up and they thought they would have to replace a valve, but they didnt. They also cut back some muscle that my heart used because it was so big and strong from all the years of stress my heart had that it was in the way. Then after about a month of recovery, I ended up back in the emergency room because I was going through Atrial Flutter. My heart rate got up to 250 while I was sitting. It was nuts. So they did an ablation where they burnt the scar tissue from my heart surgery that was causing the Flutter.

I am not totally recovered. My heart is still irratic and my cardiologist says I have some heart block. I dont know, I try not to get too stressed out, but sometimes I do. I just want it all to be done. And I want to have kids some day soon, I am only 25 yrs old!

That medicine you said didnt sound familiar. I was on heavy amounts of Toprol though. And I was on medicine called Atenelol. That made me sick though, so they took me off that. Then about 8 months after the surgery is when all this IBS stuff started. I have heard that maybe the IBS started because of the huge amounts of stress your body was in during surgery. As for the period stuff, maybe my body is just changing and I guess its another thing to adjust to. Oh well. Thanks for asking about my surgery. I have a lovely scar as I am sure you do too. Unfortunelty my skin keyloted (sp) so its puffy and red instead of white and flat like it should be. Are you totally healed from your VSD?

Stefanie

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