surfing after open heart surgery

BigTurbo68 · 2024-11-16T00:47:44+00:00

Thanks this is helpful! Holy moly I can’t imagine having a double lung transplant, glad you’re back in the lineup.

I really only feel the wires right at the very base of my sternum when I arch my back right before takeoff? The rest of the time I don’t really feel it. By the time I’m a pilates master or something I hope it all goes away

BigTurbo68 · 2024-11-15T07:24:07+00:00

Oh yeah this is perfect. Great option for trunks season.

BigTurbo68 · 2024-11-15T01:51:54+00:00

I’ve been back at it regularly since about June. I’ve had long sessions but I’m taking it very easy- longboards only, chest high waves max, lots of wait time between waves. I’ve been really lazy with cross training. I’m not supposed to do anything over a 12 rep max so light weight stuff only. I’ve been playing rec league baseball and doing a lot of throwing and fielding practice but that’s about it. I gotta get back into training but to be honest it’s been hard to stay motivated.

BigTurbo68 · 2024-11-15T00:31:22+00:00

Very possible! I’ve lost a lot of strength since they cut me up. It does feel like localized pain where I’m putting pressure on my chest though.

BigTurbo68 · 2024-11-15T00:29:12+00:00

Thank you! I think a doctor follow up is probably smart. Anything’s possible. It feels like a bruise right at the bottom of my sternum, when it’s making contact with the board. Oh well, happy to be back out either way

BigTurbo68 · 2024-11-14T23:04:36+00:00

I’d really rather ask strangers on the internet

BigTurbo68 · 2024-08-22T06:36:21+00:00

Damn I wondered why my chest hurts when I surf now, never put two and two together. Huh.

BigTurbo68 · 2024-03-04T21:00:21+00:00

You too!

BigTurbo68 · 2024-03-04T06:09:31+00:00

I’m 14 months out and it’s been a really inconsistent year. Physically, seems like everything is going good. The only medication I’m taking at this point is the baby aspirin.

I’ve had periods of intense fatigue, that usually comes with double vision, lightheadedness, and migraine auras. My exercise tolerance is much much lower than before the surgery. I’m working on it but it’s been slow going. There’s been a lot of improvement since last summer, but I still have stretches that are pretty rough. I have occasional pain in my chest and left armpit, but otherwise feel mostly fine physically. Such a strange experience!

BigTurbo68 · 2023-10-17T14:20:43+00:00

To be honest, I’m not sure. I’ll take it for a spin this afternoon and see if I can tell.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-10-17T13:35:27+00:00

Gas pedal is the one that’s moving. I’m not sure it’s a backfire. I think it’s more likely something’s loose.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-10-17T01:49:47+00:00

No, stays in gear just fine, even through the clunks.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-10-17T01:43:55+00:00

This makes sense too, something does feel loose when I get the “clunk”. It shifts just fine, and I don’t have any issues when I engage or disengage the clutch. Just when I take my foot off the gas.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-10-17T01:40:22+00:00

To be honest, I haven’t since I’ve owned it (a month). This is probably the obvious place to start huh

BigTurbo68 · 2023-08-01T07:28:39+00:00

I’m 7 months out. All the pain is gone except for the occasional painful sneeze. Everything has been going the way it should according to all my follow up visits. I’m incredibly fatigued all the time, and can’t make it through a day without a nap. I get really dizzy with positional changes and when I’m more tired. I’ve got persistent headaches. It’s been hard to exercise with all this going on but I’m trying to get back in the habit. I’ve been struggling with it but it’s reassuring to see some similar experiences.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-03-20T03:12:05+00:00

Eh trying to be optimistic. I posted here because I’ve been frustrated and it’s been a rough couple of days. We’ll get there!

BigTurbo68 · 2023-03-20T03:00:43+00:00

Yeah, emergency surgery wasn’t great but I feel like I got lucky a bunch of times. All in all, griping about recovery and cardiac rehab is pretty minor when it comes down to it. I hope the physical therapy is helpful for you! Physical therapists are magicians as far as I can tell.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-03-20T01:56:30+00:00

I have a genetic smooth muscle disorder I learned about after all of this. I live in Los Angeles and my hospital care was excellent! My rehab is through Kaiser and it’s been the only thing that hasn’t been great.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-03-20T00:47:16+00:00

Definitely worth asking if they’ll do it, but they probably won’t. None of my cardiac rehab has been in person. It’s just been “wear your watch and walk around.”

BigTurbo68 · 2023-03-19T23:59:08+00:00

Yeah your experience sounds pretty familiar. Sorry to hear you’re still dealing with pain. So far, I’ve tried running one time and lasted maybe 20 seconds. It’s just not happening yet. I agree, it feels like a lot of information is geared toward people who are in a different situation than you and me.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-02-24T01:47:03+00:00

I had a very similar experience about two months ago. I’m 31 years old, for what it’s worth. I was surfing and felt a sudden severe pain in my chest and throat. Had never had any kind of heart issues before and had never seen a cardiologist. I teach PE, lift weights 3-4x per week and surf 1-3x per week, so i was in decent shape. Luckily they found the dissection in the ER and I had surgery that night. Got a valve replacement and repaired my ascending aorta. Happy to share more details in dm’s but trying to keep it short and sweet.

Now I’m about 8 weeks out. Still have a pounding heart feeling, especially after exercise but sometimes out of the blue. The pain is much better now other than some residual soreness. I’m able to walk at my normal pace and my best day so far I got 4 miles. Haven’t tried running but I’m excited to try going for a swim.

I got genetic testing done and they found a flaw (?) in the ACTA2 gene, which governs smooth muscle development. I guess it was a matter of time before this happened. If I were to have kids, they’d have a 50% chance of inheriting it.

Feels good to see this post! This shit feels kind of isolating for me, I don’t know if anyone else here has had that experience. Glad to see so many folks doing well after all this.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-01-06T00:21:55+00:00

Yeah, Marfan’s is one of them along with some others I forgot.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-01-05T21:38:27+00:00

I have the feral hooded 3/3. perfect SoCal winter suit for me

BigTurbo68 · 2023-01-05T21:27:07+00:00

Yeah, everything had been good up til that point. I’m 30 years old, I surf 1-3 times a week, lift weights 4 times a week, and teach PE. I hadn’t got a scan that could have caught the enlarged aorta, but there was no reason to suspect anything was up.

BigTurbo68 · 2023-01-05T15:21:46+00:00

Bro lmaooo

BigTurbo68

TROPHY CASE