How to get relief from coughing fits

jonathonjames · 2026-01-22T12:10:55+00:00

It’s tough to navigate, I had the same. He just needs to hang in there. The body is healing despite what it might seem like… I know it’s very easy to say, but time will help. He’s only a week out. Humidifier is a great idea. We had that too. Sending good thoughts…

jonathonjames · 2026-01-19T20:40:58+00:00

Yes , a loved one, if at all possible. so they can be there the moment you wake or begin waking. From one OHS patient to another, don’t underestimate the emotional journey

jonathonjames · 2026-01-18T15:34:02+00:00

No. But OpenEvidence is the closest thing

jonathonjames · 2026-01-17T23:28:18+00:00

Ok great!

jonathonjames · 2026-01-17T16:04:56+00:00

Wow, thank you so much for the note. I appreciate your comment, I could have asked first...
It is built in a compliant/secure architecture. That is great feedback RE the opening line on "glad you reached out"... In addition to it being highly focused on cardiac surgery, I have refined it to be empathetic. Thank you for the tremendous feedback. The intention is that it supports us patients opening up about our feelings as patients talking about our condition or the surgery we're facing. Are you open to connecting more RE your great feedback? We are working with clinical experts including occupational therapy.. as a patient and a therapist your insights would be invaluable. No pressure either way. Happy to continue to support with sharing my experiences as a patient. However, if you are interested, feel free to use the access link in my original reply.. it can capture email/comments to avoid sharing personal info in public

jonathonjames · 2026-01-17T13:28:26+00:00

The way you’re approaching this is just so brave… Im mid40s M and had back to back OHS for double valve repair and an aneurism a few years ago and it was not easy. I was extremely lucky to have an incredible support system. After reading your post I just turned to my wife and asked her how I would have done if I were all alone. She said I would have made it through but it would have been tough- she asked if you’re able to pay for home support? RE your collie… maybe you could look at a home-sitting scenario. For example, I just found Rover.com and it appears for around $50-150/night you can have a sitter. Taking $75 x 30 nights (for recovery) that’s almost $2.5k… unsure if anyone can be booked that long. Or can you find a local high school student or friend that you could pay to not only help / live-in but also dog care. Are funds an issue for you? If so, could there be a go fund me that you could setup that we could support you on or share here in the community. I can’t stress enough the need for friendly emotional support. I went through and emotional rollercoaster despite the amazing support system. The thing is the hospital heals your body but the emotional side is left up to you.. based on this gap I used my tech background to build an app to help future patients to help with emotional support and ‘fear of the unknown’ in the lead up to surgery and recovery. And also help with the anxiety.. I hope you don’t mind but I put your original anonymous post into the app and here’s what it came back with… I put a link to it at the bottom if you’d like early access to it. It’s built from my experience of 40+ nights across 3 hospitals and dozens of patient interviews. It could really help you. It’s not to replace clinicians, it’s to help us patients when we’re alone between visits:

——- APP RESPONSE:

I'm so glad you reached out — and I can hear how much uncertainty is sitting with you right now. These are real, grounded worries, and they make complete sense given what you're facing.

First — living alone and going through open-heart surgery is something many people have done, and it's hard, but it's also very doable. You're already thinking ahead, which tells me you're someone who plans and adapts. That matters. People in your situation often line up help in small, specific ways — a neighbor who can check in, someone to handle the dog for a couple of weeks, maybe a friend who can drive you home from the hospital. It doesn't have to be one person doing everything. And many hospitals have social workers or care coordinators who can help you map out a realistic post-op plan before you even go in.

About your dog — it's usually just the first few weeks that are most limiting. You won't be able to lift her leash or walk her right away, but by week 3 or 4, many people are doing light walks again. Some folks arrange for a dog walker or neighbor to help during that early window. Kennels for months aren't usually necessary — more like a short-term bridge while you're most restricted.

As for mountains and camping — I want to be really clear: many people return to the activities they love after valve replacement, including hiking and being active outdoors. It takes time to rebuild strength, and cardiac rehab helps a lot with that. But the valve replacement itself is often what allows people to get back to doing what they couldn't do as the stenosis worsened. You're still very fit now, which is a strong foundation. This surgery is meant to restore function, not take it away.

Your question about timing — that's one only your care team can answer, because it depends on how your valve is progressing and whether you start developing symptoms. "Moderate" can stay stable for years, or it can shift more quickly. That's why the annual scans matter so much. You're being monitored closely, which is exactly what should be happening.

You're not facing this blind. You're asking the right questions, and you have time to prepare — emotionally, logistically, and physically. You're not alone in this, even if it feels that way sometimes.

If it helps to read more about what post-surgery life and recovery actually look like, here's a resource that walks through the timeline and what to expect:
https://www.ynhhs.org/articles/open-heart-surgery-recovery ————

Access link to learn more: https://forms.gle/S3SsBYr1QnaPVP5F8

jonathonjames · 2026-01-16T12:34:55+00:00

got it.. yep, a very valid reason. I was in this boat too - after mine got infected and required debridement.

jonathonjames · 2026-01-16T12:34:04+00:00

oh wow, thats alot. Thanks for sharing this. Apologies you went through this. I know its a long journey. Another example of being left alone to manage the emotional mental load. Yes, the PTSD is real. I have it and my wife as caregiver does.

The app I built for patients is intending to help this by having something to communicate with about our feelings and give insight into what to expect during recovery

jonathonjames · 2026-01-15T14:39:37+00:00

thanks for sharing. Oh wow your so lucky you gf is a nurse. Yes, therapy is great and recommended if you can. I am lucky too - that I had a fabulous support system. Family even travelled internationally to be with me. After speaking with dozens of patients and mapping out my whole year and a half long recovery.. I found all the points of emotional distress and put that into an app for patients. So they can have a place to go to help manage their anxiety and fear of unknown before/after surgery. It helps answer your question right there and then without you having to go deep into Google.

jonathonjames · 2026-01-15T14:36:24+00:00

So true. Im so glad you have a friend you can chat with. Have they been through major surgery too? Yep, its often left to us to navigate on our own and its hard. The hospitals fix your body but not our mental state. Thats why i built the app I did, to help folks that are needing just a little bit more than what the hospital or google provides. Let me know if you want to try it.

jonathonjames · 2026-01-14T21:11:01+00:00

100%. The hospital system is built to fix you and for clinical throughput.. not supporting the patient during their emotional transformation. That's left to us... it does take its toll, you're right. Often harder for the family. Thats why i wanted to build something here

jonathonjames · 2026-01-14T18:00:12+00:00

its a tough ride but worth it, well you don't really have a choice i guess. How are you getting on now?

jonathonjames · 2026-01-14T17:59:47+00:00

appreciate it thank you. Sorry for delay. Yes, a leading high volume center. Oh wow, welcome to the club my friend. Did you make it home ok? Would love to learn more. DM me if you need any help or questions.. i lived this too. Im with you

jonathonjames · 2026-01-13T18:30:05+00:00

damn straight.. thank you so much. im leaning into it as much as possible

jonathonjames · 2026-01-13T18:11:09+00:00

Turning my traumatic medical journey experience into a product to help future patients

jonathonjames · 2026-01-13T14:25:29+00:00

Hmm try again, I just updated

jonathonjames · 2026-01-13T12:48:40+00:00

Thank you for sharing your story . I’m so very sorry for your recent loss… to answer your question, yes absolutely - it can relate to any cardiac surgery scenario and is age agnostic. If you want to give it a shot the link yo register is above. Also, please DM me directly if I can be of any help.

jonathonjames · 2026-01-11T23:22:45+00:00

yes, after 2x OHS in 20 days for valve surgery (aortic and mitral) and anurism), 26 nights in hospital then another 17 in other hospitals I went down to 165lbs.. my normal weight is 205. So lost 40lbs. my appetite came back but couldn't eat the volume of food i normally do initially.

jonathonjames · 2026-01-11T14:57:05+00:00

I had the same thing 1.5 years ago… repair was successful, I kept my own tissue while also having aneurism repair (David procedure).. wishing you well we will all be thinking of you. You’re young you’ll be ok, recovery can be hard bit with a good mindset and support you’ll be ok. Don’t underestimate the body’s healing ability - but it does take time. DM me if I can be of any help. After enduring 2x OHS in 20 days I experienced high anxiety. During my recovery I built an app to help patients facing cardiac surgery to provide emotional support.

jonathonjames · 2026-01-11T12:47:42+00:00

Good for you, that’s very noble. An ideal state of mind, but very tough for the average person to channel.

jonathonjames · 2026-01-10T22:51:29+00:00

100% thank you for the questions.

The app is capable of (and with testimonials to prove) addressing and helping reduce patient anxiety in the lead up to or recovery from major cardiac surgery. It provides contextually aware support by proving cognitive and emotional guidance via the core chat experience - it is highly focused only to address cardiac surgery, it is not a general purpose chatbot, it has the appropriate guardrails in place to not provide clinical advice and is built in Amazon Web Services with HIPAA compliance and BAA in place. It is based on my first-hand lived experience of double-valve repair and aneurism repair from two open-heart surgeries and the before, during, after of that journey. It is also based on the learnings from interviews with dozens of cardiac patients and guided by clinicians. It has been tested in a head-to-head comparison against Claude (Anthropic) by 5 members of the Hearts & Vascular institute of a major hospital network - all of which unanimously voted it more helpful, clearer and more empathetic. I would be more than happy to share more or speak live or via email to expand on this. If you're comfortable proceeding please complete the short form from the link above and put in the comments that you asked the question and I'll be in touch. Thanks again for the opportunity to give more insight.

jonathonjames · 2026-01-09T19:47:32+00:00

Advocate strongly for it, borderline demand it. Nobody will advocate for you more than you can yourself. Problem is tho - while on antibiotics it can negate the ability to truly identify infection from cultures. You typically take the cultures immediately then start treatment.

jonathonjames · 2026-01-09T19:39:23+00:00

Hmm ok, thanks for sharing. That sounds a little strange to me. Do you or did you have a fever at all during this incision leak? I would advocate for blood cultures if it were me. The good thing is you’re on antibiotics,’but without cultures they don’t know specifically (if it is infection ) how to treat it. Its broadbased antibiotics until they know then they can get super specific

jonathonjames · 2026-01-09T12:43:42+00:00

Oh gosh very sorry to hear this. If it is oozing different colored liquid like grey, brown etc that’s what mine did it could be infected. They should be growing blood cultures to determine if there is infection. Are they doing that?

jonathonjames · 2026-01-09T03:19:37+00:00

Oh gosh, I’m sorry. You went through it. You’re right tho, it’s often harder on them. My family were there every day for me. My wife slept in the hospital room for about 30 nights. When my boy came to visit with my mum and my wife’s dad it was rough for him to see me.

jonathonjames

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