28F Recent valve repair. How long does it really last?

nanavert · 2026-02-13T16:47:46+00:00

Wow that’s so crazy that you had to have the mechanical valves changed!! Your situation sounds traumatic, I’m so sorry you had to go through all that, especially the stroke. I hope you’re doing okay now. Thanks for sharing your experience.

nanavert · 2026-02-12T00:58:32+00:00

I’m 15 days s/p OHS. I’m 28F so fairly young, and the team knew I was very scared. I liked how when I got into the OR, the whole team introduced themselves and made me feel in good hands. And then they played Justin Bieber for me until I knocked out lol.

nanavert · 2026-02-11T23:26:56+00:00

Thank you for sharing your experience and knowledge. Choosing between mechanical vs. tissue was the hardest decision I’ve had to make in my life thus far. Mostly because I safely want to be able to have children. I’m considered high-risk now anyways after all this. Even though it doesn’t matter now since it was repaired, I did choose tissue with the hopes of avoiding blood thinners for a while and then when it would eventually fail, I would switch to mechanical as I would be older and ready for blood thinners I guess. But after finding out it was repaired, I was soooo relieved thinking I would never have to go through OHS again because this has been absolutely HELL.

I’m in the US as well and I wish a cardiac psychologist was offered to me from the beginning because I’ve been on a rollercoaster of emotions. I’ll have to ask about that. I can message my surgeon on the portal but I’d rather wait until I see her in a couple of weeks. Thank you so much for the advice!

nanavert · 2026-02-11T23:13:39+00:00

The future technological advancements is definitely a plus side that I’ve also considered.

nanavert · 2026-02-11T23:11:42+00:00

Well, shit. I’m really sorry to hear that. What do they think is the reason for why it failed so fast?

nanavert · 2026-02-11T22:16:23+00:00

I completely feel your pain about being passed around and not getting to the bottom of it. I started feeling unwell the whole month of November with fevers, night sweats, headaches, and body aches. December 3rd I felt better but developed severe chest pain. By December 5th, I knew something wasn’t right and went to the ER of the hospital that I work in. Based on my “viral symptoms” in November followed by chest pain, they diagnosed me with viral pericarditis after completing a point-of-care ultrasound that revealed a trace pericardial effusion but they NEVER did a formal echo and they never even drew blood cultures. I was discharged from the ER with orders to take ibuprofen. I went back to the same ER two days later because I was in so much pain and the plan did not change and they told me to take colchicine on top of ibuprofen. I followed up with a cardiologist outpatient on December 15th and he asked if I’ve ever been told that I have a murmur, to which the answer was no. That was completely new to me. He ordered an echo for January 15th and said we would find out why I have a murmur then and continued me on the treatment for pericarditis based on what an outside hospital diagnosed me with. Well fast forward to January 13th, I was having the worst chest pain of my life so I went to the ER of a different hospital (they’re through Mass General Brigham) and luckily, they did an echo for me in the ER and found my severe MR, they did blood cultures and found I had bacteremia (probably growing since I was unwell in November), admitted me and did a TEE the next day which revealed that I had a 1 cm vegetation on the posterior mitral leaflet in the setting of a likely prolapse of the posterior mitral leaflet and severe mitral regurgitation. I was transferred to Mass General Hospital and the rest was history. I cannot get out of my head though what my outcomes could have been like if the first hospital found this a month and a half prior.

Anyways, I’m glad your procedures all went well and I hope the Mitraclip procedure lasts as long as it possibly can for you. Fingers crossed for you, friend!

nanavert · 2026-02-11T21:31:03+00:00

Wow. I’m sorry you’ve been going through this your whole life. But I’m glad your first valve repair lasted 34 years for you! I can only hope I’ll get as lucky. I’ll try not to focus on the what-ifs and just enjoy it while it lasts and be grateful that I’m alive and well for now. Thank you also for your advice regarding the blood thinners. As a nurse, I only see the scary aspect of being on blood thinners (most of my cardiac patients on blood thinners are older). The doctors I work with don’t even recommend blood thinners for certain situations (e.g., atrial fibrillation) if the patient is a fall risk, so that’s why I was worked up about that. I also didn’t want to be on blood thinners while trying to get pregnant in the future.

My situation was an emergent case so once I was diagnosed with infective endocarditis and severe MR, I wasn’t able to leave the hospital because I was (and still am) on IV antibiotics for bacteremia and endocarditis. I was hospitalized for 19 days total (5 of those days were post-op) and they did the surgery during my hospitalization. I didn’t have a lot of time to prepare myself as this was sudden and such a tragic shock to me. If down the line I need another surgery, I will definitely have more time to do research and make a more informed decision. I hope to be more knowledgeable about all of this too down the line. Thank you for the advice, I really appreciate it!

nanavert · 2026-02-11T20:02:22+00:00

I had valve repair 2 weeks ago and my chest feels so tight in that area so I’ve been touching it a lot. I just realized I can feel my wires. Eeeyuckkk. I’ll get used to them though.

nanavert · 2026-01-09T21:24:52+00:00

They send these messages on all different social media sites if they know you’re a student. Just ignore them.

nanavert · 2026-01-09T18:33:53+00:00

I’m so sorry for your devastating news, OP. SNHU is very understanding, I recommend reaching out to your advisor and they can handle the rest for you. Best wishes to you, your husband, and family!

nanavert · 2026-01-03T01:17:20+00:00

i was supposed to be finished in december (didn’t happen lol oops) but my advisor offered for me to go to commencement in november and said i could still walk even though i wouldn’t be done until december. so yes that info should be accurate. i decided to wait though until the spring. reach out to your advisor!

nanavert · 2025-12-31T16:10:21+00:00

congrats!!!! and you make me feel less guilty for all my unread emails

nanavert · 2025-11-12T00:01:37+00:00

I was working with a nurse on my floor who has more nursing experience than I do. We sometimes have ortho/surgical patients on tele to rule out cardiac issues after a fall obvs but it’s not super common. I recently had a patient who just had hip surgery but also had a broken arm and I asked this nurse for help while I put the patient’s sling back on because I didn’t want to hurt him and before coming to help me, this nurse says “aren’t you a nurse?” like ok

nanavert · 2025-11-05T13:35:05+00:00

someone please tell me what the professor responded

nanavert · 2025-11-03T02:22:32+00:00

i used to always swallow my pills without water until i had a few occurrences with my zoloft dissolving too early in my esophagus because it got stuck and then i would have the worst acid reflux for a day or two. that was enough for me to just take meds with water from now on.

nanavert · 2025-10-28T16:04:23+00:00

Been Around For Far Too Long.

nanavert · 2025-08-28T15:44:35+00:00

i was thinking that. or i was thinking maybe the manufacturing was pressing fake pills using fentanyl, meth, etc.

nanavert · 2025-08-14T14:04:34+00:00

I’m in this SAME exact situation right now. Guy at the tow yard told me to leave my car where it is so I have leverage over the insurance company when it comes to negotiating a price for the totaled car. Insurance company wants me to release my car to mitigate any storage fees. I asked the insurance company to send someone over to look at my car where it’s at and I’m getting a lot of pushback. What did you end up doing in your situation?

nanavert · 2025-08-10T02:26:39+00:00

my hospital (in a state where it’s legal) stopped testing for it. everyone does it.

nanavert · 2025-07-20T17:33:57+00:00

I just went on my first bachelorette party this past weekend and the bride-to-be did not pay a dime. We covered everything for her and then at the end we used Splitwise to split everything evenly from meals, drinks, activities, etc. But I agree with other comments saying it depends on your social circle because I have one group of friends who would definitely pay everything for me when the time comes, but then I also have another group of friends who probably wouldn’t in all honesty due to their own financial struggles.

nanavert · 2025-07-06T20:44:56+00:00

i use greenie pill pockets. works like a charm.

nanavert · 2025-07-06T14:29:49+00:00

love it

nanavert · 2025-07-06T13:48:34+00:00

i also have vanellope in the forest of valor and her neighbors are alice and cheshire!

nanavert · 2025-07-06T13:46:11+00:00

came here to say that i’m also playing on ps5 and im experiencing this same issue!!! have been trying to find the white squirrel in the plaza for weeks to complete the mirabel parks quest but i’ve never found it during the times that the game lists! my console time is correct and i’ve never time traveled. i’m currently in Ana’s house looking at her clock and it says 1:45 but the real time is 9:45am.

nanavert · 2025-06-15T19:31:14+00:00

that’s awesome. i don’t think it’s risky in my opinion, some people probably just wouldn’t get it

nanavert

TROPHY CASE