Trouble with coughing

[Hjbiker]

Greetings from the other side. I'm 10 days post-op and doing fairly well. My mitral valve was repaired at Loma Linda Univeristy Medical Center here in SoCal by Dr. Nan Wang. I returned home last Friday and have pretty much spent the time napping, doing short walks around the house, napping, trying to eat without an appetite (need to lose a few pounds anyway), napping, taking meds, napping....you get the picture! Nothing hard about this except this nagging cough. It's not persistant but often enough to be a real pain (seems like that truck that ran over me the first time keeps coming back for another try). I am brining up a lot of phlegm (plain color) which the surgeon says is good. I had a chest xray today and it didn't show any signs of pneumonia so that's good although my cardio said the xray did show that the bottom of my right lung was somewhat "bunched up" (???). Have any of you had this problem and if so, how do you get through the pain besides a good hug on your heart pillow (my security blanket). This is not often a real problem except when I go through a 1-2 min. coughing spree which can be a real trip.

Other than this, my recovery seems to be right on track so I'm looking forward to better days.

[Arpy]

Greetings from the other side. I'm 10 days post-op and doing fairly well.

...except this nagging cough.

....This is not often a real problem except when I go through a 1-2 min. coughing spree which can be a real trip.

Other than this, my recovery seems to be right on track so I'm looking forward to better days.

Joe

Good News to hear you are doing well - dont like the sound of the cough though. Sneezing on rare occasions was bad enough let alone having to put up with coughing fits. :( Hold that chest together!!! :)

You will be back on the bike in no time - well as soon as your surgeon gives you the A OK.

regards

Russell

[Ross]

If it gets worse and not better, I'd be asking for another xray. You may have some fluid accumulation. At this point, that pillow is all there is. I know that's not alot of comfort, but do the best you can.

[ALCapshaw2]

I noticed a lot of NAPS and Walking, but NO mention of the Breathing Exercises. Did you receive an Inspirational Spirometer from the hospital?

I was told to do my deep breathing exercises for 10 minutes every 2 hours to reinflate a partially collapsed lung. I would push until I could actually FEEL fluid being squeezed out from between the lung and my chest cavity.

If your coughing doesn't clear up, you may want to obtain a Heart Hugger (do a SEARCH for the website) which is a 'corset with handles' that you squeeze together whenever you need to cough or sneeze.

'AL Capshaw'

[tobagotwo]

Al makes an excellent point. There are members here who have found out that, after a certain amount of time, they simply lost the capacity of bunched-up or deflated lung material, as it gets to a point where it can no longer fully inflate and become usable again.

Do some stretching while standing that fully expands your lungs, even lifting your arms up and back to ensure full inflation.

Also practice good posture, even when relaxing. Try to keep your shoulders up, and head back: don't let your back stay in a "C" shape. If your recliner is placing you in a hunched porition, set it up so that you are sitting or lying straighter (it can still be leaning back, just with your spine straighter), and not compressing the lower portion of your chest into the upper portion of your stomach.

Stand up straight, and practice breathing with your entire lung capacity, rather than just the top third of it. People laugh, but your mother was right: good posture, especially now, is actually important.

Check with your surgeon about how long to continue using the inspirational spirometer you should have gotten from the hospital. Because they eventually pick up bacteria, they should only be used for a certain amount of time before being replaced with a new one. If you threw yours out, or yours is past its time, ask how to get another.

Best wishes,

[Mary]

I want to make a very small correction to Al and Tobagotwo's posts. The breathing device they make mention of is called an incentive spirometer. :)

[Hjbiker]

Al makes an excellent point. There are members here who have found out that, after a certain amount of time, they simply lost the capacity of bunched-up or deflated lung material, as it gets to a point where it can no longer fully inflate and become usable again.

Do some stretching while standing that fully expands your lungs, even lifting your arms up and back to ensure full inflation.

Also practice good posture, even when relaxing. Try to keep your shoulders up, and head back: don't let your back stay in a "C" shape. If your recliner is placing you in a hunched porition, set it up so that you are sitting or lying straighter (it can still be leaning back, just with your spine straighter), and not compressing the lower portion of your chest into the upper portion of your stomach.

Stand up straight, and practice breathing with your entire lung capacity, rather than just the top third of it. People laugh, but your mother was right: good posture, especially now, is actually important.

Check with your surgeon about how long to continue using the inspirational spirometer you should have gotten from the hospital. Because they eventually pick up bacteria, they should only be used for a certain amount of time before being replaced with a new one. If you threw yours out, or yours is past its time, ask how to get another.

Best wishes,

Hi Bob, are you talking about the possibility of the lung collapsing as my cardio did mention that it appeared that the bottom of my right lung appeared to be "bunched up"? I think stretching is a great idea and I will incorporate them into my daily routine. I've been using the spirometer but not often enough as it sometimes brings on the coughing (this may be a good thing though??). Thanks for the info.

[gijanet]

Katie has always been encouraged to cough after her surgeries. Katie's lower right portion of her lung was deflated after her third surgery. No magic cures here. They just encouraged us to get her up and get her moving and become more active. Additionally, they had her blowing bubbles and blowing on a harmonica and those little party tooters that unfurl when you blow in them. 'Course at your age, you might just want to stick to blowing in the spirometer. :D And getting more active. Katie's lung did eventually pop back out. Glad to hear surgery went well. Many hugs. Janet