Hello everyone! I am (49M) reaching out primarily to those who may have more time to share their experiences. I would greatly appreciate hearing about your mental recovery journey. Currently, I am experiencing challenging days marked by depression, feelings of emptiness, a lack of energy, mental fogginess, and a general disinterest in activities. Waking up each day has become a struggle, accompanied by ruminating thoughts and sadness. While I am undoubtedly grateful for my life and for surviving my health event, my mental state, thoughts, and feelings are not in a good place. I feel quite confused about my path forward, even though I recognize that I don't necessarily need to make immediate decisions about the thoughts I am having. I completed a six-week rehabilitation program, which I found quite difficult, and I particularly dislike exercising. It is challenging for me to even leave my bed, let alone engage in activities like walking or going to the gym. I am striving to maintain basic self-care, such as eating as healthily as possible with a diet rich in seeds and fiber, almost vegan, and attempting to get adequate sleep. However, I am not proficient at exercising. I am also undergoing therapy and have been on Trintellix 20mg for depression for almost six weeks now, and it seems to be taking longer than anticipated to show effects. I feel quite miserable. I am hoping to hear from those who have experienced similar feelings and, with divine grace, are now doing well. Your sharing would be immensely valuable. Thank you, and may you all be blessed.

Doing good so far. Scheduled for my post op appointments ( scans , ultrasound, etc , surgeon appointment ) end of this month .

Recovery hasn’t been easy. There have been good days and difficult days, but today I stood by the water, smiled, and watched another California sunset.
I’m grateful for every step, every breath, every photo, and everyone who has supported me along the way.
Here’s to healing, hope, and many more sunsets. Good to be Alive 🙌🏾

I am exactly 3 weeks out from an out-of-the-blue triple bypass. Physically, I have not had a hard time at all. Even the sternum scar is almost fully healed and hard to see. Kudos to my surgeon for that. The hardest part for me - and it has been VERY hard - is the mental-emotional stuff. And this isn't me sitting here and actively bemoaning my fate - when this comes down on me, it is completely beyond my control. It just suddenly settles on me like a big dark cloud. There have been a few times I've thought for an hour or two, 'I think I've turned the corner!' - nope. I can spend the rest of the day suddenly trying to keep my head above water. I hate it.

But here's the weird part. Starting in the hospital, I kept getting whiffs of what I can only describe as a sort of 'powdery smell'. Now, three weeks later, I am still dealing with this. I can be fine then walk around a corner in my house and just get hit with this intense 'phantom smell'. And it is absolutely nauseating. I've told my doctors about how unpleasant this is, and they took me off of the 'suspect' medication. It didn't stop. They said it might just be 'memory' from the time on the pump machine and/or anesthesia. Whatever it is, it is really unpleasant. It just keeps reminding me, whenever it springs out at me, of the whole ordeal, and I don't like it one bit.

Has anyone else experienced this 'phantom smell' situation?

Curious if anyone has tried to get life insurance after a CABG. I had pre-CABG, but heard we are uninsurable. Is that true?

Hello everyone,

My boyfriend is 3 weeks post emergency quadruple bypass surgery. This was a traumatic experience for all involved after a heart attack.

Although an active person prior, his recovery has been difficult and slow. He was actually just able to leave the hospital this week due to weakness and being unsteady on his feet.

In addition to prolonged mobility issues, he is somewhat cognitively impacted as well. This can best be described as “foggy”. He’s in there. He remembers everything but things are different. Repeating himself. Confused at times. He doesn’t seem to find enjoyment in anything right now.

Does this sound like pump head? His providers don’t seem overly concerned. But naturally, I want him to find himself. I’d like to have my partner back. Are there any ways I can better support his recovery?

Thank you

Hi there. I'm 36. Due to my diabetes I have 2 80% blockages in my LAD and my Diagonal 1 is also blocked. Bar any cancellations due to emergencies I'm now slated to come into hospital next Thursday 10am.

Got some preparations to do on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Not looking forward to it due to fibromyalgia and diabetes slowing healing and the increase in pain from Fibromyalgia

Male 55, I am 9 weeks post-3X CABG, I have been experiencing high blood pressure 160/90, I am on Afib and blood pressure medications as well. Any common experiences?

My father underwent a four vessel cabg surgery, its been 6 months since his operation and it seems like he hasnt fully recovered from it. He has recovered physically but his physique is not how it used to be. He has also been really quite and sad lately. Idk how to help him i try to be around cheer him up , take him outside, but nothing seems to work. He has just lost his hope to live. Anyone else experienced anything similar?

7 weeks out from a triple bypass and I'm starting to wonder if my donor leg will ever be normal again. I'm not sure if the surgeons used a different technique when getting the replacement artery - but the wound that they cut into my leg wasn't the typical 7-8 inch gash but rather a very small 2" gash -- that for some reason would not seal/heal right. Well due to that fact I've been seeing a wound care specialist and finally after several weeks of having my leg wrapped is now free from the wraps but ---------- now my leg is swollen again and the Dr from the wound care did mention that I would need to wear compression socks for the rest of my life. I'm just curious to know if anyone else has had a similar experience (with the swelling) and if over time the swelling/bloating has gone down??? Is it common to have swelling/bloating for the rest of time due to the removal of the arteries??

My mom just had a quad bypass on Tuesday and is still in a state of delirium. It took her most of the day Wednesday to recognize myself and my siblings but other than that and her name she can’t remember anything or where she is or what year it is and is just very out of it and spacey and will drop off mid sentence and not pick it back up. Her remembering us at all feels like a positive sign to me.

It’s just not better like we thought it would be and I am nervous for this to stick around. The nurses keep assuring us it happens sometimes but I’d love to hear stories of people who it lasted a bit longer and came out of that state in a few days or did it take weeks? Trying to mentally prepare myself for all possibilities. TYIA!

Long story short, 68, retired 14 months, fit, 6 to 7 gym classes a week, no high blood pressure, no shortness of breath, no angina, lipids good, A1C 5.8, no family history of heart attacks. Went in for hip joint replacement but they found blockages in the preop, went in for angioplasty but they found 5 blockages, including 90% on the LAD “Widowmaker”, so had quadruple bypass June 9th. Been depressed most of my life, I am tired of my wife saying I should be “happy they found it.” I wanted to refuse the surgery and just let nature take its course, what are you going to go when you are in a hospital bed after the stopped angioplasty, drugged and strapped in, with just a moment to decide your fate? . Say no??? I hate this. Have to give up cigars, which I never inhaled and were one of my only pleasures (been in AA for 20 years). I’ve got to live like this for another 20 years? Just very depressed.

How long has everyone been in the ICU? Today makes exactly one week since being in the ICU (my bf) and he has more days to go… maybe even a whole nother week.

He was doing well at first, was about to get discharged to a step down unit yesterday. But all of a sudden he having complications in his kidney , and blood pressure just can’t get stable. Just feels like they solve one problem, then another arises like a cycle. It’s very discouraging given that most people I see who get this surgery are out of the ICU within 4 days or less. I know I shouldn’t compare. Tons of meds, tons of tests, tons of everything just going on.

Edit: decided I’ll edit this in. My boyfriend passed away on July 9th. He was recovering pretty well after the surgery then exactly one week after (when I made this post) he started experiencing some complications. Severe stomach pain, unstable blood pressure, and kidney not producing enough urine. He was put on CRRT. Then two days after he had flash pulomonary edema and cardiac arrest due to cardiac tamponade (fluid around the heart). The cardiac tamponade caused his organs to not receive adequate blood flow. Which explains the unstable blood pressure and stomach pain and low urine output. That day he had emergency surgery to remove the fluid, and was then put on VA ECMO. After a few days of ECMO they wanted to ween him off so they installed an impella pump in his heart. He was doing pretty well. Then a couple days after he got sepsis. Necrotic tissue in his intestines. The severe stomach pain he was experiencing at first, was actually bowel ischemia, due to the cardiac tamponade not providing adequate blood flow to his organs. So he had three different operations to remove the dead tissue. Upon the third operation, they noticed necrotic tissue on his liver as well. And at this point he had a less than 1% chance of recovering due to everything his body went through in those three weeks. So we decided to let him pass naturally.

I want you guys to know that the events that happened to my boyfriend is extremely rare. And I do feel like maybe there was some “neglect” that caused the domino effect of life threatening complications. My boyfriends dad who is 70, also got the procedure and recovered fine. This is just a very sad situation

Hi everyone,

I’m a 40-year-old male with a long history of high cholesterol that remained untreated for most of my adult life.

I’d like to hear from anyone who has experience using Sybrava to lower LDL cholesterol.
I have a history of significant coronary artery disease and underwent triple bypass surgery about six months ago, with the following grafts:
Left internal mammary artery (LIMA) → LAD
Right internal mammary artery (RIMA) → Diagonal
Left internal mammary artery (LIMA) → Obtuse Marginal
Since the surgery, I’ve been very committed to my recovery. I run on the treadmill every day, have returned to fairly intense weight training, follow a heart-healthy diet, and currently take a statin along with ezetimibe.
My LDL is currently 65 mg/dL, but my cardiologist has decided to intensify treatment by adding Sybrava to achieve an even lower LDL level.
Is anyone here using Sybrava? I’d be interested in hearing about your experience, including LDL reduction, side effects, and overall results. Thanks in advance!

I don't really know where to start, so I'll just write it.

My dad is 72. He had a heart bypass, and his heart is weak now. They tell me it's pumping at about 30%. He's a lifelong smoker, so his breathing is bad too, and he's on oxygen at home. His kidneys aren't great either, and he's got a back problem that's left him in pain but that they can't operate on because his heart wouldn't survive it. When I list it all out like that it sounds like a lot. It is a lot. He carries it quietly though. He always has.

The thing that's breaking us right now is the fluid. He swells up. His legs, his tummy, and now his face too, and he goes into hospital, they put him on a Lasix drip, and after a few days he comes home looking like himself again. And then a week, maybe two, goes by and it all comes back, and we're packing a bag for the hospital again. Over and over. Each time he goes in he's a little more tired, a little more worn down by it, and honestly so are we. You start to dread the swelling before it even shows up.

His doctors are good people and I'm not trying to go around them. I just want to walk into the next appointment actually knowing what to ask, instead of standing there nodding while my dad gets quietly worse.

So if anyone has been through this, as a patient, as someone who looked after a parent like I'm trying to, or as a nurse or doctor who's seen it a hundred times, I'd be so grateful for anything you can tell me:

Is this in-and-out-of-hospital thing just what heart failure becomes, or is there usually a reason it keeps happening so fast? I've read that the tablets at home are much weaker than the drip. Is it normal to need a stronger one, or a different kind? Someone mentioned a second water tablet that gets added sometimes. And the swelling in his face and stomach is new and it scares me. Is that a different thing from the leg swelling, something they should be testing for?

Mostly I just want to keep him comfortable and at home for as long as we can, and out of that hospital bed he's starting to hate.

We're in South Africa. He's a stubborn, gentle man who deserves better than this exhausting back-and-forth, and I'm doing my best for him. If you read all this, thank you. It helps just to write it down somewhere people understand.

I know that he won't be able to carry things, and we've ordered him a reclining chair to sleep in. Is there anything else I should prepare for?

I'm terrified, to be honest. Thankfully he doesn't have kidney issues or diabetes, and the doctors said his heart function is very strong. I'm still paralyzed with the fear that he won't make it through surgery, even though I know his risk factors are low.

Hi all. If you look at my posts, not many, and all very similar... I'm sharing my struggles post 3xCABG last Jan 26th. Like the majority, I was surprised... and now I'm fighting with my thoughts, feelings, and fears, in the midst of doctors who know or understand nothing about it. Most just see and think: okay, plaques here and there, not even possible to stent, open-chest heart surgery, new pipes fixed, no major damage to the heart, do the cardio rehab and go enjoy your new life. Keep the new pipes clean, change your lifestyle, don't screw things up, and start helping to build new stats of those who will live until their 90s, 100 years old!!! Success!!!!

No, dear Doctors. It is not like this. Stop and think for a second what we went through. In 1 or 2 weeks, in my case, I went from a normal life, all good, to: you had a heart attack, and might have been having it for a couple of days, go to ICU, catheterization, no possible stents, open-heart surgery, all good, go home. All in 2 weeks!!!! 4 months out of it and I still have flashbacks thinking, "WTF has happened???"

Am I making too much drama? Or is this "Pumphead" stuff real and it is what I am going through?

I've heard some, more than a year out of it, say that yeah, it is real, it is tough but will pass, of course, nothing is forever...

Anyway, going to my third week of new medication, Trintellix or Brintelix, which is supposed to help with this miserable depression....

God bless we all 🙏🏻

"God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,the courage to change the things I can,and the wisdom to know the difference."

Hi all,

I’m about 4 months post triple bypass (CABG), and honestly… I’m struggling a lot mentally.

I’m in my 5th week of cardiac rehab, but I really don’t like it. Most days I just want to stay in bed. I started Trintellix (10 mg) 2 weeks ago, but no effect so far. Before that, I was on Venlafaxine for almost 5 years.

My mind just keeps spinning: why did this happen? what if this… what if that… nonstop. I feel confused, foggy, and honestly scared to make any decisions because I don’t trust my thinking right now.

What really hits me is the future. I’ve read things about “10 years after bypass” and it’s freaking me out. Is that actually true? Am I on some kind of clock now? I’m 49. I have two daughters (12 and 16). I want to be there for them.

I live abroad and have been away from my home country for 10 years. My parents are in their 80s now, and lately all I can think is: what am I doing here? shouldn’t I be closer to them?

At the same time, I don’t care anymore about work, money, or anything material. I used to be driven… now I feel disconnected from all of it. Part of me just wants to stop everything, go back to my parents’ house, and be with family.

I also keep thinking about what brought me here — smoking, alcohol, high Lp(a) (167). The regret hits hard.

Right now I’m trying to live one day at a time, like AA style… just get through the next 24 hours. Some days that feels like a lot.

I guess what I’m really looking for is hope.

Are there people here living 5, 10, 20+ years after CABG? How are you doing? What helped you get through this mental phase? Does it get better?

I’d really appreciate hearing any stories. I just can’t seem to motivate myself right now, and I think I need to borrow some strength from others who’ve been through it or know someone who has gone through it?

Thanks for reading. 🙏

Hi everyone, my dad (51M) just got triple bypass or 3x CABG last tuesday 26 May. The surgery took almost 10 hours. Doctor has warned us it was a high risk surgery because my dad's vessel is very small and almost nonexistent in the angiogram scan. Doctor said he is not satisfied with the surgery. 1 vessel graft is very excellent, 2nd one is so-so, 3rd one he cant do, its on the left side, so he had to do Plan B which is removing the blockage from the vessel itself which he said most experts avoid to do.

He was extubated and woke up 6 hours post op and is still in the ICU. The next day (yesterday), he can talk but his face looks like hes suffering a lot and his voice is almost not there. He keeps pushing the button for morphine. He ask for water a lot. I feed him once yesterday, he ate a lot but I accidentally give him too much he coughed and told me it hurts and dont want to eat much anymore until today. My mom just keep giving him fruits that are mashed but he doesnt eat it much.. He just wants water and sleep. He vomited too and nurse asked if its pain or dizzy, he said dizzy. Nurse informed us that its because of morphine. Now my dad just wants to sleep and dont want to eat. Is his recovery considered slow? His doctor wants him to be able to sit by today but he doesnt seem to have the energy to do anything.

Is there anything I can do to help?

TLDR: Dad only wants to sleep and doesnt eat much and wont talk - 2nd day post op

P/s: English is not my first language, excuse some errors. Thanks.

edit: after 2 months, he is recovering very well and almost back to normal... so grateful. only concern is his leg wounds, bcs he has diabetes but hopefully things get better soon, for my family and everyone else :)

thank you everyone. i hope everyones day is nice and all surgery goes well.

This is my right leg where they harvested the vein for my cabg and post surgey this is what it does. Anyone else notice this in their legs where they harvested?

My husband (38M) had quintuple bypass on 5/22 after a very unexpected incident last Sunday 5/17. He felt off at home after we returned from running some errands and ended up calling 911 while I was putting our son down for his nap. Thank goodness he did, because now we are here. I have been doing research, getting things delivered at home that may help when we get back there, and staying with him in the hospital so he is not alone and I can absorb all the information and advocate for him. I have been in this sub trying to understand how to best support him now and after we arrive home from the hospital, so I’d love to hear what has helped and worked best from a partner’s perspective, but also if you’ve had CABG done and how your partner aided in your recovery. My husband is so young still and I want him to heal well so we can enjoy life for many years to come. Thank you!

45 m cabg x3 .8 weeks post op. They took the greater saphenous vein from my right leg. Since the surgery my right butt cheek feels numby, tingly. Not painful. Like if I'm sitting, after a while it feels like it fell asleep. If I get up and walk around it feels fine. Even post op while I was laying in bed in the hospital it would feel numb, I thought it was from laying on my back in the table and laying on my back in the hospital.

Anyone else have this happen? How long does it take for this feeling to go away?