Heart surgery is serious surgery, that’s not something you don’t know, is it? After all, you wouldn’t be reading this right now if you or someone you know wasn’t about to have heart surgery. And you’re probably curious about how painful this is going to be during and after, and you should know that it’s going to be pretty painful. But your doctor will put you on a pain control regimen before you go home.
However, by the time you are discharged, your pain will be mild to moderate, because if it isn’t, your doctor will most likely not discharge you. You will be prescribed pain control medication when you return home, be sure to take it as directed. This is prescribed to help you get up and moving. Don’t worry about being addicted to it, as long as you take it only as prescribed.
Then when your follow-up appointment arrives, your pain level will be at a minimum by then. Some patients have expressed concern about chest and shoulder pain, raising alarm that it may be angina. This is understandable and you should not hesitate to call your doctor if you experience this pain.
However, this is usually nothing more than bone and muscle pain. Again, don’t be afraid to call your doctor! Better safe than sorry.
With effective pain control medications, you will heal faster and more comfortably. This medication that you are prescribed will also keep the potential risks of complications to a minimum. Believe it or not, you will get up quickly because your doctors will teach you breathing exercises. Those exercises will restore your strength sooner and are also good for pain control.
Where will the pain be felt?
During your recovery period, you will feel burning, pain, or pressure in your chest and especially around the incision site while the tubes are still in place. When the doctor and nurses remove the chest tubes, you will feel some discomfort and pain when you start to move and when you have a cough, sit, walk.
You will also have pain in other areas. Your throat will be scratchy and sore from the breathing tube that was inserted during your surgery. If the doctor removed an artery or vein from other areas of your body, you will have some pain there as well. And you will have some pain and stiffness from lying down during surgery and while in the ICU. Again, your doctor will prescribe pain control medications and treatments that will relieve discomfort and pain.
Numbness of the incision area
Some patients have complained of temporary numbness in the arm, chest, hand, or leg where an arterial line was inserted. This is completely normal and will improve with time. It can take months for some people and only a few weeks for others. This happens due to manipulation of the nerves during surgery.
Manage and monitor your pain
Once the anesthesia in the ICU has worn off, you will be given pain control medication through an IV and, once you return to your room, your pain control medication will be in pill or in suppository form if you are unable to do so. swallow.
Or they may keep you in an IV for another day or two. The nursing staff will perform regular checks of your vital signs and ask about your level of pain so that you can feel comfortable following your doctor’s orders for pain control medications.
