Pill Popper

Thought I'd share my prescriptive perspective for those who care to know. My meds have changed since my surgery. I was obviously on a few more right after I got home. They actually prescribed some heavy pain meds (Vicodin), but I didn't even fill the scrip. I got by with good old fashioned Advil. The pain really wasn't bad. Sure glad I got the minimally invasive procedure versus having my chest cracked open. 

A) Furosemide, 20MG, 1 Tab orally for 5 days (lasix/water pill). I don't remember what this one was for. Certainly something post-op-related since I only took it for 5 days. 

B) Colace, 100MG, 2x daily as needed for constipation (a TMI side effect of surgery...it was almost a week till things got back to normal)

C) Naproxen, 500MG, 2x daily for 5 days (Aleve, for pericarditis and pain)

D) Baby aspirin, 81MG chewable, 1x daily. Blood thinner. I'm still on this one, even though I didn't have a replacement valve, only a repair. Need to find out if and when (if at all) I'll stop taking this. 

E) Metoprolol succinate, 50MG, 1x daily (Toporol XL). To regulate BP and heart rhythm as my heart adjusts to the new flow of things. No more Lisinopril, which I was taking before the surgery. They just changed this last month. After an echocardiogram, my first since the surgery, it showed that my heart wasn't "squeezing strongly enough". I don't feel any symptoms, but my ticker isn't ticking as loudly as it should. They switched me to Carvedilol, 3.125MG, 2x daily. 

F) Atorvastatin, 20MG, 1x daily at bedtime (Lipitor). For cholesterol. When I had my heart cath in Indy, they said my pipes were clear. When the Cleveland Clinic did it, they said there was a little plaque in there (not much). In December, when I went in for a check up/blood test with my regular doc, my good cholestol was too low. Overall, my cholesterol was "fine", as it always had been. They put me on Zocor at that time, which I'm still taking as of June 2009. 

G) Omeprazole, 20MG, 1x daily for two weeks (Prilosec). For ulcer prevention. Acid in the stomach is common after surgery. This was supposed to help combat this. 

H) Potassium chloride, 10 meq tab, 1x daily for 5 days with Lasix. I forgot what they said about this one, but looked it up... "Prevents reduction in potassium in the body if you are taking a diuretic. Potassium is necessary for function of the heart and other systems of the body." Actually, this site has some good info about all the drugs heart patients may have to take after surgery. 

CURRENT MEDS. Even though I'm taking fewer meds, I'm still using my old-man daily pill container so I can remember WHEN I took WHAT. I'm still taking the bupropion (Wellbutrin XL) as an antidepressant. But heart-related meds, I'm down to two in the morning and two at night. AM: baby aspirin and Coreg. PM: Zocor and Coreg. 

A NOTE ABOUT MY CRAZY-LOW HEART RATE. I've always had a slow, very slow, heart rate. Low 40s per minute. Whenever I gave blood in the past, they would ask if I was a runner. Which I was not. When I started running, my heart didn't get any slower. It was already as slow as you could get. After my surgery, my HR went up to the 55-60 range. I figured my slow rate was attributed to my prolapsed mitral valve. That my heart's been compensation in the amazing way the human body always does. Guess not. At my last check up, the nurse (a new nurse) was concerned that my HR was 40. She started to check again. I told her it was normal. Guess I'm just wired that way.