Hi
I'm 47 yrs old . On 3/17 I had a heart attack. On 3/22 I had quadruple bypass.
I feel fine most of the time . my doctors have me very resrticted on what I can do. I know it will take time and I must be patiant. I am normaly a very active person so this is hard for me . I find myself getting depressed a lot.
Is this normal? How do others deal with depression ?
I have quit smoking. And I'm working very hard on the diet changes. Any help or advise would be great.

riverfisher,

Depression after open heart surgery is VERY common.

Try to get out and walk as much as you can...it's good exercise and no stress on your wired chest. Fortunately it's the perfect time of the year for walking and it may make you feel better.

Like Lenin says, depression is very common. Your body has just had one helluva jolt, and your brain is dealing with it too.

I found mood swings were more the order of the day than outright depression, but it's different for everyone. For the first two weeks or so post op I found some days were really positive, yet on others the simplest thing could reduce me to tears, but the latter would happen so quickly I was left wondering "What was all that about?" The docs assured me it was all very normal, and nothing to worry about, but if the bouts of depression became longer and darker then they wanted to know. At that time I was seeing my docs daily. I had a triple by-pass on 20MAR06, so we're not that far apart on our surgery dates.

I've always been active too, and not being able to lift and carry is something totally foreign to me. I was given a Home Walking Program to follow, but the air where I live is not good, so I've just found a gym near home with back supported cycling machines, and some 2lb weights. I started using the cyling machine and weights under the supervision of physiotherapists before I left the hospital, and watching the progress that can be made is encouraging and uplifting. The weights can be used as with any weight training program, i.e. progressively in sets of 10. I'm doing simple upper body exercises, but nothing that involves taking the arms rearwards behind the plane of the shoulders, and absolutely no strain to the sternum is a must.

If your docs agree then give it a try. You'll be surprised at how doing these simple things that will aid a faster, stronger recovery, and will also make you feel a lot better about what is happening to you.

I hope this helps, but if you can talk to someone about how you feel. Your doctors, your partner, a friend, or in a post here, talking about it and pardon the pun, getting it off of your chest is probably the best thing you can do.