Always good to check-in with your Doc on this. Your upper chest/sternum area went through quite a trama from surgery - which affected bones, joints, nerves, etc... I had a quintuple a few years ago at age 49. It was very uncomfortable and a bit painful for a spell, and the pain was always alarming considering it's in the upper chest area. It basically subsided after several months. It will most likely never be as before the surgery, and I still get odd sensations there, but have learned to discern them. So, what you are experiencing sounds normal - but at 60 it may take your body a bit longer to heal. You are most likely doing so, but remember to eat very healthy, plenty of water, and good supplements: multi-vitamins, vitamin D, calcium. All will help your body heal efficiently.
I'd let your doctor know about anything that is bothering you.......you just went through a pretty major surgery and shouldn't put any stress from worrying on you what-so-ever. Plus, his counsel/care is part of what we pay the big bucks for! I don't think you'll get any consistent answers about everyone's experiences regarding your sternum pain - seems to be different for everyone, and there's no way we can know exactly what kind of pain you are dealing w/ in this format. Call your doctor - no need to risk an infection, and if nothing else it will do you good to put your mind at ease about it. I wish you a speedy recovery.......although it's not an easy road, it is one well traveled and will hopefully significantly improve your quality of life. I wish you well!
I would check with your GP as others have suggested, but I think it all sounds pretty normal. I found that at rehab the discomforts seemed to lessen for a short period of time as you use your muscles, but about an hour later the stiffness seemed to worsen. The next day I would feel worse than ever. I still felt terrible when rehab was finished and after 6 months big differences started to kick in. Each day a big improvement was felt. It can take a long time to get over bypass surgery. I met one man who said it took 2 years for his discomforts to completely go, I took one year, and I've met others who took 8 months. When I say it took me a year, please dont panic and think I mean you will be in agony for a year. After 6 months, things really calm down a lot even though most surgeons tell you this will occur at three months. The only pains I suffered after six months were if I turned over in my sleep and that would wake me up. Exactly one year and I could roll across the floor with no pains. I remember many times in my recovery when I felt I was not improving and started wondering if they had put my ribs back crooked or something. It can get depressing. What you are experiencing is not abnormal. Also, different people experience different levels of pain. Those with higher pain levels suffer more and find it a much harder ordeal. Chat with your GP but I think your muscles are aching from exercise.
I had quadruple bypass 10 years ago and I have learned to deal with the funny sensation (tightening) in my ribs on the left side of the sternum, and I think it is normal and only a few people suffer with this symptom - but it is not related to heart at all. But lately I am getting excruciating rib-thorax pain on both sides of the sternum, the interesting thing about it is this pain occurs only in the morning and then I do all kinds of exercise and it never occurs all day. I have been through the cat scan and doctors did not find anything wrong with the wire holding the sternum together. It is suggested that I may be suffering from costochondritis. Does anyone have similar symptoms ?
If you have I would like to know about it and then how do you cope with it ?
Thanks in advance,
Yes. It has been 13 months since my triple bypass surgery and I feel worse than before my surgery. I have a lot of burning sensation in my chest area.