“How can I sleep comfortably after heart artery surgery?”

Thats an easier answer.. You cannot sleep comfortably early after coronary bypass surgery (CABG).. Generally, the first 2 days are in the icu and it is painful. Median sternotomy is essential cutting the sternum in half and closing it back with chicken wire. The surgery team orders out of bed within 14 hours and deep breathing with a pillow on sternum to clear the lungs. Day 3 is transfer day to a Step Down Unit bed. The pain is a little better at this point and patient is starting to walk in the room and sit in the recliner with his inspirometer and cough pillow. At this point, there is some improvement in functional capacity and pain severity with each passing day. By day 5-6, the patient is ready to be discharged to home. Pain levels are still moderate but treatment is effective with short acting opiates ( Oxycodone/hydrocodone) And the patient feels like a human again. The next 2 weeks are about recovering completely. Walking outside some , but not overdoing things. Each day shows incremental improvements. I generally do a follow up visit and tweak the cardiac meds and doses. This visit is short, just to put eyes on my patients. They are still not allowed to drive. Blood pressure usually runs on the low side while the body recovers. The skin staples are removed from the rather long surgical wound, which runs the length of the sternum. The next 4-6 weeks is movement/improvement time. Walking more briskly, and for longer distances. Appetite is better and bodily functions return to previous baselines. This is also the time to start driving short distance and for return to work. Short- term disability forms are completed. Patients are not allowed to lift more than 15 lbs or so. The

Ask your doctor about trazodone. Best Regards, David Dobies MD