Everybody feels pain differently and have different reactions/recovery times to trauma and any form of invasive procedure is traumatic. Do not be afraid to ask for or take pain meds as uncontrolled pain can/will inhibit recovery. Get out of bed as quickly as possible. Do excercises religiously - push yourself where possible. Above all, maintain a positive attitude. God bless.

I am 50 and had a double bypass (CABG) in Feb 2022. All in all it was not the worst experience. I was able to start walking around the ward on day one. I felt that the emotional anxiety was the hardest. I am a somewhat athletic person and was worried I wont be able to hike big mountains and mountain bike. However, I kept pushing myself, slowly but surely.

My goal was to mountain bike and hike up to 11.5k feet before 90 days. I was supposed to wait for 4 - 5 months. I am happy to report that I had both goals achieved before the 80 day mark. I have completed over 40+ mountain bike rides, climbed 5 peaks and countless hikes in the last 10 months.

Even after accomplishing all these goals I still have bad days where I am scared that my heart will fail me. It is ok to have bad days. Do the best you can and forgive yourself.

I think it helps being around family and friends. I have lived alone 6 week after the surgery and that was probably not the best idea. I had no choice as I was in the process of getting divorced and have no family member living in the state. However, I went hiking and biking with friends.

I feel blessed that I got this second chance. Two of my arteries were almost 100% blocked and I had no idea as I never felt any significant pain or chest pressure. I rode my bike 3 days before my surgery and had no pain what so ever. The doctors said that my body found collateral arteries or veins to pump the blood. I was a candidate for being one and done in terms of heart attacks.

My 4 keys to success:
1) A positive attitude
2) Get good sleep during the night
3) Exercise every day (even a half mile walk will help)
4) Proper diet.

Believe in yourself and keep trucking.

You know they get you up fast! I was walking before I left ICU..For me taking out the drainage tube was the worst!

Go in with a positive attitude. My heart surgeon was the Top Guy. When I woke up, my wife plastered the room with photos of me as. Firefighter and Rescue Flight Medic and my family. After a few hours the nurse came in and said " let's go for a walk!" I said are you F ing crazy. He said " get your a*s up!" While walking or shuffling. He pointed out some.folks who had 1-3 bypasses, I had 5 bypasses and said they haven't gotten up to walk. Next 2 days they were gone. He said they died. "Oh Sh"t" let's walk some more!!! So walk, go to PT. The worse thing after the surgery was sneezing and coughing. My gosh did that hurt. I was also afraid of dieing again. Took me weeks to sleep more than a few hours at a time.

It depends on you, it's challenging, but take one day at a time.