Before (and after)

[Odie]

My AVR is next week. I am still mostly asymptomatic. Had a heart murmur not been detected last November during a physical, I still would not know I need surgery.

This forum as been invaluable to me in managing my health. Since November I've created many lists. Not bucket lists, mind you, I'm talk'n To-Do lists. As my surgery date nears I've developed a short To-Do list, inspired mostly from postings in this forum, that has somewhat of a Before & After theme. These are things To-Do for the purpose of comparison pre-surgery vs post-surgery.

Here are a few items off my list:

• Measure pre-op lung capacity -- Several postings about the importance of the Incentive Spirometer during recovery inspired me to purchase an inexpensive device that measures peak exhale flow. Now I know my lung strength before surgery so I have a clear target to work up to post-surgery.
• Heart sound recordings - The Thief's iPhone mic recording was a great idea to capture a sound that soon will be different. It will be fun to compare this sound with the one I'll record "after".
• Pictures -- Thanks to comments by PaleoGirl, Blair, Red and others, I'm arranging for post-op pictures. I'll have a few pre-op pictures snapped too. I've got a pretty low body fat percentage so I'm interested in see the visual effect of any water weight gain.

Does anyone have suggestions for this kind of list?

 

[pellicle]

Not really

But take some kimchi in with you to supplement your meals post op back on the ward. An common side effect is things don't move after surgery, and the hospital solutions (pun - intended) can be undesirable. Movicol for instance had me doing the lower intestine version of dry retching forna few hours after the plug shot out.

Kimchi gets you ,moving and adds spice to hospital food. A little as a side dish with lunch and by dinner you'll be glowing

http://www.valvereplacement.org/for...mally-given-after-surgery&p=538315#post538315

 

[Odie]

Thanks, pellicle. I always coat my breakfast eggs with chili powder so your tip for adding spice to my hospital food sounds functional and delicious!

 

[Paleowoman]

Thanks, pellicle. I always coat my breakfast eggs with chili powder so your tip for adding spice to my hospital food sounds functional and delicious!

I was full of what I was going to eat post op (steak, bacon, eggs), had even discussed this with my endocrinologist (I"m diabetic) and the hsopital as it was a private hospital so I would get hotel catering and they would get in whatever I wanted. Oh dear - I had no idea of how undesirable food would become after surgery - apart from first day post op in ICU when I happily ate scambled eggs and several cups of tea - after that it was astonishing how I just didn't feel like eating at all ! On discharge I discovered this was due to a combination of the analgesics, the pain and simply the shock effect of this surgery on the body. Mind you, not that everyone reacts like that, and hopfully you won't, but my GP prescribed me nutritional supplemental drinks when I was at home, so I would suggest getting some of those just in case. I'm not sure why the hospital I was at didn't get them in for me…..

Do ask permission for the post op piccies, especially for when you are not conscious !

Looking forward to hearing how it all went for you !

PS - My murmur was first heard 36 years ago. But I was completely asymptomatic too before surgery - if a doctor had never held a stethescope to my chest I'd still be here, I bet, none the wiser.