Metabolism and bodily function after AVR surgery?

[almost_hectic]

I'm just curious, I'm at 3 weeks post surgery and doing pretty well. Since I've been home from the hospital I've been meaning to weigh myself but kept forgetting. Anyhow, even though I barely ate much during my hospital stay, since I've been home I've had a very healthy appetite... Satisfied by my mothers home cooked meals as she's been staying at my house to look after me during recovery. Not to mention the many treats I've enjoyed, key lime pie, ice cream, cookies and such. So this combined with my much lower activity rate I assumed meant I would be putting on a few extra pounds. Well today I finally stepped on the scale and much to my surprise I've lost like 7 pounds since prior to surgery!

Is it possible that my new valve has made my blood flow so much more efficient that it's resulted in overall improved bodily function and increased metabolism? As I've tracked my recovery my blood pressure has remained fairly constant at around 115/65 but my resting heart rate has vastly improved with daily walking, going from where I used to always be at around 90 to 95 bpm both prior to and immediately after surgery to now a much lower 70 to 75 bpm!

 

[Paleowoman]

Hi almost ! Glad you are doing better now than you were. In my humble opinion I wouldn't say it was metabolism or improved bodily function which caused your weight loss - I'd say it was the stress of the surgery and the first couple of weeks recovery which were more difficult for you. Athough it's true I didn't have any appetite due to the meds etc following surgery for a week or more I lost 4 kilos (nearly 9 pounds) by the time the fluid from surgery was gone ten days post op, that is a tremendous amount to lose even with not eating much, and I was underweight to start with so that was pretty scary - ended up with a BMI of only 16.5. Thankfully I regained most of the lost weight within a couple of months.

 

[cldlhd]

I doubt that the better flow would have that effect but then again what do I know? I don't know what your level of physical activity was before surgery but you could have lost some muscle mass or maybe you've stumbled upon some wonderful new diet where you can munch on treats and ice cream and lose weight. Come to think of it most of the stoners I knew 'back in the day' were pretty skinny....

 

[MethodAir]

I'm just curious, I'm at 3 weeks post surgery and doing pretty well. Since I've been home from the hospital I've been meaning to weigh myself but kept forgetting. Anyhow, even though I barely ate much during my hospital stay, since I've been home I've had a very healthy appetite... Satisfied by my mothers home cooked meals as she's been staying at my house to look after me during recovery. Not to mention the many treats I've enjoyed, key lime pie, ice cream, cookies and such. So this combined with my much lower activity rate I assumed meant I would be putting on a few extra pounds. Well today I finally stepped on the scale and much to my surprise I've lost like 7 pounds since prior to surgery!

Is it possible that my new valve has made my blood flow so much more efficient that it's resulted in overall improved bodily function and increased metabolism? As I've tracked my recovery my blood pressure has remained fairly constant at around 115/65 but my resting heart rate has vastly improved with daily walking, going from where I used to always be at around 90 to 95 bpm both prior to and immediately after surgery to now a much lower 70 to 75 bpm!

I would say yes, it's entirely possible. If your heart is not working right, every system in your body is adversely affected. Your appetite is a positive indicator.

Before surgery, my appetite was shot and I was losing virtually all of my lean body mass (cardiac cachexia). Basically end stage cardiac failure. After surgery, I was eating like a horse and losing retained fluid weight (about 30 lbs of water). As the recovery progressed, I started gaining back lean body mass (about 40lbs since surgery).

 

[knotguilty]

You may have lost weight from being on Lasix, or may still be on it at this point. That did it for me. I lost about 15 pounds on it.

 

[Lawdog]

Hey Hectic:

Happy to read that your appetite has returned. Mine has not yet. My wife has been forcing me to eat; nevertheless, I am down 14 lbs from my pre-op weight.

 

[almost_hectic]

Hey Hectic:

Happy to read that your appetite has returned. Mine has not yet. My wife has been forcing me to eat; nevertheless, I am down 14 lbs from my pre-op weight.

Holy Smokes! My guess would be one of your meds is killing your appetite

 

[Zoltania]

I think the healing process, especially muscle healing, requires lots of calories and protein. I lost 5 pounds in my first week home from the hospital despite eating well. I had to add snacks like yogurt and protein powder, and drink milk with meals, in order to stop the loss. 2.5 weeks later I'm at a net loss of 1 pound and have dialed back the extras.

Claudia Z.

 

[harrietW]

This is very interesting to me and l feel more hopefully to drop a few pounds. I have literally doubled my body weight since l was diagnosed in April /13. Mostly because of lack of Excerise Breathlessness and general poor health bad lungs hardly being able to walk from house to car without exhaustion. Right now l feel like l'm gaining 5 lbs a day. Always Blotted swollen etc. I am very anxiously anticipating weight loss post surgery .. l infact pray this is the case.