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FredW

Premium Level User
Joined
Dec 16, 2015
Messages
263
Location
Rochester Mills, PA
This post may be just me venting so be advised, it is somewhat rambling.

I'm 10 days post-op.

They sent me home with a list of drugs to take, and a list of stuff you took that you should not take. They send papers on what to do when you get home. Then there are papers on this and that and somebody's mother. I swear, How can a normal human assimilate all that information just after a major surgery is beyond me. Two days, my wife and I thing we understood all the instructions. But, I don't live well by an instruction book.

First, I had questions about the pain meds. I researched through all the documents and I did not find the answer. I was trying to figure out how often I can take a pain med. Under 'take as needed' it listed oxycodone every four hours and Tynelol every four hours. Silly me, does that mean I could take something every two hours if I alternative them. Should I not take them together? I finally decided 'as needed' was my decision, so I went to a four hour schedule which worked.

Then, day 3 at home, I was itching for my nightly drink of Dewar's. Again I read ton of papers and not anyplace did they say I could NOT drink. I read all the documents on the drugs I was taking from the hospital and the drug store. I found that Dewar's was not good with Oxycodone. So I figured I would get off it, and I did. The next evening, after taking only Tynelol for 24 hours, I had my Dewar's. But gave it up after that one night, for it did make me dizzy.

Then after getting a power recliner, I finally was able to sleep, but not through the night. Pain and the need to pee would wake me up to take Tynelol or hit the pot. My Vivofit tells me that for the past two nights, I have had to get up every two hours. Six hours of restless sleep is not good sleep, but better than 1.5 hours of restless sleep. One of the items they told me to stop taking is Saw Palmento. I took it to stop the need to get up every two hours to pee. I was working to the extent I may use to get up twice a night. While in the hospital, needing to pee often didn't bother me for I was either had a catheter in me or a roommate that was keeping me awake. But now that I'm home, I want to go back on my Saw Palemento. Of course, in all the ton of documentation, they never say why they want me to stop it. My own research shows it may be a issue with it and Plavix, which is a new drug I came home with. The other tidbit I encountered doing this research is that Plavix and alcohol.

Oh bummer! If I follow the safest guideline that means no Dewars and I get up to go pee every two hours. Or I can cheat, and take Saw Palmento in hopes I don't bleed internally.

I know, somebody is going to say: "talk to your doctor". It's Sunday here in the US and I'm not any of my docs will know what is the correct answer for me. They will just quote the "protocol".

So, I thought I would ask my trusted friends here to give me their input.

Thanks for slugging though my story.
Fred
 
Either pay attention to what your docs say or "do it your way". I did it my way for seven years after my surgery........until I stroked doing it my way. Gimme a break...you are only 10 days post op and my opinion is "do it their way. BTW, you mention Plavix and I'll tell you from experience that you DO NOT FUTZ" around with anti-coatgulants "cause you will loose.
 
Either pay attention to what your docs say or "do it your way". I did it my way for seven years after my surgery........until I stroked doing it my way. Gimme a break...you are only 10 days post op and my opinion is "do it their way. BTW, you mention Plavix and I'll tell you from experience that you DO NOT FUTZ" around with anti-coatgulants "cause you will loose.
 
Agree with dick0236, your 10 days post op and still fresh, don't take anything in your own hands and chill for while. Focus on getting healthy for now.
As for pain meds- I stopped after insane nightmares 5 days after surgery. Took Tylenol extra strength for the first month faithfully every 4 hours and managed to cope with the pain. Try napping once you take the Tylenol
You'll get through this...
 
FredW

re read this set of inputs
aetos;n866890 said:
...your 10 days post op and still fresh, don't take anything in your own hands and chill for while. Focus on getting healthy for now.
...
You'll get through this...

and

dick0236;n866889 said:
Either pay attention to what your docs say or "do it your way"
.... I'll tell you from experience that you DO NOT FUTZ" around with anti-coatgulants "cause you will loose.

rinse and repeat

so kick back and be what the name is ... patient
 
Good question. There was a question that they would send me home on warfarin for three months because my platelet count was too low. Apparently they lowered my platelet count pre-op by giving me Heparin to reduce risk of blood clots. After post-op, they expected the platelet count to rise back to normal, but about 30% of the population has some kind of 'reaction' to Heparin and the platelet count did not rise like they expected. However, they sent me home with no script for Warfarin, but did have one for Plavix. (I looked at my last blood test results the morning of my release and the platelet count was up, but still not in the normal range. I figured I had asked enough questions and didn't want to deal with home testing for only a short period of time. I asked why plavix and the answer was to protect against blood clots?
 
Endone is very quickly addictive. I'm glad I stopped.

When I was in hospital, I managed to access some red wine. A glass a day.

Ring up and ask.
 
Hi Fred - since it's Monday now, or will be shortly where you are, you should be able to speak to your GP, either by going to the doctor's practice or getting him/her to phone you. I know it can sometimes take days or weeks to get an appointment but in the immediate couple of weeks after heart surgery you should be given priority to see/speak to a doctor right away about any concerns you have. They should be able to advise you about the meds. I had to see my GP urgently the week after surgery and all my husband had to do was say to the receptionist "my wife has just come out of hospital after heart surgery" and that meant a fast track to a doctor. Normally at our GP practice it can take 3 to 5 weeks to get an appointment but after heart surgery it was different. Hope you get your questions answered satisfactorily.
 
Fred - those frequent potty calls may be in response to having your bladder (and other innards) irritated by the catheter that was in place during and after surgery. I had that Foley in place for (IIRC) a day or so after valve surgery, and most recently I had one for about 8 hours after my pacemaker revision surgery. The most recent experience irritated my bladder badly enough that I am just now, at 2 1/2 weeks post op, getting back to normal. It just takes time.

Be careful, as you know, with any narcotic pain meds, as they can have some unpleasant side effects (like stopping the motion of your digestive tract). Pellicle swears by kimchi for this, but I prefer Miralax.
 
It does get better! The first month was rough for me but quickly went up from there. When I came home from the hospital I was about 10 lbs heavier from all of the IV fluids they gave me during surgery and after. I found myself having to pee A LOT more than normal because my body was getting rid of all the fluid. As soon as the extra fluid was gone, that all went back to normal (probably 2ish weeks after surgery)
 
Anne, Steve, and Jamieann make good points. I went into surgery at 181 lbs, two days after I was at 193! Came home at 191. Now, six days later I am at 178. Yes I did go a lot, but felt when I hit 178, the fluids were gone. However maybe the frequency is due to the fluids still.

In any case, I have calls in to my GP and the suregon's office. Be interesting if I get similar responses. 😕
 
Update: both my GP and surgeon said I'm ok with taking saw palmetto with Plavix.The both said they could find no interactions. Both webmd and healthline say otherwise. When your docs conterdicts information you get on the web, go with your doc
 
FredW
Its hard to quote a comment but:

https://www.drugs.com/drug-interactions/plavix-with-saw-palmetto-705-360-2046-0.html
[h=2]Interactions between your selected drugs[/h] [FONT=&quot] There were no interactions found in our database between Plavix and saw palmetto
However, this does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. ALWAYS consult with your doctor or pharmacist.
[/FONT]



So, as you've identified, as long as your Dr is suggesting, and as long as you've raised the issue then its going to bite them too.

However I'd be suggesting that the above data supports that if any interactions exist they will be minor
 
Interesting. When you find conflicting information on the net, who do you trust? Your source says not interactions, Check out these two sources:
http://www.webmd.com/vitamins-suppl...dientid=971&activeingredientname=saw palmetto

and

http://umm.edu/health/medical/altmed/herb-interaction/possible-interactions-with-saw-palmetto

and

http://www.healthline.com/health/testosterone-saw-palmetto#Interactions7

So, is it safe to assume your doctor has a better source than you?

Basically, I think the point here is that medical science is not exact.
 
(stream of angry tourettes and the stupid decision made to "trashgrade" the vBulletin software and essentially ruin this site).

I have it on personal communications that good posters stopped using this site because of this Hank

and no, my post did not time out ... it just went into "working"

POS
 
Ok ... attempt two ... ARGHSSSSIIITTTT

FredW , sorry if this is now terse as I just wasted an amount of time and time is something I'm quite short of. Thankfully I had prepared some of this in an external text editor first...


Interesting. When you find conflicting information on the net, who do you trust? Your source says not interactions, Check out these two sources:

Basically you need to read the words CAREFULLY and know the difference between might and does.

Next you need to understand that sites which are advertising click fests are about capturing you not educating you.

Link 1 /www.webmd.com/

popups and bullshit ads ... didn't that give it away for a start?

they say

Saw palmetto might slow blood clotting. Taking saw palmetto
along with medications that also slow clotting might
increase the chances of bruising and bleeding. Some
medications that slow blood clotting include aspirin,
clopidogrel (Plavix), diclofenac (Voltaren, Cataflam,
others), ibuprofen (Advil, Motrin, others), naproxen
(Anaprox, Naprosyn, others), dalteparin (Fragmin),
enoxaparin (Lovenox), heparin, warfarin (Coumadin), and
others.

so about as vague as possible and should encourage you to consult your Dr (which you have)


Link 2 umm.edu/health/

better ... but still:

Possible Interactions with: Saw Palmetto

Antiplatelet and anticoagulant drugs (blood-thinners) -- Saw palmetto may affect the blood's ability to clot, and could interfere with any blood-thinning drugs you are taking, including:
Warfarin (Coumadin)
Clopidogrel (Plavix)
Aspirin

I may go to the shops (but its uncertain) where I could buy a beer ... if I did, I there is the potential to buy a drink ... but knowing me, probably I won't

in contrast other drugs that do have positive links are reported as can or does.

I refer again to what I posted

There were no interactions found in our database between Plavix and saw palmetto
However, this does not necessarily mean no interactions exist. [pellicle: so it means that if interactions exist they are so uncommon we haven't heard of it yet] ALWAYS consult with your doctor or pharmacist
 

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