Return of Appetite

Valve Replacement Forums

Help Support Valve Replacement Forums:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
S

Seabush

My mother will be six weeks post-op tomorrow. She still doesn't have much of an appetite. I'm curious to know how long it took other valve surgery patients to get back their appetites?

Thanks

Crystal
 
no appetite here

no appetite here

Hi Crystal
I will be 6 weeks post op on Tues..about the same as your Mom. Food has NO interest for me..although I am frequently very hungry..I just can't eat. I have lost about 25 lbs..so far.Everything just doesen't apeal to me or tastes bitter. My guess its the meds. I eat very little and really need to eat more..I just can't. I never thought that eating would ever be a prooblem for me as I'm very overweight and need to lose a lot. I packaged up 80 little bags of cany for Haloween and NEVER even tasted one peice of candy..normally it would have been one in the bag..and one in the mouth:eek: ..all I can twell you I couldn't even stand the smell of the cany. Its like being in the first few months of pregnancy..LOL!! I bit into a brownie and had to spit it out..can you imagine that!!From what I hear..this seems to be a "normal" experience. I guess appetite will come back with a vengence..so I'd better lose as much weight as I can now:)
I hope that your mother finds something that she likes to eat..the only thing that I enjoy is homemade soup..go figure
Joan
 
not wanting to eat

not wanting to eat

Yes I remember when people would bring all these wonderful dishes over and i would sit and watch my family eat. I to think it was the meds. when they started taking me off them my hunger returned. i actually was trying to sip ensures to help me get stronger. Now I have to pull myself from the table and could use slimfast!
She will be fine I am sure but tell her to try and eat a bit and try the ensures
sue
 
No Appetite

No Appetite

Crystal,

Is your mom still on pain medication? Of all the meds that doctors can prescribe, pain meds are the worst for taking away the appetite. You may want to contact your mom's doctor about this. It could also be some other med or med interaction causing this for her. It probably wouldn't hurt to have the doctor explain each and every medication that your mom is taking, including over-the-counter meds and meds that other doctors have prescribed for her.

Drugs are funny things, and they sometimes interact in ways we don't expect. To be safe, I'd check it out.
 
Medication

Medication

Other than Cozaar, which she just started taking, she isn't on anything new. She takes Verapamil, Coumadin, Synthroid, Cozaar, and Premarin.

Crystal
 
hi crystal!
when we talked with mara before joey's surgery, she suggested ice pops for when his appetite was lacking. they really helped a lot! fortunately for joey, his appetite came back pretty much full force (i knew he was getting back to normal when he got hungry again_ for a skinny guy, this man can put food away like no one i know!!! lol). from wht i hear, sometimes it takes a little while for the appetite to come back. i imagine it may be connected to the fact that your mom's body has been through the mill and will take awhile to get back to normal functioning capacity.
i've found that throughout joey's recovery patience is a really important virtue. just knowing that has helped me.
please keep us posted. i'm sorry i couldn't help more.
God bless your mom and you.
-sylvia
 
Appetite

Appetite

I had my AV replaced on 9/6 and they start you out on a liquid diet. For me, evrything tasted sickingly sweet and I'm a vegetarian so my liquid diet consisted of jello, various juices, and a few other naturally sweet items. I barely ate the first few days. When I started eating normal food again, even non-sweet foods tasted grossly sweet to me so I barely ate anything for the first couple of weeks. It was almost 6 weeks before that taste went away and I could drink orange juice without gagging. I lost about 15 pounds and I'm still pretty weak, but slowly getting back to normal.
 
Appetite

Appetite

I was not on a liquid diet. I had food the next day after surgery, but not much because I was on salt restriction. I had an appetite after a few weeks. I am amazed at how much I don't eat. I love food. but, diet makes it different. It will take time to get the appetite back. Mine is back now and is under control. I had to cut down my salt intake and I just keep doing it. Potato chips is my weakness. Your mom will be restricted or taken off salt for a time. And your mom will not miss the salt. Or the want of food. Your mom will do just fine.


Caroline
Aortic valve replacement
09-13-01
St. Jude's valve
 
Back
Top