When does your colour return ?

[WendyD]

Hello again,
Ernie wanted to know how long does it take for your colour to return ?
His AVR op was on the 30th March. He is worried that he is still looking very pale,yellow and washed out.
Also,even though we are eating really plain food and he is taking an antacid he is still battling with stomach acidity.

Thanks
KInd Regards
Ernie & Wendy

 

[Ross]

Everyone is different, but most return to normal within a week or so. It's only been 2 for him, so give it a little time yet, but if he's not looking good by the end of this week, give the Doctor a call. Becareful with the Antiacid if he's taking Coumadin. It will keep it from absorbing which means his INR will drop.

 

[Bionic Valve Tim]

2 weeks post-op I was very pale, and the nurse who stopped by to check on me was very concerned. She looked at the color of my lips and the insides of my eyelids and made me promise to see my cardio. At his office I was being led to a room and he passed in the hall. He stopped for a moment, looked at my lips and said, "You're anemic, I'll be right in."

A blood count confirmed that I was anemic and a couple of units of blood later I felt much better.

My doctor said that a pallid complexion is not unusual post-op, but he could tell by how pale my my lips and eyelids were that I was anemic.

If he's feeling good it's probably nothing, but it never hurts to check with the doctor. That's why we make the payments on their BMWs, after all

Tim

 

[catwoman]

Wendy:

Yellow??? Check his gums and the whites of his eyes. Yellow skin & whites of the eyes and pale gums indicate a liver problem.

My coloring was very gray & even bluish before my surgery. Of course, even though everyone else knew it, no one told ME!! Within about 2-3 days of surgery, my family & visitors were saying how wonderful my color was, that it had returned to norma. That was when I discovered how poor it was...

In absence of any signs of a liver problem, I would advise Ernie seeing a doctor later this week if his color hasn't returned to normal.

 

[BionicRedneck]

In my case it dpeneded on who was doing the looking. Those who saw me in the Hospital and after my 18 day stay said within 2-3 weeks my color was back. People who hadnt/havent seen me until recently said that it still hasnt returned. I am 10 weeks out from AVR and Aortic Root and Arch Reconstruction due to 7cm Aneurysm. Last week had a friend see me for the first time, he called me later that night and wanted to know if something was wrong, if I needed to talk to someone, and said I looked like death warmed over. I guess it is mainly cause of the 15-20 weight drop. Screw Jenny Craig, OHS is the only way to go.

 

[Mike S]

Everyone is different, but most return to normal within a week or so. It's only been 2 for him, so give it a little time yet, but if he's not looking good by the end of this week, give the Doctor a call. Becareful with the Antiacid if he's taking Coumadin. It will keep it from absorbing which means his INR will drop.

Ross

You mentioned Antiacid's having an effect on your INR. I was just tested a couple days ago, and my INR went from 2.7 to 1.9 in two weeks. The nurse was concerned and asked if I was doing anything out of the ordinary. I could not think of anything to cause such a drop until now. Does Antiacid's have such an effect on your INR? and Why was this not mentioned by any pharmacist or cardiologist? On average I take one Extra strength Tums per day. Should I cut this out?

MIKE S

 

[ALCapshaw2]

For controlling Acid Reflux, the drugs of choice (in increasing order) are Pepcid, Prilosec, and Nexium.

DO NOT take Coumadin within 2 hours (BEFORE or AFTER) taking an antacid (and vice versa).

'AL Capshaw'

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Anemia is a common cause of looking pale. That's what the Iron Pills are for. Do you know how much blood Ernie lost during surgery? If this persists and the Iron Pills are not doing the job, he may need a unit or two of blood. In any case, check with his Doctor(s).

'AL Capshaw'

 

[BillCobit]

In my case it dpeneded on who was doing the looking. Those who saw me in the Hospital and after my 18 day stay said within 2-3 weeks my color was back. People who hadnt/havent seen me until recently said that it still hasnt returned.

Ditto! Those who saw me early on (and we know what that looks like!) remarked how well I looked after 6 weeks. Co-workers and gym rats who first saw me post-op at 6-8 weeks had different comments that they saved until many months later:

"When you walked back into work you were so pale that you were almost transparent."

"We thought you came to the gym right from the hospital - you looked so gray and weak we were afraid you were going to keel over!"

I also lost about 10% of my total body weight (which wasn't all that substantial to begin with) - probably didn't help the look one bit!

I hope that characterisation of "looking yellow" is just a regional variation on "looking gray"...i.e., colour not quite right, vs. Catwoman's concern about liver. Truly yellow-ish eyeballs and skin need to be checked out.

Best wishes to Ernie for a speedy and complete recovery!