Foods and Supplements for Recovery

[Fernac911]

Hey everyone,

I will be having AVR next month and was wondering if anyone has information on foods, diets, or supplements that aid in the recovery process. I have read that L-Glutamine and Collagen help in repairing damaged tissue.

 

[clay_from_nj]

I've been taking GPLC and taurine, and can really feel the difference when I run out. I wound up with those two because they both have shown heart benefits without potential negatives.

 

[The Thief]

PROTEIN! I've been drinking protein shakes every day since my surgery in november. It is especially useful on days when your appetite is poor. I drank the shakes in the hospital a well. All that tissue needs protein to heal, and it also reduces muscle loss. I go with whey protein; some people think it is the easiest to absorb, but vegans prefer soy or rice protein. Now that i'm exercising, I drink one serving first thing in the morning, and one serving immediately after exercise. That morning serving helps get ya going too (my perception)!

 

[Gail in Ca]

After each of my surgeries I have craved a different food, and so I ate a lot of what I craved, figuring I must need it. These were green olives, peaches, lemonade.
After I was recovered, I no longer really craved these foods. Strange but true!
In the hospital I was given ensure because for many days I couldn't eat much and was loosing weight. I figured out that one can order as much as you want for dinner, and so I ordered things like an apple, pudding, etc, that I could eat at night when I was awake at 3am.

 

[Eva]

Avoid salty food after your discharge. Sodium will increase the fluid retention in the blood stream; thus, forcing the heart to work harder to move blood through the vessels, as it will also in crease your arterial pressure.

Good luck.

 

[ski girl]

EAT GOOD QUALITY FOOD. Limit the processed junk. I also took (and stlll take) an iron supplement as I got anemic due to my shiny new mech valve smashing my red blood cells to bits. (That stops once the valve grows a slime layer.)

Oh, and eat good quality food. Did I say that already?? ;-)

 

[Tirone]

Open heart surgery is considered major surgery and therefore has major impact on your metabolism. Your body will be in a catabolic state postop, meaning that the stress of surgery and the healing, combined with reduced calorie intake makes your bodies "digest" his own muscle and fat tissue. After a few days as your appetite comes back, you start walking again and your body's beginning to forget about the trauma of surgery you will shift into an anabolic state. This means that your body wants to restore the lost muscle and fat tissue. In this phase it's primarily important to be on a heart-healthy diet. That's the basis of recovery and includes all you need. In addition to this, especially in the initial postoperative phase and when you start to gain muscles mass again you might consider protein shakes.

 

[epstns]

For me, it didn't really seem to matter. For the first 4 to 6 weeks post-op, food didn't taste right. Everything had a "chemical" taste. That was of little concern, however, as my appetite didn't return to normal for almost 2 months. I forced myself to eat in order to heal. I didn't crave foods - I hardly wanted any.

Fast forward almost 3 years and none of that seems to have mattered. My body mass, weight and muscle mass have all returned to "normal."

 

[neil]

all i wanted was soup, salad sandwiches,and milk shakes, eat whatever your body wants within reason,

 

[Jkm7]

I agree a heart healthy diet is never more important than in the period of healing post op. Most of us know lots of veggies, fruit, whole grains, lean meat, chicken, fish, olive oil, nuts are all so good for us. I agree good protein is important but so are an abundance of veggies and fruit. The better we treat our bodies particularly in that healing stage the better our body will treat us.

I have always believed getting vitamins and minerals from wholesome, good quality food is a better alternative than supplements. If for some reason you cannot get adequate good nutrition from natural foods, supplements are better than not getting needed nutrition.

 

[The Thief]

I have always believed getting vitamins and minerals from wholesome, good quality food is a better alternative than supplements. If for some reason you cannot get adequate good nutrition from natural foods, supplements are better than not getting needed nutrition.

Yes, and there have been multiple studies recently showing that vitamins in pill form have little to no effect on human health. I agree with you, get your vitamins and minerals from a healthy diet.

 

[Fernac911]

Hey Anthony,

I found your blog and started following you on Instagram.
I hope everything is going well and thanks for sharing your story.

-Fern

 

[Fernac911]

Thank you everyone for your replies!

A lot of helpful information!

 

[Mentu]

I was fortunate to have a friend who at the time was a nurse on a cardiac surgery team. Her advice was to increase one's protein intake in the month before surgery to promote more rapid healing. After the valve replacement, my family doctor's advice was to continue with the increased protein for a few weeks but otherwise eat a healthy diet with lots of veggies and fewer carbos. My valve is a bioprosthetic so I have not needed to balance vitamine intake as is important if one must use anti-coagulants.

Larry