Out of the hospital.

[Ovie]

Well everyone, I'm out of the hospital. Staying in a hotel till Thursday than going home, it was a short stay, but seemed like awhile. I'm on a bunch of meds for the first week, than they kind of slow down and are easier to keep up with.

Had a question though, they were giving me burgers and pasta, etc in the Hospital, other than Vitamin K intake is there anything you all watched out eating when you got home or right away? I have a menu to the hotel to my exposal and don't know if I should be avoiding things?

Thanks.

 

[Sarah_Louise]

Ahh Ovie!!
Thats amazing news, so pleased your out of there! But take it easy!!
I didn't have to avoid anything, infact they where bribing me with every food under the sun cause i didn't feel like eating LOL
here's to a nice smooth recovery!
Well done
Love Sarah xxx

 

[Freddie]

Eat anything your little and now fixed heart desires. Don't avoid anything you enjoy.

Take care and be good to yourself.

 

[Jkm7]

Seeing you mentioned Vitamin K, I assume you have a mechanical valve.
Did they set up an appointment for you to have your INR tested? Especially when newly starting coumadin, you need to test fairly frequently until you are sure you are in range.

Take good care, Ovie. Hope you have a wonderfully easy, bump free recovery.

 

[sarahsunshine]

Freddie is right. The food in the hospital is atrocious to say the least - even health wise it seems lacking on so many things (unless it's supplemented). I suggest you follow the healthy diet you plan to follow post-surgery, and dose your warfarin accordingly. You are probably dosed right now according to the doctors at the hospital, or clinic.

Are you going to be able to self-regulate your warfarin in the future? If so, does your health insurance cover the cost of a machine and a bunch of strips before it expires? It really is easiest if you can self regulate - but you will need to have insurance to cover it.

But lastly, other than being tired and sore, can you tell the difference from before surgery?

I, too, am concerned about you being there alone post surgery. Do you have anyone checking on you frequently?

 

[dcc617]

The nurse practioner told me to eat anything I wanted. I think you'll find your appetite will limit you.

 

[Ovie]

Yeah, my appetite is defiantly limited right now. My INR is close to what they want, but I'll go in to the hospital here and get poked for INR than follow up with my doctor when I get home.

 

[Nancy jane]

Andrew. Congratlations ! Knew you'd come out great. I'm coming up on 3 weeks post and feel great. Hope you can follow. Where did u end up going ? We flew to fla keys 2 weeks after & enjoying the walking here.

I'm eating pretty much everything but then no real resticrtions either - just enjoy. But dont mix meds with booze ! Stay well & proud of you ! Nancy Jane

 

[epstns]

Hey, Ovie!

Glad to see you're upright on the right side of the grass! So independent, so early, too! Good work!

As for diet immediately post-op, the only caution I had was that I knew the pain meds would potentially cause constipation for me, so I stayed away from foods that would have similar effects (cheese, popcorn, etc.). Other than that, the meds and chemicals so warped my sense of taste, I had to learn all over again what I would like to eat. Don't worry if food tastes different (or even downright lousy) now. After a while your sense of taste will return to normal.

 

[TheGymGuy]

Ovie, let me just say that I am so glad you are posting so quick.

Sucky appetite would do 2 things to most of us. First, it would get you to loose some weight, not necessarily a bad thing. Second, and most important, it would deprive your body of needed nutrients (vitamins), proteins (amino-acids), carbs, and all sorts of great building material to kick off the healing process and start repairs from that surgery.

Though, I did not have my surgery yet, I can tell you that I plan to rectify the appetite issue by drinking protein shakes, power blended shakes, etc. One thing I know is that eating food when you have no apetite just does not work, so I switch to healthier liquid calories which I can stomach. Another thing is adding benefiber or some other such fiber supplement to your shakes, to have smoother bathroom experience.

 

[Greg a]

Bravo Andrew ....glad you are headed down the road and hope it is a smooth surface ahead