Post Surgery Appetite

[Lynne1]

Hey everyone. This is Peter. Lynne's husband.

Just got home from the hospital on Friday. Each day has been a challenge, but am felling better as time goes on.

A quick question. The most obvious side effect for me, aside from the discomfort from the incision, seems to be the loss of appetite. This seems to manifest itself mostly in the loss of sense of taste rather than volume. Food no longer seems enjoyable. Is this consistent with your esperiences, and if so, how long does this tend to last?

 

[Kim]

I had no sense of taste for probably 3 months. I didn't know if it was from the surgery itself or having developed thrush in my mouth from being on the venilator for so long. With thrush, I lost layers and layers of skin in my mouth, down my throat, and on my tongue. I thought it was probably the thrush that was responsiblie for my lack of taste. Eventually the sense of taste returns! Food will taste again. I found ice cream, sherbet, and soft foods the most appealing.

 

[wweir]

Peter,

My first response after reading your post was -> Not long enough. My taste buds came back to life in a couple of weeks. The strange thing, at least to me, was that I liked things that I never liked before, like skim milk and mushrooms. Go figure.

Walter

 

[Nancy]

Hi Peter-

Welcome home, and welcome to the site.

Yup! Loss of appetite is par for the course after valve surgery and also the feeling that food tastes terrible. Just about everyone has it. Popsicles taste good, fruit juices taste good and try to eat whatever you can that even tastes remotely appealing. Your body needs calories to heal properly.

This will all come back fairly soon, and for some, appetite is even better than before surgery.

Please come in often and ask whatever you like.

Someone here can almost always answer your questions.

My husband's been through 5 thoracic surgeries, 3 valves and 2 lungs. He always lost his appetite. Might be from the anesthesia. That takes a little time to get gone.

 

[hensylee]

Some weight loss comes with surgery, too. But weight comes back after awhile.

 

[Bill Hall]

Peter - My taste buds were really bad for about a month. Slowly they came back. Everything goes back to normal after a short time.

 

[Guest]

My appetite was off for about 2 -3 weeks after surgery....so don't worry...this is a common problem that I think just about every one of us who has had OHS has experienced.

When his appetite does return, watch out.....he'll probably be ready to eat you out of house and home!!

 

[Ross]

When his appetite does return, watch out.....he'll probably be ready to eat you out of house and home!!

It's true! When I got mine back, man was I eating. Everyone varies in the length of time it takes, but it will return and with a vengeance too.

 

[Lynne1]

Since Peter was experiencing this loss of appetite for quite a while prior to the surgery I have thought it might be due to medication. He has been on Amiodarone, along with the Coumadin, since his AFIB episode in May. I see that loss of appetite is a symptom, along with the fatigue, tingling fingers and other symptoms he has. Fortunately he's supposed to be getting off this stuff soon - and I'll push his drs to do it even sooner now. Anyone else taking Amiodarone who's expereinced any of these signs?

 

[ALCapshaw2]

Amiodarone since May???

Hmmm...

Did his Cardiologist try other medications before going to Amiodarone? A-fib is quite common following Heart Surgery. Digoxin or one it's related drugs is often used for control after surgery. Beta Blockers can help long term.

Amiodarone is the drug of LAST RESORT for A-fib because of the long list of serious side effects when taken long term, especially if high dosage is prescribed. It also has a very long half life which means that it takes a long time to be eliminated from the body even after stopping.

If you have not read the information sheet on this drug, I urge you to do so and then ask your cardiologist if he can find another alternative. Your pharmacist can also inform you of the side effects from taking this drug. Amiodarone is like using a sledge hammer to drive a finishing nail. LONG TERM use can lead to PERMANENT injury if not managed carefully.

'AL'

 

[Lynne1]

He only takes 200mg and is supposed to come off of it in 1 month of so. He was on Dicoxin as well, before the surgery but is off that now. They are saying they want to be sure the Maze procedure worked to handle the AFIB before taking him off this, but I know about the long half-life and just wish they would stop it now. We'll need to press the cardiologist more.

 

[sylviayasgur]

hi lynne!
joey, who is normally a big, healthy eater, lost most of his appetite after his surgery.
i would bring odd things for him like ices, soup, etc, and he would eat what appealed to him that day.
his appetite did come back after a few weeks and so did any lost weight, plus!!!

joey was put on amiodarone because meds he took prior to his surgery for afib no longer did the trick post surgery.
he has been monitored and checked (eyes, lungs, thyroid, etc) carefully,but i am still pushing him to wean off asap.
he is currently taking about 50 mg every other day and is afraid to quit altogether for fear of going into afib again.
his cardio has told him that he can be cardioverted if need be after coming off the amiodarone.
hopefully, he'll be done with the stuff real soon.

i don't know if it's the amiodarone, but joey has had problems with taste buds for some time now (even pre-amiodarone).
he has been on heart meds for years and i believe they are the culprits here.
he often has us all taste his food or soda because he says "it has no taste".
hope things start looking up in the taste dept.; give it time...
please let us know how things go. hope this helped some.
all the best, sylvia

 

[heartyone]

My wife had absolutely no appetite for about a month after her aortic valve and arch surgery. All she would eat was homemade soups (kept me busy in the kitchen). Then, WHAM, her appetite came back with a vengeance and I put on 15 pounds taking her out to lunch each day. Oh, yes, she regained her weight, too.

Hope Lynne's doing well. Keep the freezer pops handy, that was a favorite, too.

 

[Georgia]

Mostly everything tasted like dirt

Mostly everything tasted like dirt

There were very few things that tasted good - sometimes chicken broth was good (if really salty) and fruit and fruit juices were good. Fruit flavored ice cream and jello. But beware of most meat, chocolate, and caffeinated beverages.

My taster came back in fits and starts; it wasn't completely OK until nearly 3 months after surgery.

And everyone's right - it comes back with a vengeance!!!

 

[medtronic of borg]

food

food

I have had a complete loss of appatiote to the point I was starving to death and they were begining to talk about tube feeds. To my last surg ...I had no change at all.

 

[Heather Fisher]

Food was just gross after surgery. My surgeon said not to worry, it's very common. The only things that were the least bit good were cold. After a few weeks the taste seems to come back.
You'll be back to normal before long! Keep up the good work with recovery!
Heather

 

[pillarpaul]

Like almost everyone here, I experienced a change in appetite for a while. First there was no appetite, then a chicken soup only appetite, then the strangest phase where I could only eat super spicy foods (which I normally don't like). I used to make my wife get Chinese food (4-star hot) every other night. Things all got back to normal in about a month to six weeks.

Incidentally, I was on amiodarone for about six months and had no side effects, including any change in appetite.

And, Sylvia, what do you mean Joey has no appetite? I saw that mountain of ribs he ate for dinner at the reunion! If that's no appetite....

Paul

 

[catwoman]

For 3 weeks after surgery, I could only taste sweetness, so I lived on watermelon, canteloupe, other fruits, orange juice, iced tea and sorbet, in addition to a little protein, salad, other veggies. My tongue was white and coated for the first 2 weeks.
I lost 25 lbs. and have kept it off.
I lost weight 18 years ago after a hysterectomy, but it came back. This time I decided to keep it off and have changed my eating habits. I bought the Culinary Institute of America's The Professional Chef's Techniques of Healthy Cooking online. I've learned how to adjust favorite recipes. I snack on fig newtons, carrots, Granny Smith apples (peeled, of course), bananas, applesauce and yogurt instead of candy bars, ice cream, cake, pie.
I eat more fish and chicken, smaller portions of meat, smaller meals. Chicken-fried steak and enchiladas are "treats" instead everyday foods.

 

[Lynne1]

Thanks, all. Peter's appetite is starting to come back a little at a time. While most of us could use the opportunity to lose weight (not that we'd go thru OHS to do it) he can't - he's 125 lbs now and should be 135 - so 10 pounds means a lot.

 

[Ross]

Don't worry, that 10 lbs will be showing up very soon, trust me.