Health question

[Guest guest]

My uncle(76) just had by pass surgery on 5 major vessels and a new

heart valve.

 

He is feeling very tired and has no appetite.

 

Any ideas on what could be causing this?

 

Maybe the drugs he is taking for this?

 

Thanks

Mathew

[Guest guest]

My uncle had one not too long ago and it seemed to take a fairly long time

(months)before he felt more normal. He says that the beta blockers the

doctors gave him make him sleepy and tired and takes them at bedtime and

that helps. Lots of blood pressure medicines make you tired, but I am

guessing that it is the stress of the surgery. That is a very intense

experience.

 

Uncle Jim also said that he had to sleep in a reclining chair so he could

breathe. Does your uncle sleep propped up? If he is sleeping badly then that

would also cause the exhaustion. Also, is he getting adequate pain control?

Pain is exhausting and all of the above can affect the appetite. I would try

to tempt him with small meals more frequently if possible. If he is having

chest pain still, then it is easier to manage little bits of food. Big meals

and angina go together in my experience.

 

Make sure that what you do feed him is not empty calories; he needs his

calories and nutrition now. The hospitals here feed people jello and while

it is soothing and fills you up, it has nothing your body can use to

rebuild. I have found that when sick, a lot of the old childhood comfort

foods are good. In Louisiana, that means rice and gumbo and greens and

cornbread, or a little chicken and mashed potatoes. Most cultures seem to

have foods like this that sooth invalids and actually do help both because

they are good food and we are conditioned to respond to them. Good luck with

your uncle and I hope he gets to feeling better soon.

Darla

 

On 8/18/06, chotawa <chotawa > wrote:

>

> My uncle(76) just had by pass surgery on 5 major vessels and a new

> heart valve.

>

> He is feeling very tired and has no appetite.Any ideas on what could be causing this?