Unable to eat after heart valve surgery - British Heart Fou...

British Heart Foundation

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Unable to eat after heart valve surgery

thestephshow profile image
7 Replies

Hello! New here and writing from Canada. My father (66) had aortic valve replacement surgery on 23 December. Since coming home from hospital, he's not been able to eat and is losing about one pound per day. Everything tastes odd to him, and he sometimes gags after eating. He's only able to eat about 400 calories a day, and we are very concerned. We've talked with his GP and he's ordered a battery of tests.

Has anyone had a similar experience? We are just sick watching him waste away. I appreciate any insight.

Thank you!

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thestephshow
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7 Replies
Shar28 profile image
Shar28

Hello and welcome to the forum. I’m afraid I haven’t got any specific answers for you but if you haven’t already seen this information it may help somewhat. There’s is some information on the BHF website that explains that sense of taste may be altered for some weeks after surgery. See p39 of this booklet. bhf.org.uk/-/media/files/pu...

And this Australian hospital website explains it may take up to 3 months to settle

svhhearthealth.com.au/rehab...

I’m sure I’ve seen other people on here asking about taste so hopefully they’ll be along with their experiences soon. If you haven’t already it may be worth searching for posts about it.

In the meantime, I hope your father’s GP comes up with some answers soon. All the best to you, him and your loved ones.

Nadeje profile image
Nadeje

Hi, I love my food! I am a foodie, never had problems with lack of appetite!

In July 2020 I underwent AVR aged 70.

After the surgery I was on a cocktail of drugs : Amiodarone, Apixaban, Frusemide, 10mg Bisoprolol, and strong painkillers.

I felt nauseous and could not face any food, it all had a horrible taste, and after even tiny amount which my daughter coaxed me into swallowing I felt as if I'm going to throw up, felt very full and had awful palpitations. Meanwhile I suffered with dreadful constipation.

This lasted up to 3 weeks .

I lost a stone.

Your father will get his apetite back, it's the drugs and the general shock to his body during the surgery that is causing it.

I lived on semolina, porridge and mash potatoes for weeks. Couldn't face any of my favourite foods.

But gradually my appetite returned.

Wishing your Dad speedy recovery, take care, stay safe! Monica

Vicky12345678 profile image
Vicky12345678 in reply to Nadeje

thestephshow I would say the same as Nadeje , I struggled with nausea and a real difficulty eating/swallowing meds at times (also gag issues) for probably a couple of months but it has very much settled down (even though I am still taking all the same meds, presume my body has just got used to them). Take care!

Janma123 profile image
Janma123

My hubby (69 at the time) had a quadruple bypass and lost his appetite completely, in fact he developed a fear of food and became afraid of trying something invade he didn’t like it or it made him sick.I decided that I wasn’t going to worry about healthy eating as long as he ate something! I did lots of small ‘snacks’ and gradually his appetite returned.

Check that he hasn’t become anaemic or is deficient in some vitamins/ minerals as that can also have a bearing on appetite.

Best wishes to you and your dad.

Ianc2 profile image
Ianc2

Try small amounts of rice pudding, ice cream, porridge, fresh pineapple. Can he drink anything like energy drinks?

Athena-Heinrich profile image
Athena-Heinrich

Hello - dont worry too much its not long . I lost a lot of weight over 2 months - the drugs made everything taste wierd and I think when the body is coping with all the trauma the digestion needs a bit of a rest. My taste only went back to normal when I changed drugs later - unusually it seems Amlodopine (and maybe amiodarone not sure) gave everything a syrupy metallic taste. Previously I loved healthy food and cooking ie nothing ever ready-prepared. Hospital food was too revolting and factory made to eat much, Daily porridge with a very little honey brings bowels back to normal (after a week or so.)

Fredders profile image
Fredders

Hi, as the others have said, it’s a very common side effect after surgery. I still can’t eat some biscuits that I used to love and it’s three years since my last surgery. I struggled with eating after my ops so I was having Complan drinks, they’re meal replacements and come in different flavours. Might be worth trying him on something like that. He needs to make sure he keeps his fluid intake up even if he doesn’t want to eat, as that will help to flush his system. Hope he’s feeling better soon.

Wendy

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