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Post-Surgery: How it's Going

It's going both well and badly.

My mouth is healing. It stopped bleeding after a day and the chunk my surgeon removed from the roof of my mouth (the size felt somewhere between a shotgun pellet and a pea) feels like it's mostly grown back. Both sites are still tender, though. I'm talking better; I could barely stand to move my mouth for a few days. And I'm down 4.1 pounds since I started Atkins induction a few days ago.

But I spent an uncomfortable day today: my heart was pounding even though I was sitting at my desk having a slow day at work among pleasant coworkers. I popped potassium pills to little avail. My distress could have a few causes:

Very low carb diet, which has given me palpitations before.
Low blood pressure. Right before surgery--when I was about to have my mouth cut and sewn, and I needed a potassium pill to chill out--it was 97/60. Bleeding for a day and relaxing would have only lowered this number.
Low blood sugar. I haven't taken my blood sugar (I'm a wimp about sticking my fingers, but not about getting a shot in my gums, for some reason), but palpitations are a sign of low BG. Dr. Atkins' Diet Revolution says that some people have persistent low blood sugar even on the induction phase and suggests megadoses of certain vitamins. If that doesn't work, he suggests going to the next phase of the diet--that is, adding a bit more carbohydrate. He says weight loss will be slower, but it's important to have a sense of well being.
Not eating much. I didn't have a proper dinner last night; I had a light breakfast and lunch today. I felt better tonight after having the meat and cheese plate (which I liberally salted) and a big bottle of mineral water at a wine bar up the street from where I took yoga (which also made me feel better: burning off nervous energy with my head mostly down).
Missing my iron dose last night. I took an iron pill a few minutes ago and immediately felt better. ETA: I just took another, along with another can of Perrier, and feel back to normal. Just don't try the old "if a little is good, more is better" at home unless you know what you're doing.

Maybe the surgery, decreased appetite, missed iron and propensity for palpitations were just a bad combination. I'll have three proper meals tomorrow with a little more carbohydrate and take all my vitamins and see how I feel.


Comments

Galina L. said…
I guess you may feel better eating many small meals and upping your red meat intake. After a dental surgery a pan-fried ground beef could be the appropriate food. I suggest putting it into a blender to make the texture more smooth. You could add there avocado, or sauteed onions , or add to a soup.
I gust came home from an implant surgery. The thing I resent most about it (except price) is the need to take antibiotics. Painkillers and antibiotics always make my allergies conditions re-surface, and it usually includes less energetic and a more moody mental state.
Lori Miller said…
I think you're exactly right, Galina, and guacamol and beef sounds perfect. I'm naming you Resident Mom.

I hope you have a speedy recovery from your implant surgery.
Galina L. said…
Thank you, Tess, and also I will take the title gladly.
tess said…
I hope you ladies are feeling better today! :-D
Lori Miller said…
I'm feeling a lot better. Trying to live on mosly soup and coconut milk doesn't work for me.
Galina L. said…
I am having migraine because doctor used epinephrine in the painkiller injection mix. I am off my oral painkiller today (I have almost zero pain today + I know painkillers are allergies-promoting in my case), and can feel it. I asked to skip epinephrine and to use lydocaine alone, but the doc said too much bleeding would interfere with the surgery success and I caved-in. Epinephrine causes the constriction of blood vessels - good for a doctor, bad for a migraner.
I just use stick-blender on everything and my diet is almost the same except texture.
Lori Miller said…
Oh, no. Get well soon!
Galina L. said…
Than you, Lori. I know it wouldn't the full-blown version of a migraine, and today is the perfect day to be in a fat fast.
BTW, about the epinephrine. It is important for doctors to use it because it seriously cuts the amount of capillary bleeding, they can see better where they are operating, anesthesia lasts longer, and they need less of anesthetics, BUT most people just don't realize that they don't feel like themselves next day after the surgery also because of the epinephrine injected in their tissue the day before. You know, ladies, I am not a medical professional, I rely mostly on my small scale "field observations" and personal experience, and I speculate a lot - in a way I enjoy having no credentials because it gives me the freedom of sharing any opinions in comments without a fear that many people would take me too seriously. I am sure in 24 hours or even sooner epinephrine leaves the system, but I can feel that the effect of a blood constriction lasts longer. I questioned other people(not many) how they felt after given anesthesia - they did have similar complains about feeling "foggy", heavy-headed, jittery, it was harder to concentrate. I asked my husband to tell his doctor to skip epinephrine before filling a cavity, he didn't feel not himself next day.
I speculate that the epinephrine can be blamed partially for you feeling uncomfortable after your surgery, Lori. I could be wrong, but my guess it is at least the part of the whole picture.
Lori Miller said…
According to drugs.com, epinephrine can also induce hypokalemia (lack of potassium) with T wave changes, elevations in heart rate and blood pressure, and arrhythmias in patients with underlying heart disease. All that along with agitation. It was a bad time for me to be doing Atkins induction, which gives me a fluttery heart on its own. Thanks for the info, Galina.

FBO other readers, high-fat meals tend to be analgesic. Just don't eat them with lots of carb, which can create a whole new set of problems.
Galina L. said…
Thank you, Lory. What a lazy slag I am, didn't bother to check drugs.com! Thank you for doing it for all of us. The truth has to be told - I rely on my observations so much, that the reason "why" often is the second consideration. People like Charles Grashow must really despise people like me , but we all have own paths. For that reason I don't read blogs bashing the science behind low-carbing - if science is wrong, but I feel fine it is all what really matters. If I was told epinephrine leaves a human body without a trace in 3 hours after being injected, I wouldn't attribute my sensations next day to hallucinations and hypochondria anyway. But learning more is always useful - I went and take a potassium pill after reading your comment. Than you, Lori.
Lori Miller said…
I should have checked it, too, or called my surgeon. Hope the potassium helps.

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