I’m starting to think now about any supplements I might want to take and dietary changes I might want to make after my surgery.
I already take 500 mg of calcium everyday, just to supplement the calcium in my diet, but I’m going to increase it to 1,500 mg per day. This is obviously to support bone health.
I already take a multi-vitamin, but I might take some additional vitamin C to boost my immune system. Since I’ll have open wounds on my leg for three months, I’m thinking that keeping a strong immune system will be essential to staving off infection. Along those same lines, I might take 30 mg of zinc a day, which aside from strengthening the immune system also apparently promotes cell regeneration and growth.
I’m a little more uncertain about other supplements I’ve read about, or been advised to take. Comfrey and symphytum promote healing, but seem to be somewhat controversial, and there’s an FDA warning about them and their possible harmful effects.
The biggest change I’m planning to my diet will be the inclusion of more protein. As a vegetarian, I don’t eat very much animal protein. Aside from a little bit of cheese everyday, I’m practically vegan. I’m not a huge fan of eggs, but I’m going to try to include at least egg whites in my diet everyday. I think the extra animal protein will be essential in growing and healing my new bone.
There are some big no-no’s health wise that I need to avoid. On the don’ts list is smoking, which impedes bone growth, so much so that the lengthening process can be almost twice as long for smokers as nonsmokers. I don’t smoke, so no problem there.
Ibuprofen is another don’t, it also impedes bone growth. So no Advil, no Motrin, no Aleve. I assume my pain pills will be more than sufficient for whatever pain I’m having, so this shouldn’t be a problem either.
My doctor also told me absolutely no drinking. Though when I pressed him on it, he said one drink every once in a while is fine. I assumed from that response that the main reason for the no drinking rule is that one could fall down or do some other sort of damage to oneself while drunk. Since I don’t want to be a moron, I’ll probably avoid drinking, too. Sad for me.
I’m also to avoid lakes, oceans, beaches, rivers, and ponds like the plague. My doctor tried to explain to me the infections he’s seen resulting from these bodies of water, but then he stopped and said, “Just don’t go anywhere near them!” Okay, doc. Calm down. Jesus.
Pools are okay, because the chlorine kills any living organisms that might be floating around in the water, but I’m probably going to avoid them too, just to be safe.
I know some of you have had surgeries/injuries before, so if you have any advice on supplements or dietary changes I should be thinking about, let me know!
Days until surgery: 16
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7 comments:
Vitamin A! Best sources are: yellow or orange fruits, especially cantaloupe, apricots, pink grapefruit. I am definitely making you eat these.
A multi-vitamin pack that's also high in antioxidants and omega-3 fatty acids. Check this site out: http://www.howtochooseamultivitamin.com/ There are tons of vitamins out there so you want to make sure you choose the ones with a the best delivery system (i.e., best absorbability). I completely severed my ACL and had it repaired just under a year ago. At month 5, the doctor told me I was doing just as well as someone who was at month 10 (in terms of my range of motion, leg strength, etc.). He was in absolute awe at how quickly I recovered. I'd like to say it's because of how healthy my diet/lifestyle is.
My doctor (uh, Max's dad) has me take an extra vitamin D because supposedly it helps the body absorb the calcium. He said I could also try to get 10 minutes of sunlight a day to for the same purpose, but with you having a walk-up and me being all Goth and stuff, I figure we should just take the supplement.
B.J.: Which multi-vitamin pack do you take? I currently take Vitamin Shoppe brand soft-gels, but I'm thinking I want to upgrade.
Regan: Does self-tanner count as vitamin-D?
Right now I am ordering my vitamins online, through pharmanex.com, and have them delivered monthly (I take the "life pack nano" multi-vitamin they offer). In addition, through a shop up here called Super Supplements, I get a glucosamine capsule and an omega-3,6, and 9 combo soft gel. Before I started using pharmanex, I was using Vitamin World's brand, the Ultra-man 75. I stopped taking it, however, since it was only in tablet form and lack of a closer shop to my house (not too many up here in Seattle). My doc also told me to get everything in either a capsule or a gel cap (higher absorption).
i think vitamins are boring, but since jessie thinks they're important, then i am paying semi-attention. and i will send her the link about the multivitamin.
is it dorky to reply to every single post? maybe just a little?
I take a multivit and a cal-mag supplement that we get at Trader Joe's...which is really not very helpful to you in NYC.
I do want to suggest acupuncture for your healing process. not the highly painful, needle-in-trigger point kind. the system balancing, five element sort. I go every week and love it. colds, cramps, heart-opening, inflammation, poor sleep. acupuncture rocks all of that.
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