PDA

View Full Version : June Challenge: supplements and surgery


banshee
06-20-2006, 01:51 PM
In my various reading over the last few weeks, I had read one about one nutrient that said you shouldn't take it right before surgery because of its blood thinning effects, but of course I couldn't remember which one it was. So, since I'm having surgery in a few weeks, I wanted to check into this to find out if it's one of the ones I'm taking.

While trying to figure this out, I did a Google search and came up with some interesting articles about which supplements should be avoided before surgery and which ones can help with recovery from surgery. I did find the one I was hunting for - vitamin E - although surprisingly, there have been studies in heart surgery that seem to indicate that injecting a specific amount of vitamin E right before the surgery helps with recovery.

Anyway, I decided to do some more reading on this and share it with the group as part of the challenge. To start, here's some detailed articles about vitamin E.

Vitamin E (tocopherol) (http://www.worldhealth.net/p/aadr-vitamin-e-tocopherol.html)

Vitamin E - tocopherol (http://www.ghchealth.com/vitamin-e-tocopherol.html)

Vitamin E - Structures and Chemistry (http://www.uic.edu/classes/phar/phar332/Clinical_Cases/vitamin%20cases/vitamin%20E/Vitamin%20E%20Chemistry.htm)

In PPLP, the Eades' recommend vitamin E supplements, since they say it can be hard to get a good amount from diet alone. They recommend a natural supplement containing mixed tocepherols and tocotrienols. I'm wondering if wheat germ oil has both of these, since finding a pill supplement that has both seems almost impossible...

Other supplements/herbs I've found mention of to avoid before surgery include garlic, ginseng and ginko-biloba - apparently all three are like vit E and inhibit clotting and therefore can increase the risk of internal bleeding before/after surgery. The general recommendation for supplements is to stop taking them 2 weeks before surgery, although I've found at least one page that says to stop taking vit E supps 2 days before surgery, and not resume them until 2 days after.

Mitra
06-20-2006, 03:11 PM
One of the side effects of fish oil was increased clotting times, so that might be another one to look at.

banshee
06-20-2006, 05:11 PM
From a website about gastric bypass surgery (http://www.gastricbypassfamily.com/DietarySupplementsWarning.html) (hopefully not something anyone here needs, but it does have information on supplements to avoid before surgery...)

Ephedra – Raises the risk for heart attack and stroke; may cause irregular heartbeat or problems with blood circulation during surgery.

Valerian – May increase the sedative effects of anesthesia. Valerian, if used long-term, may increase the amount of anesthesia needed during surgery.

St. John’s Wort – Dilutes the effects of many drugs needed before, during and after surgery, notably alfentanil, midazolam, protease inhibitors, and warfarin.

I find it interesting that in some cases valerian may increase effectiveness of anesthesia, but when used long-term, it decreases the effectiveness.

And from the North American Spine Society (http://www.spine.org/articles/herbal_supp.cfm):

This list is a sample and does not contain all herbs that may cause the listed or other conditions or hazards. All herb use should be approved by a health care provider.
Possible Risk of Increased Bleeding
(Especially with Surgery)
Chamomile
Dong Quai
Feverfew
Fish Oil
Garlic
Ginger
Gingko
Ginseng
St. John’s Wort
Vitamin E
May Worsen Swelling (Edema) and/or High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)
Celery
Dandelion
Elder
Goldenseal
Guaiacum
Juniper
Interacts with Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (prescription and over-the-counter pain relievers including aspirin, Advil®, Motrin® and Aleve®)
Feverfew
Gingko
Ginseng
St. John’s Wort
Uva-Ursi


And an article from the Mayo Clinic:

Herbal supplements: How they can interfere with surgery (http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/herbal-supplements/SA00040)

One doctor's plastic surgery site has a huge A-Z listing (http://www.drsimoni.com/medication_to_avoid.htm) of medications & supplements to avoid before surgery. At the end of the page is a shorter section on common herbal supplements, but I'm going to have to go through this list with a fine-tooth comb...

LisaS
06-20-2006, 05:14 PM
IIRC, what happens with some drug users (for some classes of drugs) is that the short term effect is that it is like anesthesia so the effect is magnified when you go under.

On the other hand, chronic use of some drugs upregulates your liver enzymes to process the drugs (you get tolerant) - and when you get anesthesia if the anesthetic (or even some pain meds) uses the same pathways, you need more because you are metabolizing what you get faster than normal

It might be something similar with valerian - where the liver enzymes are upregulated with chronic use and these could be common pathways with how anesthetics are metabolized.

lowcarbgirl
06-20-2006, 09:12 PM
Banshee wrote:

In PPLP, the Eades' recommend vitamin E supplements, since they say it can be hard to get a good amount from diet alone. They recommend a natural supplement containing mixed tocepherols and tocotrienols. I'm wondering if wheat germ oil has both of these, since finding a pill supplement that has both seems almost impossible...


A really good vitamin E supp is E Gems Elite. It has both the tocepherols and tocotrienols. Be sure to take 'em with some fat as E is fat soluble.

Hugs,
Willow