"Mary" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> My  (totally non paleo, SAD ) husband had heartburn type pains last week
> and went to the dr, was sent to emergency room and had heart surgery,
> including several bypasses, heart valve replacement, and a repair to the
> ventricular septum.
>
> Anyway, I'd appreciate it if people could write to me privately with diet
> recommendations.

Mary, what a thing to go through - for both of you! I wish you the best, and
it sounds like you're doing the best thing possible by helping him to take
charge of his health care.

My .02 is that, while I think Paleo is better than the Atkins Diet
principles, Dr. Atkins has a lot of wisdom on a lot of chronic diseases. I
wouldn't suggest going on a ketogenic diet like Atkins prescribes for weight
loss, but you might find it of interest to read up on his advice for other
health conditions.

I visited the Atkins Center For Complementary Medicine in NYC and was a
patient in the mid-90s (for weight). I've never had better medical care in
my life. They did relevant tests, tried relevant protocols, and reviewed
progress essentially like I've always wished every medical center or doctor
would. I understand many people with serious health issues have gone through
the Center. There's a section describing their approach to heart disease
here, if you're interested:
http://atkinscenter.com/dev/about/atkins-center/programs-services/cardiology
.html

My other .02 is to mention three things:

1) Watch his meds (as prescribed, given in the hospital, filled at the
pharmacists, and taken at home) like a hawk. Read up on anything and
everything they suggest giving him, and if anything odd starts happening,
look to the most recent prescription change as a possible reason. Modern
meds do a lot, especially in combination, and not all good. It may take a
few searches on www.Google.com ... but it's probably not a bad idea to plug
in the name of every med he's on as well as "adverse reaction" into the
search box, and read up, especially on patient's message boards, about what
real-world experiences are. There are some wonderful docs out there but also
the rate of drug mistakes if awful (seen this lots of times firsthand), and
of drug interactions too. (Remember no modern meds are Paleo! I'm not
suggesting doing without them against MD's advice, but using caution too.)

2) Get a handle NOW on what your insurance will and won't cover, has and
hasn't covered. Taking charge of that process can prevent absolute financial
disaster. Best yet, if you're swamped thinking of your hubby's medical care,
ask a close wise friend who's good with bureaucracy to sort this out for you
now. Sometimes the difference between tens of thousands of dollars you have
to pay yourself vs. don't have to pay at all is a simple 'pre-admittance' or
follow-up phone call within a given time.

3) Don't be afraid to make sure you and he assert all your rights and
whatever common sense needed in his medical care. Trust your (alright,
Paleo) instincts about approaches, doctors, etc., when you can back them up
with a solid rationale... don't let anyone in the system intimidate you. I'd
suggest making sure you get copies of every paper in his file... useful for
test results overlooked, billing for meds and procedures not actually
administered, etc.


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