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I had a stent put in in2005 with my LAD being 85% blocked. Aterwards, the plavix and aspirin contributed to my digestive discomfort in the form of spasms. I thought I was having a heart attack, it was so bad. Since then, I have been on 25mg of Amitriptiline which has helped put on 40 pounds. Anyone else with similar story or any suggestions. I eat a low fat diet, and exercise but the weight won't come off.
Exercise Heart disease Aspirin Nexium Plavix Pain Heart attack Heartburn Stent Prilosec
Hear, hear! I had a stent put in 2005 and have experienced a slow and steady weight gain ever since. I didn't experience the digestive discomfort, but maybe it's because my doctor put me on Prilosec as soon as I got sick.
I've gained 15 solid pounds and don't know how I'm going to get it off. If I eat more than 1,500 calories per day, I gain. In order to lose, I need to keep calorie intake between 800 and 1,100 calories. And if I splurge with a glass of wine or dessert, I can undo a week's worth of counting calories in an instant.
I'm eating healthy, go to the gym at least 5 times a week, and try to take a walk at lunch. I think I'm far more upset by the weight gain than I am by the heart disease. I know it's silly to feel that way, but I'm starting to think that getting back to my pre-heart-attack weight is going to be impossible.
Thanks for sharing and know that there are those of us out here who share your pain!
DonnaB
I found I had to stay well under the normal caloric intakes. I even gained 9 pounds when I joined my coworkers in a work site WW group. Man, I was soooo furious. It helped cement the vast difference in the way a woman with heart damage PLUS a slew of medications that deliberately SLOW heart function (metab) down must create their own regimen. What works for the normal population just won't work for many of us. I attributed that 9 pounds to eating the WW meals that are loaded w sodium and high fructose corn syrup OR aspertaime, a very dangerous substance for heart and digestive issues.
It is my sense that women may also be eating comfort foods once they are put on substances that cause extreme gastric irritation to the stomach and intestinal lining. (aspirin, Plavix) They may not even realize WHY they are eating calorie laden but soothing foods like pudding and ice cream to coat the stomach for a while. Nexium, Priolosec saved me.
Or eating for the heart, which wants proteins to rebuild, while the brain (which demands almost 40 percent of caloric energy usage) is greedlily creating sugar and carb cravings because those convert to brain 'gasoline'.
I feel for you because I live this every day....it is never easy but it is important to master over time.
I don't think the weight gain has anything directly to do with the stent; however, it may have something to do with the medicine(s). I am also on Plavix & aspirin (and a bunch of other stuff) but they don't seem to upset my stomach. I've learned to never take any of my current medications on an empty stomach and I try to wash them down with eight ounces of fluid (should be water but I cheat). I do get heartburn but I had heartburn before all of these meds. I had two heart attacks four months ago and I have gained 10-11 pounds. I don't like it! As a matter of fact I hate it! But I still remember how I felt directly after my brush with death... and I have a choice of a few extra pounds or the strong possiblity of facing death again. I am getting a double whammy with the weight gain thing because since me heart attacks I've been trying to quit smoking too. My mouth gets really bored causing me to chew a ton of Trident gum. I go to cardiac rehab but at this point I am working on getting my heart in shape it is by no way comparable to THE BIGGEST LOSER workouts. Some of the weight gain is because of my diabetic medications. Before the HA I would skip my insulin here & there for a quick weight loss solution (yea I know it was stupid). Now I take my insulin and my other diabetic medication exactly as prescribed. Now whatever I eat actually goes to the cells like it is supposed to. Whereas before, due to the dangerously high blood sugars the food I ingested was excreted rather than nourishing my cells. I just can't get away with eating everything like I did before. Sure it was an easy fix for quick weight loss but the side effect was two heart attacks in four days with one of them almost killing me. I think I will just deal with the extra pounds.
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