RECOVERING THE NATURAL WAY AFTER HOSPITAL DISCHARGE

The planning of your return home from hospital is called an ‘assessment’ – where hospital staff should discuss the care implications of the move with you and, with your consent, a relative, friend, carer or support agency. The discharge process is designed to ensure all your home care and recovery needs are in place before you leave hospital.

Your recovery period will vary according to your medical condition and the treatment you have undertaken.  Whatever the case, try not to do too much during the first few days – and accept the help and support identified in the discharge plan. As well as the emotional experience of being a patient, you may have lost blood, had an anaesthetic and been given drugs you are not used to. You may have lost weight, have a poor appetite and your body may still be adjusting to the trauma of an operation.

There are certainly a number of ways you can help your body and mind best return to the normality of home life again.

Advice from Alex Shalet, Senior Nutritionist at The Nutri Centre

“If you have been confined to bed in a much slower hospital environment, don’t be surprised at the affect when you return home”, says Alex. ”It can be a shock to find how weakened you have become when you first start trying to pick up your life again. It’s important to resume some physical activity and to have a healthy, nutritious diet. Here follows some observations and recommendations concerning post-hospitalisation nutrition.”

Take it steadily, gradually increasing gentle mobilisation as feels comfortable for you. A daily short walk is a good idea to start off with. Even if you were fit and active before hospitalisation, you may now find you are breathless, even if your condition has not involved the heart or lungs. Do a little more every day – and slowly and steadily you should see your strength return.

Hospital food can be unappealing, so it’s no surprise that inactive ward patients may still lose weight. Eat a balanced diet, with plenty of fruit and vegetables. If your appetite is poor, the ‘little of what you fancy’ rule applies. A useful multivitamin to consider is Biocare’s One-a-Day Plus, which contains vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, to boost immunity and recovery and repair of tissue.

Keeping up your intake of essential fatty acids from oily fish such as salmon and mackerel or seeds such as flax, hemp, pumpkin and sunflower should help with general repair – and have an anti-inflammatory effect. If you are not keen on a fishy taste a good fish oil such as MorEPA Smart Fats comes in a range of fruit flavours such as orange and strawberry.

Pay particular attention to iron rich foods such as lean red meat, green leafy vegetables like watercress and kale – and vitamin C in fresh fruit or juice, to assist iron absorption. You may possibly be anaemic and in need of iron if you have lost blood – but ask your GP to check, rather than self-medicate. If you do need iron supplementation an excellent product is Higher Nature’s True Food Easy Iron; an easily absorbed iron supplement. Lamberts Healthcare Vitamin C 1000mg Time Release with Bioflavonoids is a high strength vitamin C with antioxidants to help with absorption.

You may not feel like elaborate cooking but try not to neglect your mineral and vitamin intake. Nature’s Plus Source of Life is ideal for convalescence. It combines comprehensive phytonutrient goodness of spirulina, alfalfa leaf juice and barley grass juice with soluble whole food concentrates. It delivers more than 70 highly absorbable trace elements including vitamins, minerals, essential fatty acids, Ginseng for energy and bioflavanoids for general health and wellbeing – in convenient liquid form taken as two tablespoons doses.

If you need ‘building up’, Nature’s Plus Spiru-Tein Plus is especially formulated for mature adults. The delicious vanilla flavoured rich, creamy shake contains a healthy infusion of plant-based proteins and the goodness of spirutein, plus a complete range of vitamins and minerals. It also contains a special blend of nutrients, to support circulation and improve memory.

Antibiotics are known to upset the delicate gut flora balance by wiping out ‘good’ bacteria in the body which support digestive health as well as killing germs. Alex Shalet recommends that your diet includes plenty of probiotic yoghurt and, if necessary, a high quality probiotic such as Bio-Acidophilus by Biocare – to restore gut health and help boost immune function.

If your immune system is weakened, take sensible steps to avoid catching bugs. Micro-organisms are unavoidable – they’re in the air we breathe, on every surface we touch and in the food we eat. Healthy people can live with potentially harmful bacteria on their skin or in their noses without becoming ill.

Older people, the chronically ill, those on immune suppressing medication such as steroids for asthma and those who have undergone surgery will not have the same resistance to infection. So avoid high-risk situations like friends with flu and be extra vigilant with personal hygiene, by washing your hands regularly. Store food carefully, cook it properly and don’t take a chance on sell-by dates.

Recovery and repair of the gut, immune and muscular system is essential during convalescence. Whey Protein Isolate by Pulsin aids recovery and repair of muscle tissue, as well as supporting liver and gut health. Glutamine by Lamberts, which should be taken on an empty stomach, has a similar effect to whey protein on gut and muscular health. Both help support immune function.

For an energising tonic that helps with regaining normal cellular immune function after an operation, Alex recommends medicinal mushrooms. Triton – MRL contains a blend of three equal parts of Ganoderma lucidium (Reishi), Cordyceps sinensis and Lentinula edodes (Shiitake). Long revered in China as Taoist longevity herbs and potent adaptogens (or endurance enhancers), mycological products have in recent years gained prominence in China and Japan in the field of

cancer therapy – and, increasingly, as adjunct nutrition for immune-compromised patients.

Many patients are given some form of drugs while in hospital and many are surprised that they find it hard to sleep when they return home, often because they have had sleeping pills while on a ward. The body’s natural sleeping pattern should resume, but soothing Lavender Oil by Dr Hauschka on the pillow may help. There are many natural sleep remedies such as Nitebalm, a herbal tincture taken in water which can help induce peaceful, side-effect free sleep.

Some people can suffer depression after illness or an operation. If you don’t feel you are improving, have concerns or are not enjoying life again, consult your GP. Exercise can also help your mood by raising Serotonin levels in the brain – the happy chemicals.  You may benefit by supplementing this with an extra nutrient boost called Positive Outlook Mood Balancer – a mood-enhancing formula by Higher Nature. This best-selling complex of vitamins and amino acids is designed to maintain well-tuned brain chemistry and a happy, balanced state of mind.

Many people have to adjust to a different medication or a new combination of pills – which may initially make them feel strange. Don’t rely on the hospital to relay the relevant information to your GP quickly, so make an appointment to see that your medications and your reaction to them are being properly monitored. Mention any supplements or natural health remedies that you have decided to take.

One benefit of a hospital stay is that smokers may have got out of the habit. It can be the chance to start a new, smoke-free life. Quitting smoking can cause your appetite to increase, so maintaining stable blood sugar levels is important to avoid food cravings. A good supplement for stabilising blood sugar levels is Lamberts Chromium Complex, which provides chromium in a nutrient complex contain magnesium, B – vitamins and zinc to optimise its effectiveness. If you miss having a snack, try carrot or celery sticks – not sugary, fatty foods and calorific alternatives.