The Insider's Guide To Making Hospital As Comfortable As Possible

Today’s almonds have been activated by:

⏰ IN A RUSH?

Today’s 30-Second Summary

If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:

• Semaglutide drugs (e.g. Ozempic, Wegovy) have been found to reduce cardiovascular risks (including risk of heart attack and stroke) by up to 20%.

  • See today’s featured video for more on that!

• Going in for surgery can be a harrowing experience, but today’s featured expert, Dr. Chris Bonney, has a stack of insider advice for patients to make things go as smoothly and comfortably as possible, including:

  • How to put yourself at ease before going in

  • Knowledge is power, and there are some less obvious things people forget to research

  • How to get the most out of the care available to you at the hospital

  • What common mistakes to avoid (these make a big difference!)

  • What you can and can’t have before surgery

    • For example, total fasting is not only not usually required, but also not usually a good idea, until two hours before the surgery for non-food liquids, and six hours before the surgery for foods (including liquid foods like milk).

• Most health advice is based around “the average person”, and while this is generally a mathematically sound approach to public health, nobody is actually average, and we all have our physiological quirks.

  • Sometimes, this means that what we need might be a little different than what “the average person” needs.

    • Today’s sponsor, Viome, offers (from a single test pack) 50+ health scores and very many personalized health recommendations based on those, tailored for you

Read on to learn about these things and more…

👀 WATCH AND LEARN

Heart Attack and Stroke Prevention

This short (5:27) video is about the use of semaglutide (e.g. Ozempic, Wegovy) and its positive impact on metabolic health, which this study found cut cardiovascular risks by up to 20%.

We'd be remiss to not question who paid for the study cited, or to disregard the widely-reported unwanted side-effects, but we think this video is worth watching, because information is information:

Click Here If The Embedded Video Doesn’t Load Automatically!

🏥 MAIN FEATURE

Nobody Likes Surgery, But Here's How To Make It Much Less Bad

This is Dr. Chris Bonney. He's an anesthesiologist. If you have a surgery, he wants you to go in feeling calm, and make a quick recovery afterwards, with minimal suffering in between.

Being a patient in a hospital is a bit like being a passenger in an airplane:

• Almost nobody enjoys the thing itself, but we very much want to get to the other side of the experience.

• We have limited freedoms and comforts, and small things can make a big difference between misery and tolerability.

• There are professionals present to look after us, but they are busy and have a lot of other people to tend to too.

So why is it that there are so many resources available full of “tips for travelers” and so few “tips for hospital patients”?

Especially given the relative risks of each, and likelihood, or even near-certainty of coming to at least some harm… One would think “tips for patients” would be more in demand!

Tips for surgery patients, from an insider expert

First, he advises us: empower yourself.

Empowering yourself in this context means:

• Relax—doctors really want you to feel better, quickly. They’re on your side.

• Research—knowledge is power, so research the procedure (and its risks!). Dr. Bonney, himself an anesthesiologist, particularly recommends you learn what specific anesthetic will be used (there are many, and they’re all a bit different!), and what effects (and/or after-effects) that may have.

• Reframe—you’re not just a patient; you’re a customer/client. Many people suffer from MDeity syndrome, and view doctors as authority figures, rather than what they are: service providers.

• Request—if something would make you feel better, ask for it. If it’s information, they will be not only obliged, but also enthusiastic, to give it. If it’s something else, they’ll oblige if they can, and the worst case scenario is something won’t be possible, but you won’t know if you don’t ask.

Next up, help them to help you

There are various ways you can be a useful member of your own care team:

• Go into surgery as healthy as you can. If there’s ever a time to get a little fitter, eat a little healthier, prioritize good quality sleep more, the time approaching your surgery is the time to do this.

  • This will help to minimize complications and maximize recovery.

• Take with you any meds you’re taking, or at least have an up-to-date list of what you’re taking. Dr. Bonney has very many times had patients tell him such things as “Well, let me see. I have two little pink ones and a little white one…” and when asked what they’re for they tell him “I have no idea, you’d need to ask my doctor”.

  • Help them to help you; have your meds with you, or at least a comprehensive list (including: medication name, dosage, frequency, any special instructions)

• Don’t stop taking your meds unless told to do so. Many people have heard that one should stop taking meds before a surgery, and sometimes that’s true, but often it isn’t. Keep taking them, unless told otherwise.

  • If unsure, ask your surgical team in advance (not your own doctor, who will not be as familiar with what will or won’t interfere with a surgery).

Do any preparatory organization well in advance

Consider the following:

• What do you need to take with you? Medications, clothes, toiletries, phone charger, entertainment, headphones, paperwork, cash for the vending machine?

• Will the surgeons need to shave anywhere, and if so, might you prefer doing some other form of depilation (e.g. waxing etc) yourself in advance?

• Is your list of medications ready?

• Who will take you to the hospital and who will bring you back?

• Who will stay with you for the first 24 hours after you’re sent home?

• Is someone available to look after your kids/pets/plants etc?

Be aware of how you do (and don’t) need to fast before surgery

The American Society of Anesthesiologists gives the following fasting guidelines:

• Non-food liquids: fast for at least 2 hours before surgery

• Food liquids or light snacks: fast for at least 6 hours before surgery

• Fried foods, fatty foods, meat: fast for at least 8 hours before surgery

(see the above link for more details)

Dr. Bonney notes that many times he’s had patients who’ve had the worst thirst, or caffeine headache, because of abstaining unnecessarily for the day of the surgery.

Unless told otherwise by your surgical team, you can have black coffee/tea up until two hours before your surgery, and you can and should have water up until two hours before surgery.

Hydration is good for you and you will feel the difference!

Want to know more?

Dr. Bonney has his own website and blog, where he offers lots of advice, including for specific conditions and specific surgeries, with advice for before/during/after your hospital stay.

He also has a book with many more tips like those we shared today:

Calm For Surgery: Supertips For A Smooth Recovery

Take good care of yourself!

❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE

Viome | Full Body Intelligence

Often we may think "I wonder what my such-and-such levels are like", and "I should get a test for this", "I should get a test for that".

But it means a lot of fuss; there are so many tests to do! And then, there's a matter of understanding the results.

Viome offers, from a single test pack, 50+ comprehensive health scores and a stack of personalized health recommendations based on your scores, instead of just "the average person".

Because, you're not average. Nobody is. And you deserve better than impersonal guesses.

Click here to check out Viome, learn about your body and health, and live well!

PS: 10almonds subscribers can use the code LIVEWELL for a discount at checkout!

Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free

🌏 AROUND THE WEB

What’s happening in the health world…

• Anti-obesity drug also protects against heart disease—what happens next?

• Combinations of aerobic, muscle-strengthening activities reduce risk for mortality

• The past, present, and future of insects for human consumption

• Disrupted sleep: why do I fall asleep on the sofa but am wide awake when I get to bed?

• Suicide rates continue to rise among Americans

• New study expands knowledge of post-COVID conditions

• A third dose boosted cross-protection against SARS-CoV-2 viral variants, study finds

More to come tomorrow!

📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW

Peace Is Every Step: The Path of Mindfulness in Everyday Life – by Thích Nhất Hạnh

Mindfulness is one of the few practices to make its way from religion (in this case, Buddhism) into hard science. We've written before about its many evidence-based benefits, and many national health information outlets recommend it. So, what does this book have to add?

Thích Nhất Hạnh spent most of his 95 years devoted to the practice and teaching of mindfulness and compassion. In this book, the focus is on bringing mindfulness off the meditation mat and into general life.

After all, what if we could extend that "unflappability" into situations that pressure and antagonize us? That would be some superpower!

The author offers techniques to do just that, simple exercises to transform negative emotions, and to make us more likely to remember to do so.

After all, "in the heat of the moment" is rarely when many of us are at our best, this book gives way to allow those moments themselves to serve as immediate triggers to be our best.

The title "Peace Is Every Step" is not a random collection of words; the goal of this book is to enable to reader to indeed carry peace with us as we go.

Not just "peace is always available to us", but if we do it right: "we have now arranged for our own peace to automatically step in and help us when we need it most".

Bottom line: if you'd like to practice mindfulness, or practice it more consistently, this book offers some powerful tools.

Click here to check out Peace Is Every Step, and carry yours with you!

Wishing you the very best of health in every way,

The 10almonds Team