My son, age 17 is going in for elbow surgery next Tuesday.
Having been through surgery myself once, I remember how catabolic the experience was (5 months later I had gained 30 lbs and lost a lot of muscle).
But I didn’t know then as much as I know now. I did no supplementation, nothing. just waited until I could lift again.
I think my son can do better. The full course of rehab is about 3 months, the last one being a lot of shoulder and elbow/arm rebuilding.
The arm will be in a cast for 10 days, then physical therapy begins.
I am thinking of the following supplementation for the first two weeks:
Mag-10
3 Low-Carb Grow shakes per day
I don’t think steroids or pro-hormones are appropriate for teenagers in the normal course of things - ie, performance enhancement - but I think in this case I think MAG-10 would be the perfect counterbalance to the effects of the surgery during the initial recovery phase.
What are your thoughts? anything else we should consider doing?
I had asked in a previous post if MAG-10 was appropriate for post shoulder surgery rehab and I believe Cy Wilson stated that it was not.
see link below.
thanks for the link, but Lonnie Lowery addresses the use of androgens to heal ligaments and tendons.
What I’m asking is how to supplement properly during the first two weeks after surgery to counteract the catabolic state your body goes into from the surgery.
You can shorten recovery significantly. What I use (except for the Wobemzyme I would suggest he start taking them now):
–multivit/mineral with extra zinc (if he has not been taking any zinc up to now). Make sure it includes at least a “B-25”
–vitamin C–ascorbate form take at least 2000 mg /day in divided doses. After surgery he could probably use a lot more e.g. try 4-5 g/day in divided doses after surgery and cut back if he gets loose stools. Vit C is key in wound healing and collagen formation.
–fish oil (after the bleeding from surg stops–prob not too big a deal with elbow surg). Helpful in deacreasing post-op inflammation
–Wobenzyme (use search engine). Key is taking it many times per day throughout the day on an empty stomach. VERY helpful in decreasing post-op inflammation.
berner-
thanks. I’ll look into all of these. I was already thinking about the Vitamin C and will push that.
Any thoughts on MAG-10 or Alpha Male ?
I think the protein (1.5 gm/lb body wt) is ‘obvious’ but will it be used if the body is in a traumatized state, ie. post-surgery ?
I’m wondering if decreased T levels affect protein absorbsion and healing?
[quote]Major Dan wrote:
berner-
thanks. I’ll look into all of these. I was already thinking about the Vitamin C and will push that.
Any thoughts on MAG-10 or Alpha Male ?
I think the protein (1.5 gm/lb body wt) is ‘obvious’ but will it be used if the body is in a traumatized state, ie. post-surgery ?
I’m wondering if decreased T levels affect protein absorbsion and healing?[/quote]
Major Dan,
The regimen I gave you has performed well in about…15 clients I have used it with (there were a few minor other additions, but you have the basics). I don’t know enough, or have any experience with using androgen’s to speed healing, so I can’t comment. A crucial part of any post-op regimen has to be dealing with decreasing the swelling/inflammation (that is what the wobenzyme…or you could try…bromelain is so good at). MSM would also be another good one to help with that (thanks TT).
At 17 years old isn’t your sons testosterone levels pretty high? Also does surgery cause T-levels to decrease? If it does I can see why you would want to use MAG-10. Doesn’t Alpa Male need around 4 weeks of use to be effective? That’s what the bottle says. I personally use a supplement called Shark Cartlidge for my joints because of wrestling. I’ve had less stiffness in the tendons and joints since starting it, but I don’t know if its the supplement or a placebo effect it is having on my mind making me think that.
I will list some of the supplements that would help, but don’t have time right now to explain and give dosing.
Glutamine, bromelain, calcium citrate malate, arginine, glycine, phosphatydleserine, fish oils, vit. C.
Some of these will act synergistically. More issues are at hand here, but these are the supplements that are geared towards repair post opt.
Phosphatidyl serine(PS)
Clinical trials on Phosphatidyl Serine began over 20 years ago. To date, there have been 36 human studies, 16 of which have been doubled-blind. Most of these involved adults with existing, measurable losses of memory, judgement, abstract thought and other high mental functions. The studies conclusively demonstrated that PS can help maintain cognition, concentration and related mental functions. (courtesy abstract from Leci-Facts issued by Lucas Meyer, Inc.)