When it comes to undergoing surgery with ClearFast, there are endless benefits we could tell you about for both your presurgery experience and your recovery…but perhaps the best way to gain a comprehensive understanding of ClearFast’s benefits is to compare what surgery is like with ClearFast versus what it’s like without the help of ClearFast. Today, then, that’s exactly what we’re doing! Read on to learn more about the major (as in, super major) difference the ClearFast preop drink will make in your surgery experience and recovery process.
Surgery Without ClearFast
Without ClearFast, there are a number of negative side effects of preparing to undergo (and ultimately undergoing) anesthesia, including:
Anxiety Before Surgery
Surgery can be an extremely stressful experience. When you starve and dehydrate your body before surgery, you only exacerbate that stress and anxiety. There’s a reason hangry is on Merriam Webster’s list of words to watch—it’s a real thing…and the last thing you want to be headed into a stressful surgery experience is, well, hangry.
Intense Hunger
Most patients experience intense hunger when undergoing the old-school way of “fasting from midnight.” Going into surgery is just as stressful on your body as, for example, heading into a marathon. You wouldn’t starve yourself the night before a major marathon—so it makes no sense to starve yourself the night before a procedure, colonoscopy or surgery.
Increased Infection Rates
Starving before surgery leads to high blood sugars. Add an open surgical wound to that, and you’ve got a recipe for an increased risk of infection (which can mean prolonged recovery and being readmitted to the hospital—no thank you!).
Nausea & Vomiting
Are you one of those patients who wakes up from anesthesia sick to your stomach? There’s no worse feeling than waking up from surgery—groggy and out of it—only to start vomiting and ultimately learn you can’t be released from that uncomfortable hospital setting until your nauseous spell is over. The nausea and vomiting an estimated one in three patients experience upon waking from surgery is largely due to the fact they had nothing in their stomach when they were administered heavy anesthesia drugs. Think about it: Most of us can’t even take an ibuprofen on an empty stomach without getting nauseous, so imagine what taking powerful anesthesia drugs can do to your stomach after you haven’t had anything to eat or drink for hours on end!
Acids in Stomach
Turns out that starving yourself before surgery actually doesn’t empty your stomach as it was originally intended to do (which is yet another reason hospitals and physicians across the U.S. are doing away with the old-school recommendation to fast from midnight). Dangerous acids build up in your stomach as a result of hunger and dehydration—this ultimately increases your risk for anesthesia-related aspiration. (Aspiration is essentially the entry of your stomach contents into the lower respiratory tract and lungs, which can be very dangerous when you’re under anesthesia.)
Surgery With ClearFast
Now that we know all of the negative side effects of undergoing surgery without ClearFast, it’s time to get to the good stuff—breaking down the benefits of surgery with ClearFast! Read on for the endless benefits you can reap from simply consuming our tasty preop drink hours before your surgery.
Calm Before Surgery
Tired of feeling anxious and stressed before surgery? Patients who drink ClearFast before surgery are often less anxious and describe themselves as up to 5 times more comfortable than their cohorts who underwent the old-school fasting-from-midnight method.
Nourished & Hydrated
Surgery with ClearFast means you no longer have to head to the surgery center starved and dehydrated. ClearFast is the only presurgery drink of its kind that is rich in complex carbs and provides medical-grade hydration. Ultimately, ClearFast nourishes with just the right amount of calories and hydrates with a plethora of all-important electrolytes. Plus, it’s clear and colorless (goodbye, harmful dyes!), contains all-natural ingredients and is gluten-free.
Reduced Infection Risk
Remember how we talked above about prolonged fasts leading to increased blood sugars and, ultimately, a body that’s ripe for an increased risk of infection? Surgery with ClearFast works to drastically reduce your risk of infection by stabilizing blood sugars. Psst…you know what a reduced risk of post-surgery infection means? A reduced risk of having to return to the hospital (whew!).
Comfortable Recovery
Time and time again, patients who typically experience nausea and vomiting upon waking from anesthesia say the same thing: drinking ClearFast before their surgery completely eliminated this problem for them. By nourishing and hydrating (and reducing those dangerous stomach acids as a result), ClearFast drastically reduces your chances of getting sick after surgery. (Psst…you can read more about how ClearFast reduces your risk of post-op nausea and vomiting here.)
Clear Stomach
A rose by any other name? We gave ClearFast its name because it does just that—clears from your stomach fast. (This doesn’t mean it’s a laxative or “clears you out.” More on that here. ) One of the major reasons patients are instructed to “fast from midnight” before their surgery is because matter left behind in the stomach can put a patient at risk of aspiration during surgery. Modern medical research has found, though, that patients who drink clear liquid before surgery have even emptier stomachs than patients who didn’t eat or drink anything before their surgery—ultimately reducing their risk of aspiration. This is because, when you follow the recommended protocol and drink ClearFast two hours before surgery, your stomach safely absorbs it and any dangerous stomach acids along with it—leaving your stomach clear, and greatly reducing your risk of aspiration.
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Overall, more and more modern medical research points to the fact that surgery with ClearFast makes for safer, less stressful procedures and enhanced recovery after surgery. Ready to have ClearFast on-hand for your next procedure? You can order ClearFast here or reach out to the ClearFast team at support@drinkcf.com if you have any questions at all. We’re always here and happy to help!