How You Can Breeze Through Surgery

No matter how good you take we try to do the simplest things to keep healthy, sometimes we need extra help in the form of surgery. Thankfully, there is good science available to show you how you can:

• Heal Faster
• Have less pain
• Shorten a hospital stay
• Needless pain medicine

For the first step, ask yourself a few questions about the surgery itself:

How do you feel about the surgery?

• Is it necessary?
• Is this the best time for it?
• Have you ruled out other options?
• How do you feel about your surgeon?
• Have your questions been answered?

Set aside some time to journal your answers. Once you come into a place of peace with these questions and answers, go forward with the sense of resolution and confidence.

Preparation

There is no way around it. Surgery is a big deal and is expected to raise your stress load. The more smoothly the process goes, the less additional stress you’ll feel. Take some time to do some thorough planning:

Do you know exactly where the surgical center is? You would not want to raise your stress level because you got lost on the way there.

Is there any planned construction taking place on your route?

Who will help you after surgery?

Do your caregivers have a copy of your postsurgical instructions?

Do you have your medications and supplements ready?

What will you eat?

Will your friends and family be able to help you?

Have you planned for day-to-day tasks? Think about groceries, laundry, bills and any work-related duties.

Do you have some reading, puzzles or educational documentaries ready? It helps to keep your mind active.

What can help you recover more quickly, prevent your risk of infection and make sure you repair completely?

Guided Imagery

Recordings of guided imagery sessions can be used before surgery, during and afterwards during recovery stage. High-quality studies have shown that guided imagery can reduce the risks of surgical complications, including death, depression and anxiety, postoperative pain, pain medication requirements and infection.[1,2] Consider the power of these benefits, along with the fact that this is an inexpensive therapy with no plausible risks.

You can access audio recordings through iTunes, Amazon or in CD format. The program, “Meditations to Promote Successful Surgery”, has been a source of clinical studies and is available online at www.healthjourneys.com.

Sunlight

Being exposed to natural sunlight after surgery has been shown to improve mood and reduce the risk of death, the amount of needed pain medicine and the length of hospitalization stays.[3] How do you get this? If you’ll be staying overnight in the hospital, ask in advance for a room with as much natural light as possible. During your recovery at home, spend time resting outdoors, and be sure your main place of rest is near a source of natural light.

Movement

After surgery, there are often restrictions on movement. Make sure you clearly understand what these are and also, what sorts of movement you can do. The more quickly your blood circulates throughout your body, the more quickly you will heal. Have elastic bands available to do gentle exercises with extremities you can move. You can also replicate the benefits of movement by wearing compression leggings. These are available at medical centers, but nonprescription versions are available through running and cycling supply stores. Compression leggings are used by athletes to speed recovery and can also aid your recovery from surgery.

Sleep

Do you have a sleep debt? Before surgery, pay it off and also, build up a sleep savings account. This can help prevent infection and help your body heal more quickly.

Social Connections

People recover more quickly when they are socially engaged. Now is the time to call in all those favors, and have friends visit you regularly. Is social media your guilty pleasure? If so, during the recovery stage, give yourself permission to indulge in it a bit more than normal. It may be especially good for you now.

Do You Need Extra Hormones?

Some popular authors have talked about taking testosterone replacement therapy for the purpose of recovering more quickly from surgery. There have been a few studies about the effects of testosterone on surgical recovery. Most have been done on animals, and the results are hard to apply to humans. Of those done on humans, the results have been mixed. Some studies suggest testosterone replacement may be mildly beneficial after surgery for knee cartilage.[4] Other studies have shown that higher testosterone levels lead to more difficult wound healing.[5] If you are on hormone replacement therapy, talk to doctors about whether or not you should continue right before and after surgery. If you’re not on hormone replacement therapy, surgical recovery would not be a reason to start.

Diet

When it comes to food and supplements, check with your healthcare provider for your specific needs.

What you eat matters to your recovery. The four weeks before and after surgery, be mindful of these:

Hydration: Drink 3-4 quarts of purified water each day.

Protein: Get 3-4 servings of complete proteins each day from a variety of foods, including meat, fish, poultry or vegetable-based protein powders.

Iron: Be aware of your iron levels to make sure they aren’t low. For some, this means eating extra red meat or taking iron supplements.

B-12: Have a variety of animal foods in your diet. If you are vegetarian or vegan, supplement with one milligram per day on a regular basis.

Zinc: Zinc is one of the most studied nutrients for surgical recovery.[6] Your best food sources include oysters, pumpkin seeds, lean meat and whole grains. Supplementing with an extra 20-50 mg is appropriate for many.

Vitamin C and Bioflavonoids: These two help you heal faster, experience less pain and have a healthy immune system.[7] The best food sources include buckwheat, berries, citrus, bell peppers and onions. Vitamin C supplements up to 1,000 mg per day are reasonable.

Fiber: High fiber foods can help you eliminate general anesthesia from your body more quickly, keep your immune system stronger and prevent the risk of constipation from pain medicine.

Essential fats: Your nerves and brain need essential fats to be protected and recover from surgery. The best sources include nuts, seeds and cold water fish. Be aware of fish oil supplements in the weeks before surgery, as they can raise the risk for bleeding.

Beyond these considerations, here are a few more foods especially high in nutrients that can be useful for your recovery:

• Yogurt
• Almonds
• Beans
• Sweet potatoes
• Poultry
• Mushrooms

Diet

When it comes to food and supplements, check with your healthcare provider for your specific needs.

What you eat matters to your recovery. The four weeks before and after surgery, be mindful of these:

Hydration: Drink 3-4 quarts of purified water each day.

Protein: Get 3-4 servings of complete proteins each day from a variety of foods, including meat, fish, poultry or vegetable-based protein powders.

Iron: Be aware of your iron levels to make sure they aren’t low. For some, this means eating extra red meat or taking iron supplements.

N-Acetylcysteine (NAC): This is an amino acid that can lower the free radical damage general anesthesia causes to your brain.[10] It is believed NAC raises the levels of a powerful antioxidant the body makes. This antioxidant is called glutathione. Glutathione can also be given intravenously and is even more powerful in reducing postsurgical oxidative stress than NAC.[11] Typical doses range from 500–1,000 mg 2-3 times daily with food.

Grape Seed Extract (GSE): GSE is a type of bioflavonoids found in supplements. It causes connective tissues to repair more quickly and have greater tensile strength.[12] Typical doses are 50-200 mg daily with food.

Glutamine: This is an amino acid the body uses to repair itself. It is especially important for repair of the intestinal tract. Major surgeries are prone to cause thinning of the intestinal lining, even when the surgery is performed on other parts of the body. This thinning often predicts complications and longer durations of needed hospitalization. In a large review of 19 studies with 1,200 patients, glutamine supplementation reduced the duration of hospital stays following major surgeries.[13] Typical doses are 1,000-5,000 mg 1-3 times daily.

With a few steps like these, before you know it, you can be back in the game with your recovery behind you. Planning makes all the difference in the world.

Alan Christianson, NMD, is a surgical veteran and the author of the New York Times bestseller, THE ADRENAL RESET DIET.

P.S. Whenever you are ready, here is how I can help you now:

1. Schedule a Thyroid Second Opinion with me, Dr. C, Click Here for Details
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Dr. Alan Glen Christianson (Dr. C) is a Naturopathic Endocrinologist and the author of The NY Times bestselling Adrenal Reset Diet, The Metabolism Reset Diet and The Thyroid Reset Diet.

Dr. C’s gift for figuring out what really works has helped hundreds of thousands of people reverse thyroid disease, lose weight, diabetes, and regain energy. Learn more about the surprising story that started his quest.