Getting Ready for Surgery? Here's How to Support Your Body Naturally.
This blog post shares about practical tips of how to prepare for surgery and sharing what I did personally to prepare for surgery.
HEALTH AND WELLNESSFIBROIDSSURGERY PREP
Surgery is sometimes necessary. Even though I prefer to go the most natural route to maintain health, sometimes Western medicine has its place. Since I am having a myomectomy (removal of a uterine fibroid), I wanted to share some tips of how to prepare for any surgery and what I did to prepare for my surgery. (You can read about my fibroid journey so far here)
First I will share what I have done to prepare and then will go over additional tips and suggestions that will be helpful for any surgery. Obviously this is for planned surgeries, even though following most of these suggestions would go a long way to support overall health and help even in emergencies.
Since I eat fairly healthy and have been pretty active overall, I didn't have to make too many big changes, but I did get more strict about 3 months out. Starting 3-6 months before surgery is ideal and having good healthy habits overall is best. Since I had some information with what I was dealing with, I was able to make a plan to support my health. I knew I had some yeast and inflammation in my gut which was discovered from testing. And knowing that fibroids/tumors are normally the body trying to wall off invaders such as parasites, heavy metals, fungus, etc. I started with an anti-fungal diet right away. This means no vinegar, fermented foods like kombucha, no sugar which also means no honey or maple syrup, yeast, ultra processed foods, fruit juice, dried fruit, and more. I also limited my dairy intake to just organic Greek yogurt and once in a great while cheese. I also decided to cut out peanut butter just because it can be moldy even if organic. I am mostly gluten free, just based on quality of carbohydrate, but depending on how my body was responding I would be fully gluten free. I focused on high protein and quality fats and carbohydrates for meals.
From there I ramped up my physical activity to increasing weights, walking and moving more throughout the day, and incorporating core and pelvic floor exercises because of the type of surgery I am having. I really started supporting my circadian rhythm by getting sunlight first thing in the morning. I also tried to support better and deeper sleep since sleep is when the body recovers and heals.
I also have used castor oil packs to help with detoxing and utilized water enemas as needed. Deep breathing and breathing exercises have helped overall as well. I have made a point to try and get outside in the fresh air and having fun where I can.
Lastly, I incorporated specific supplements to help support my body. I used anti-fungal herbs Schisandra, Golden Thread, and Morinda. I also was taking vitamin D since my levels are quite low, NAC, magnesium glycinate, zinc, DIM, and white willow bark. There are studies that have shown improvement in fibroids with vitamin D, Nac, and green tea (EGCG). Here are the studies if you want to read more:
EGCG Green Tea: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-35212-6
Vitamin D: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC6619469/
NAC: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33480045/
I wanted to have the best outcome for surgery and I am excited to see the difference it makes post-op.
So what can you do to prepare for the surgery you are having? My top tips are:
Eat whole organic foods and skip the processed foods.
Anti-fungal diet can be super helpful for before and after surgery.
Adequate protein intake aiming for at least 30g of protein each meal, but more is needed for recovery.
Drink adequate filtered water.
Get moving! Walking, weights, Pilates, etc. building strength and lung capacity is important.
Breathing exercises
Adequate sleep and taking time for fun
Supporting circadian rhythm by getting morning sunlight or outdoor light at least
Getting plenty of fresh air
Decrease stress as much as possible
Support your body in what it needs specifically. This is where the hair analysis can be super helpful to notice any deficiencies or areas where the body could use more support so you can implement foods or supplements to improve nutrient stores prior to surgery.
No matter what surgery you might be undergoing, hopefully you found this blog helpful to prepare to have the best outcome possible. I am rooting for you and know that it isn't all or nothing in the health realm. You can focus on mostly natural health, but utilize Western medicine when needed.
If you are interested in looking at different supplements that I recommend I utilize Fullscript and DSS dispensary (code: KB5153). If you are looking to dig deeper into what could be going on and how best to support your health and preparing for surgery don't hesitate to set up a free consultation to see how I can best support you.
