Through a discussion with my holistic dentist, the topic of surgery arose.  Surgery has certain “side effects,” if you will, that we could all deal with more effectively if anyone actually told us about them.  So I’m going to tell you about them.

My “recommendations” here are not medical advice; they’re information only, and you may do with them what you will.  Be responsible.   All of this applies to surgery in general, whether you’re having something as essential as an appendectomy, or elective surgery like weight loss surgery — anything that requires cutting and anesthesia.

Tips for Surgery

There are (so far) two things that I learned from my own surgery (after the fact) that I wish someone had told me (beforehand).

1. Surgery is likely to result in lots of scar tissue, both internally and externally.

Vitamin E reduces scarring, so supplementation shortly after surgery may help reduce the amount of scar tissue that forms.  Be careful, though.  In large amounts, vitamin E can be a blood thinner, so do not take it leading up to surgery! You may want to wait a few days afterward, as well.

2. General anesthesia is toxic.

In general (no pun intended), the use of it can’t really be avoided.  But you can give your body a boost in its efforts to detox from it.  My dentist recommended homeopathic chicorium, which is supposed to be good for this purpose.  I suspect that’s because it strengthens and helps cleanse the liver, and that, therefore, anything good for strengthening and cleansing the liver (for instance, milk thistle), would also be beneficial.

Do you have any additional suggestions for holistic actions to complement surgery?