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Prepping for surgery
Hey friends! Today I’m sharing how we navigate prepping for surgery (and detoxing after!)
Last year (2019), I had 3 surgeries. 1 fertility preservation “surgery” to remove 24 eggs from my ovaries (see my horrifying experience HERE), 1 to implant my port for chemo and 1 to remove it!
Anytime you are in a hospital setting your risk of infection increases due to chemical and antibiotic resistance strains of bacteria like C diff. Anytime your skin is broken in a hospital your chance of infection increases a little and if you have a weak immune system it raises yet again.
SO! I am all about being PREPARED and being PROACTIVE. Which means that as Patrick was preparing for umbilical hernia surgery, we set a few basic things in place to support his body through the process.
Pre-surgery
Vitamin D
Low levels of Vitamin D increase your risk of developing post op infection as well as leaving you more susceptible for many other diseases. Patrick recently had some bloodwork done and I encouraged him to get his vitamin D levels checked. I’m glad we did because they were way too low! Just below the conventional bracket, and significantly below what we would prefer for optimal health. Since then we have been supplementing with vitamin D to boost his levels.
Added bonus, Patrick struggled with keeping his blood pressure in a normal range and low vitamin D levels can contribute to that so we are killing two birds with one stone.
Probiotics
Taking probiotics before surgery can improve the outcome and reduce the inflammatory response. Probiotics can also improve your recovery and support your immune system. So obviously, I provided him with a good probiotic :)
Antibacterial
And finally, I recommended a low dose broad spectrum, botanical to support beneficial bacteria, immune response, and kill pathogenic bacteria. A catch all post surgery to keep any bugs he might catch from getting out of control.
Day of surgery
The day of surgery the biggest concern was pain. I am all for modern medicine when it comes to managing pain temporarily, but along with narcotics comes some major constipation as well. So the goal was to get off the pain killers as soon as possible (ended up only being about 24 hours) and get ahead of the poo problem as much as we could.
We used high doses of magnesium (I’m loving this brand), senokot (an herbal laxative) and dried prunes in combination to help in this area. It took about 24 hours, but even prescription laxatives can take 24 hours to kick in so this worked well.
Post surgery
I remember well the discomfort that came after my fertility preservation surgery. Even though the pain diminished within a few days, the general discomfort, feeling of bloat, and sensation of walking with a bunch of rocks wrapped around your lower belly was terrible. This seems to be very similar to how Patrick is describing his recovery.
He was able to move around by himself by Friday (surgery was Thursday) and the pain significantly diminished within 2 days, but the discomfort in his belly made it feel awkward. After about 24 hours on th prescription pain meds he was able to use ibuprofen or curcumin occassionally.
I had planned a trip to Columbus to visit Restore Hyper Wellness on Monday so we could give his body and extra healing boost.
We scheduled a 1 hour hyperbaric oxygen therapy and a vitamin IV.
Vitamin IV
The IV he got was a blend of vitamin C, glutathione, toradol, and proline.
Vitamin C and glutathione are major antioxidants that your body uses for cell repair, immune system health and liver detoxification. One of the ways I like to support the body after things like anesthesia is a mild detox with things like this.
Toradol is an anti-inflammatory like ibuprofen, and delivered in the bloodstream it has a strong effect. He was actually given this in the hospital before we left, and we got another dose at restore.
Finally, we added some proline which is an amino acid that helps with immune system and wound healing!
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy
Hyperbaric oxygen therapy has long been used in hospitals for wound healing in more extreme circumstances. Thankfully, it is becoming more accessible for the individual who wants to be really engaged in their health. Hyperbaric oxygen is know well for supporting wound healing but it can also be supportive for neurological healing after brain damage, injury, or even parkinsons.
Results
Happily, Patrick left restore feeling noticeable better. It certainly gave him the extra healing boost we were hoping for. It’s a bummer we don’t live closer as doing some hyperbaric a few days in a row could have really sped things up, but even so, one treatment had him walking out of the building normally. He was less stiff, the brick he described feeling in his stomach was gone, and he was no longer walking slowly.
Ongoing considerations
Patrick is going great! 5 days post surgery he is back to work after a long weekend of rest and recovery. In a few months we may test his poop just to check in on things, but as far as we know all is well! He isn’t supposed to lift anything heavier than 10 pounds for 2 weeks and he’s already flirting with danger by picking up the cat haha.
I hope that this post was helpful and gave you some ideas to support you through any hospital stay or surgical experience you may have in the future!
References:
Probiotics and surgery:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5590023/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5198246/
https://forteelements.com/wp-content/themes/x-forte-elements/assets/pdf/forte-pre-and-post-op-nutrition-white-paper.pdf
Vitamin D:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5356990/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4413543/
Hyperbaric Oxygen
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3058327/
When things aren't perfect...hacking your digestion and PMS bonus tips!
Hey Hey Diva friends!
Recently I've been sharing my free guide: 5 steps to crushing your PMS where I share my biggest lifestyle tips on how to reduce inflammation, support your hormones, and get your cycle back on track. These are simple, but big steps and ones that may take some time to implement....
So....what happens if you're say...on vacation like I was when my last period started and things are NOT to perfect? You're drinking coffee, enjoying some sweet treats....etc....
Here are some extra bonus hacks to go along with the guide to dig a little deeper and give your body that extra support!
4 bonus tips to crush your PMS
1) Take extra nutrients.
During our vacation I KNEW I would be splurging so I planned ahead and purchased some Bulletproof Unfair Advantage
This little liquid supplement is good for your brain, cells and mitochondrial health. I took 2-3 a day while on vacation!!!
You may also want to increase your magnesium intake as stress (travel) can deplete it (most of us are already deficient!). I like Dr. Mercola L Threonate as it's one form of magnesium that has been shown to cross the blood brain barrier. Magnesium is important in over 700+ enzymatic functions in the body including recovery, muscle soreness, energy, and quality sleep!
2) Get on top of inflammation.
I knew my period was coming, even though I thought it would come once I got HOME....so I wanted to make sure I stayed on top of any inflammation that may occur from less than stellar nutrition choices that week. I made sure to take 1-2 fish oil supplements at each meal in addition to eating lots and lots of REAL fish that was easily available at the resort!
We (American's) are often too high in omega 6 fatty acids. This is often due to poor diet and exposure to processed oils like soy, peanut, and canola in our processed foods and not enough omega 3s which are anti inflammatory. One 3s are found in fish, walnuts, and seeds like chia and flax. Recommendations vary but an acceptable ratio is 4:1 omega 6 to omega 3 and most in America are more like 26:1. Ideally in a perfect world you could get 1:1.
I also took some ALEVE. Not much, but I have had SUCH pain in the past it made me nervous if I felt anything at all and I wanted to stay on top of it. NSAIDS can really wreak havoc on your stomach lining and gut in general. Often regular use of NSAIDS for pain, sinus infections etc... are a precursor for leaky gut and inflammation in the first place. So we want to avoid them as much as possible. They can however provide a valuable service on occasion when used in the appropriate way.
I do try to balance my NSAID use with a scoop of Innate - GI RESPONSE which is loaded with gut soothing and healing ingredients. This allows me to rest easy and I would recommend taking a scoop along with the NSAID.
**I would also not recommend you continue taking ALEVE every 2-3 hours or anything like that...take as minimal a dose as you can to feel comfortable and move on.
3) Digestive enzymes.
I take these anyways but if you don't you might want to on vacation. I ADD one on vacation called GlutenEase in case of cross contamination. The nice thing about this particular supplement however is that it also helps you break down casein so if I am choosing to eat extra dairy for example, I'll still take one.
Enzymes are just an extra boost to help your break down and process your food efficiently. The LAST thing you want on vacation is to get constipated or bloated - yuck!
4) DETOX.
Let's face it - NO ONE is perfect on vacation. You may want to include some gentle detox a few times that week. Activated charcoal is a great natural binder. It swoops in and grabs things like heavy metals, toxins, and things that may cause you discomfort, bloating or gas. It binds to those buggers and sweeps them out with your poo. :)
Let's just stop for a moment and clarify that I am NOT recommending you take these additional steps as an EXCUSE to binge and party for a week. We still ate incredibly healthy while on vacation - got lots of vitamin D, even worked out several times that week. But out of our normal routine we also included lots of treats, we relaxed, didn't stress and enjoyed our time and food.
Stress can play a MAJOR factor in how you feel, how you digest, and how your body handles your next cycle. I am happy to report than when my period came it was non-eventful. No pain, issues - just hello I'm here, have a nice day.
To ME that is progress. To ME who used to WRITH on the floor in pain, that is a miracle. So a few dietary tweaks, a few changes here and there, thinking ahead for vacation...TOTALLY WORTH IT.
Think you can't have a perfect period? Think it's too good to be true? Download my free guide today and get started!
*Kylene is an Amazon associate and the links provided in this post are affiliate links.
Anxiety...what you can do.
Hey Hey Diva friends!!!
I want to share a very personal story with you today. I have struggled with anxiety for YEARS. In fact, it started when I developed OCD in my early teens. I would have to take multiple showers, wash my hands to the point of bleeding and touch nobs with kleenex. It wasn't pretty....
THANKFULLY I have really grown out of that (although you'll still see me with wipes and hand sanitizer when I fly I mean...HELLO)....but periodically the anxiety monster rears it's ugly head in my life and in 2015 I had 2 weeks of crippling anxiety accompanied by insomnia, fear, non stop crying and....well....it was bad.
Since then I've worked double time on getting healthier, listening to my body and understanding why and how this happens. More importantly, my ears perk up anytime I hear about something that can be connected, exacerbate, help or prevent anxiety. I've learned a lot and now feel like I have the tools I need.
So today I wanted to share a few things that I've noticed affect my anxiety and several things that actually help keep it at bay.
1) Gut Health is KEY
The #1 thing I've noticed is that it directly correlates to my gut health! For example if I eat a food I'm sensitive to I'm more likely to have some mild anxiety the next few days.
WOW. This seems so unrelated right? How can our BRAIN and our GUT be connected? Well, without getting all nerdy on you, many of your neurotransmitters ( you know the things that make you happy, calm and feel good) are regulated in your gut! If there is inflammation or damage whether from mental, emotional or physical stress (like food sensitivities) that can lead to negative signals being sent and disruptions to the normal balance of the body and brain.
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Essentially, your body says "I'm stressed from these outside factors!" and tells your brain to react accordingly. What's really devastating is that we always think the brain is OUR fault. While there are lots of studies that talk about neuroplasticity and the ability we have to TRAIN our brains to think positively (valid and VERY helpful by the way), if you struggle from chronic anxiety and your thoughts feel as if they aren't your own, that may be due to something going on in your gut.
Resources for dealing with anxiety, learning how to think more positively etc...
Battlefield of the Mind - book
This could be anything from parasites, bacteria, inflammation, food sensitivities etc....this should be encouraging to you because there is a solution and it doesn't involve you taking anti-depressants the rest of your life (the only thing my Doc could recommend by the way!)
Quick story to drive this point home. A young girl named Alyssa began hallucinating - scary stuff for anyone but especially a child! The medical community wanted to treat her with anti-psychotic drugs for the rest of her life. Luckily her parents took her to Dr. Jess Armine a functional medicine doc who has done extensive work with neurotransmitters, mood disorders and reversing chronic illness.
He was able to dig deeper into the root cause of WHY these hallucinations began and found several areas of gut dysbiosis, inflammation and bacterial imbalance in Alyssa. Once stressors like food sensitivities were removed, the bad bugs were killed and her body was supported and rebalanced, Alyssa returned to normal. She grew up avoiding the foods she wasn't sensitive to, became an honor student and never had to be on medication to maintain her health.
THIS is why I became an FDN. I want to help YOU dig deeper into the root cause of your health issues and together we can build your body back up. It knows what it needs to do, we just need to get rid of anything hindering it from getting the job done!
2) Caffeine
While almost everything falls under point #1, you might have great gut health and still be sensitive to caffeine. Some people are fast metabolizers and some are slow. Caffeine has a really long half life which means it stays circulating in your body for many hours after consumed. This is why it's normally encouraged to stick to 1 black cup of coffee before noon.
If you struggle from anxiety however there may be a period of time where you need to eliminate it all together. Caffeine stimulates your adrenal glands which are already working overtime when under stress. The last thing you want to do when your body is pumping out cortisol is to throw an external stimulant onto the fire!
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If you have struggled for a long time with chronic anxiety I would eliminate it 100% for several months. If you find that you are only sensitive occasionally, then I would check to see if it corresponds with your monthly cycle. You may notice you are more sensitive to caffeine when you're ovulating.
It's your liver's job to filter out the excess hormones being produced during this part of your cycle and it's also the liver's job to eliminate the caffeine efficiently. If both are happening at the same time you may notice a heightened sensitivity and want to back off the coffee. Personally I have noticed that my energy is elevated from the higher levels of hormones anyway and coffee isn't necessary during that time.
3) Poor Sleep
There are sooooo many benefits to getting a good night of sleep. But it isn't just about the number of hours you spend in bed, it's about the quality of deep sleep you get each night. People do vary on the number of hours that make them feel most rested, but I find that people who deal with chronic stress in their life typically need more sleep than others.
Prioritizing it and making it a non-negotiable is key. Part of the reason sleep is so important is because it's when your body processes information and heals itself. If your brain doesn't have time to process then when you wake up you are less likely to view things in a state of reality. I mean, lets be completely unscientific here - when you are sleepy EVERYTHING seems worse am I right?! :)
Don't feel bad about going to bed early, sleeping in and honestly - if you have chronic stress and lack of sleep I'd encourage you to take a self care weekend where you sleep as much as you possible can for at least 3 days! Let your body reset, rejuvenate and heal.
WHAT CAN I DO NOW?
1) Get Tested
If you think that you may have some food sensitivities or gut imbalance of any kind, find out for sure! My job is to work with you to uncover the hidden stressors in your life that are causing metabolic chaos and breakdown in your body.
Through functional lab testing I'm able to help you discover what's really going on, come up with a personalize protocol just for you and help you return back to health for good! I take a functional whole life approach meaning I don't medicate - I educate. I will work with you on nutrition, stress reduction, appropriate supplementation and more based on your personal test results.
Not sure this is for you? Email me: TheTinyFitDiva@Gmail.com to set up a free 30 minute discovery call where we can talk about what's available and right for you.
2) Eliminate known stressors
This might sound obvious but often we resist making changes we know are good for us. Cut out the processed foods, eliminate carbonation, sodas, and sugary drinks. Cut caffeine for a period of time and give your gut a chance to heal itself!
I might sound like a hard ass, but this step is non-negotiable if you want to achieve long term health! Your gut is called the second brain but really it's the FIRST. If it's not functioning properly then neither will your actual brain....
I you even have and inkling that a certain food is bothering you, eliminate it for a minimum of 1 month. If you feel better AWESOME! If you can't tell a difference bring it back in and monitor how you feel each time.
3) Intelligent Supplementation
Don't go crazy with supplementation without supervision. However there are a few supplements that are generally safe and helpful. L Theanine, Vitamin C, and a good probiotic and are a great place to start with anxiety.
L Theanin is a great tool to take "as needed" when you feel some day-to-day anxiety popping up. Vitamin C has about a million benefits (including helping your liver) and is extremely difficult to overdose on. A good probiotic helps balance your good gut bacteria - I would recommend rotating brands every few months to get different strains.
I hope this helps!
If you are really ready to get YOUR gut back on track then consider joining my 8 week gut health program Get Gutsy with Me starting January 15th!!! We are going to go in depth with information on healing your gut and you will have access to recipes, shopping lists, tips, and support through the process!
Each participant will have the option to upgrade their 8 weeks with gut testing and discounted coaching from me which would include a personalized protocol based on the test results.
Don't let this go on another year! NOW is the time to take back your health.
Additional resources:
"3 steps to healing your gut" - blog
"Breaking Negative thinking Patterns" - podcast
"12 principles to change your brain and your life" - podcast
Disclaimer: This is not intended to diagnose or treat any medical condition. Do not go off medication without talking to your doctor. Consult with your doctor before making any changes in an existing protocol.