• DO NOT TAKE these herbs/supplements which thin the blood:
  Garlic, Feverfew, Kava Kava, Gingko Biloba, Essential Fatty Acids and Vitamin E

• DO start a basic "before surgery" vitamin/supplement regimen that includes:
  

  Vitamin/Supplement Name	Activity that aid, help or restore…
  Multi vitamin/mineral complex	general body support
  Acidolphilus (high potency)	intestinal flora especially when taking antibiotics
  CoEnzyme Q10	fight free radicals and oxygenates tissue for healing
  Amino Acid Complex that includes: L-Cystine, L-Lysine L-Glutamine	speeds wound healing breaks down mucus, aids muscles tissue repair, collagen formation muscle wasting, tissue damage
  Grape Seed Extract or Pau D'Arco	powerful antioxidant to fight free radicals in the body
  Vitamin C (6,000-10,000 mgs. daily) w/ bioflavinoids	the immune system, tissue repair and wound healing
  Vitamin K	blood clotting
  Calcium	tissue repair
  Magnesium	tissue repair
  Zinc	tissue repair
  Silica	tissue repair
  Vitamin D	tissue repair
  Herb Name	Activity that aid, help or restore…
  Bromelain or Tumeric	high potency anti-inflammatory
  Green Tea	powerful antioxidant to fight free radicals in the body
  Red Clover or Burdock Root	cleanses the liver and blood
  Echinacea/Goldenseal	the immune system, natural antibiotic. Works synergistically. Do not take goldenseal for more than 1 week at a time or if you are pregnant or allergic to rag weed.
  Reishi Mushroom or Kelp	adverse effects of x-ray radiation
  Milk Thistle	cleanses the liver
  Chamomile Tea	insomnia, nervousness

  
  
• Do enhance healing by adopting an immune system "boosting" diet:
  Foods to Avoid: wheat, dairy and milk products, yeast, sugar, processed foods, fermented products, alcohol, smoking, carbonated soda and drinks, caffeine, peanuts, tomatoes, potatoes, mushrooms, eggplant, iceberg lettuce.
  Good Foods: rye, corn (non-GMO), oat bran, brown rice, wild rice, goat cheese, eggs, butter, yogurt, fish, lamb, venison, chicken, turkey, duck, olive oil, safflower oil, borage oil, evening primrose oil, sweet potatoes, yams, bananas, kiwi, guava, papaya, pineapple, kiwi, avocados, strawberries, blueberries, beets, artichokes, cabbage, walnuts, cashews, almonds, pecans, vegetables, kale and herbal teas.
  

• Nice To Use: Other Options for the Body
  Massage, Acupressure, Reflexology: Relaxation, minimize stress, flush out toxins

• Keep up your basic "before surgery" vitamin/supplement regimen but add these:

  Vitamin/Supplement Name	Activity that aid, help or restore…
  Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs)	proper cell growth
  Garlic	the immune system as a natural antibiotic
  MSM	helps tissue healing and pain
  Vitamin E (day after surgery)	tissue repair and circulation. Remember to use real Vitamin E: d-alphatocopherol, not the synthetic dl-alphatocopherol
  Vitamin E Oil (after stitches have been removed)	reduce scar tissue and promotes healing. Apply topically several times a day.
  Herb Name	Activity that aids or helps…
  Nettle	intestinal bleeding
  Dandelion	blood purification, kidneys
  Homeopathic Remedy	Activity that aids or helps…
  Arnica Montana	reduces swelling and aids healing

•  Do remember that YOU are responsible for your body
  No one knows your body better than you do. Your doctor is going by generalities but every body is different so don't give away your power to anyone. Take the responsibility of yourself. Here are some tips on how you can work WITH your doctor:
  
  - Before having surgery ask your doctor the right questions: Why, How, What, When, Where; what
  happens if I don't have surgery; are there other alternatives other than surgery; what are the risks and benefits; what % of these types of surgeries are successful; how long is the recovery period?
  
  - Get at least one or two other medical opinions prior to having surgery.
  
  - Tell your doctor about the medications, herbs and supplements you are taking. Most Western MDs are not familiar with alternative therapies, including herbs, but that does not mean they do not work.
  
  - Consult with your doctor to see if you can have less invasive laparoscopic surgery for your procedure.
  - Ask about the risks and effects of anesthesia.
  
  - Ask questions and do not apologize for asking questions. Remember you're paying the Doctor. He is working with you as a partner, not as a Medical Deity or your boss. Make a list of your questions prior, during and after each meeting with your doctor so you don't forget them and ask them!
  
  - Be persistent and use caring assertiveness.
  
  - Participate as much as you can in your healing process.

•  Do Deal with Your Emotions
  Learning that you are going to have or getting surgery comes with its very own pack of emotions: denial, anger, bargaining, sadness and acceptance. Learning to cope and deal with this in positive ways can help your healing process. You are what you think - so for a positive outcome - THINK POSITIVE! Here are some of the emotions you may have to deal with and some suggestions on how to handle them:
  
  - Denial or "Numbness": Look to balance your mind and work on looking at the real picture until you work your way into acceptance.
  
  - Anger: acknowledge it, take an appropriate action (e.g., Punch a pillow, go into a room by yourself and scream, walk around the block, draw a picture) then let it go.
  
  - Sadness- Let it out and cry, get support from friends, loved ones or a support group, start and write a your own healing journal, do artwork therapy, write a letter to yourself.
  
  - Worry - is a useless emotion which accomplishes nothing and eats up your time. Time in which you can be doing something positive to help your healing process. When you get a "worry" thought acknowledge that you have it and let it go immediately.
  
  - Change your emotions to positive ones like hope, joy and happiness.
  
  - Make your Environment Happy. Bring your favorite personal pictures, paintings, music, flowers and plants, aromatherapy fragrances with you to the hospital or even spruce up your room at home.
  
  - Avoid negative people and situations.
  
  - Make a list of supportive people and groups in your life and use the list!

•  Do Face Your Fears:
  Once you get a clear picture from your doctor on what is going to happen to you before, during and after your surgical procedure you will have eliminated some of the fears. If other fears persist as to outcome, possible death, etc. remember a couple of things:
  
  - The only thing to fear is fear itself. You are in God's hands and will be all right - no matter what. Even if death occurs remember that it is not the end, but a transition. There is life on the other side, so you really never die you pass over to a better place. So reconcile with your fear of death.
  
  - You create your reality with your thoughts. So if you feel, know and trust that the outcome will be positive and that you will heal - YOU WILL.
  
  - Positive Energy resonates to a higher energetic frequency than negative. Positive energy that can make you feel good and help you face your fears can be activated by thought. The higher frequencies correlate with the upper chakras (esoteric electrical energy centers in the body) starting with the heart chakra and up to the crown chakra. To activate these centers -BUZZ. That's right just buzz like a bee. You will be surprised as to how this works.
  
  - Another helpful hint for fear is to BREATHE. Breathe in through the nose slowly and deeply and then breathe out with the mouth in a rhythmic pattern. This will immediately lower your pulse and heart rate and get you centered. Physically it activates the Vegas nerve which is the major quieting nerve in the body. The Vegas nerve starts at the base of the brain and branches out to the heart, lungs and intestinal track. By just breathing deeply it automatically quiets your body and centers you.
  
  - Remember fear is your friend, not an enemy. Society teaches us that fear should be avoided but you can reprogram your mind to make fear a friend. You can always learn something you fear and once you learn it the fear usually doesn't come back.
  
  - Remember there are 4 steps to managing fear and turning it into a positive emotion:
  1) Acknowledge your fear;
  2) Feel how the fear is affecting your body;
  3) Think about and determine what the best action is and
  4) Do the action. Putting off the action delays releasing the fear.
  
  - Let go of your fear, ego, rigid goals, expectations, negative attitudes and negative feelings and replace them with to Living in the Moment, trust, hope, positive intention and attitudes and positive feelings.

• Nice To Use: Bach Flower Remedies

  Bach Flower Remedy	Activity that aid, help or restore…
  Rock Rose, Aspen, Cherry Plum	Fear
  Gentian, Cerato, Hornbeam	Uncertainty
  Crab Apple, Willow, Elm	Despair
  Rescue Remedy	Stress

•  Do Deal with Stress
  To help your healing process here are some helpful hints you can use to deal with stress before, during and after surgery:
  - Use the POWER of Positive thought and positive intention
  - Meditate
  - Practice Relaxation for Rejuvenation
  - Use Visualization or Self-Hypnosis. You can visualize a time when you were in perfect health and everything was going 100% right in your life. Then anytime you are having a stressful time go back to that place, visualize it and feel the joy and happiness.
  - Listen to calming music
  - Pamper yourself with a candlelit bath, etc.
  - Use color therapy like soothing blues and greens.
  - Take a 1 minute stress break. Close your eyes. Tell yourself you are going to be stressed for 1 minute and at the end of 1 minute you will be stress free. It works!
  - Look in the mirror and use Positive Self-Talk to describe the outcome as you want it to be.
  - Avoid using negative words like I can't, I won't, I shouldn't, I couldn't. Replace them with I can, I will, etc.
  - Live in the Now, not the past or the future
  - Don't try to control things
  - Feel, trust and know things will be all right and they will

FOR THE SPIRIT:

I believe that anything can be accomplished, for your greatest good, if you have absolute and total faith. So it is important to believe and have faith that things will turn out exactly right for you. There has never been a negative time in your life that hasn't turned into a positive for you. This is because negative experiences are growth lessons. Once you learn the lesson you never have to go through that experience in the exact same way again. This surgery may be a major change in your life, so welcome change as a friend. Look at this time as an opportunity to grow spiritually in a positive way. Here are some hints:

•  DO Remember to Develop your Spiritual Side
  - Develop a deep, abiding unshakeable faith
  - Feel, Trust and Know that things are all right in every moment
  - Remember that there are no mistakes only opportunities for growth
  - Balance your mind, body and spirit
  - Use gratitude for what you already have
  - Discover the wonder of all things in every moment
  - Forgive yourself and others every day
  - Replace negative emotions like doubt, fear, etc. with hope
  - Call on God's Divine Love to fill your soul and give you peace

•  DO Remember to Use Spiritual Action
  - Start a daily spiritual practice of prayer or meditation
  - Draw some sacred artwork giving away your fears/concerns to God
  - Write all your negative emotions on white paper, then burn the paper releasing everything to God
  - Create a sacred meditation/prayer place. Put crystals, photographs and sacred objects in this place and then pray or meditate daily
  - Ask your relatives and friends on the other side to support you
  - Listen to spiritual or healing sound music
  - Call on your angels to help you

•  DO Remember to Use Spiritual Protection
  - Protect & cleanse your aura (the electromagnetic field around your body)
  1. do a visualization of white light surrounding your entire body
  2. use an aromatherapy oil: cedar, carnation, eucalyptus, gardenia
  3. carry or wear a crystal: amethyst, aquamarine, jasper, lapis lazuli, quarts, pyrite
  4. Meditate saying the Mantra OHM
  5. Walk in nature
  6. Hug a tree (trees strengthen auras)
  7. Ask your Guardian Angel for assistance
  
  - Protect, cleanse & balance your chakras (the esoteric electrical energy centers within the body)
  1. balance the chakras by meditating
  2. anoint your chakras with rose, lemon, sage, bergamot aromatherapy oils
  3. place a specific crystal on a specific chakra area:

  Chakra	Crystals*
  1st Root	hematite, red jasper, black onyx, ruby
  2nd Navel	citrine, carnelian, chrysocolla, lapis lazuli
  3rd Solar Plexus	amethyst, citrine, tigers eye
  4th Heart	rose quartz, aventurine, malachite
  5th Throat	sodalite, blue topaz, sapphire, lapis lazuli
  6th 3rd Eye	iolite, tigers eye, quartz
  7th Crown	amethyst, rose quartz, clear quartz
  *Please note that this is only a partial list of possible crystals.

  
  - Use shape and symbol protection:

  Symbol/Shape	Meaning
  Square	Renewal
  Circle	Wholeness
  Cross	Protection, Balance
  Octagon	Renewal

  
  - Use crystals for protection like:
  amber, angelite, aventurine, moonstone, white quartz, lapis lazuli, pyrite, obsidian
  - Use color energy by wearing, viewing or visualizing specific colors:

  Color	Meaning
  White	Protection
  Gold	Spiritual Strength
  Silver	Spiritual Vitality
  Blue	Spiritual Tranquility
  Green	Body Healing
  Yellow	Clarity
  Red	Love

  
  - Use vowel protection sounds:

  Think Color	Say Vowel	Result
  Violet	A	State of Calm, Peace
  Yellow	E	Self-Confidence
  Orange	I	Laughter, Humor, Gaiety
  Red	O	Perfection
  Blue	U	Completeness
  Grey	OO	Healing

  
  - Use a protection prayer, for example:
  "I am completely protected only God and my Higher Self can influence me. The Light and the Positive Consciousness of the Universe protects me."

To have your questions answered LIVE ON-AIR on Linda Mackenzie's Creative Health & Spirit Radio Show, broadcast worldwide, call in right here at www.HealthyLife.net Tues. 8:30 - 9am PST at 800-555-5453 or 310-371-5444.