Women's Bodies, Women's Wisdom (146 page)

Use from 23 to 50 percent less pain medication

Strengthen the immune system

Save money on medical bills (a study in California reported that patients who prepared for abdominal surgery with the healing statements plus guided imagery left the hospital 1.5 days earlier and saved $1,200 per person in hospitalization; because this study was done more than ten years ago, the cost savings would be much higher now)
¹¹

Whether you’re having a minor outpatient procedure or a major operation, Peggy’s approach can help you. And by the way, her techniques, which are described below, can also be used to help you get through radiation and/or chemotherapy.

Step One: Relax to Feel Peaceful

Eighty-five percent of all medical problems are associated with unresolved tension and stress held in the body. This chronic response to tension results in a cascade of physiologic changes that can and do affect your health adversely. What’s the antidote? Learn the skill of deep relaxation and practice it often so that you know you can call up a deep sense of peace at will. Learning deep relaxation and visualization is easy and there are a number of different ways to do it. For the purpose of preparing for surgery, I’d recommend using a tape or CD prepared specifically for this purpose. In addition to Peggy’s tapes and CDs, described above, I also recommend
A Meditation to
Promote Successful Surgery
from my colleague Belleruth Naparstek (
www.healthjourneys.com
) as well as the Surgical Support series developed by the Monroe Institute (
www.hemi-sync.com
). Both of these last two products include not only meditations to be used to prepare for surgery but also music designed for you to listen to during the procedure itself. Don’t be surprised if, when you are first starting to learn to relax, strong emotions emerge, such as sadness, anger, or whatever. Feel them fully, cry as long as you need to, don’t hold back—allow whatever you feel to wash through you. Welcome those intense emotions. They’ve probably been waiting within you for a long time trying to get expressed.

Studies have shown that relaxation improves the immune system, calms the central nervous system, and often cures tension headache, migraine, hypertension, and anxiety, as well as helping you prepare for your surgery. Many hospitals now offer “prepare for surgery” pro grams as well.

Step Two: Visualize Your Healing

Visualize your ideal surgical outcome. Imagine as vividly as you can that your operation is now over and you are comfortable, filled with peace, and healthy in every respect. Feel yourself surrounded by healing light, or sound, or a feeling of deep peace. The more you can imagine an ideal outcome in great detail, the faster you will heal. Your intuitive wisdom will provide you with the images that seem most healing. Visualize, visualize, visualize: Five times a day for five minutes each time is more effective than one twenty-five-minute session.

Step Three: Organize a Support Group

Surgery is a wonderful time to reach out for support. Make sure that someone will be with you when you arrive for your surgery, will visit you daily while you’re in the hos pital, if necessary, and will help you at home for as long as you require that assistance. (For abdominal surgery, that’s at least two weeks.) Many women simply don’t realize how vulnerable they may feel post-op, so prepare for this so you can be in a healing cocoon as long as needed. This will allow you to receive the caring and loving thoughts of your friends and family. This aspect of preparing for surgery can be especially healing for those of you who feel that “To get anything done right, I have to do it myself.” You will have the opportunity to allow others to give to you and provide for you. You’ll learn skills of receiving, which for many women is a major challenge.

When you’re in the hospital and/or after you’re home, I’d recom mend having at least one Reiki, therapeutic touch, or massage session. A daily treatment for the first two or three days would be ideal. Both Reiki and therapeutic touch are energy medicine treatments that are completely safe and have been shown scientifically to speed the healing process. Ask your doctor or nurse if they know anyone who is trained in these therapies. Many health care professionals as well as lay people have this training. (To find a Reiki practitioner, visit
www.reikialliance.org
; to find a therapeutic touch practitioner, visit
www.therapeutic-touch.org
.)

Step Four: Meet Your Anesthesiologist

You will be entrusting your con sciousness to this doctor, so you’ll want to meet him or her before surgery. In these days of same-day surgery, it is common to meet your anesthesiologist just before your procedure, but with some effort on your part, it’s still possible to schedule a meeting in advance. A study at Harvard showed that meeting the anesthesi ologist well before surgery significantly decreased patients’ preoperative anxiety. Ask your surgeon to arrange this for you. This is no time to worry about “making waves.” Your doctors will remember you and give you more individualized care if you’ve established yourself as someone who asks respectfully to have your total being taken care of during surgery.

Step Five: Use Healing Statements

There are four healing statements that you’ll want your surgeon or anesthesiologist to say to you during your operation. Research has shown that these statements are associ ated with having less pain, fewer complications, and faster healing. Make three copies of these statements; give one to your surgeon and one to your anesthesiologist, and tape one on your hospital gown so it’s visible as you go into surgery. Do not let any embarrassment prevent you from asking your doctors to do this for you. Believe me, most doctors have gone into medicine because they want to be healers. Ask them to do their job. I’ve never once seen a surgeon or anesthesiologist scoff at a pa- tient’s request for these statements. If they do, go to someone else. If your consciousness isn’t safe with them, then your body won’t feel safe, either— and your healing won’t be as rapid as it otherwise could be.

Here are the statements:

AS I AM GOING UNDER ANESTHESIA, PLEASE SAY:

1
. “Following this operation, you will feel comfortable and you will heal very well.” (Repeat five times.)

After saying the statements, please put on my earphones and start my MP3 player.

AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE SURGERY, PLEASE SAY:

2.
“Your operation has gone very well.” (Repeat five times.)

3.
“Following this operation, you will be hungry for ———. You will be thirsty and you will urinate easily.” (Repeat five times.)

4.
“Following this operation, ———.” (Ask your surgeon to fill this in with positive predictions about recovery, such as “You will be able to exercise and be back to full activity within four weeks,” and so on. And add some of your own goals. If you’re currently a smoker, for example, you might ask that your anesthesiologist add the following: “You will be a nonsmoker who detests the taste of cigarettes” or “You will be free of the desire to smoke.” Anecdotally, I’ve seen this work.)

As you prepare your CD or MP3 player for surgery, adjust the volume so that you can barely hear the music. Then stick some tape on the volume control so that it can’t be increased. When you are under anes thesia, the tiny tissues involved in hearing will be very relaxed and any sound will be amplified. You don’t want to risk damaging your hearing by playing a tape or CD too loudly during this vulnerable time. When a friend of mine recently had surgery, her surgeon did not want her to wear headphones during the operation. But her doctor was more than happy to play her music in the operating room during the procedure. So she arrived with a CD of her favorite songs.

Bernie Siegel, M.D., a famous Yale-trained pediatric surgeon, has found that the music that works best for surgery is the music that a patient likes best. That can be anything from the Beatles to Mozart (a popular choice because his music has been found to enhance immune response). Adagio movements are especially good. But anything you love will work, including country and western!

Step Six: Use Supplements to Speed Healing

The following supplements have been shown to speed healing (but be sure to discuss them with your surgeon beforehand):

Vitamin A.
The suggested dose is 25,000 IU daily (unless you are pregnant). Numerous studies have shown the beneficial effects of vitamin A on healing after surgery. It also helps boost the immune system. Start one week before surgery and continue three to four weeks thereafter.

Bromelain.
This supplement, derived from pineapple, helps prevent bruising and also relieves the swelling associated with surgery. Take 1,000 mg per day starting several days before surgery and contin uing for about two weeks postoperatively.

Vitamin C.
The suggested dose is 2,000 mg per day. Vitamin C is essential for collagen synthesis, which is part of normal wound healing. Your need for it will increase after your surgery. Start at least a month before your procedure and continue for one month postoperatively.