I had knee surgery six weeks ago. Totally unexpected but necessary. It turns out I had a torn ACL and needed a new one. Under the best of circumstances surgery is never fun. My situation is made a little more challenging due to my diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis; anytime you have general anesthetic or antibiotics it can affect your system. This time, however, I was more prepared; I have a daily nutrition plan and know more about supporting the body.
While I'm still in the recovery phase and definitely in the “danger zone” where I'm impatient to do more but realize I need to allow my body to heal fully and well at it's own pace, I'm doing very well. My surgeon, his PA, and my pain and torture physical therapy team are all very happy with my progress.
It goes without saying that in order for the body to heal it helps to start with a good nutritional basis. If you live on fast food and sugars your body doesn't have what it needs to heal efficiently. While I'm certainly not perfect I do work hard at making sure I have a well balanced, clean, whole food diet and good supplementation. However I believe one of the keys to my success was/is enzyme therapy. It is giving my body the materials it needs to rebuild and heal quickly.
The company that makes these enzyme supplements is called Transformation Enzymes. I'm a huge fan, not just now because of my surgery. Actually if anything I'm an even bigger fan now. Transformation Enzymes is a great company with a very clean product that they put through clinical trials before they release it. Long time readers will know that I am passionate about knowing what's really in your food and avoiding the chemical contamination; their label says “absolutely no fillers,” it doesn't get any better than that.
Below is the protocol that I followed. It's important to note that I was already taking the digestive enzyme and the probiotic before this happened. I take these on a daily basis to support my health. I also added in extra nourishing broth, 2 cups per day.
Digest – 1 with each meal – to ensure that you are getting enough nutrition from your food for healing
although if you are someone who needs to eat more gluten free then you would use CarboG instead
Probiotic 42.5 – 1 per day at bedtime – to ensure maximum digestive capacity
Protease IFC – 2 capsules 3 times per day – to calm the inflammation
RepairZyme – 1 capsule 3 times per day to provide nutritional support for healing
In addition to these supplements I took a few more:
Methylsufonylmethane – a sulfur compound that is very important for join health and also is supportive for bones, hair, skin, and for overall energy. It's found naturally in a lot of foods, the highest being in raw milk. For those who don't want to drink raw milk, dark leafy greens are a good way to get it. For high needs, such as post surgery, supplementation is probably the best way to get it.
Arnica – this comes from a plant and is highly supportive for bruising, aching, and inflammation. It comes in both a cream and a homeopathic pill. I used both as needed.
Hypericum – I struggled with a lot of nerve pain down the front of my shin immediately after surgery. Hypericum also comes from a plant, is available in a homeopathic pill, and is supportive for nerve pain.
I'm grateful to my medical team for the excellent work they did. I'm also grateful to all my friends, family, and colleagues who offered support, visits, meals, and good wishes. As I said at the top I truly believe that part of my healing process is due to having a good nutritional plan already underway. Don't wait until you need surgery or medical information to change your eating habits. Small changes now will add up to a large, positive effect down the road. It's like I always say, “Eat well to be well.”
Glad you’ve found a protocol that works for you! Hope you’re having a speedy and comfortable recovery!
Thanks for sharing your protocol – this is a great resource! I also love MSM and arnica
So glad you’re healing so well and kudos for being in such good shape
Jessica, for a lot of supplements you can open the capsule and take the contents either in a spoonful of apple sauce or pumpkin puree. This helps to give you something to swallow but also masks the taste a bit.
Certain supplements, such as time release formulations and probiotics should not be taken out of the capsule as otherwise they do not work as designed.
If needed you can look for a compounding pharmacy in your area to see if they can reformulate something into a form that you can take easily.
So glad you were able to work with Sheila, she’s great! Glad you’re doing better with your knee too.
My biggest obstacle with supplements has always been my inability to swallow pills. On the one hand, I think it’s kept me healthy because my mind knows I can’t get sick since I can’t swallow pills, but on the other hand, there are great supplements that can help me that I don’t take because they are “horse capsules.” I even chew my vitamin E capsules and spit out the capsule. I’ve tried hypnosis… no help. I’m open to suggestions, and I have a high tolerance for things that taste disgusting if I know they will help me 🙂
I’m delighted to hear that your surgery went well. And believe me I know about the tough PT work on knees. It’s interesting how you have used supplements to help recovery. I did, too, with the help of Sheila Wagner.
Mira, I am sorry to hear you’ve had knee surgery but I’m glad your medical team believes it was a success. Mostly however I am so glad you are informed and on top of your personal medical care and health plan. We must be our own advocates!