Post Surgery: Homeopathic Remedies To Aid Recovery

Clients nervously anticipating their upcoming surgery will often ask me in advance what remedies they need to have on hand to help recover after surgery. Sometimes they become confused about whether or not Arnica is safe around having surgery as their doctor has often given them the stern word about not having it before surgery. Let’s have a look at the commonly asked questions and my advice that I give in my clinic.

There are certain protocols that I have come across in homeopathy that you can do before surgery to help prevent swelling and bruising. However, I like to use the KISS principle, friends. Keep It Simple.

Arnica balances out the bleeding in the body. However, surgeons are concerned about Arnica preventing clotting or having some other adverse effect during or after surgery. A homeopathic vet while I was training told us when he was doing surgery on animals and he gave Arnica before the IV was in, the veins would shrink so much he couldn’t get the IV into the veins. If he got the IV in, and then gave the animal Arnica, he found that during surgery, the body cavities tended to be free-er of blood.

So…my answer is:
Don’t worry about pre surgery protocols. Let’s instead concern ourselves about how to support yourself after surgery.

There are two remedies that, generally, everyone will need after surgery.

1. Arnica – This remedy is needed for any bruised, sore sensations and helps to hasten the recovery of the soft tissues that have been damaged. It is wonderful for taking the shock of the surgery from the body. Generally I would talk to you practitioner and get a 200c potency going through the process of surgery is not like getting a knock to the knee. Matching the potency of the remedy to the severity of the situation means that you won’t have to repeat it as often.

2. Hypericum –I would not ever have surgery without this remedy on hand to support my recovery. Hypericum is amazing for hastening the healing of wounds, helping to prevent infection and healing the nerves. This means that it reduces pain. In fact it can be used long after your need for Arnica is gone. Hypericum will help ease any itching of the wound as it heals. In fact, this remedy is so specific for nerve rich areas, that I have had several clients after dental procedures tell me that they did not need any of the recommended traditional pain killers as Hypericum eased it so beautifully.

3.Opium – Now here is a remedy you don’t hear about every day. Opium is used in homeopathy to help take the side effects off from aesthetics. Not everyone will need Opium after surgery but here are some of the side effects that you might be surprised to learn about. If you have any changes to your sleeping patterns after surgery such as insomnia or waking easily or even sleeping deeply but not feeling refreshed, then Opium can help correct that. There might be nightmares after surgery and there may also be changes in the digestive system with constipation or sluggishness of the bowels being the telltale sign. I have used this remedy when the surgery has been some time ago, but since then there has been mood changes and difficulty concentrating. If you have ever had the more common side effects of vomiting with the anesthetic, then you may find that you need it too. This remedy can undo the side effects years later but I always educate my clients on what to look for, so we can jump right in if we need to in the days after their surgery so that their long term functioning isn’t impaired.

There are other remedies for specific issues such as pain deep in the abdomen after abdominal surgery, or fluid retention after surgery. However, these three are the remedies to know about mainly straight after surgery.

Please refer to your homeopath for specific dosage instructions and frequency.