Chances are you have experienced pain syndrome at one time or another, or you know someone who has. Let’s touch on the subject many try to avoid — addiction to medications in the setting of chronic pain and how to avoid it. After all, in this day and age, when pill pushers have rendered thousands of people addicted to pain medications, dependency on drugs can set in within just a week — literally before you know it.
That is why I always recommend refusing opiates for pain in the hospital post-operative setting. This is where the endless addiction journeys starts for so many unfortunate people. In the latter setting, pain can be alternatively controlled with cold and hot packs, acupuncture, lymphatic drainage massage, physical therapy, and homeopathic and herbal compounds. It is best to be preventive when you are preparing for surgery.
PREPARING for Surgery
One reason pain meds are used so often is that pain causes blood pressure to rise and doctors want to avoid a hypertensive crisis. So make sure that you have optimized your blood pressure under the guidance of your physician well before surgery day.
Make sure that your vitamin and mineral blood levels are in perfect order before the surgery. These markers are vital to your post-surgical recovery and pain control because they are essential for tissue repair and healing post-operatively. The most important things to check are levels of vitamins E, C, D, zinc, copper, magnesium, calcium, vitamin B12 and folic acid (Folate).
Managing Pain AFTER Surgery
Be sure to stock up on the cold and hot packs at home and make plans with a rehabilitation facility or plan to implement physical therapy after the surgery. Motion is life and the faster you get moving, the smaller the risk for blood clots forming in your legs and the better the nutrients can get to its cellular destination via your improved circulation.
Make an emphasis on lymphatic drainage massage. I teach my patients and their spouses how to do it in the privacy of their own home, but you can also have this done as a part of your rehab PT program.
Homeopathic Remedies for POST-Surgical Pain
After the surgery, take homeopathic Arnica Montana 5 pellets three times daily and apply topical Topricin or Traumeel, or iced Calendula cubes to the areas of pain. Make sure your doctor is aware of your holistic and functional regimen. Experience has taught me that less medication is better. It is best to avoid addictive prescription drugs that act like a Band-Aid to cover up the symptoms. Keep your body healthy and balanced preventively and, when the time comes, “get out of the way” to let the body work through the pain and heal itself from within.
