Ditch the Itch! B Vitamins and Nerves after Plastic Surgery Liposuction

Itchiness is a complaint I hear frequently from my clients recovering from plastic surgery, especially liposuction. This is due to nerve regeneration after surgery. 

Turkish researchers from Kahramanmaras Sutcu Imam University state “vitamin B complex helps to alleviate degeneration in the nervous system and . . . these vitamins, in particular vitamin B12, exhibit important roles in various biological events to maintain normal neural functions” and found that “tissue levels of vitamin B complex and vitamin B12 vary with progression of crush-induced peripheral nerve injury, and supplementation of these vitamins in the acute period may be beneficial for acceleration of nerve regeneration” (Altun and Kurutaş 2016). Foods rich in B6 include bananas, chicken, oats, peanuts and soybeans. 

The Pumpkin Pie Overnight Oats with Pecans and Cacao Nibs recipe from the Southern California Plastic Surgery Cookbook would be an easy and tasty way to add oats to breakfast. 

2-3 servings

Preparation Time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 8 hours

Ingredients

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1 cup organic slow cook oatmeal, dry

1 tablespoon chia seeds

1 ½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1 cup unsweetened almond milk

¼ cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon cacao nibs

Instructions

In a medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, oats, chia seeds, pumpkin pie spice, maple syrup, and almond milk. Stir well to combine, cover, and store in your fridge overnight or until set.

Divide into serving dishes, top with pecans and cacao nibs.

Altun, I., & Kurutaş, E. B. (2016). Vitamin B complex and vitamin B12 levels after peripheral nerve injury. Neural regeneration research, 11(5), 842–845. doi:10.4103/1673-5374.177150 Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4904479/

Southern California Plastic Surgery Cookbook and Plastic Surgery Recovery Handbook are available in paperback on Amazon. 

 I am an ACE Certified Personal Trainer and lymphatic massage therapist. I help people reduce swelling after plastic surgery procedures including abdominoplasty, brazilian butt lift and liposuction. One of the biggest ‘rules’ I see clients following is the belief that they have to do crunches to develop their core. Trouble is, people should not put weight on their butt in the first months after a brazilian butt lift, which means they are putting off exercise for longer than they should. The good news is that the core is more than just the rectus abdominis! There are plenty of core strength exercises that can be performed, including planks, side bends, standing bicycle crunches and standing twists that work all the muscles of the core. 

 

Pre-surgery workout video: https://youtu.be/aDRoncQw6Rc

My post-liposuction, tummy tuck and BBL workouts are here: https://plasticsurgeryrecoverymassage.teachable.com/p/six-minute-faja-workout

Get Better Sleep Before and After Plastic Surgery with Guided Meditation

 Get Better Sleep Before and After Plastic Surgery with Guided Meditation

I am a MMI Certified Meditation Teacher and a lymphatic massage therapist. My clients experience anxiety and sleeplessness before their plastic surgery because they are worried about their upcoming procedure. I provide them with a free guided body scan meditation to help them sleep. 

Hubbling et al. (2014) found that in subjects with chronic insomnia, "the body scan was identified as an effective tool to enable falling asleep faster" and "eliminate the “chatter” or mind-racing that previously impeded falling asleep at night."

Why is this important? Su & Wang (2018) state that “sleep disturbances frequently occur in patients after surgery, and its occurrence is harmful for postoperative recovery” and that “development of sleep disturbances produces harmful effects on postoperative patients ... increased sensitivity to pain ... and poorer recovery.”

Read the study ‘How mindfulness changed my sleep: focus groups with chronic insomnia patients’ here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3927626/

Read the study ‘Improve postoperative sleep: what can we do?’ here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5768217/

Guided Meditation before Surgery https://youtu.be/r_TAnv_grkI

Listen to all the Free Guided Meditations for before and after plastic surgery here: https://plasticsurgeryrecoverymassage.teachable.com/p/guided-meditations