How to Prepare Your Body for Endometriosis Surgery
If your endometriosis surgery is coming up, you may be wondering what you can actually do to prepare your body beforehand.
Maybe you’ve already started Googling supplements, foods to avoid, what to eat after surgery and every possible thing you should be doing.
👉🏻In all honesty, preparing your body for surgery isn’t complicated and a few really simple supports can make a massive difference.
In this post, I’ll be sharing a few really simple foundations that I implemented prior to my own excision surgery as well as some of the supports I share with the women I work with as a Natural Nutrition Clinical Practitioner and Pain Recovery Coach.
The main goal is to:
Nourish your body well
Support your digestion
Prioritize Rest.
Think of it as giving your body a strong foundation before asking it to do the hard work of healing.
Here are a few areas I recommend focusing on before surgery.
1. Reduce Alcohol & Caffeine Intake
I know this probably isn’t the most exciting place to start, but the weeks leading up to surgery are a good time to take a look at the things you’re relying on day to day.
→ Are you running on coffee because you’re exhausted?
→ Skipping breakfast and having caffeine instead?
→ Having a couple of drinks at night because you’re stressed about surgery?
This isn’t about being “perfect” before surgery or about restricting yourself.
➡️It’s about giving your body what it needs and removing some of the things that may be getting in the way of sleep, hydration, digestion and feeling well-nourished.
Alcohol is something I recommend reducing or avoiding as you get closer to surgery, and it may also be worth looking at how much caffeine you’re having each day.
Your surgeon or healthcare team may give you specific instructions around alcohol, caffeine, food and medications before surgery, so always follow the recommendations they give you.
2. Focus on Nourishing Your Body & Not Restricting It
This is a big one for me!!
The weeks before surgery are not the time I want you going on an extremely restrictive diet, skipping meals or trying to survive on a handful of “safe” foods.
Your body is about to go through surgery.
It needs nourishment.
Start focusing on meals that include plenty of colourful fruits and vegetables, quality protein, healthy fats and nourishing carbohydrates.
You don’t have to overhaul everything you eat overnight.
Instead, ask yourself this question:
How can I add more nourishment to what I’m already eating?
→ Maybe that means adding some protein to breakfast.
→ Adding an extra serving of vegetables to dinner.
→ Keeping easy snacks around for busy days.
→ Eating enough throughout the day instead of realizing at 4 p.m. that coffee was basically your lunch.
The goal is not to go into surgery depleted.
Your body is going to need energy and nutrients as it moves into the healing process, so preparing well starts with making sure you are actually giving it enough.
3. Get Your Bowels Into a Daily Rhythm
This is another area I would much rather work on before surgery than wait until constipation becomes an issue afterward.
Ideally, I want to see your bowels moving every single day.
Surgery can interrupt your normal routines. You may be moving less, eating differently and taking medications that can affect digestion.
➡️When your digestive system already has a good rhythm going into surgery, you have a stronger foundation to come back to afterward.
This may mean looking at things like:
Whether you’re drinking enough water
How much fibre and variety you’re getting from food
Whether you’re eating enough throughout the day (yup, not eating enough can lead to constipation)
Gentle daily movement
Any ongoing bloating, constipation or digestive symptoms you’re already struggling with
You don’t need to wait until after surgery to start thinking about your gut health.
If bowel movements are already difficult, irregular or something you dread, this is an area worth supporting ahead of time.
4. Prioritize Sleep and Give Your Body Some Space to Rest
There can be so much to do before surgery.
Appointments.
Work.
Preparing meals.
Getting your home ready.
Making sure everything is taken care of while you recover.
And somewhere in all of that, you’re also trying to emotionally process the fact that you’re having surgery.
Your body doesn’t need you to prepare perfectly.
But it does need opportunities to rest.
If you can, start protecting your sleep in the weeks leading up to surgery. Create a little more breathing room in your schedule.
Get outside. Move your body gently. Give yourself permission to slow down.
You don’t have to feel completely calm or fearless going into surgery.
The goal is simply to support your body as much as you reasonably can before you ask it to do something hard.
Keep Your Surgery Prep Simple
It can be really easy to fall down the rabbit hole of everything you could be doing before endometriosis surgery.
But you don’t necessarily need another complicated protocol.
✔️Start with the foundations.
✔️Nourish your body.
✔️Support daily bowel movements.
✔️Prioritize sleep and rest.
✔️Reduce the things that may be leaving you feeling more depleted.
And remember that preparing for surgery isn’t about doing everything perfectly.
It’s about helping your body go into surgery as supported as possible.
Have You Thought About What You Want to Ask Your Surgeon?
Preparing your body is only one piece of preparing for endometriosis surgery.
You may also have questions running through your mind like:
What exactly will happen during my surgery?
What should I expect during recovery?
What happens if my surgeon finds something unexpected?
What should I make sure I ask before surgery day?
When you’re sitting in an appointment, it can be really easy to forget half the questions you meant to ask.
That’s why I created my free Questions to Ask Your Doctor Before Endometriosis Excision Surgery guide.
It will help you walk into your next appointment feeling more prepared, with important questions right in front of you so you don’t have to try to remember everything on the spot.
Wondering about recovery?
You can also read my blog post about pain after endometriosis surgery by clicking here.
This article is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace individualized medical advice. Always follow the pre-operative instructions provided by your surgeon and healthcare team, as recommendations can vary depending on your health history, medications and surgical procedure.
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