The Face Chronicles: More on the Second Week

Wednesday, back to the hospital for the hand-off. Lovely Dr. Chung is moving to New York City on Friday, and I was being passed on to the handsomely boyish Dr. Leon (no pain, believe me). The left eye was still droopy, and there was some concern over a possible infection beneath the skin. The Drs. changed antibiotics (which I had been taking since the operation), and the eye responded by the end of the day. Whew.
What I used in addition to the prescriptions:
Boiron homeopathic pellets (available in most health food stores and now in Longs/CVS pharmacies:
•    Arnica Montana 30, for trauma, bruises, muscle soreness. 5 pellets under the tongue 3X/day
•    Staphysagria 30, for healing of surgical wounds, same dosage. Dosages continued for two weeks (two bottles of each, about $8 per bottle)
To keep the intestines working properly under the antibiotics regimen:
•    Culturelle probiotics ($24 at most pharmacies). This was a winner in a recent sampling to see if probiotic products actually contained what they claimed. I twisted open the capsule and shook out half over applesauce (anything would do) about ½-2 hours after I took an antibiotic.  It worked amazingly well—never had a moment’s discomfort. I never used more than ½ capsule, but always after the antibiotic.
On the 2nd-4th days after surgery, I took a packet a day of Dr. Dahl’s Cold Chaser (www.coldchaser.com), which contained:
•    30,000 IU Vitamin A from fish liver oil
•    2,000 mg Vitamin C
•    1,200 IU Vitamin D from fish liver oil
•    30 mg Zinc from 150 mg Zinc Monometionine
•    10mg Rose hips
•    500 mg Citrus Bioflavinoids
I’ve used this locally developed formula many times to ward off colds—it REALLY works, especially in conjunction with Zicam products—available in most drug stores.
The absolute best (and cheapest) aid I had in healing was ICE. I had a pad that went around the back of my head and neck, two smaller ones up the sides, and a packet of frozen peas across the eyes. Have two sets of everything, especially for the first four days. It’s the best investment you’ll make (the aforementioned Walgreens has a good assortment, all $10 or less), and the most effective at pain relief, and keeping swelling and bruising to a minimum.