PRE-OP PREP — SCHEDULE & TIMELINE Part 2  ·  Daily timing  ·  August → November
DAILY SCHEDULE + THE ROAD TO NOVEMBER

This is the second half of your prep file. When you take each supplement matters as much as which ones — the schedule below is built around the real interactions. Below it: the months from now to surgery, in order. Same rule as always — your surgeon's instructions win every time.

Every day — build-up window
Daily Schedule
When to take what, and why the timing matters.
Timing

Timing isn't optional — it's the difference between supplements that work and supplements that cancel each other out. Zinc and iron can't share a meal. Serrapeptase needs an empty stomach or it causes nausea. Vitamin C is paired with iron at dinner on purpose. This schedule is built around those rules.

☀ Morning — with breakfast
Vitamin D3Labs set doseFat-soluble — absorbs with food. Morning is ideal.
Omega-3 ⚠1,000–2,000 mgFat-soluble. With breakfast. Pause 2 weeks before surgery.
B-ComplexPer labelMorning with food. Can be activating if taken late.
ProbioticPer labelLight breakfast or relatively empty stomach.
Collagen Peptides10–20 gStir into coffee or a shake. Pairs with vitamin C below.
Vitamin C (first dose)375–500 mgPaired with collagen — C is required for collagen synthesis.
MSM (first dose)1,000–1,500 mgSplit morning and dinner keeps levels steady all day.
◯ Mid-morning — empty stomach (2 hrs after breakfast)
These three need an empty stomach. Food kills their effect — and serrapeptase with food causes nausea. Wait at least 2 hours after breakfast. Full glass of room-temp water. Stay upright 30 minutes after.
Serrapeptase ⚠40K–120K SPUEnteric-coated only. Start with 40k or you will vomit. Empty stomach, full glass of water, stay upright.
Bromelain ⚠400–500 mgStack with serrapeptase at the same window.
NAC (first dose) ⚠450–600 mgBetter absorbed on empty stomach. Second dose at dinner.
☼ Lunch — with food
Zinc15–25 mgAlways with food — zinc on an empty stomach causes nausea. Kept at lunch, away from iron at dinner. Avoid dairy-heavy meals.
Turmeric + black pepper ⚠500–1,000 mgWith a fatty meal. Must include black pepper — piperine boosts absorption dramatically. Pause before surgery.
☾ Dinner — with food, no dairy at this meal
Iron (if labs confirm low) ⚠Clinician sets doseDinner keeps it away from zinc at lunch — they compete. Never with dairy. Always with vitamin C.
Vitamin C (second dose)375–500 mgPaired with iron on purpose — C dramatically increases iron absorption.
MSM (second dose)1,000–1,500 mgSecond half of daily MSM. Fine with food.
NAC (second dose) ⚠450–600 mgSplit dose keeps glutathione support steady through overnight repair.
☾ Bedtime
Magnesium Glycinate300–400 mgEvening only. Sleep and nervous-system calm. Kept away from zinc. Better sleep = better healing.
Why this schedule is built the way it is
Zinc + IronCompete for absorption — zinc at lunch, iron at dinner, a full day apart
Vitamin C + IronPaired at dinner — C dramatically increases iron absorption
Magnesium + ZincCompete at high doses — zinc at lunch, magnesium at bedtime
Serrapeptase + Bromelain + NACAll need empty stomach — grouped mid-morning, 2 hrs after breakfast
Collagen + Vitamin CPaired morning — C is a required cofactor for collagen synthesis
Turmeric + Black PepperMust be paired — piperine sharply increases curcumin absorption
02
August → September
Lock It In
Recheck labs. Keep the stack steady. Dial in protein and skin.
Coming Up
Re-run vitamin D, ferritin, and CRP

If any came back off in June, recheck now to see if your protocol is moving the numbers. You want these in range before October so you're not scrambling in the final stretch.

Keep the full stack running

Serrapeptase, bromelain, MSM, NAC, vitamin C, zinc, protein, collagen. These are your workhorses through this window. Don't drop them because you feel fine — the work is quiet, not dramatic.

Skin care mid-prep

Add niacinamide 4–5% now if it's not already in your routine — it regulates oil and is safe long-term. The zinc and MSM in your stack are working on this from the inside too. SPF every single day — you're building new collagen right now and it's photosensitive.

Weight: gradual, not aggressive

If weight loss is happening, this is the window where gradual counts. Drastic changes in September or October are too close to surgery and change what your surgeon is working with. Keep it gradual and surgeon-approved.

03
October — The Wind-Down
Start The Pause
Blood-thinning supplements come off. Nicotine fully gone. Final clearance.
Wind Down

Here's what nobody on the internet tells you: a lot of "healthy" supplements thin your blood, and going into a facelift on them means more bleeding, more bruising, and real hematoma risk — which on the face is serious. In the run-up to November, the smart move isn't more. It's off.

4–6 wks out= mid-late Sept
Nicotine fully gone. Cigarettes, vapes, and inhaled weed. This is the hard deadline.
~2 wks outsurgeon confirms
Blood-thinning supplements off: fish oil / omega-3, vitamin E, high-dose vitamin C, garlic pills, ginkgo biloba, ginseng, turmeric / curcumin, high-dose ginger, bromelain, serrapeptase, nattokinase, NAC. Also off: evening primrose, dong quai, St. John's Wort, kava, valerian — these affect anesthesia and sedation. The cheat code: if it's herbal and you're not 100% sure — it comes out.
~1–2 wks out
Alcohol fully off. Weed — per anesthesia's instructions. NSAIDs (ibuprofen, Advil, Aleve, aspirin) only as directed — Tylenol is usually fine but confirm. These are not the weeks to self-manage pain with Advil.
Tell them now
Weight-loss medication (GLP-1 family — Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro): surgeons and anesthesia teams often pause these before surgery. Don't stop on your own and don't hide it. Put it on the table at your next appointment. Everything else still running: vitamin D3, zinc, magnesium, B-complex, probiotic, protein, collagen peptides — these stay until your surgeon says otherwise.
Your surgeon's stop dates beat every date on this calendar. If they say a different week, do their week. This list exists so you walk into that conversation already knowing what to ask.
04
November — Surgery
Walk In Ready
The work is already done. Now trust it.
Surgery Month
Every supplement paused per the stop list

Blood-thinning supplements have been off for two weeks. Nicotine has been gone for at least four weeks, ideally much longer. Alcohol off. Weed off per anesthesia's date.

Labs checked and cleared

Your vitamin D, ferritin, CRP, and anything that came back off in June has been corrected and rechecked. You're walking in with optimized numbers, not hoping for the best.

What to keep running

Vitamin D3, magnesium glycinate, B-complex, probiotic, protein and collagen peptides, and enough water. These stay until your surgeon says otherwise.

Post-op protocol — MD-written, loads here after surgery

After surgery is where the dosed enzymes, arnica timing, prescription support, and "restart this, not that" decisions live. That gets written by your medical team off your labs and how you're healing — not pulled from a website. Your post-op protocol loads in once it's built.

Brand Ambassador Upload form

Brand Ambassador Upload form