Getting Closer to the Cure

It’s been a long summer. Last I updated I was beginning to feel better from the enzyme therapy I was doing with a doctor. Well, after a very stressful 2 weeks of a major parenting challenge, ALL of my symptoms came back. I felt disappointed and hopeless, and became very depressed. That, coupled with the stress from the challenge I was facing, actually brought me to a point where I didn’t want to live anymore. If you’ve ever been in the place you know how scary it is. I was sick and afraid and I had nowhere to turn for help. So I did the parasite cleanse. It did nothing. No die-off symptoms, no improvement in how I felt. Nothing. The good news: I can now rest assured I’m not full of worms. With that checked off my list I continued to search for answers. My intern suggested I may have leaky guy syndrome, so I researched that. I found that leaky gut, colitis, and IBS all have one thing in common, and it was one of the few things I hadn’t tried before. They are all helped by eliminating gluten from the diet. So I did that (I had been eating 2-4 slices of sprouted grain bread daily to help stabilize my blood sugar). I was afraid my blood sugar would go crazy if I stopped eating bread all together, so I found a gluten-free bread that is egg-free and sweetened with fruit juice instead of sugar like all the others. A week later I was still not feeling well, in a slightly different way, but not well just the same. The bread just felt very fake to me and my body didn’t respond well to it. I took a leap of faith and stopped eating bread all together. Another 2 weeks went by, still no improvement. I was still painfully bloated and tired all the time. I started looking into how to do a juice fast with hypoglycemia, but I didn’t get the best feeling about it. I was going to try and do as much juice and blended food as possible for a few weeks when I remembered my doctor saying she thinks I’m sugar intolerant, even to the point where a piece of fruit is too much for my body. Well, with hypoglycemia I pretty much live on fruit. I can’t digest raw vegetables, so I eat fruit and nuts and blend or juice a lot of leafy greens. I was really afraid to try going without any sugar, but I was also afraid of how I was feeling. I started researching after last Sunday evening when I almost went to the hospital because I was so sick I was afraid I was going to lose consciousness or die. My stomach was so full of air I was having trouble breathing. I was so bloated it felt like my guts were stretched to the max. I was having sharp pains in my colon and had large lumps all over my abdomen. I couldn’t stay awake the entire day. I couldn’t lay down more than a few minutes at night without sitting up to make myself burp so I could breath for a few seconds. I was irritable. I was having a lot of muscle pain and tension. I was often dizzy. When I stood up my head would pound and I would feel faint. I was often shaky and weak. I did a few days of studying, said a prayer, and jumped off the no sugar cliff. This is the end of day 2 with no sugar. I feel better than I have in as long as I can remember. I’m still bloated (though not as much and I no longer have the feeling of air in my stomach), and I’ve had some nausea and a whole lot of hunger and fruit cravings. I’m needing a lot of protein and cooked vegetables to get me through this, so I’m eating eggs, raw cheese, some pasteurized cheese, vegetables (mostly cooked), and germinated nuts and seeds, plus my regular wheatgrass and vegetable juice. I’m still bloated, but not painfully. I’m a little less tired than I was. I do not feel shaky or weak and am less irritable and tired. But the greatest thing is that the terrifying unbalanced-out-of-control-inside-myself feeling is gone. I feel “stable,” that’s the best way I can describe it. I will be eating this way for a total of 2-weeks, at which point I will try one sugar/carb food per day and see how it affects me. Many people find this process works as sort of a “reset” and afterward they are able to tolerate foods like fruit, natural sweeteners, and cacao (all things my body reacted negatively to before). Pray for me! I’m very much missing raw and the lightness that comes along with it. I’m feeling very heavy eating all this cooked food. I’ve realized through this that I actually LOVE raw food, it’s become more to me than just a necessary requirement for healing. Also, more extensive testing has been done and after a 2 month break from working with my doctor we will be starting back up on enzyme therapy again soon.

Good News and New Endeavors

It’s been a while since I updated. I do have some good news to share. I recently began the process of getting a certification in Wellness Coaching. I’m LOVING it! It’s so exciting; I’ve hardly slept at night since I began. My mind is spinning with business ideas and with all the things I’ve been learning. I set a goal to have my certificate by September, at which point I will begin working one on one with people to assist them in improving all aspects of wellness. Once I complete this certification, I plan to get a certification in Food Psychology. There are several others I also plan to get, but those are the first two. I will be using Craniosacral Therapy and Quantum Touch in my practice to help facilitate healing in my clients. Another method of healing I’m planning to employ is Meridian Tapping At some point I also plan to get a certificate in Raw Food Nutrition and Hypnotherapy. This is all very exciting! I will keep you updated on my progress and let you know when I begin seeing clients and when my website is up and running. I have big plans for how I will be able to reach people worldwide, giving one on one focus… wait for it!
In other news, last April I began seeing an internal medicine specialist who uses enzyme therapy. I had many positives throughout my body on the initial tests. Each time I’ve seen her I have fewer and fewer. I’m finally to a point where I don’t bloat and look pregnant every time I eat! I no longer get nausea and migraines while menstruating. I have less painful gas. I do not have nausea daily anymore, typically once every two weeks or so. The supplement I’m currently on is supposed to be helping to calm my nervous system and help me to sleep at night, but I haven’t seen an improvement yet.
The third, and last bit of news, related to the digestive news, is that after having a large lump in my lower right abdominal quadrant for a good 6+ months, I’ve decided to do a parasite cleanse. I had my specialist palpate the lump. She thought at first it might be appendicitis, but after doing a few tests she said it wasn’t likely. Her next guess was diverticulitis, but after coming home and studying that I really don’t think it is. There were no conclusive answers. I remembered reading in Norman Walker’s book Colon Health that upon x-ray of the colon if there is a certain shape of “pocket” at the beginning of the colon (the cecum) it is a parasite nest. This is not uncommon. Most of us have parasites and don’t realize it, even in developed countries. So I spent a week or two researching. The symptoms of Candida are the same as those for parasites, and the herbs that kill parasites also kill Candida. I found a great product called paraGONE by ReNew Life. It’s a 35 day cleanse. It’s pretty simple, you just take a few capsules and a liquid tincture several times a day along with a digestive enzyme, probiotics, and a fiber supplement which also contains probiotics. It’s all herbal. The reviews are awesome and it is a well-known, reputable product. The kids will also be doing the kid version of it. I plan to begin in the next few weeks; I just ordered my kit today. I will keep you all updated. Wish me luck! Also, I would urge you to do some research on parasites. You may also be infected. If you’ve got 3 or more of the following symptoms, it would be a good idea to do a cleanse (even if you don’t have symptoms, sometimes there aren’t any, it’s just a smart thing to do once a year). Here are some of the symptoms:
• Allergies
• Anemia
• B-12 Deficiency
• Bed-wetting
• Blindness/Worsening Vision
• Brain fog
• Central Nervous System Impairment
• Chest Pain
• Chills
• Colitis
• Cognitive Impairment
• Coughing
• Diarrhea or constipation
• Digestive complaints (gas, bloating, cramps, nausea, vomiting)
• Disturbed sleep
• Dizziness
• Enlargement of various organs
• Fever
• Gray hair
• Headaches
• Immunodeficiency (get sick easily)
• Insomnia
• Iron Deficiency
• Irritability/nervousness
• Irritable Bowel Syndrome
• Jaundice
• Joint pain
• Lung Congestion
• Memory Problems
• Muscle cramps
• Night Sweats
• Overall fatigue
• Pain in the navel
• Persistent skin problems
• Post-nasal drip
• Ravenous appetite (or loss of appetite)
• Rectal itching
• Skin ulcers
• Sugar craving
• Swelling facial features
• Teeth grinding
• Unusual Sweating
• Unusual weight loss or weight gain
• Vaginitis
• Weakness
CHILDREN ARE ESPECIALLY SUSCEPTIBLE TO PARASITES!

Healings to Date

I mentioned at the beginning of my winter cleanse that I’d found my initial list of symptoms and that I’d like to post concerning the symptoms I no longer have, or that have improved. Here it is:

I no longer:

• Ache all over
• Have night sweats
• Overheat
• Have jumpiness/startle very easily
• Have numbness or tingling in extremities
• Am unusually clumsy
• Insomnia
• Tooth/gum pain
• Dark specks floating in vision
• Sore spot on top of head
• Pain in hand when writing
• Shortness of breath
• Weak grasp
• Rapid, fluttery heartbeat
• Low back pain
• Sciatica pain
• Shin splints
• Weak ankles
• Buckling knees
• Pain and swelling on knees
• Swollen feet
• Difficulty climbing stairs
• Restless legs
• Painful 1^st steps in the morning
• Pelvic pain
• Feeling detached from reality/body
• Blacking out
• Cracking calluses on soles of feet
• Foot pain, inside of heel
• Pain down inner thigh
• Cheek bones tender to the touch
• Pain near left hip bone in abdomen

Improvements:

• Fatigue, I am no longer tired all day, or even every day, for that matter
• Sweet cravings, I no longer have them constantly and they do not control me
• Yeast, making small strides in this areas since I began taking Adya
• Don’t itch as much as I used to, less dry skin
• Less angry and irritable
• Hypoglycemia has improved considerably
• Don’t bruise as much
• Less dermographia
• Dizziness is much less frequent
• Post nasal drip is nearly nonexistent, no more coughing from it
• Anxiety episodes and few and far between and not nearly as intense, no full blown attacks
• Depression is rare
• Tearing, dryness of eyes, and blurred vision is nearly gone
• Heartburn is infrequent and can be remedied with ginger tea
• Hypersensitive nipples/breast pain almost nonexistent
• Bloating/gas/intestinal pain has improved
• Nausea, less frequent and can be remedied with ginger tea
• Immune System has strengthened quite a bit
• Eczema is improved quite a bit
• Short term memory has improved, less scattered thinking, better concentration

WOW. I thought it was only gone to be a few things! Well, that’s exciting. Its been fun revisiting my old life, NEVER going to relive it though!

Winter Cleanse Results & Future Plans

Thirteen days ago I started my winter cleanse. As of this morning I’ve lost 5 pounds and some inches off my waist (see the photos). The black is slowly fading from my fingers (see previous post on Adya Clarity). All in all, I feel pretty darn good, other than the hemorrhoids that are still being stubborn and painful.

The plans moving forward from here are to continue a cleansing diet and lifestyle. Its going to be much like my cleanse schedule was, but with a few less supplements. See the plan at the end of this post.

The plan moving forward:

Fruit, preferably low sugar

Low sugar green smoothies

Raw Food Meals and snacks (small, chewed well, all solid food as little as possible to keep blood sugar balanced)

Minimal cooked food, if any at all

Limit raw desserts to 2 servings per week, and eventually to 1 serving

• 1 green protein shake (Sun Warrior Protein)
• 1-2 qts green juice, fresh
• Greens First (optional)

Supplements:

• Ginger tea (1+ per day)
• Other tea (opt)
• Adya Supershot (2 per day)
• Adya Supershot
• 34 oz Adya water
• 34 oz Adya water
• Chromium (2 caps per day)
• B12
• Iodine (2 per day)
• Acidophilus (3 caps)
• Acidophilus (3 caps)
• Digestive Enzymes
• Digestive Enzymes
• Ginger caps
• Ginger caps
• Ginger caps
• Isaflush (1 at bedtime, for a few more weeks)

Lifestyle:

• Enema (once a week)
• Body scrubbing (before showers)
• Feet soak and pumice (once per week)
• Yoga (at least 2 days per week)
• Aerobic exercise (at least 20 mins, at least 5 days per week)
• Abdominal exercise and stretching (at least 4 days per week)
• Sleep (try to be in bed by 10:30 pm, up around 7:00 am)
• Deep breathing/cleansing breaths (daily)
• Fresh air and sun (go outside or open windows at least 15 mins per day)

Winter Cleanse, Day 9… Adya is Working, Check Out the Photos!!!!!

About 2 weeks ago, I was making smoothies for my kids using frozen blueberries. I noticed afterward the fingers of the hand I’d used to grab a handful of the berries looked sort of stained, like the berry juice got into all the crevices of my skin. I figured that’s what it was, since its winter and my skin is really dry and my hands do tend to crack in winter. So I decided I would use a measuring cup and not my bare hand from then on, and I did, but the “dirty” look never faded. I tried pumicing my fingers, figuring that if I could remove the dry, dead skin, the stain would go with it. To no avail. After about a week it actually seemed to be worse. I was beginning to wonder if I was doomed to have tainted looking hands forever. I mean, I was kind of starting to look like a hygienically challenged auto mechanic. Pretty embarrassing. Then one day, I noticed the stains were starting to show up on my other hand as well. I was perplexed… and then the “ah ha” moment came! I remembered when I first heard about Adya Clarity. It was from a video done by The Raw Food World (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0tDnqFZPi4I). I remembered them mentioning that one woman who was taking the supershots experienced her finger tips turning black from the expulsion of lead and heavy metals. BINGO! I’ve got lead coming out of my finger tips! That’s amazing! I was so excited… I took pictures! You’ve got to see this… THEN, you’ve got to order some Adya Clarity for yourself!!!!

Winter Cleanse, Day 7

Day 7 today. Some gross things to happily report… I’ve been through about 4 days of massive bloating and expelling all kinds of nastiness from my bowels. I find it fascinating that so much can come out of me when I’m eating a mostly liquid diet. I’ve been coughing up chunkies as well. Last Fri night and Sat morning it was as if my colon released bricks and it all plied up in my rectum and got stuck. I had to do an enema. It was so bad it was causing pain in my back from the pressure. As a result I ended up with marble sized hemorrhoids. Ouch. I forgot to list hemorrhoids as one of my major issues coming into this cleanse. I’ve been battling them since last February, when I got the flu and sat on the toilet for hours on end all night. It’s as though the blood vessel walls got so weak now they pool up every time I stand for too long, which I frequently do in the kitchen. They also flare up when I’m stressed. The tricky thing is that enemas irritate them, but I kind of have to do the enemas… so it’s an uncomfortable situation any way you play it. Anyway, my body is releasing stuff. I’ve had some cloudy, smelly urine, indicative of yeast. During the first few days of the cleanse I lose 4 pounds, then gained 3 back with all the bloat. I may extend the cleanse if it doesn’t all work itself out by the end of day 10. Part of the bloating, I’m sure, has to do with PMS and should soon be gone. I was excited when I realized my period would fall during my cleanse, since menses are cleansing as well. It gives my body one more avenue to expel toxins, and that’s always a good thing. I’ve gone through some rough patches over the past few days, but all for a good cause. It’s all just proof that it’s working, and I’m very thankful for that.

Winter Cleanse, End of Day 2

I’m quickly realizing this cleanse is so much more than just a 10-day break from over stuffing myself. As I’ve been making the time to take care of myself (exercise, meditation, leisurely baths, colon cleansing, etc.) I’ve felt something change in me. Another switch is flipping. I feel like I could go on with this cleanse forever. Usually, the first few days of a cleanse I’m just starving and cranky and want to give up. This is because my body is adjusting and switching gears to be able to start releasing toxins. This phase is followed by 3-4 days of detox symptoms, as the toxins are being released and my elimination organs are doing all they can do excrete them. During this time whatever bothersome symptoms I had prior to the cleanse get much worse. During the next phase, I feel amazing. I feel right with the world, comfortable in my own body, light; I feel like I could go on cleansing forever. At some point, like toward the end of my 30-day cleanse, I feel ready to stop simple because I want to eat! But I find it interesting that I woke up this morning feeling already in the “can do this indefinitely” phase. Who knows what’s to come, what I know is that I need to take most of the aspects of this cleanse and make them a part of my daily life. I need to live a cleansing lifestyle. I need to do enemas on at least a weekly basis. I need to make sure I get at least 34 oz of fresh vegetable juice AND a green smoothie or green protein shake every day. I need to keep up, at least for a while, with taking digestive enzymes and acidophilus. I need to make sure I’m getting aerobic exercise, sunlight, and fresh air everyday. I need to work on getting more sleep, and I need to be doing yoga at least twice a week. I also need to really focus on eating only when I’m physically hungry, and letting myself feel hungry for a bit before I eat. I’m having VERY little difficulty with hypoglycemia on this cleanse, which I’m surprised and so grateful for. It’s a miracle to me, a great blessing. I can now stop eating constantly, always trying to balance my blood sugar, but because I’ve had to do that for the past 18 months, and because I do eat emotionally, I need to break the habit of compulsive eating. I’m realizing how little my body actually needs, and that there are things greater than having something in my mouth that tastes good and gives me warm fuzzies for a little while. There are deeper things, spiritual things, that I’m in need of and the voice that is calling out for those things is silenced when I over eat. This is all a miracle to me, an answer to many prayers, and the materialization of my “Jesus Gift” (see my family blog) this year. It’s a wonderful thing.

Winter Cleanse, Day 1

The day is off to an interesting start. I can’t bear weight on my left foot without pain, it started yesterday evening. I think I may have stressed it running last Saturday… but the pain didn’t start until two days later, so I’m not sure. When I step on it it kind of feels like the bone is trying to break all down the left side of my foot. Unpleasant.

But on the subject of cleansing, I’m excited and nervous. I want to eat! It’s going to be tough. I’ve been working through some food addiction/compulsive eating issues over the past few weeks, so not eating much is scary. My blood sugar was a little low this morning so I ate a banana, waited until I felt hungry again and did my Adya shot. Now I’m working on a cup of Spring tea (The Herbalist). It going to be a day of much urination… and it hurts to wobble to the bathroom, oh my! I hadn’t though of that! Life is always an adventure!

I have a goal to lose 5 lbs over the next 10 days. My primary issues starting out are: emotional/compulsive eating, acne on face and back, eczema around eyes, on ear, on elbow and knees, pain and tension in muscles, abdominal bloating, gas, headaches, itchy/dry skin, fingernail breakage, and rash around the mouth of my nursing toddler who also has foul smelling urine. I’m VERY excited that swollen feet and hypoglycemia are off the major issues list!!!!

Upcoming Winter Cleanse

I like to cleanse for 7-10 days, 4 times per year. I’m really feeling the need to flush out all this winter muck from my cells. So, starting January 18^th, and lasting for 10-days, I’ll be doing a self-prescribed digestive cleanse which will also facilitate the cleansing of my liver and gall bladder. I wouldn’t necessarily recommend someone who isn’t familiar with cleansing to jump in and self-prescribe. If you’re new to cleansing I would use a cleansing package (let me know if you need recommendations and/or coaching). I’ve got to modify my cleanse for breastfeeding and hypoglycemia, so there will be some solid foods as needed, by I’m planning to keep to low-sugar fruits and vegetables and eat as little as I can while still keeping my blood sugar balanced.

The other day I came across my initial list of unpleasant symptoms, from before I began to go vegan or raw. I thought I’d lost it… but here it is! I can now see how far I’ve come. Following this cleanse I will post an update on my healing progress. I am now 1 and ½ years into my raw vegan journey.

Here is my daily cleanse plan:

Food:

Low sugar fruit, as needed

Low sugar green smoothie, as needed

100% Raw Food Meals and snacks (small, chewed well, all solid food as little as possible to keep blood sugar balanced)

• 1 green protein shake (Sun Warrior Protein)
• 34 oz green juice, fresh
• 34 oz green juice, fresh
• Greens First (optional)

Supplements:

• Ginger tea (1+ per day)
• Ginger tea
• Ginger tea
• Namaste or spring tea (1+ per day)
• Namaste or spring tea
• Namaste or spring tea
• Adya Supershot (2 per day)
• Adya Supershot
• 34 oz Adya water
• 34 oz Adya water
• Chromium (2 caps per day)
• B12
• Iodine (2 per day)
• L.B.T. caps (1-2 caps per day)
• Acidophilus (3 caps)
• Acidophilus (3 caps)
• Acidophilus (3 caps)
• Digestive Enzymes
• Digestive Enzymes
• Digestive Enzymes
• Ginger caps
• Ginger caps
• Ginger caps
• Gall Bladder Flush (every other day, at bedtime, followed by tea)
• Isaflush (at bedtime)

Lifestyle:

• Enema (everyday to at least every 2 days)
• Body scrubbing (before showers)
• Feet soak in Adya and pumice (at least every 3 days)
• Yoga (at least every other day)
• Aerobic exercise (at least 15 mins per day)
• Sleep (try to be in bed by 10:30 pm, up around 7:00 am)
• Fresh air and sun (go outside or open windows at least 15 mins per day)

I’ll keep you updated, wish me will power!

Follow Up from This Mornings Post

First of all, the enema was MUCH needed! My colon pretty much sounded like a haunted house the entire time. I’ve never heard anything quite like it. It was fabulous… and gross… but better out than in.

What I really wanted to talk about though was after the enema. See, normally I don’t get to do things to take care of myself, as I’m looking after the demands of a house full of children all day without a break. Today I was home sick from church. So, after the enema I treated myself to a yoga session. I used Maya Fiennes’s DVD Kundalini Yoga to Detox and Destress. I purchased it just recently and hadn’t used it yet. I used to have some of her sessions recorded on our DVR and I loved them, but we switched providers and I’ve been without them for quite sometime, so I was very excited to have found her DVDs. Yoga is always a journey for me. I emerge from each session a better person. This session was, by far, the greatest yet. I cried multiple times throughout the session and I could feel negative emotions rising up and releasing. I could feel myself tuning into my core, my spirit, my true self, and my connection with God, the source of all knowledge. This is Kundalini. I feel incredibly relaxed and filled with soothing, pure, life energy. I can effortlessly take in a deep breath now, whereas usually there is too much tension in my chest to breathe deeply. Afterward I went to the kitchen to drink some water and I could feel my weight in my calves and could feel myself connected to the floor, in a grounded way. I normally live in my head. I never experience existing in my body. But I did today. I was so aware of the floor under my feet and could feel my weight balanced so perfectly between them. I felt like I physically existed in the world, not like I was alone and overwhelmed, like I typically do. I need to find some way to get help with my children so that I can do yoga more often. I may have to do it in the bedroom at night when Kolby watches TV and the kids are asleep, I’ve been avoiding that because its my only time with Kolby, but this is something I really need and I believe will make me a much better, and much healthier, person. I’m off to drink more water… got to flush out all the toxins I just released!