Before I start today's post, I just want to say that I make no claims that this blog is anything but self-indulgent ramblings of the issues with my health. So, bear with me as I get some things off my chest- I don't own a journal, never have, and this is closest I have to it. :)
This week sucks. Mere hours after my last blog post I had my first gallbladder attack in the two and half weeks since my last flush. To say I was upset about it, would be an understatement. I was torn apart by it.
Full. Blown. Meltdown.
I'm not even joking when I say I had a meltdown. It was horrible. During the attack I just went in to my usual regime of supplements and waiting to see what works and for the pain to subside. It started at about 3:30am and I finally crawled back in to bed around 5:00am, though it took me another 30 minutes to finally get to sleep. When I woke up several hours later my body felt like a dead weight and I had no desire to move. I made a breakfast of juiced cucumber, apple, and ginger and then decided I should do a castor oil pack to help things heal.
Now, I know I never talked about castor oil packs like I was suppose to and let me tell you why. They didn't help me much, in fact, they just made my liver and gallbladder feel like they got punched when I was done with them. I even tried reducing the amount of time I kept the castor oil and heat on my GB and it still caused pain and tenderness. So, I abandoned the concept. Well, thought that after the attack was a good time to bring them back out.
What happened after the castor oil pack was a very quick unraveling of my mental and emotional state. I jumped in the shower to clean the castor oil off (it's sticky) and within minutes of the warm water hitting my back I began the meltdown. Uncontrollable sobbing- the really ugly kind- began and I was overcome with the sensation of wanting to scream and kick. Despite being alone in the house I was still strangely self-conscious about it, but my body just needed to let (whatever it was) out. I cried (nee Sobbed) through the whole shower and while I was getting dressed. I went to make my lunch for the day- salad with grated beets- and my need to go in to a primal rage of screaming and kicking went in to a full blown state of emergency.
Something had to get out.
I decided whatever emotion/anger needed to come out was not coming out properly with the sobbing and I needed to give in my overwhelming desire to punch, kick, and scream. Not wanting to break any holes in walls, I opted for a pillow. Thankfully, the pillow survived my attack, but had I not run out of energy it might have been a different story. Collapsing on to the pillow after the screaming and punching was done, I knew that something intense was going on in my body. Some deep anger that was stuffed in my liver was working it's way out and I had done my best to allow that process to happen.
The rest of the day was spent quietly. I went to work for an hour before, received acupuncture treatment on my liver/GB, and was sent home to finish recovering. There wasn't a lot of protesting to do on being sent home, I was a wreck and knew it. I started crying the moment I walked in the door.
Sadly, I don't feel like I got everything out. While retelling the story during my therapy session today I felt my body tense and react quiet violently, and hours later the tension has not gone away. It's as though my body has gone in to a severe "fight or flight" mode in reaction to my emotional detox and the detox does not yet feel complete. There is still a lot of pent up anger that hasn't worked out and I don't feel well as a result. I tried to go out to dinner with a friend tonight, but felt sick the whole time. Even now, I'm not sure I'm going to get much restful sleep tonight because my liver/gb area are quite tender to the touch which tells me there might be another attack on the way.
Sigh. This sucks.
On the bright side, I discovered something today. Wanting to know why my gb is still torturing me after TWO liver flushes I had a phone consultation with the gallbladderattack.com lady, Debbie. She and I had a great conversation and she suggested that there is a good possibility that I have an underlying thyroid issue that is causing the continued flare-ups. She gave me great suggestions on a diet program to follow and some supplements to help get things back in balance. I will need to do some blood work to confirm the suspicion, but somewhere deep in my heart I have thought for a while now that I might have something wrong with my thyroid. My first giveaway was that my hands and feet are always cold and I sleep with thick socks and blankets even in the summer.
The good thing is that the diet she is recommended is essentially the diet I followed two years ago- fish and veggies. Not a problem, I can do that. And I so want to be well that I don't think cupcakes will even tempt me anymore. Over two years ice cream free, I'm pretty sure I can make that happen for cupcakes too.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Monday, September 27, 2010
Liver Flush Recovery: Acupuncture
Has it really been 10 days since I last posted? Man, time flies!
The big news in my liver recovery is that 1) It is a very slow process for my body and I'm having a hard time being patient, and 2) Acupuncture has so far been the best thing I have done to help out the cause.
Seriously.
I had a bit of a meltdown last week as a result of my frustration with the ongoing discomfort in my liver/gallbladder region despite having completed two flushes. My poor husband stayed up until way past his bedtime listening to my cry and rant and rave about how upset I was that I still had pain and nausea and yuckiness as a result of my liver. Well, this conversation (read: verbal vomit session) turned in to my ranting about my frustration with my life and people in it. Woah. Bigtime emotional detox happened.
Two days later I had a massage scheduled again and I couldn't have needed it more. My awesome therapist brought all her healing aromatherapy oils and rubbed my liver region with ginger and grapefruit oil, rested some hot towels on it, and then did a very relaxing full body massage. It was sheer perfection.
Only kicker was that my liver did not stop flaring up after the massage. It still felt distended and hurt quite a bit. I had some time before I had to start working so I put myself on the schedule for acupuncture (did I mention I love having a job perk being able to get both massage and acupuncture while I'm at the office- super fantastic!). I told Doc that my liver was being uncooperative and we needed to get it to stop being so "pissed off." He picked six points for acupuncture- 4 alarm points for my liver and gallbladder on my stomach and two alarm points to coincide with them for my arms. The acupuncture needle he put in directly above my gallbladder was quite tender and I actually gasped a bit when he inserted the needle. Heat radiated from that point for the entire 20 minute session. I was not surprised when the needles were pulled out that I bled at that alarm point. Within ten minutes after the needle was removed I knew I was going to be bruised. The rest of the day any tiny brush over that area was enough to take my breath away from how sensitive it was! A small little knot appeared where the needle had been, almost like a hive. I was laughing at how quickly my body reacted to that acupuncture point being stimulated!
As predicted, I have a pretty fun looking bruise in that area. But I could care less- that acupuncture session made the pain stop. My liver has stopped swelling so severely and slowly but surely I am making more improvement. Relief is a precious commodity in my world, and that acupuncture session was priceless in my recovery. Now that the bruise is starting to heal, I am hoping to do another session this week to stimulate my body's recovery further and aid my liver in rejuvenating itself after a long ordeal.
Despite my continued frustration with how slow my body is to recover, a little voice in my head keeps reminding me to be patient whenever I get really worked up about it. The voice keeps popping in my head, whispering "patience" at just the right moments. I have to listen to it. Even though I am tired of waiting, I have to listen to it. My body is taking it's time to heal and I have to allow it to do it's thing in it's own time. Somewhere deep in my heart I know I need to allow at least six weeks before I make a determination on the success of the flush and have an ultrasound to see what is going on in my insides.
Two and a half weeks down, three and a half left to go.
The big news in my liver recovery is that 1) It is a very slow process for my body and I'm having a hard time being patient, and 2) Acupuncture has so far been the best thing I have done to help out the cause.
Seriously.
I had a bit of a meltdown last week as a result of my frustration with the ongoing discomfort in my liver/gallbladder region despite having completed two flushes. My poor husband stayed up until way past his bedtime listening to my cry and rant and rave about how upset I was that I still had pain and nausea and yuckiness as a result of my liver. Well, this conversation (read: verbal vomit session) turned in to my ranting about my frustration with my life and people in it. Woah. Bigtime emotional detox happened.
Two days later I had a massage scheduled again and I couldn't have needed it more. My awesome therapist brought all her healing aromatherapy oils and rubbed my liver region with ginger and grapefruit oil, rested some hot towels on it, and then did a very relaxing full body massage. It was sheer perfection.
Only kicker was that my liver did not stop flaring up after the massage. It still felt distended and hurt quite a bit. I had some time before I had to start working so I put myself on the schedule for acupuncture (did I mention I love having a job perk being able to get both massage and acupuncture while I'm at the office- super fantastic!). I told Doc that my liver was being uncooperative and we needed to get it to stop being so "pissed off." He picked six points for acupuncture- 4 alarm points for my liver and gallbladder on my stomach and two alarm points to coincide with them for my arms. The acupuncture needle he put in directly above my gallbladder was quite tender and I actually gasped a bit when he inserted the needle. Heat radiated from that point for the entire 20 minute session. I was not surprised when the needles were pulled out that I bled at that alarm point. Within ten minutes after the needle was removed I knew I was going to be bruised. The rest of the day any tiny brush over that area was enough to take my breath away from how sensitive it was! A small little knot appeared where the needle had been, almost like a hive. I was laughing at how quickly my body reacted to that acupuncture point being stimulated!
As predicted, I have a pretty fun looking bruise in that area. But I could care less- that acupuncture session made the pain stop. My liver has stopped swelling so severely and slowly but surely I am making more improvement. Relief is a precious commodity in my world, and that acupuncture session was priceless in my recovery. Now that the bruise is starting to heal, I am hoping to do another session this week to stimulate my body's recovery further and aid my liver in rejuvenating itself after a long ordeal.
Despite my continued frustration with how slow my body is to recover, a little voice in my head keeps reminding me to be patient whenever I get really worked up about it. The voice keeps popping in my head, whispering "patience" at just the right moments. I have to listen to it. Even though I am tired of waiting, I have to listen to it. My body is taking it's time to heal and I have to allow it to do it's thing in it's own time. Somewhere deep in my heart I know I need to allow at least six weeks before I make a determination on the success of the flush and have an ultrasound to see what is going on in my insides.
Two and a half weeks down, three and a half left to go.
Friday, September 17, 2010
If I could see my liver
I'm pretty sure that if I could see my liver right now it would be a purply-bluish, about to turn to the yellow-green stage, bruise. You know what I'm taking about. It's so tender that is sometimes is uncomfortable to breathe! I did my castor oil pack tonight (shorter session, as advised my my Naturopathic Dr) and yet again it feels so tender I don't want to lay down to sleep and I just want to send a lot of love it's way so it can heal fast!
I actually tried talking to my liver today.
Gently rubbing in circles I told it that it was full of love, light, joy, happiness, and peace. My reasoning is that it needs a lot of positive energy. I spent so many years feeding it negative energy from all of my anger and hurt in life, and that caused it to become sick and riddled with stones. So, I'm turning over a new leaf and telling it how much I love it and the world around me. Currently, I am toying with the idea of writing it letters on a daily basis.
Here's a start:
Dear Mr Liver and Mrs Gallbladder-
I am so sorry to have hurt you in the past. I took my anger at the outside world and focused it on abusing and damaging you by eating too much and filling you with toxic things. Had I known how much I was hurting you and been able to see with clear eyes what was happening, I would have treated you better. My burden and hurt was not yours to bear. I am sorry. I love you and cherish you from this day forward.
Love, Jes
It's a start. And another good start is to stop throwing dairy at my liver. Bad experience with eating too much butter tonight. I tell you what, since this last liver flush I notice my body's reaction to foods much more! Every time I eat something with even a little bit of dairy in it- mostly it's been dairy in the form of butter or margarine since I have been good about avoiding cheese- I notice some pretty intense reactions by my body. It's always either my sinuses start to hurt or I start to feel really nauseous. Tonight after I ate that bread slathered in butter I felt like vomiting for the better part of 30 minutes. And now I am left with what feels like 20 pounds of bloating. I think I honestly went up a pants size since dinner, no joke.
I think my next letter to my liver should be to thank it for telling me what it doesn't like.
I actually tried talking to my liver today.
Gently rubbing in circles I told it that it was full of love, light, joy, happiness, and peace. My reasoning is that it needs a lot of positive energy. I spent so many years feeding it negative energy from all of my anger and hurt in life, and that caused it to become sick and riddled with stones. So, I'm turning over a new leaf and telling it how much I love it and the world around me. Currently, I am toying with the idea of writing it letters on a daily basis.
Here's a start:
Dear Mr Liver and Mrs Gallbladder-
I am so sorry to have hurt you in the past. I took my anger at the outside world and focused it on abusing and damaging you by eating too much and filling you with toxic things. Had I known how much I was hurting you and been able to see with clear eyes what was happening, I would have treated you better. My burden and hurt was not yours to bear. I am sorry. I love you and cherish you from this day forward.
Love, Jes
It's a start. And another good start is to stop throwing dairy at my liver. Bad experience with eating too much butter tonight. I tell you what, since this last liver flush I notice my body's reaction to foods much more! Every time I eat something with even a little bit of dairy in it- mostly it's been dairy in the form of butter or margarine since I have been good about avoiding cheese- I notice some pretty intense reactions by my body. It's always either my sinuses start to hurt or I start to feel really nauseous. Tonight after I ate that bread slathered in butter I felt like vomiting for the better part of 30 minutes. And now I am left with what feels like 20 pounds of bloating. I think I honestly went up a pants size since dinner, no joke.
I think my next letter to my liver should be to thank it for telling me what it doesn't like.
Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Liver Flush Recover: Massage
Ok, I owe you a post on the castor oil packs I promised to share about, but I'm changing it up today.
This morning I had the most healing and fantastic massage I've had in a long time. I asked my massage therapist to do a lymphatic massage on me and to work my liver area. It was so therapeutic. My body literally melted in to the table by the end and I did not want to get up!
I'm lucky to work at an office where we have six amazing massage therapists on staff, all with different specialties. I lucked out and was able to get a massage with Chris, who has not only done several liver flushes (and colonics!), but it as expert at giving you the most relaxing massage ever. She started on my neck, then worked on my liver area, following it with lavender aromatherapy oil in that area, then did reflexology on my feet to stimulate healing in my liver and then finished with a light massage on my legs and back. It was pure bliss- it's a wonder I was able to function the rest of the day.
What I really want to share about this massage, however, is the part that surprised me the most. When she touched my liver area for the first time- and during that portion of the massage- I felt an intense emotional release happen. I was overcoming with a feeling of wanting to sob uncontrollably. For her sake, I fought back the ugly hysterical sobbing and just allowed tears to run quietly (which were easily mistaken for allergies given that they are quite bad lately- the second I lay down in bed they start pouring). Once she had moved on to my feet I told her what happened. Being as awesome as she is, she told me that it was a very valid reaction given that we store a lot of emotion in our liver. Given my history of emotional turmoil (which I think I discussed in the past... too lazy to find the post) I actually believe it was a contributing factor to my body's development of gallstones and digestive impairment.
What an experience. I hope I luck out next week and can get an opening with her again to do some more healing work. That massage was just what my body wanted and needed and I'm hoping my liver benefited as much as I believe it did.
Let the healing really begin.
This morning I had the most healing and fantastic massage I've had in a long time. I asked my massage therapist to do a lymphatic massage on me and to work my liver area. It was so therapeutic. My body literally melted in to the table by the end and I did not want to get up!
I'm lucky to work at an office where we have six amazing massage therapists on staff, all with different specialties. I lucked out and was able to get a massage with Chris, who has not only done several liver flushes (and colonics!), but it as expert at giving you the most relaxing massage ever. She started on my neck, then worked on my liver area, following it with lavender aromatherapy oil in that area, then did reflexology on my feet to stimulate healing in my liver and then finished with a light massage on my legs and back. It was pure bliss- it's a wonder I was able to function the rest of the day.
What I really want to share about this massage, however, is the part that surprised me the most. When she touched my liver area for the first time- and during that portion of the massage- I felt an intense emotional release happen. I was overcoming with a feeling of wanting to sob uncontrollably. For her sake, I fought back the ugly hysterical sobbing and just allowed tears to run quietly (which were easily mistaken for allergies given that they are quite bad lately- the second I lay down in bed they start pouring). Once she had moved on to my feet I told her what happened. Being as awesome as she is, she told me that it was a very valid reaction given that we store a lot of emotion in our liver. Given my history of emotional turmoil (which I think I discussed in the past... too lazy to find the post) I actually believe it was a contributing factor to my body's development of gallstones and digestive impairment.
What an experience. I hope I luck out next week and can get an opening with her again to do some more healing work. That massage was just what my body wanted and needed and I'm hoping my liver benefited as much as I believe it did.
Let the healing really begin.
Monday, September 13, 2010
Liver Flush Recovery- Colonic
Day4 and today was my much awaited colonic.
I know, it seems wrong to say that I was excitedly waiting for a colonic, but I was.
Boy was it a good one! My body was so ready to expel that leftover stuff from the flush that I only made it about 20 minutes in to the session before my body said enough and wanted to get everything out, and fast! What differences from the other four colonics I've had! This time my body forced the tube out just about 20 minutes in and I was having sharp pains in my colon (which forced the tube out). My hydroptherapist told me to "expel" (sounds fun, I know) in the washroom before we could restart the session. Went to the washroom and very quickly my body expel quite a bit. So much, so fast, that my therapists could hear it from down the hall!
Did I ever tell you there is no such thing as TMI on this blog? Anyway...
Well, apparently that wasn't it. That I was done "expelling" but my body had other ideas. About a minute later I was rushing back to the toilet to expel again. In fact, it happened three more times before I left the building- we had decided my body was done for the day after the first two. What blew my mind is that I ended up expelling at least 50 more pea sized gallstones!
Woah!
These gallstones weren't the same as the once I flushed out before, but I am certain that was what they were. It all made sense why I wasn't feeling so good since I did the flush on Friday! I'm thinking now that all of that is out of me I can hopefully sleep well tonight!
Great thing about my session today was that I got to talk to my hydrotherapist (who is a Naturopathic Doctor as well) about what to do in the coming days and weeks to help my liver help. I explained to her that it felt like someone had literally punched my liver and it was very tender and causing hot flashes and other discomforts (told her about how much more grueling this flush was in comparison to the first). She said that when I removed those stones it was the equivalent of picking a scab. Made a lot of sense. Many of those stones had been on my liver for a long while, and by flushing them out I exposed part of my liver and it now needs to heal.
She recommended that I do castor oil packs with a heating pad on my liver for several days to help the healing. I found it interesting that she said she had done castor oil packs after having bladder surgery years ago and that the doctors were amazed by how quickly she had healed from surgery.
So, that being said. I'm off to do my first castor oil pack. More on that tomorrow!
I know, it seems wrong to say that I was excitedly waiting for a colonic, but I was.
Boy was it a good one! My body was so ready to expel that leftover stuff from the flush that I only made it about 20 minutes in to the session before my body said enough and wanted to get everything out, and fast! What differences from the other four colonics I've had! This time my body forced the tube out just about 20 minutes in and I was having sharp pains in my colon (which forced the tube out). My hydroptherapist told me to "expel" (sounds fun, I know) in the washroom before we could restart the session. Went to the washroom and very quickly my body expel quite a bit. So much, so fast, that my therapists could hear it from down the hall!
Did I ever tell you there is no such thing as TMI on this blog? Anyway...
Well, apparently that wasn't it. That I was done "expelling" but my body had other ideas. About a minute later I was rushing back to the toilet to expel again. In fact, it happened three more times before I left the building- we had decided my body was done for the day after the first two. What blew my mind is that I ended up expelling at least 50 more pea sized gallstones!
Woah!
These gallstones weren't the same as the once I flushed out before, but I am certain that was what they were. It all made sense why I wasn't feeling so good since I did the flush on Friday! I'm thinking now that all of that is out of me I can hopefully sleep well tonight!
Great thing about my session today was that I got to talk to my hydrotherapist (who is a Naturopathic Doctor as well) about what to do in the coming days and weeks to help my liver help. I explained to her that it felt like someone had literally punched my liver and it was very tender and causing hot flashes and other discomforts (told her about how much more grueling this flush was in comparison to the first). She said that when I removed those stones it was the equivalent of picking a scab. Made a lot of sense. Many of those stones had been on my liver for a long while, and by flushing them out I exposed part of my liver and it now needs to heal.
She recommended that I do castor oil packs with a heating pad on my liver for several days to help the healing. I found it interesting that she said she had done castor oil packs after having bladder surgery years ago and that the doctors were amazed by how quickly she had healed from surgery.
So, that being said. I'm off to do my first castor oil pack. More on that tomorrow!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Liver Flush: Day 3- Recovery
Today was a mixed review kind of day.
I slept like a rock last night. Did not want to get out of bed, but decided 9am was late enough for sleeping in. The fact that my husband got out of bed before me is usually a sign that I'm oversleeping- he can sleep for over 12 hours and still not want to get out of bed on the weekends. He's the sleeper of the two of us- I'm the insomniac.
Despite my intense want for something unhealthy for breakfast, I was really good and drank an Odwalla fruit drink (love them!). It was a good thing that was all I had too, because my gallbladder was not ready for a lot of food this morning. Much protesting happened for about 15 minutes after I was done eating, but I was smart and took a small amount of supplements to help ease the burden on my GB. Felt fairly normal (though I'm not even sure what that is anymore after so many years of health issues) afterwards.
Lunch went over much the same as breakfast, though the small amount of snacking I did in between meals went better than I expected. Small complaints from my GB, but nothing groundbreaking, and most of it went away quickly without supplements.
Dinner was fantastic! My mother-in-law was insistent on finally taking me out for a belated birthday dinner and I begrudgingly agreed to it. I did not want to go and was really nervous about eating out so soon after the flush. Despite my fear though, my dinner went over fantastically without even a mild peep from my GB! Woohoo!
However, I don't think I ate enough because I was craving more food within minutes of finishing the meal. Real hunger or imagined, I'm not sure- there is no trusting my body on these things. I bypassed dessert at the restaurant but had toast with jelly when I got home. That also went over just fine. Another small victory.
As is usual for me however, I got a bit too confident and took a few too many tastings of a homemade potato leek soup that I made tonight and now I've got some discomfort. Onions help to clean the liver, and I think perhaps it's a bit too soon for that soup I made. Le sigh. We will try some for lunch tomorrow and see what happens when it is followed by supplements.
Speaking of tomorrow... I get my follow-up colonic! Exciting, I know. I'm looking forward to it though because I know it will help to finish cleaning out the oil that I drank and any other waste that didn't expel completely during the flush. The colonic I had after the last flush was quite intense at times, and I'm assuming this one will be no different.
I'm also looking forward to getting a chiropractic adjustment tomorrow. My body is all whacked out from the flush- I know at least one rib is out and my whole spine feels jacked up. I've found in the past that adjustments really help with my gallbladder function, so this one is going to be really important tomorrow!
I slept like a rock last night. Did not want to get out of bed, but decided 9am was late enough for sleeping in. The fact that my husband got out of bed before me is usually a sign that I'm oversleeping- he can sleep for over 12 hours and still not want to get out of bed on the weekends. He's the sleeper of the two of us- I'm the insomniac.
Despite my intense want for something unhealthy for breakfast, I was really good and drank an Odwalla fruit drink (love them!). It was a good thing that was all I had too, because my gallbladder was not ready for a lot of food this morning. Much protesting happened for about 15 minutes after I was done eating, but I was smart and took a small amount of supplements to help ease the burden on my GB. Felt fairly normal (though I'm not even sure what that is anymore after so many years of health issues) afterwards.
Lunch went over much the same as breakfast, though the small amount of snacking I did in between meals went better than I expected. Small complaints from my GB, but nothing groundbreaking, and most of it went away quickly without supplements.
Dinner was fantastic! My mother-in-law was insistent on finally taking me out for a belated birthday dinner and I begrudgingly agreed to it. I did not want to go and was really nervous about eating out so soon after the flush. Despite my fear though, my dinner went over fantastically without even a mild peep from my GB! Woohoo!
However, I don't think I ate enough because I was craving more food within minutes of finishing the meal. Real hunger or imagined, I'm not sure- there is no trusting my body on these things. I bypassed dessert at the restaurant but had toast with jelly when I got home. That also went over just fine. Another small victory.
As is usual for me however, I got a bit too confident and took a few too many tastings of a homemade potato leek soup that I made tonight and now I've got some discomfort. Onions help to clean the liver, and I think perhaps it's a bit too soon for that soup I made. Le sigh. We will try some for lunch tomorrow and see what happens when it is followed by supplements.
Speaking of tomorrow... I get my follow-up colonic! Exciting, I know. I'm looking forward to it though because I know it will help to finish cleaning out the oil that I drank and any other waste that didn't expel completely during the flush. The colonic I had after the last flush was quite intense at times, and I'm assuming this one will be no different.
I'm also looking forward to getting a chiropractic adjustment tomorrow. My body is all whacked out from the flush- I know at least one rib is out and my whole spine feels jacked up. I've found in the past that adjustments really help with my gallbladder function, so this one is going to be really important tomorrow!
Liver Flush: Day 2- Holy Cleanse, Batman!
As with any "cleanse" program, trips to the bathroom are to be expected. Not only did I do the obligatory time taking care of business today, but I dreamt about it last night, too!
I have to laugh because this time around doing the liver flush, I did not sleep as soundly as I did the first time. My guess is because this one was cleaning out the really deep sludge and stones that didn't make it out on the first flush. As a result, I woke up overheated and not feeling well at about 3am (for those of you following Chinese medicine, this is right about the time of night where the liver and stomach are at their highest level of functioning). For someone who is always cold, this is odd. I was so hot in fact that I turned the AC down to a colder temperature so I could get back to sleep! Had a little bit of nausea that was alleviated with the phosphoric acid water, and I was able to get back to sleep.
However, it was short lived. Woke back up, overheated again, around 5-5:30 (when the lung and large intestine are most active). Again, I also had some nausea, but nothing horrible. I also developed a little bit of the same thick, sludgy mucus in my sinuses that I got when I did the series of mini-flushes a few months ago. I think that not having had a colonic in three weeks caused some of these side effects. Note to self next time I do a flush: get a colonic no less than two weeks ahead of time!
In between all the overheating, waking up, and nausea I had some really interesting dreams. A lot of the dreams involved traveling and socializing with many of my friends from all parts of my life (I thank facebook for the randomness of getting my brain to concoct that collection of people in one dream), and meanwhile searching for a bathroom to expel the gallstones I had just taking the flush drink for. In hindsight, perhaps I should have gone to the bathroom for real in the middle of the night, but I didn't want to get out of bed, or start things moving too early- and then be up all night as a result- so I held it. Either way, the dream was quite entertaining and ended with a bus trip through a severe thunderstorm that dropped us off at a winery outside of town so my friend could make it to a party. Weird, I know.
After going back to sleep for a while longer, I woke up at 7:15 again and decided it was time to get things moving for the day. I took the third dose of salts and let the "magic" begin quickly thereafter. I was unable to go back to sleep because my liver and gallbladder were a bit inflamed from the deep cleansing, so I just stayed up and played on the Internet. :)
The day was not near as eventful as the first flush, as evidenced by how much less toilet paper I went through today from the previous flush. Nonetheless, I was happy to see a large number of stones expelled today. None were quite as large as the first time (a couple of stones were the size of silver dollars), ranging from pea-sized to mere flecks today. That tells me the flush was a success, and definitely needed.
I wish I could say my liver and gallbladder were relaxed and happy now, but they are not. I was telling my hubby earlier, that it feels a bit like some one punched me in the liver. Not wanting to have a repeat of what happened after the last flush, I have vowed to myself to treat my body very gently for the next two weeks while my liver and gallbladder recover. I tried to push things too quickly last time and ended up sick. Not gonna happen again! I started by making sure to take a small amount of supplements with dinner, including some silymarin (milk thistle) to heal my liver. I ended my night with some organic apple juice with a little bit of the phosphorous in it and then really seemed to calm things down.
Am I out of the woods yet? Not quite, but I'm sure after a few weeks recovery this one will take. Just to be sure, I did a quick tarot card reading on myself (I find them terribly fascinating and surprisingly accurate even though they are just cards shuffled randomly). The final answer to my question about the health of my liver and gallbladder? The three of wands in reverse. Want to know what that means?
Success.
I have to laugh because this time around doing the liver flush, I did not sleep as soundly as I did the first time. My guess is because this one was cleaning out the really deep sludge and stones that didn't make it out on the first flush. As a result, I woke up overheated and not feeling well at about 3am (for those of you following Chinese medicine, this is right about the time of night where the liver and stomach are at their highest level of functioning). For someone who is always cold, this is odd. I was so hot in fact that I turned the AC down to a colder temperature so I could get back to sleep! Had a little bit of nausea that was alleviated with the phosphoric acid water, and I was able to get back to sleep.
However, it was short lived. Woke back up, overheated again, around 5-5:30 (when the lung and large intestine are most active). Again, I also had some nausea, but nothing horrible. I also developed a little bit of the same thick, sludgy mucus in my sinuses that I got when I did the series of mini-flushes a few months ago. I think that not having had a colonic in three weeks caused some of these side effects. Note to self next time I do a flush: get a colonic no less than two weeks ahead of time!
In between all the overheating, waking up, and nausea I had some really interesting dreams. A lot of the dreams involved traveling and socializing with many of my friends from all parts of my life (I thank facebook for the randomness of getting my brain to concoct that collection of people in one dream), and meanwhile searching for a bathroom to expel the gallstones I had just taking the flush drink for. In hindsight, perhaps I should have gone to the bathroom for real in the middle of the night, but I didn't want to get out of bed, or start things moving too early- and then be up all night as a result- so I held it. Either way, the dream was quite entertaining and ended with a bus trip through a severe thunderstorm that dropped us off at a winery outside of town so my friend could make it to a party. Weird, I know.
After going back to sleep for a while longer, I woke up at 7:15 again and decided it was time to get things moving for the day. I took the third dose of salts and let the "magic" begin quickly thereafter. I was unable to go back to sleep because my liver and gallbladder were a bit inflamed from the deep cleansing, so I just stayed up and played on the Internet. :)
The day was not near as eventful as the first flush, as evidenced by how much less toilet paper I went through today from the previous flush. Nonetheless, I was happy to see a large number of stones expelled today. None were quite as large as the first time (a couple of stones were the size of silver dollars), ranging from pea-sized to mere flecks today. That tells me the flush was a success, and definitely needed.
I wish I could say my liver and gallbladder were relaxed and happy now, but they are not. I was telling my hubby earlier, that it feels a bit like some one punched me in the liver. Not wanting to have a repeat of what happened after the last flush, I have vowed to myself to treat my body very gently for the next two weeks while my liver and gallbladder recover. I tried to push things too quickly last time and ended up sick. Not gonna happen again! I started by making sure to take a small amount of supplements with dinner, including some silymarin (milk thistle) to heal my liver. I ended my night with some organic apple juice with a little bit of the phosphorous in it and then really seemed to calm things down.
Am I out of the woods yet? Not quite, but I'm sure after a few weeks recovery this one will take. Just to be sure, I did a quick tarot card reading on myself (I find them terribly fascinating and surprisingly accurate even though they are just cards shuffled randomly). The final answer to my question about the health of my liver and gallbladder? The three of wands in reverse. Want to know what that means?
Success.
Friday, September 10, 2010
Liver Flush- Day 1
In thirty minutes I will be downing a half cup of olive oil with the juice of a lemon. Nothing quite as tasty as drinking salad dressing, right?
I ate simply today in preparation for the flush, and all eating stopped around 2pm. This allows the stomach time to digest what is in there and not burden it with new food that may cause nausea while doing the flush. And I'm all for not feeling nauseous! With as slow as my digestion is, stopping at 2pm is a bit risky too!
At 6pm I took the first dose of "salts" to start opening the bile ducts. The traditional protocol is to drink epsom salts, but rumor has it those can make you feel quite sickly. I opted for the alternative Disodium Phosphate supplement recommended at gallbladderattack.com. Went well the last time with them, so I'm sticking with the plan. The first dose of salts isn't so bad. The effects are hardly noticeable with the exception of maybe a small bit of gurgling in the stomach.
Second dose of salts went down at 8pm. That's the dose that really gets things moving. Within an hour of taking them my body is ready to start "cleaning house" for lack of a better term. That's probably a good thing being that I'm about to dump a large amount of oil in my stomach. So, a couple of trips to the bathroom, some noticeable gurgling in my gut, a very mild amount of nausea and I'm good to go.
In about ten minutes I'm going to mix together the EVOO and lemon juice and make my preparations for bed. This includes a chase drink of apple juice with phosphoric acid drops in it, a large glass of plain water, and a small glass of water with phosphoric acid drops (a large quantity) in it to help with any potential nausea. Immediately after drinking the flush mix, I will go straight to bed and lie completely still on my right side for 30 minutes. After that, I'm good to go to bed and should avoid getting up unless I have to.
When I did the flush three weeks ago, during the 30 minutes I could feel a stone pass through the bile ducts. It was a strange "pop" sensation. Not painful at all, just kind of funny feeling. Not sure I will get that today since I cleaned so much out during the last flush, but we shall see what comes out tomorrow morning!
Thinking lots of positive thoughts that this will be the last flush I have to do in order to clean out my liver and gallbladder. I'm on my way to being pain and supplement free!!!!
I ate simply today in preparation for the flush, and all eating stopped around 2pm. This allows the stomach time to digest what is in there and not burden it with new food that may cause nausea while doing the flush. And I'm all for not feeling nauseous! With as slow as my digestion is, stopping at 2pm is a bit risky too!
At 6pm I took the first dose of "salts" to start opening the bile ducts. The traditional protocol is to drink epsom salts, but rumor has it those can make you feel quite sickly. I opted for the alternative Disodium Phosphate supplement recommended at gallbladderattack.com. Went well the last time with them, so I'm sticking with the plan. The first dose of salts isn't so bad. The effects are hardly noticeable with the exception of maybe a small bit of gurgling in the stomach.
Second dose of salts went down at 8pm. That's the dose that really gets things moving. Within an hour of taking them my body is ready to start "cleaning house" for lack of a better term. That's probably a good thing being that I'm about to dump a large amount of oil in my stomach. So, a couple of trips to the bathroom, some noticeable gurgling in my gut, a very mild amount of nausea and I'm good to go.
In about ten minutes I'm going to mix together the EVOO and lemon juice and make my preparations for bed. This includes a chase drink of apple juice with phosphoric acid drops in it, a large glass of plain water, and a small glass of water with phosphoric acid drops (a large quantity) in it to help with any potential nausea. Immediately after drinking the flush mix, I will go straight to bed and lie completely still on my right side for 30 minutes. After that, I'm good to go to bed and should avoid getting up unless I have to.
When I did the flush three weeks ago, during the 30 minutes I could feel a stone pass through the bile ducts. It was a strange "pop" sensation. Not painful at all, just kind of funny feeling. Not sure I will get that today since I cleaned so much out during the last flush, but we shall see what comes out tomorrow morning!
Thinking lots of positive thoughts that this will be the last flush I have to do in order to clean out my liver and gallbladder. I'm on my way to being pain and supplement free!!!!
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Tomorrow is the big day!
Liver flush #2 starts tomorrow after lunch. Ready. to. go.
Weirdest thing on yesterday was that I think I might have passed a gallstone during lunch. The nagging discomfort I had in my right side (which I attribute to my liver/gallbladder being swollen/aggravated/generally uncooperative) suddenly changed during that meal. It was a higher fat meal of a fabulous prosciutto with fig-olive tapenade sandwich and homemade potato chips at one of my favorite restaurants for lunches in my town. I ate more of the potato chips and sandwich than I normally do (though I'm sure you can understand why from the description). Took my supplements, like usual. Got the usually increased discomfort in my side, then about 15 minutes later it subsided and was replaced with a sharp pain in my stomach. I seem to recall a spasm in gallbladder area right before the discomfort switched to my stomach. For about 45 minutes I couldn't get in a deep breath the pain was so sharp in my stomach. When it finally went away I noticed a significant change in my right side- the pressure was gone!
In fact, I slept well for the first night since the first flush last night. Something definitely happened. This change is also good, because it makes me more comfortable with doing the second flush tomorrow and not having to postpone another week.
Just like before the first flush, I treated myself to something "not-so-healthy" for dinner tonight. My choice this time was a burger and some fresh candy corn. Candy corn is a weakness of mine, especially in the fall when it's fresh and soft. Last time I treated myself to cheesy tater tots from Sonic. Being that I 1) Am lactose intolerant and shouldn't be eating cheese anyway, 2) the tots always make me feel awful after I eat them (as they should anyone who eats them,honestly) and 3) I didn't feel like being as much of a glutton for punishment tonight after what happened the last time I ate them, I opted for these safer choices. All went just fine digestively- or, at least, I should say as well as anything else goes digestively. Though honestly, I think some of the reason my body doesn't digest well is that it's sick of supplements.
Wouldn't your body sick of being feed the same thing day in and day out for over two years. Yup. Pretty sure my body would like to be supplement free for a while.
So here's to a successful flush. I'll try to remember to blog during it tomorrow and Saturday.
Because I know everyone wants to hear the awful details of doing a gallbladder flush. :)
Weirdest thing on yesterday was that I think I might have passed a gallstone during lunch. The nagging discomfort I had in my right side (which I attribute to my liver/gallbladder being swollen/aggravated/generally uncooperative) suddenly changed during that meal. It was a higher fat meal of a fabulous prosciutto with fig-olive tapenade sandwich and homemade potato chips at one of my favorite restaurants for lunches in my town. I ate more of the potato chips and sandwich than I normally do (though I'm sure you can understand why from the description). Took my supplements, like usual. Got the usually increased discomfort in my side, then about 15 minutes later it subsided and was replaced with a sharp pain in my stomach. I seem to recall a spasm in gallbladder area right before the discomfort switched to my stomach. For about 45 minutes I couldn't get in a deep breath the pain was so sharp in my stomach. When it finally went away I noticed a significant change in my right side- the pressure was gone!
In fact, I slept well for the first night since the first flush last night. Something definitely happened. This change is also good, because it makes me more comfortable with doing the second flush tomorrow and not having to postpone another week.
Just like before the first flush, I treated myself to something "not-so-healthy" for dinner tonight. My choice this time was a burger and some fresh candy corn. Candy corn is a weakness of mine, especially in the fall when it's fresh and soft. Last time I treated myself to cheesy tater tots from Sonic. Being that I 1) Am lactose intolerant and shouldn't be eating cheese anyway, 2) the tots always make me feel awful after I eat them (as they should anyone who eats them,honestly) and 3) I didn't feel like being as much of a glutton for punishment tonight after what happened the last time I ate them, I opted for these safer choices. All went just fine digestively- or, at least, I should say as well as anything else goes digestively. Though honestly, I think some of the reason my body doesn't digest well is that it's sick of supplements.
Wouldn't your body sick of being feed the same thing day in and day out for over two years. Yup. Pretty sure my body would like to be supplement free for a while.
So here's to a successful flush. I'll try to remember to blog during it tomorrow and Saturday.
Because I know everyone wants to hear the awful details of doing a gallbladder flush. :)
Monday, September 6, 2010
The Good News and the Not As Good News
It's been awhile. I'll save everyone (all three of you) the stories about where I've been the last three months, but it's the usual. Been busy.
So let's move on and talk about the good news!
1) I'm back. Well, at least for today. I make no guarantees.
2) I completed a gallbladder/liver flush a few weeks ago and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It actually was really easy.
3) I am no longer allergic to apples!!!! I've been drinking apple juice daily for over three weeks. I think it really helped with the liver flush
4) I've had four colonics in the last month. Talk about detoxing! Also, easier than I thought it would be and definitely helped with the liver flush. I went in to it calm and prepared, and it went really well.
Now the not so good news. :(
1) The liver flush wasn't completely successful. :(
Really, that's the only not so good news. On Thursday I am going to do a second flush, and from what I understand that should finish the job and I should have some more permanent and lasting results.
To say I'm upset about the first one not being 100% successful would be an understatement. I was devastated. However, I did try to push it with my liver/gallbladder perhaps a bit too soon afterwards. Less than five days later I combined four of my triggers in one day and for some reason was thinking I would be invincible: eggs, cheese, coffee, and my allergy medicine (got my allergy shots that day). I had a gallbladder attack that last five hours that day. Two days after that I had another attack that lasted all night- and caused considerable discomfort throughout the next day. At that point, I decided I needed to add my supplements back in with every meal (because of the flush I had been going with little to no supplements). Thankfully, adding the supplements got things back down to my usual level of nothing or just mild discomfort.
I also stopped trying to challenge my digestive system. There is no doubt in my mind that I should not be eating dairy without a lactaid, and even then I'm not sure I should be eating it. My body just doesn't like it. Funny enough, my body does like the occasional dose of red meat and over the last two months every time I eat it my liver and gallbladder seem to calm down. Weird!
So, the goal for the next flush is to allow my liver the time it needs to heal afterwards. No food challenges for at least two weeks afterwards! It's a funny thing, that I keep having to remind myself that I'm not superhuman. I want so badly to eat like everyone else that I forget that eating like everyone else isn't how ANYONE should be eating anyway! Plus, my body is different than other people's- no person has the same digestive system, we all need to pay attention to how our bodies uniquely assimilate different foods. Gonna have to remind myself of that a bit more often.
On the good side again though, I haven noticed that my allergy to the sun has decreased significantly since the flush. Rather than having huge pussing hives that last for days and require benedryl, I'm only getting a small amount of hives and that last set healed on their own by the next day! Spent some time in the sun today and have a little bit of hives going on now, I'm hoping for a clear recovery by tomorrow again!
Tell you what though, for a bit of a tangent. I'm watching Jackie Warner's Thintervention on Bravo right now and she had her clients clear their houses of sugar. Wondering if I should do that. Granted, my house isn't near as bad as most American households because of the work I've done over the last two years, but I still have some stuff that could be gotten rid of. I should consider doing a sugar detox again.
Hmmmm. Things to think about...
So let's move on and talk about the good news!
1) I'm back. Well, at least for today. I make no guarantees.
2) I completed a gallbladder/liver flush a few weeks ago and it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. It actually was really easy.
3) I am no longer allergic to apples!!!! I've been drinking apple juice daily for over three weeks. I think it really helped with the liver flush
4) I've had four colonics in the last month. Talk about detoxing! Also, easier than I thought it would be and definitely helped with the liver flush. I went in to it calm and prepared, and it went really well.
Now the not so good news. :(
1) The liver flush wasn't completely successful. :(
Really, that's the only not so good news. On Thursday I am going to do a second flush, and from what I understand that should finish the job and I should have some more permanent and lasting results.
To say I'm upset about the first one not being 100% successful would be an understatement. I was devastated. However, I did try to push it with my liver/gallbladder perhaps a bit too soon afterwards. Less than five days later I combined four of my triggers in one day and for some reason was thinking I would be invincible: eggs, cheese, coffee, and my allergy medicine (got my allergy shots that day). I had a gallbladder attack that last five hours that day. Two days after that I had another attack that lasted all night- and caused considerable discomfort throughout the next day. At that point, I decided I needed to add my supplements back in with every meal (because of the flush I had been going with little to no supplements). Thankfully, adding the supplements got things back down to my usual level of nothing or just mild discomfort.
I also stopped trying to challenge my digestive system. There is no doubt in my mind that I should not be eating dairy without a lactaid, and even then I'm not sure I should be eating it. My body just doesn't like it. Funny enough, my body does like the occasional dose of red meat and over the last two months every time I eat it my liver and gallbladder seem to calm down. Weird!
So, the goal for the next flush is to allow my liver the time it needs to heal afterwards. No food challenges for at least two weeks afterwards! It's a funny thing, that I keep having to remind myself that I'm not superhuman. I want so badly to eat like everyone else that I forget that eating like everyone else isn't how ANYONE should be eating anyway! Plus, my body is different than other people's- no person has the same digestive system, we all need to pay attention to how our bodies uniquely assimilate different foods. Gonna have to remind myself of that a bit more often.
On the good side again though, I haven noticed that my allergy to the sun has decreased significantly since the flush. Rather than having huge pussing hives that last for days and require benedryl, I'm only getting a small amount of hives and that last set healed on their own by the next day! Spent some time in the sun today and have a little bit of hives going on now, I'm hoping for a clear recovery by tomorrow again!
Tell you what though, for a bit of a tangent. I'm watching Jackie Warner's Thintervention on Bravo right now and she had her clients clear their houses of sugar. Wondering if I should do that. Granted, my house isn't near as bad as most American households because of the work I've done over the last two years, but I still have some stuff that could be gotten rid of. I should consider doing a sugar detox again.
Hmmmm. Things to think about...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
