*** This blog is not to be prescriptive nor give you advice, merely to show you my way of navigating true health in a jungle of advice and pharmaceutical pressure. Please do your own research, ask your own specialists or contact those I have used if you wish to find out more about your personal condition and symptoms. To your very best health. ***
With the walking Weekender over and a couple of days of not really thinking about what I was eating, not doing the liver flush (see this post) and not taking anything other than my normal daily Thyroxine medication I got ready to embark on the parasite cleanse.
I’d not opened the box since it arrived. I am very linear in my transactions. ‘What do I need to do next? ‘If it’s not next, it won’t get looked at. I’ve had the liver flush and the Weekend event and various other distractions until this point and so I opened the box on Monday morning to find out what I had to do.
My first instinct was “this looks complicated“.
There were two little manuals. Two dropper vials with liquid in, two bottles with capsules in, a box called ‘Toxin Absorber‘ and various receptacles like a jar with a lid, a shot glass shaped vessel and small brown bottles.
I sensed I wouldn’t be starting this day and, sure enough when I eventually made myself read the instructions I needed to start in the evening, not the morning. Plus I needed organic apple juice, pure bottled water and other stuff that I didn’t have in. So Monday became prep day. Being linear isn’t always useful 🙂
The purpose of the cleanse is to rid yourself of (what the manual refers to as) “unwelcome guests“. This process will kill them off and your job is to make sure that you get rid of them each day. There are many, many references to how many times a day you need to go to the loo for this to be effective and should you not have been successful doing this then an evening colonic is recommended… at this point I was wondering whether I should change my attitude to my ‘unwelcome’ guests and welcome them in.
The first three days are trial and error with some ‘digestive stimulators‘. By taking these each night you establish your individual dosage, so that you can tick off three visits to the bathroom each day. Once that’s established you can start.
It’s a bit like a Harry Potter spell book following the dosage manual. But once I got into a rhythm it became a bit easier. I need to take various things before each meal and then before bed each night. Every day the dosage is different and so I have just literally ticked it off as I’ve gone along to ensure I get them all in.
The basic process is not too bad. There are some liquids which you drink neat which have a distinct taste, but other than that nothing too retch-worthy. Each night however I need to take the ‘toxin absorber’ to ensure that what you’ve killed off during the day is collected and passed out the next day.
This stuff is very much like a medication I used to take years ago called Fybogel. I had to put it in the beaker and shake it vigorously for 15 seconds before drinking it down and then having a water chaser. It swells inside the stomach and made me feel quite uncomfortable. Most nights I’ve gone to bed feeling overfull. Not a feeling I’m that keen on.
Alongside the murdering of parasites the manual had a graph of preferred eating regimes. They are confident that any eating style will work with the plan, but the more easy you can make your food stuffs on your digestion, the more energy the body has to process ridding itself of the toxins. They give a hierarchy of regimes and suggest you go up one level from where you are to positively impact your healing.
During the liver flush I was vegetarian, so I thought that for the sake of 2 more weeks I’d go vegan as this was the next step up. I wasn’t prepared to go to the macrobiotics or juicing level. I just wanted to get started. This has meant a complete change of mindset on what I’ve been doing up until now for my Hashimotos.
For me to be able to eat each meal time I’ve had to forgo the AIP and eat freely from vegetables, nuts, seeds, salads, fruit, oats, rice and sweet potatoes. I am also to avoid all supplements apart from my medication during this. This will mean that I’ve been supplement free for 4 weeks by the end of the parasite cleanse.
Things I’ve noticed in my first week cleanse:
- For someone who was struggling with their bowels a few weeks ago, the toilet is now my second home.
- Eating carbs makes me rounder and softer. I bloat way more easily on these and, just because I am curious, I weigh more when I eat carbs as I hold more water. Bear this in mind if your only goal is weight loss and you don’t think you’re seeing results.
- I am never really satisfied after a meal. I need to eat a lot to feel done and it’s lacking somewhat. I’ve tried nuts and seeds or oyster mushrooms for protein, added more fats, had green-pea pasta or rice or a sweet potato but nothing really leaves me feeling like I do with my other meals on the auto-immune protocol (AIP). I’ve avoided tofu (soy not good for thyroid) and don’t each pulses as they make me feel very uncomfortable.
- On the AIP after each meal I would say without fail, ‘that was bloody lovely’. I don’t on this. It’s nice, it’s perfectly balanced and healthy, but it’s not really satisfying me.
- I am snacking way more than I have done for the past year. Metabolic Balance got me right out of that habit, going vegan has put me back there as I am always searching for something to make me feel like I’m done.
- My sleep has started to improve, I am still waking, but going back to sleep. I am done with wanting to be up at 4am and walking preferring now to stay in bed and doze.
- The improved sleeping routine has meant that I am a bit more productive in the day. My afternoons aren’t wasted by fatigue, and I seem to be getting stuff done.
Through all of this I realised that I still don’t feel any different from how I was when I was first diagnosed a year ago. I had a bit of a tearful moment at the end of the week and the next day gave myself a good talking to.
I wrote stuff down, I did a lot of thinking and I looked back on what I have done, what I’ve learned and how it’s impacting me so far. I think I am still frustrated that there’s nothing tangible to hold onto.
- Yes the sleep has improved, but that was a phenomenon that only occurred in this year.
- Yes the digestion is changing, but that’s been with me for ever. I certainly don’t think I’ve had Hashimoto’s forever.
- Yes I am getting more done in my day, but my oomph certainly isn’t back to where it was two to three years ago.
- Yes I’ve had some nice comments about how well I look (a sunny glow helps!), but internally my dimmer switch still feels turned down.
For now I’m focusing on what I can do each day to help my future self.
I’m letting myself off from thinking that I need to be doing something All. The. Time.
I’m beginning to wonder if I really do have anything wrong with my thyroid or an auto-immune condition at all.
Next week I continue with the parasite cleanse, I am going to be glad when this is over just for the reduced toilet visits if nothing else. And then I move into a new eating regime for 3 months, it’s one I am really looking forward to and brings me full circle as I mentioned several posts ago. It’s eating for blood type (O) and Hashimoto’s. Back to meals that work for me 🙂
Also next week I have an exciting meeting to look forward to, a consultation for food sensitivities and allergies. I’ll be blogging fully on that one after the meeting.
