Day 5 - Noon

Last night the Epsom salt started working around 2 AM. SO glad I woke up! Then again around 5:30 AM but overall I slept better than the night before. I have a headache again today and I realize it’s because of the probiotics I am taking. I took 8 last night and only 3 the night before. But I would rather feel crappy here and get as much die off out of the way while I am fasting, so it’s all over and done with when I leave here.

I thought I was getting an arm bath this morning but it was an arm “shower”. You lean over this metal contraption that keeps you from getting wet and hold on to a handle on each side. A woman takes a hose and runs warm water down one arm for a few minutes and then the other arm. Next she quickly hoses down each arm with ice cold water. The whole process is repeated and then you are done. I was told to just wipe the water off my arms with my hands but not to use a towel. Not sure why and didn’t ask.

At 8 AM I went to the infrared cabin but the person before me was still in there. From the name I knew it was a woman so I peeked around the corner. She said she would be done in a few minutes. I told her I had put my name in for the 8 AM slot and apparently she was unaware that you have to sign up for it. She offered that I could come in and just join her. Ummm – NO! It’s a small cabin, people sweat in it, and I want to wipe it down with the provided disinfectant wipes before I sit in there. I bring a towel to sit on but it’s hard to keep a towel on the back part that you lean on (and that people SWEAT on). I told her I appreciate it and I would wait. I sat back down in the waiting area and heard her holler that I should come in because she still has TEN minutes left. I was thinking, OR, you could do the right thing and leave since I signed up, like you are supposed to, and you didn’t. I left…

Instead I walked to town and looked around Edeka (grocery store) and then went back to Tegut (the other grocery store I went to my first day here). The post office is inside Tegut and I needed a stamp for a post card to the US. Outside Edeka was a “food cart” that had rotisserie chicken. Boy did it smell good!

Aside from the wicked headache (must reduce probios tonight!), I feel better today. My mood is much better and I don’t feel so dark and angry. I am looking forward to reading, knitting, and watching TV today. Last night I ran into my table mates again and they seemed much nicer. Actually, one of them encouraged me to come join them for lunch and dinner today. Now that I know the ACTUAL time lunch and dinner are served I will do so. I plan on going to the 12:15 PM prayer meeting and then straight to lunch. It might be nice to sit down there and “eat” and have someone to talk to.

I want to say again (or maybe I haven’t yet), that everybody here is SO nice. Everybody I had talked to on the phone before coming here was nice and everybody I have met in person here has been equally nice and very helpful. They all really seem to care, they ask how you are doing and it doesn’t seem like a superficial question. If you have something going on like a headache, on-going hunger, etc. they give you helpful suggestions, and more. It’s a very cool place and I wish I could come here for a 7 or 10 day fast once a year.

The doctor’s appointment was sort of useless. He took my blood pressure which was 94/60. I explained that my HR is elevated on exertion for which I take a beta blocker. Said beta blocker lowers my HR so I can go for walks, ride the bike, walk up the stairs without being out of breath, etc. but it also drops my already low blood pressure even lower. We briefly discussed POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) which he didn’t know much about. I talked about taking Cytomel and it possibly affecting my HR but he was not familiar with Cytomel. I asked him if I could take Armour for a few days just as a trial or if I should wait until I am done fasting but he said that would be ok to try now. Considering how little he seemed to know about thyroid issues I am not sure I trust his opinion.

He asked why my right cheek is bigger than my left cheek. Incidentally he is not the first doctor to ask me this question but I have no idea. Of course my face is puffy right now, too, so it’s even more noticeable. Actually, everything seems worse on my right side – the swollen eye lid, my cheek, cold hands and feet, and even the pain the other night. I will ask the doctor at my next visit but I doubt he’ll have an answer.

I also noticed that my HR was about 10 beats higher this morning than it was yesterday morning. And then I noticed that I forgot to take my last dose of Cytomel last night. So if anything, I would say the heart rate issue is caused by LOW T3 and not too much Cytomel. On the last blood test my T3 was normal, but it was mid-range and when taking Cytomel you want it to be at the top range or maybe even slightly over. Since I already started with Cytomel today I am going to UP my dose by 12.5 mcg and see how I feel tomorrow morning. If it’s not better I’ll try Armour for a few days.

This is what I go through at home with all these constantly changing symptoms. I can drive myself nuts but how do you just ignore it all and let go? None of the doctors I have seen have been worth anything. We should implement China’s systems of paying doctors when they have figured out what is wrong and have actually HELPED a patient.

On a different note, I read another article on candida overgrowth symptoms last night. I found the following very interesting:

The brain is the organ that is most frequently affected by Candida Symptoms, but it also has profound negative effects on these systems:
• digestive
• nervous
• cardiovascular
• respiratory
• reproductive
• urinary
• endocrine
• lymphatic
• musculoskeletal
Candida symptoms can vary from one person to another and often move back and forth between systems within the same individual. One day you may experience symptoms in the musculoskeletal system and the next day it could be the digestive system ,etc.

If this is true, then it might explain why my HR seems fine one day and is going crazy the next. It could also explain why it’s acting up again right now. If candida can affect the autonomic nervous system then it could affect a person’s heart rate….I would think. Really wishing I had gone to med school. I find all this fascinating just wish I wasn’t my own guinea pig.

OK, back to my day. After the doc appointment I actually managed a mini-weight work out then came back to my room to take a shower. Next I am heading to the prayer meeting and then lunch. Today we get zucchini broth – yum! Oh, I finally am not all that hungry anymore. I get an occasional hunger pang but then it goes away.
More later…

DUH!

So I thought it was odd that they scheduled the daily prayer time at 12:15 PM when lunch is from noon to 12:30 PM. And today I found out that lunch is from 12:30 PM to 1 PM! I also found out that dinner is from 6:30 PM to 7:00 PM and not from 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM. Every day I have been coming to lunch and dinner half an hour early wondering why the girl serving the broth would ask me, "would you like your broth NOW already?"

The thing is, those are the times listed in the brochure that was left in my room. So I didn't even bother looking at the little sign on the dining room door indicating the correct times. Now I know!

I started feeling better about 2 hours ago...more cheerful and energetic. I hope it stays that way.

Chose tea with honey for "dinner" but only had about 1 tsp of the honey. They give you a little ramekin full but that's way too much. I also noticed that it was rather addictive. I started with maybe 1/8 of a tsp and wanted to gulp down the whole thing. No more honey for me!

Tomorrow I am going to the prayer time. I think it will be really good to be in prayer with others every day.

Day 4 - 5:45 PM

I spent all afternoon in my room knitting. Didn't even watch TV. I finished one glove (pictures later) and I am hoping that Bob is a Michael Jackson fan. :)

Just got my schedule for tomorrow:

7:20 AM Hot/Cold Arm Bath

9:50 AM Doctor's appointment

11:00 AM Colonics

So I am going to squeeze in the infrared cabin around 8 AM and a walk after the doctor's appointment or after the colonic.

Day 4 - 2:10 PM

Last night was rough. By 8 PM the pain in my lower back was radiating down my right leg all the way into my foot. It was awful and I had a hard time falling asleep because of it. I woke up around 1:15 AM and it seemed even worse. So I took 1/2 of a Percocet and 2 Tylenol and once the pain was subsiding, I was able to fall asleep again until 6 AM. This morning I had no pain but I felt very swollen all over - my eye lids, my face, and my whole body. I could barely get my wedding band on.

I had tomato juice at 8 AM, a hot/cold herbal arm bath at 9:10 AM, went for a 30 minute walk, then got a colonic at 10:20 AM. Next I sat in the infrared cabin for 25 minutes, then took a shower and had tomato broth for lunch. I still feel very swollen right now but have no pain...not sure if that's still from the painkillers.

The doctor did not take my weight the first day but I had to weigh myself the second morning right before the colonic. I weighed 65 kilos (143 lbs.). The next morning I weighed 64.5 kilos (141.9 lbs.) and today I weighed the same as yesterday. When I made the reservation to come here I was happy with my size. Since then I have gone up a size so I am glad that I will also lose some weight while I am here. Right now I am about 7 lbs heavier than I normally am.

Yesterday morning the bloating was almost gone when I got up, but after having juice and broth I was back to looking pregnant. This morning the bloating was worse again. I think I am not doing so well with the tomato juice so I am switching to red beet juice tomorrow. I may even throw in an occasional day of having just water and tea just to give my poor body a break.

There's nothing going on this afternoon I want to participate in but around 7:30 PM a doctor is doing a presentation. It's called "We are what we eat and think". Should be interesting.

After lunch I started working on the gloves I am knitting for Bob. (I love you honey but I hope you never want handmade gloves again). Man, knitting all those individual fingers is cumbersome. I only have to do the index finger and thumb and I am done with the right glove.

Emotionally I feel dark and disconnected. I am praying every day but I feel nothing. They are just words I am saying without any feeling attached to them. I hate it when I am like this but I have found that this tends to be part of die off for me as well. So I keep reading the bible, I keep praying, and I keep talking to God. I do hope that throughout this fast I will draw closer to Him.

Snow

Yesterday it snowed.

And then it really snowed.


Double-click on the pics to see them bigger.
And this is the view from my room BTW.

Day 3 - 5:15 PM

Aside from an awful headache, upper backache, and lower backache I feel pretty good. Maybe that's an oxymoron...I dunno. Because I am in pain and also sort of tired I did not do much today. I spent time in my room reading and watching TV while knitting. Mom called and we talked for a while and now I am back in the internet room. I am very, very hungry today. Hungrier than I have been. Dinner is in 45 minutes. I saw they put a glass of tomato juice on the table for me and I hope that doesn't mean I won't get broth. I would much rather have some warm broth.

Tonight I plan on staying in my room and watching TV. I find it hard to concentrate on a book even but I know that's all part of the die off process. I did sit in the infrared cabin for 25 minutes and that felt really good on my achy back.

Day 3 - 12:40 PM

I had my "stationary bike session" at 10:10 AM. It is supervised and you have to record your high and low heart rate. I don't know why I worry so much about bad breath. The woman who was "supervising" the stationary bike riding had horrible breath and she is not fasting/detoxing.

After that I hung out at my room for a bit then went for a 30 minute walk. It felt good to be outside and I took some pictures. It really is beautiful around here. The clinic is up on a hill overlooking the town. Lunch was carrot broth - I had two cups. Found out that you can ask for seconds.

Headache and backache are close to unbearable but I am not surprised. Still hungry hoping this will pass. I was told that by day 3 hunger should be gone. This is not the experience I had last time I fasted at home and I was told that I must not have eliminated properly. I did and between taking Epsom salt daily, drinking only liquids, and getting a daily colonic I would say I am eliminating properly here. I am supposed to get 2 exams a week with a doctor so I'll ask him.