the liver flush

Ok so I did the nasty liver flush. I researched endlessly at curezone.com to see what people did, what the effects were etc. I was more scared of nausea than anything.

to prepare for the flush, I went to an organic store and bought 4 huge bottles of Eden's Organic Apple Juice which costs about $10 bucks each. Then I bought 3 grapefruits.

Day 1: I drank 2 cups of Apple Juice every 2 hours between 8 am - 8pm
Effects: I felt really crappy. Headache and sluggish more so. Had to take care of 2 year old active toddler. Thought I was going to die. I know I felt like crap because this fast was actually getting rid of all the toxins in my body. That night, I could actually feel stuff leaving my skin. Does that make sense? It was tingly all over and felt like I was glowing. I thought I had lost it.

Day 2: I drank 2 cups of Apple Juice every 2 hours between 8 am - 8 pm
Effects: At 10 am, I felt like I could run a marathon. I never felt so energetic. The rest of the day was a breeze. Drinking the apple juice was no more nauseating whereas the day before, I was gagging at every sip. (Not because I didn't like the taste, but because there was just SO MUCH to drink). It would literally take me half an hour to drink 2 cups.

Night of Day 2: I read somewhere that when you prepare for the olive oil/grapefruit juice, to have all your ducks in a row. So I got the toddler to bed, I re-read the instructions to hubby in case I passed out / had an attack / or died. I got him to squeeze the grapefruit juice into half a cup. (I couldn't stand the smell). I got an empty plastic water bottle. I poured half a cup of Cold Pressed Extra Virgin Olive Oil, and then poured the half cup of freshly squeezed grapefruit juice. I shook it like no tomorrow and then poured that all into a big mug. I ran up to the bathroom. I got my toothbrush ready with the toothpaste on it. I braced myself like I was about to jump off a cliff. Hubby was downstairs watching tv, oblivious. I gulped the nasty concoction, holding my breath (which doesn't really work at eliminating the taste). My mission was to gulp the whole thing in one sitting. Didn't happen. I accidentally had to take a breath and let go of the gulping. The taste was actually bad, but not THAT bad.* (see below) I finished the rest. I ran to the toothbrush and brushed my teeth like my life depended on it. I ran to the bed, and lay down on my right side. Then hubby realized all the commotion, ran up to see what was going on.

* taste: I can liken it to drinking oil paint remover. Coming from a background of visual art, I use to do oil paintings when I was younger and always had to wash my brushes with that stuff. Well, it's just like drinking that. GROSS! I think most of it is in your head. The more you read about drinking it, the more grossed out you will be. Just do it and get it over with.

That night: about 3 am, I felt really gross. I felt like vomiting. I hate vomiting, so I didn't. I just lay there counting backwards from 100. I eventually passed out again.

6 am: I had the urge to use the bathroom. It wasn't pleasant. I'm not going to go into details. I had to use it again several more times between 6 am - 2 pm that day. The last part of the flush was to drink 4 cups of water mixed with some freshly squeezed lemon juice. All I can say is that you might as well be sitting on the toilet when drinking that.

Hubby had to go into work that day, but I was able to handle myself and toddler. It wasn't as bad as I had expected. I ate steamed vegetables and such that day.

Next Day: I started eating solids. That's where the crap hit the fan. I think a stone got stuck. But the pain was in my back. So everytime I eat now, I get a dull pain in the gallbladder area and then radiates to the back. It was tolerable but very uncomfortable.

Next Week: Something was definitely wrong. I emailed the Chinese Herb place and she said it's common that a stone can get stuck and to drink more of that Chinese Stuff and do the flush AGAIN!. I thought about it for maybe 3 seconds and said Screw this, I'm booking the surgeon (Dr. Nice Surgeon) to get this frigging gallbladder removed.

Next Day: Called Dr. Nice Surgeon. Office closed. BAH.
Day After: Saturday Closed! DAMNIT
Day After that: Sunday Closed! KILL ME
Monday @ 9:01 am: Receptionist answers. Next booking is 2 weeks from this call.

In the meantime: between that Monday to meeting date, I ate about 10 bites per day. I lost 10 pounds. I always felt full. I always had a dull ache in the gallbladder area. I no longer enjoyed life. I knew I was becoming depressed. There was not a minute that went by that I didn't feel like crap.

The Sunday before the Meeting Date: All of a sudden, I felt something pop like the stone had moved and felt relief. I can't imagine, I was suffering like this for almost 3 weeks.

Meeting with Dr. Surgeon came: She said yes get it removed. There's no way that you could have passed a 2.6 cm stone when the bile duct is like 3 mm (or whatever it is).

ok so I booked the date which is about a month from now, so we will see how that goes. Stay tuned.

stinky stuff

In May 2009, I felt really crappy. Nauseous ALL the time, I have had it. I scoured the internet, searching for a home remedy and after 108 hours online, I found www.sensiblehealth.com.

Sensible Health is a very reputable company. Many people from www.curezone.com can testify that Julia Chang's Chinese Herbal Remedies has helped them with their gallstone issues.

I bought their 4 bottle of concoction, ready to try anything but surgery. At about $100, it wasn't that bad considering. I had many questions so I emailed them and the staff was very helpful. You basically drink 2 teaspoons of these chinese herbs (in alcohol format) in the morning and at night. The taste at first will make you gag, the only thing I can compare it to is like drinking the smell from a farm with the stench of horse manure.

After awhile, it wasn't that bad, I was use to it. I took this for 3 months day and night and on the third day, did feel better immediately. You are supposed to eat healthier, drink lots of water. I did neither.

This concoction was to prepare you for the liver flush by crushing the stones. I was too scared to do the liver flush. I read on the website that you can take this for a year and it will crush them so that they pass, but ultimately the liver flush is the best thing.

October comes...... misery sets in again... I know it was my own dietary lifestyle. I couldn't take this anymore, it was almost daily that I had a heat pack on my stomach just to survive. So, I gave it much thought and did the dreaded liver flush.

Family Doctor Appointment

It's a given fact that Doctors will 100% recommend you for surgery. Hey, "Dr. Nice Surgeon" recommended surgery for SLUDGE!

So I set my appointment to see "Dr. Three Hours" asking the disgruntled receptionist for the first appointment. She said I would be third in line. What a crock. Over 10 people went in before me. Anyways I described my symptoms again and she ordered an ultrasound.

2 weeks later, I go to the lab to get the ultrasound done. The tech was poking and prodding for like 45 minutes, telling me to take a deep breath, hold it and let it out. This went on for like 30 times.

3 weeks later, I have to go back to "Dr. 3 Hours". I waited again for another 3 hours just to get a result. It was now confirmed that the sludge turned into 2 big gallstones. One was 0.9 cm and the other was 0.6cm.

She then referred me to see a gastroenterologist whom I will call "Dr. I don't care". I waited for their call to set up an appointment. I finally went into see him and waited 2 hours while my hubby was pushing our toddler in a stroller trying to keep him from totally melting down.

So I see "Dr. I don't care" because he really treated me like some number. Basically saying in a nutshell "You need to take out your gallbladder, yes or no." I tried to ask him about the liver flush but he kept diverting. Until the end, I asked again and he said that a stone might get caught during the flush and then you will end up in the ER so he doesn't advise it. At least he acknowledged the Liver Flush whereas some doctors will tell you it's a complete hoax or think you are from a different planet.

Ok so this whole exercise was completely pointless because the outcome was just as I expected.

What did I do?

Now if you are reading this, chances are:
a) you are experiencing an attack right now
b) been diagnosed with gallstones and don't know what to do
c) at the end of your rope

So......I decided not to take it out. Reason being, Dr. Nice Surgeon told me that one of the major side effects was Diarrhea. But of course, you can take Questran to aid in the symptoms. I said "Um... no thank you!". I decided to go home and do more research on this whole gallbladder business since I really knew nothing about it at all. Between then (beginning of 2008) and now (Nov 2009), I experienced many, many gallbladder attacks. Too many to count on both my hands. 99% of them happened at night and lasted for an average of 7 hours. Nothing helped alleviate the symptoms. Short of hanging myself, I still decided to keep this organ and researched more on the internet and came across the Liver Flush.

I first found the Dr. Hulda Clarke recipe. Hmmmm... I should try that instead of going under the knife. After reading what I had to do, I was more inclined to go under the knife. There was no way I was drinking a cup of olive oil or whatever it required. I was completely grossed out.

Then months passed, more attacks came. Then nausea accompanied it. It didn't matter what time of day it was, nausea would just come because it felt like it. I knew 100% I wasn't pregnant, so then I figured that this was somehow related to gallstones.

I then got really fed up with all these attacks and sleepness nights. I also had a toddler running around which made it a little difficult to sleep if even at all. I made an appointment with my Family Doctor, whom I'll name "Dr. 3 Hours". Yes the one that makes you wait in the reception room for 3 hours with a disgruntled postal worker of a receptionist. I can't believe I've been going to her for over 20 years.

2 years in a nutshell

Back in August 2007, I had some McDonalds for dinner (very very BAD but didn't know the effects of what was to come). Much later that night, like around 1:00 am, I woke up experiencing the worst "heartburn". It wasn't the type of pain that you can try to sleep though. Any position I was in made it worse. The only relief was sitting up for a mintue, then the pain would find me in this new postion. What made it even better was that I was still BF'ing at that time (my short term for breastfeeding).... so not only was I awake wrenching in pain at the foot of the bed contortionist style, but had to feed the baby every couple of hours. Where was Mr. Hubsters? Sleeping. (not that he could have done anything anyways but listen to me sound like I was dying).

My first instinct was to take tums. I think I took 6. Then I went online to do some research. I've had heartburn before, but it usually lasted only an hour. Drinking a cold glass of milk soothed only for 5 mintues. By now it was 3 am and I was completely exhausted. I fell asleep on my desk to be woken yet again but the severe pain or a hungry baby. This went on until the morning. I had another episode before I decided to go to the walkin clinic 2 days later. (My own doctor would have me wait at the reception for 3 hours, then another hour in a "room" which has been typical for the past 15 years).

Turns out after having an ultrasound, I was diagnosed with "sludge", a precursor to Gallstones. So I was recommended to see ANOTHER specialist whom I will call "Dr. Idiot".

My first appointment was scheduled to take place Sept 2007. A week before my appointment, I get a letter from "Dr. Idiot" saying that my appointment has been moved to November. (ok. that's fine.)

November comes. A week before my appointment, I get another letter from "Dr. Idiot" that my appointment has been moved to December. (ok. this is dumb).

December comes. A week before my appointment, I get another letter from "Dr. Idiot" saying that my appointment has been moved to March 2008. (ok. this is getting ridiculous).

I decided to call the walk-in clinic who had set this up for me and complain. So they scheduled me to see a NEW specialist whom I will call "Dr. Nice Surgeon". So, I thought that they would have cancelled "Dr. Idiot's" March appointment. But they never did.

So a week before my original appointment with Dr. Idiot, I get a letter from their office again saying that my appointment has been moved to April. (ok. I lost it).

Mr. Hubsters, more livid then I was decided to give "Dr. Idiot" a call. He said this was ridiculous. If they can't take me, stop rescheduling and just recommend someone else. He had cancelled the appointment for me. (which is good anyways because "Dr. Nice Surgeon" was already set up + I would have blown a gasket over the phone). So today, I saw "Dr. Nice Surgeon" who advised that I should have my gall bladder completely removed. So technically, I could have gotten this information back in September. But I got it 7 months later.

what did I decide? to be continued....