Detox Symptoms: Don't hate em. They're Milestones

[spiralwortz]

I am on Day 7 and need some serious advice. I have been following the cleanse dutifully, including SWFs, teas, lots of water and I put lemon zest and pulp in my juice. The cleansing has been unpleasant at times, including tiredness, cravings, etc, but since yesterday I have felt extremely weak. I drank more lemonade than I usually need (probably 12 glasses). After walking my dogin the evening, I felt dizzy which led to feeling faint. I felt I could literally faint. I drank more juice and had 2 extra spoonfuls of syrup at lunch and at this time. That helped for about half an hour, but since I have just been feeling extremely malnourished...it doesn't feel like the discomfort I have been feeling up until this point. I am cloudy headed, literally bumping into walls and feel I could pass out, no matter how much lemonade, tea, water or syrup I drink. I don't know if this would make a difference but I have been a lifelong vegetarian and eat super healthy already anyway (no processed stuff, raw food every day, no soda, etc) I want to keep going but don't want to harm myself...should I stop? Any advice?

[ElenaMaria]

Hello to all venturing for better well-being,

Day one for me is coming to a close. I did just fine today, but I know i'm going to have some tough times to come. I went to the beach today with my sister and was totally fine- I even felt like i had more energy than usual. I caught waves just fine- everything was normal. It was hard to have to run across the hot sand to the bathroom three times- haha I guess its more excercise.

I am deinfately a newby. I am nervous about caving in to my cravings. I know it is all signs of detox- but when these cravings come- I almost feel a sense of depression. I say this because I have dumb alot of yo yo diets in the past (and have also used my fair share of diet pills.) I bought your book though Peter- and I must say I am SO incredibly glad I did. It helps me understand the value of what im doing. But I am weary of feeling that "depressed" feeling when I don't give in to my cravings. Anyone know of anything to life the spirits in time of need? Thanks. I am so thankful for this message board. =)

[Hyacinth]

I know I'm new at this & this is my first time; I've found that when experiencing detox symptoms, the best way to handle them is think that "My body doing workign in overload to get healthy." I also think about the fact that in the end I'm getting rid of so many bad things that have been in my body for so long and I'd rather have those things out than in.

I've noticed that my sense of smell is more sensitive than it was before and I have a very sensitive nose. It seems as though all the foods that I've encountered since around day 3 just seem that much more appealing because of how they smell now.

I just hope that my face will clear up soon because it's getting really hard to not scratch at the rashes. Does anyone have any advice on how to relieve the itchiness? Thanks!

[rjwinga]

Spiral...I guess you have either already quit or your issues have resolved...but my 02 worth (and I'm a complete newbie myself...but if this happens or had happened to me, I would have stopped. There is always another day to restart, but your health is more important than doing a fast. I'm sure that there are as many arguments for pusing through, but to me it just doesn't seem worth it.

[sleepie]

Hi everyone! This is my first time doing the detox and I'm on my fifth day. Everything's been going great until today. I don't know if this is one of the detox symptoms and I need some help. Today, when I woke up and was washing my face, I noticed a series of tiny grainy bumps all along my jaw and mouth area. They don't itch at all but they look and feel like tiny sands on my face. Did anyone else experience this? If so, do you know how long it takes for it to go away? I'm afraid they're going to stay for good. Please help! Thank you~~

[boneyardpixie]

Spiral I felt like this when I got home from work today. I ended up almost falling asleep as I was answering another post on this board. I took a three hour nap, woke up, and still felt weak. I drank another glass of lemonade and just watched movies. I still feel a little weak. I am hoping that it'll go away tomorrow. Please give it until tomorrow and pm if you have any questions. This is my fourth fast and I've never had this symptom before.

Be careful with taking "shots" of maple syrup. It raises your blood sugar and gives you a caffeine like crash.

[ndr]

Hi Peter and All:

I am on Day 2 of the MC-- although this is not my first time, I have never done the MC for a full 10 days (I've done it for 3 days twice, and once for 6 days, gave up all three times), however am really keen on doing it for 10 full days this time since I've been eating very healthy for the past 10 weeks and have lost 18 pounds in 10 weeks. I am now 127 pounds, and am 5' 3".

Unfortunately, I am having severe abdominal pains-- both yesterday and today, and if these continue I don't know if I can finish the cleanse. I've read your book, and I don't think these are the senna related pains since I have been taking the senna tea once a week these past 10 weeks and never experienced these pains. I'm afraid the fast might be exacerbating a stomach ulcer I might have (for which I am getting evaluated in August) and maybe the pains are from that? I don't know if this is a detox symptom because I've never experienced these kind of pains on my previous MC attempts, I only had headaches and cravings-- neither of which I've had so far, probably because I've been eating so healthy and working out a lot for the past 10 weeks.

Any thoughts? The cramps come on, are very severe, I have to lay down for a while, and then they go away, but come back again during the day. I don't get them after the tea, and I don't wake up in the night from the pain, so I really don't think it's tea related. I'm doing all the steps, and I'm eliminating appropriately.

Thanks!

[cixelsyd]

Sorry if this is not the right place to post; I don't have permissions to start a new thread. My question is this:

About a week ago I started eating about 60-80% raw food and a few days in had quite a few detox symptoms (headaches, stuffy nose, skin breakouts). Anyhow, I wasn't able to keep up with regular life until the headaches went away. I am interested in doing a slow detox to continue the process, but I'm afraid jumping right into MC will bring back the headaches - I think I must have been pretty toxic to have such intense detox on not even 100% raw foods.

I am wondering if incorporating some aspects of MC into my raw food eating could help me do a slow detox until I feel ready for the whole MC. Since I'll be getting nutrients and calories from raw foods, would I realize benefits from drinking lemonade with cayenne but stevia instead of maple syrup? Should I do salt flushes? The raw food eating has made my digestive system much more regular and "flowing", but it still takes about 24 hrs for the whole process.

Also, is Real Salt a good choice for salt flushes? I have both that and sea salt and think the Real Salt is more palatable.

[dlh74]

Hi,

I'm new to the Master Cleanser. I've had several friends that have done it and loved the results. I'm not doing it for weight control as I'm pretty athletic. I'm an avid yoga girl and do eat very healthy. I just thought it might be a good thing to do a detox to help clean the system out. I do love my coffee, wine and dark chocolate!! I don't really like a lot sugar (this lemonade is actually too sweet for me... plus I don't like maple syrup... keeping the nose plugged has proven to be beneficial ), I don't eat a lot of meat - just the ocassional chicken and seafood and I love vegetables, fruits and nuts.

I'm just wondering if I really need to be doing it. I don't really have any symptoms. My tongue was a little white yesterday, I cleaned it off and no more has returned. I had a medium grade headache yesterday that went away last night when I slept. That's it... no cravings, no fatigue, etc. I'm on day 2, which I thought was supposed to be one of the hardest so I guess I'm just wondering if it's doing anything. Anything else to look for?

Also, regarding the SWF, it works on me in about 7 minutes and most of the posts say 30-60. I just seem to be having a very abnormal reaction.

Thanks!!

[freewitheft]

I'm just wondering if I really need to be doing it. I don't really have any symptoms. My tongue was a little white yesterday, I cleaned it off and no more has returned. I had a medium grade headache yesterday that went away last night when I slept. That's it... no cravings, no fatigue, etc. I'm on day 2, which I thought was supposed to be one of the hardest so I guess I'm just wondering if it's doing anything. Anything else to look for?

Also, regarding the SWF, it works on me in about 7 minutes and most of the posts say 30-60. I just seem to be having a very abnormal reaction.

Don't worry, you're not abnormal. It's different for everyone but the SWF works pretty fast for me too. That's a good thing! Keep on going for the whole 10 days, your body will surely thank you. On my first MC, I felt FANTASTIC for the first 5 days. I was on top of the world energy-wise. Heavy detox mode hit me like a ton of bricks on day 6 and lasted until I woke up the morning of day 8. I was like a zombie and barely functional. Thankfully, I knew that's what was going on. Then I went back to feeling great for a couple days, then crappy again on day 10. Thought I was going to end up having to go longer until I got through that but it passed by the end of the day. I just finished my second MC, 20 days this time, and it seemed like a more steady detox. I didn't have any days where I felt really horrible, but there were a few days where my energy wasn't as high so I skipped my workout. My tongue went back and forth between being pink or coated, no rhyme or reason there either.

Oh, was going to mention the cravings/hunger too. On my first MC, I was hungry for the first 4 days. By the end of day 4 I was really mad about it. lol On my second MC, I had no hunger until about the 4th day and then it was gone after a few days. And throughout that fast I had fleeting cravings for weird things, stuff I hadn't had in years.

So, I guess the course of the MC can vary a lot but, no matter what, your body is benefitting from this!

Crystal