New to the list

[Guest guest]

Greetings from Utah. I have been lurking in the shadows of this list for a few

days and have finally worked up the nerve to participate and ask a few

questions.

I started suffering with my gallbladder at about 18 or 19 years of age. I had

several attacks a year (didn't know what it was) and by the time I was 23 I went

to several MD's who didn't

do a single test. They just said " you're too young to have gallstones " or

" what is a 23 year old doing with an ulcer? " I was given Zantac and Tagamet for

my stomach. I was young and

dumb and trusting. I didn't take the medicine long because it obviously didn't

help. I suffered attacks several times a year while away at college and then in

1991 while working in

Finland it became constant -- every night. I went to the doctor there who

immediately did an ultra sound and they took my gall bladder out. I had always

been overweight by about 40

pounds and I lost it within a year without trying. I'm 37 now and easily lose

weight if I don't watch it. I think I had/have a malabsorption problem. How it

related to my gallbladder

or metabolism, I don't know. Although I hate the scar that runs from my sternum

to my navel, the relief and weight loss were worth it to me.

However, if I had known any of this stuff about cleansing, I certainly would

have done it. I felt devastated when I woke up from the surgery and realized

how much I'd been cut open.

Coming from the States, I thought it would be laparoscopic. He did the

old-fashioned cut. Symptoms I have developed over the last decade that I

believe to be connected to my

gallbladder/liver are: psoriasis (now under control and quite mild), a sort of

gassy/bloated feeling even though I haven't eaten, sort of sulfuric breath and

occasional constipation.

This is more than you probably want to know, but I actually have a few

questions, also. I would like to do a cleanse. I feel nervous, though. Can

anything go wrong? I think I'll do

it next week when my husband is away on work so I don't have to do the housework

and cook meals while cleansing. I have 3 kids (8, 5 and 3 yrs) so I'm worried

I'll be laid- out on the

bed barfing and pooping and having some reaction or attack and have to call

" 911 " for an ambulance! Do most people lose a night's sleep doing this? If so,

I won't be able to care for

my kids the next day if I'm tired and sick. I know you don't have crystal balls

to answer these questions, but suggestions would be helpful. Could a good juice

fast and enemas produce

good results?

Thanks for letting me ramble

Janet

[Guest guest]

Hi Janet and WELCOME to the group!

I'm glad you found us. I'm sorry that you've been through all that and

hope that you find some encouragement and support and helpful words here in

this group.

First of all - it's great that you shared as much as you did. It isn't more

than we'd like to know - this kind of information is really helpful in

getting an idea of where someone is coming from. I know it might feel weird

at first to write about bodily functions. But you'll get used to it!!

As far as anything going wrong in a cleanse - I have never read of anyone

having a problem. Except of course for those who write about the diarrhea

that they experience - that could be classified as a problem! But it's

not anything serious. If you're concerned about a stone getting stuck or

that type of thing, all I can say is that I have never read a single story

about that happening, while I've read probably a hundred or more stores about

successful cleanses.

If you're concerned about losing sleep (and I can tell you that I never

have), you can use a natural aid like Valerian Root if you like, which just

helps you relax, isn't addictive, doesn't leave you groggy in the morning and

doesn't induce a drug-like state (in other words - you'd still wake up if

your kids needed you!).

You can also do a milder version of the cleanse to start out with. It might

help you to feel more comfortable with doing it - once you have a feel for

what it's like. Lots of people are nervous before they do their first

cleanse - that's understandable. You're in good company.

Juicing is a great thing and enemas can be helpful also. I don't think,

though, that there's a way to flush stones out (and you can still have stones

without a gallbladder) without using some version of the oil/juice routine.

I think that juicing and enemas are a great accompaniment to the flush,

but can't really replace it - if you're specifically looking to clean out the

liver.

Well, I'm sure you'll get LOTS of good words from the others on the list.

Please feel free to ask any questions you need to and if you can take the

time I'd recommend that you look through the archives and testimonials for

this group. It might help with the nerves when you read of others

experiences.

in health,

In a message dated 1/29/02 12:17:08 AM Eastern Standard Time,

taylorj@... writes:

> This is more than you probably want to know, but I actually have a few

> questions, also. I would like to do a cleanse. I feel nervous, though.

> Can anything go wrong? I think I'll do

> it next week when my husband is away on work so I don't have to do the

> housework and cook meals while cleansing. I have 3 kids (8, 5 and 3 yrs)

> so I'm worried I'll be laid- out on the

> bed barfing and pooping and having some reaction or attack and have to call

> " 911 " for an ambulance! Do most people lose a night's sleep doing this?

> If so, I won't be able to care for

> my kids the next day if I'm tired and sick. I know you don't have crystal

> balls to answer these questions, but suggestions would be helpful. Could a

> good juice fast and enemas produce

> good results?

>

> Thanks for letting me ramble

> Janet

>

[Guest guest]

Janet;

I would say you've certainly come to the right place regarding your

malabsorption situation, as this does relate to the liver and the

gallbladder. Granted you're void of a gallbladder but that doesn't mean you

aren't having to deal with the same problem of bile production for the

digestion of food.

There are however, other possibilities here too. One is that you could be

dealing with a parasite, like perhaps a flat worm. Eating foods which help

deal with these parasites is quite beneficial for the body, and getting rid

of such nutrition gluttons.

You noted your desire to do a flush and I must commend you on this. However,

you may wish to do some preliminary work before moving in to doing it. First

is of course learning a little bit about the process of the flush so that it

isn't done on purely blind faith, which is just what you're attempting to do

here. The other is actually the start of the flushing process and involves

eating plenty of food.... lots more food than you would have expected.

So, since you don't have a gallbladder one thing I would suggest to you

would be a change in the way you eat. The reason being that usually when the

gallbladder has been removed the bile just dumps continuously into the small

intestines from the liver, whether there is anything demanding it or not.

The change would be to eating more meals a day instead of the normal two or

three that most people tend to eat so that the bile will have something to

digest and be used instead of irritating the walls of the intestines. These

meals would contain higher contents of soluble and insoluble fiber so as to

absorb the bile that is being produced by the liver and it will also

eventually help in dealing with any problems you may be having with diarrhea

from not having a gallbladder.

You very likely will notice a change in a few days by just starting a diet

of eating more times through the day. Instead of eating to satisfaction at

the first sitting you can extend that very easily by chewing what is eaten

very thoroughly. This gives the body time to start the digestion of more

smaller particulates and will help in getting the foods absorbed more

readily and at the same time tend to satisfy it for the moment. Then eating

fiber rich food will help a lot here too, because by avoid the wasted foods

like refined wheat flours, margarines, or anything deep fried your body

won't have to deal with digesting useless product. Try to make sure you're

eating more live food like steamed vegetables or chewing on a variety of

them throughout the day. Granted you may not be as hungry as the rest of

your family come dinner time but you should still have the energy to deal

with your family instead of feeling drained from a flush when you really

don't have the time to spare for the relaxation that it really calls for

having.

One other thing you'll be accomplishing by eating foods high in fiber

content is that you'll also be obtaining the needed essential fatty acids

the liver needs to produce the better cholesterol HDL. This will help to

flush the liver because the properties of the HDL cholesterol is like a

surfactant to the LDL and will eventually work towards the removal of LDL

cholesterol from your system. This can also be helped by taking a supplement

of lecithin and taurine as they help to also make the bile salt a better

brand of detergent. That is, the bile will be of a better quality much the

same as you get with the better qualities of dish soaps. You know what I

mean here because you can put one ounce of a poor quality detergent in the

dish water and have very poor cleansing capacities where a quality brand

will need half as much and do twice as good a job of removing the fats from

the dishes.

To help deal with the possibility of a parasite you may want to consider

eating pumpkin seeds, raw or baked, throughout the day as part of your fiber

intake as well as its providing an essential fatty acid.

So welcome to the group and we're hoping to hear some really good news of

your success.

Dale