Detoxing stinks. Literally.

It's day 14 of our Whole30 challenge, and I thought I'd pop in for an update.  I'm doing a lot better, although I am still gaining back my energy.  I still feel pretty weak at times, and I can tell my body is still detoxing.

Detoxing is no fun.  Really. It's not.

When detox begins, you may think you've come down with some sort of funk.  You might be right, because I know many people, including myself, find themselves coming down with all sorts of bugs and viruses during detox.  For me, it was a sty and strep. Fun stuff, both bacteria-related.  It might feel like the worst bout of sickness you've ever had. This is how my week of sickness/detox went. Maybe some of you can relate.

When I first realized my eye was swollen, I was pretty sure I had scratched it when putting in my contacts.  That's probably the case too, but then the sty morphed into strep.  It was pretty nasty. All day and especially at night, I was sweating profusely.  And, this is extra awesome.... I smelled like death.  My husband put it well.

He explained, "It's not that you smell like B.O. (body odor).  It's more putrid.... like...."
"Death." I stated.  "I smell like death."

I washed the sheets in hot water and showered every morning, scrubbing my body but still feeling like I couldn't scrub the smell off of me.  I couldn't, because the smell was coming from INSIDE of me.  It was seeping out my skin.  That's what often happens during detox.  You may sweat it out.

The reason why detoxing has been more difficult for me is because I got knocked down with strep and was already having a difficult time keeping hydrated. My detox experience is a perfect example as to why you REALLY REALLY REALLY want to drink as much water as possible.  You'd rather pee out your toxins than sweat them out.  Take my word on it.

By Wednesday, I was very, very emotional. I spent most of the day crying. I had been fighting my emotions for a couple days, and I know my hormones are getting a total overhaul on this challenge, so I kept telling myself, "It's just hormones."  But I'm pretty sure some of it was just that it REALLY sucks to be sick. It's no fun to detox.  It stinks to be quarantined away from everyone, to not be able to function for your family, and to not be able to see your friends for a while.  Plus, it made me wish I was twelve again so could just lay in bed and ring my bell when I needed my mom, rather than having to worry about and tend to my own health all by myself.  It was good though, because, the next day, I felt so much better.  Maybe I needed that emotional release!

I was pretty adamant about treating strep in a natural way without the use of pharmaceutical antibiotics. Anyone who has tried to do this naturally may have experienced some negative comments from friends who think you are insane.  And, a couple days in, you may wonder if you are insane.  I did.  I started wondering if I should just give up and take the antibiotics which would kill even the healthy bacteria and probably make my system worse than it was.  Many people made it sound like the alternative (natural methods) would lead to the inevitable breakdown of my body and eventual death.  Hmm.

But, I kept plugging along because I kept seeing things improve little by little.  Of course, I was hoping ALL things would just be cured overnight, but, I knew that was not realistic.

The first day and a half, I gargled warm water mixed with salt and apple cider vinegar, plus smoothed various essential oils on my throat (glands, etc).  I sipped on water with fresh lemon squeezed in it. Since I had a hard time eating (I didn't even feel like eating!), I mostly sipped on smoothies. My husband made me one with a base of avocado, which made it very thick and creamy. Delicious.

Tuesday, Brandon brought home Colloidal Silver (CS), and I began taking that regularly- gargling it for as long as I could, then swallowing it, every couple hours. I had also put CS in my infected eye the on Saturday when we were at a friend's home. I continued doing the lemon water regularly, plus a wellness tea at least once a day (Echinacea, Eucalyptus, Peppermint, etc), and bit by bit, I saw my condition improve.   First my eye improved, then my glands become less swollen.  I began to gain a little energy and feel more clear-headed.  Then my throat became less inflamed, and the white spots began to go away one by one.

I am still taking CS twice a day and sipping on my Wellness Tea until I feel like I have completely regained my energy.

There were temptations to just order out for some comfort food, but I kept thinking, "I am feeling the result of the bad food choices I made before. I do not want to feel this ever again."  Plus, I knew that eating unhealthy food would not make me better quicker, but likely prolong my sickness.

When I think about it, detoxing from these nasty food-like-substances is a lot of going through drug withdraws. Sugar effects the same happy-hormones in the brain that street drugs do, so it's no surprise that people find themselves so addicted.  I'll have to save that for another post!