I needed to disable self sign-ups because I’ve been getting too many spam-type accounts. Thanks.
Activated charcoal and apple pectin.
@grace I had to post the Paul Simon song here, because I do love it lol.
Oh being able to swim sounds just perfect, especially since you've loved the water for so long. I was a dancer, and there's something soothing about familiar choreography... Puts you into that subconscious "muscle memory" mode.
This is where I get my activated charcoal (I'm in Canada):
https://www.fireflyactivatedcharcoal.com/shop
I expect the CVS will have a jar of powder though! I'm glad you have such a helpful roommate to help you when you need to pace yourself.
Lol it sounds like pond slime mixed with earth, but believe it or not I enjoy it. I use hot water to mix it, because I feel like it helps the psyllium gel faster and it's much more pleasant that way in the winter cold.
This article has an overview of detox and bile flow, which perhaps will help give you an idea of when to start with the binders:
https://kimbleybodywork.com/new-blog/2020/12/21/why-you-may-be-sensitive-to-detox
It's a good idea to work your dose up slowly and watch for any reactions.
@kathy55wood If you haven't heard about this Kathy, I think you'll find it fascinating:
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20220107-the-lost-medieval-habit-of-biphasic-sleep
A very kind thing to say @kathy55wood
I know this about the B-vitamins specifically just from general knowledge as a nurse, I will go hunting for a reference for you.
But this is not all that uncommon- for example you should not take copper supplements with zinc as they can interfere with each other.
But you are correct- most vitamins are best absorbed with meals- or at least this is the conventional wisdom. Interestingly I read a lot about nutrition and when reading about the Volumetrics studies (I think they were in OH or PA). They looked at water intake and if you could fool the body into thinking the meal contained more water by drinking it with the meal or before- for satiety’s sake. They discovered you could not fool the body. An example- eating a handful of raisins with lots of water vs eating the same # of grapes. People would fill up faster eating the grape with its natural juiciness than the raisins + water- who knew the body could figure that out!
OK- I found this on a pop-sci site:
“Water-soluble vitamins, however, like Vitamin C and B vitamins, including folate, are often recommended to be taken on an empty stomach. This is because your body takes what it needs from water-soluble vitamins and excretes the rest through urine, meaning that it does not require food for absorption. You can take these sorts of vitamins as soon as you wake up, before a meal, or two hours after a meal. Since these vitamins require water to be broken down, taking them with water is important so that your body can use them to their full capacity.”
Source: https://natalist.com/blogs/learn/should-you-take-vitamins-on-a-full-or-empty-stomach
There were other sites citing similar information.
My sleep issues associated with q12h dosing of the charcoal, clay, psyllium (CCP) is that I need a lot of sleep- like 10-12 hours. Then I take Rx medications upon awakening and just prior to sleep. You have to separate this CCP combo 2 hours apart from Rx medications.
So I would need to wake, take AM meds, wait 2 hours then take CCP, then take CCP again 12 hours later, wait 2 hours and take PM meds. So that is an ‘up and awake’ of a minimum 16 hours, max 8 hours sleep.
I often cannot fall right asleep without a ‘knockout’ drug that I don’t like to take daily- for me I use it for emergencies only (the regular meds I take at night would put a horse to sleep, but I have a tolerance).
So that’s the long and the (well just really the long) of it.
This sleep need is also why I only eat twice a day- I am not up and at it long enough to need more than 2 meals! haha
You are SO right about the trance like state of lap swimming for me and dancing for you- maybe you could ‘dance’ in the pool- that is essentially what synchronized swimming is. In fact July 4, 2020 I spent 2+ hours syncro swimming in the pool to watch the fireworks dance randomly in the sky- a neat aspect of non-city-limits life. Neighbors near and far set them off at their own pace and the sky is magical to behold.
I do my best ruminating while lap swimming- my mind just floats along with me in the water. I feel ‘figured out’ after a nice swim. I have a ‘set’ that I do mainly to keep track of how much I’ve swum and monitor progress over the season. Last summer I was too fatigued with chemo in April and May to go near the water. I have been in decline since that type- it was the first time I took that particular chemo.
But having no immune system keeps my MS at bay- but does it? I am fascinated with this low VA diet method to reign in autoimmunity.
I have tried the Y or gyms for winter swimming. I have a visceral reaction to the over chlorinated interior spaces and having to drive, be wet outside in the winter- ugh, a bother. I did buy this vibration platform from Germany last fall but its still in the box. Apparently it oscillates at a rate that is so fast as to be nearly imperceptible. This challenges your muscles and stimulates brain-muscle coordination. At first just standing on it for 5 minutes is supposedly enough to make your legs feel like jello. Then you build up from there. I read about this device being in centers for brain injury patients- but you have to attend centers like that 5 days a week and I knew just the drive would prevent my participation- once I get up and ready and drive I am almost always too tired to do much- and that makes driving home unsafe- my muscle strength or spasms to press the pedal is a tad delayed- yikes in traffic…
I was reading and typing along with your post and just got to the charcoal site- I called them immediately and Michelle from Saskatoon was so nice and helpful! We visited like friends before getting down to business. She is going to mail me some of each the charcoal and clay personally to the US. Thanks SO much! They are a neat company- very homegrown. She even noticed the aerosolization of the charcoal while personally packaging it and thought “this is not safe for human beings”- her words- and they set to packing it in the presence of steam so it would not cloud so much. She is even sending recipes, but I bet they will be high in VA but she was so nice that I couldn’t say no.
I married a Canadian once upon a time- he and his parents are so nice. I still visit with his dad. They are from Hamilton, ON but moved here in 1977. I met him in 2004. One of my all-time favorite things to do when living in Cleveland, OH was to make the 5.5 hour drive up to see the falls at night, in winter, with a full moon- watching the moonlight sparkle up the snow covered rocks above the falls was just mesmerizing! This was a long time ago- another century ago- and I still remember those trips. Where do you reside?
Oh- Michelle said the same thing- about not staring twice a day right away. You are so helpful!
Many Thanks!, eh
Some forum member mentioned that oral magnesium might lead to an imbalance of the microbiome. Some form of bacteria would be fed with magnesium. This might be related to the toe fungus.
Anyway, I've continued to take two doses of ACV and Zeolite daily. It continues to help me, especially the Zeolite calms me down.
Hey Guys!
Sorry for my delay in response. I was travelling for a few weeks, and then caught a viral fever, from which I'm still recovering.
== 🐌==
@christian My clay experiment was cut short when I ran out of it at around the day 10 mark... 😂 But since I did find it soothing to the gut overall, I am considering ordering more to continue.
I am glad the zeolite and charcoal combination seems to be helping you, Hermes, especially with anxiety. And it is good you have found a possible explanation for the weird fungus thing--quite interesting! The gut microbiome is still so mysterious.
I was diagnosed with Clinical Depression as a teen. What a brutal illness. I'm sorry you've dealt with it for such a very long time. Since I recovered from it (when I inadvertently lowered my beta carotene intake in 2014), I have been so grateful my mind is free that my body not being free isn't nearly as difficult... But yes, I have felt deep grief that my 20s were spent mostly resting in bed and struggling to recover, instead of having fun and pursuing my dreams as my friends were able to do.
POTS = Post Orthostatic Intolerance Syndrome. It is a form of dysautonomia. People with CFS have it oftener than the general public. Basically, it causes a fast heart rate when standing resulting in lightheadedness, brain fog, blacking out, and even fainting when standing, but when lying down heart rate is normal and symptoms are significantly reduced. I didn't know about it most of the time I've had it, and I wish I had because it is usually helped by simple things: consuming extra salt in water and wearing compression socks.
But I do agree with you about the limitations of doctors and psychologists... Mine have never been particularly helpful when it comes to chronic illness, at least.
"How do you keep your good spirits intact?"
Big question, but I think having someone else to care about helps. I am a hopeful and imaginative person generally, so like you I try to focus that creative energy towards doing inner work... Or when able to do so, learning about a subject of interest to keep my mind occupied.
It can be a bit lonely and discouraging sometimes, though. How do you handle it emotionally?
== 🐌==
@grace Oh wow, your pool view of your neighborhood 4th of July fireworks show does indeed sound magical! How delightful that evening must've been. 🤩🌟
The vibrational platform on the other hand sounds quite challenging...
I'm glad you hit it off with Michelle from the Firefly Charcoal company! She does sound lovely. And now that you mention it--yes, their activated charcoal is less "dusty" and "poufy" than other brands... How neat they've come up with an effective way of addressing that problem! (Were any of her recipes useable btw? Haha.)
Ah yes, that is a pretty drive. I have been through there a few times over the years... Makes me miss America even more than I already do, eh? 😁 I live in New Brunswick, Canada, but I grew up on the prairies. What about you?
I am pretty sure there is bentonite clay out there that tests for lead. I thought BentonitMED did this. But now that I have searched their site I cannot find any proof of this.
"Ultra-finely ground Montmorillonit-Bentonit from Europe. Tested for purity and non-toxicity. MANUFACTURER Zeolith-Bentonit-Versand.de, Eichendorfstrasse 35, 09131 Chemnitz, Germany."
Hmmm.. vaguely worded. Sounds like lawyer-speak for "lead isn't bio-available in bentonite clay because it is inorganically bonded and as such it isn't toxic". Who even knows what to trust these days when it comes to supplements, drugs, science, food. It's all a trust based system!
Loved the video about psoriasis, as I have it as well. I will make a longer post introducing myself on another portion of the site later.
I was looking for ways to get the bile moving and came across Swedish bitters - has anyone had any experience using them?
https://integrative.ca/blog/6-simple-ways-to-support-healthy-bile-flow
I have tried Swedish bitters, and they felt very harsh to me. I didn't continue with them. It was during my WAPF days, and bitters are sort of a WAPF thing.
Back then, I spent a small amount of time thinking I wanted to be an herbalist, and studying herbology, but I often felt that herbal cures for most things were harsh.
I bet herbal cures are great if you need the toxicity, like if some sort of parasite, germ, etc is blocking your health.
I bet herbal cures are NOT great if (like me) the current layer of your health onion is about problems with toxicity.
There is also the possibility that I have Lyme, since I have been bitten by ticks many times, and that germ killing causes herx for me.
I seem to have come much farther in the last 5 years by avoiding toxins than I ever did by adding toxins (and I put herbs into that category). (because for herbs to be powerful enough to do anything they are probably dual-edged swords, much like medicine)
I do, however, sometimes wonder about the (gosh, I can't think of the word for it) "if you add a small amount of toxins you can help the situation by triggering the cleanup mode". There might be something to that.
I'd be more likely to hit up *culinary* herbs and spices and alliums. Especially if you crave them and they make you enjoy your food more. Probably best to pad the diet with bland food to accompany the tasty food. White rice with a bit of curry, pasta with a bit of spaghetti sauce. (If you are going to go in that direction. ) Taking bitters on purpose, while avoiding delish culinary herbs and spices... is kind of nuts LOL. Avoiding the shallow end of the pool only to jump in the deep.