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Not a PFS sufferer but I'm starting CD's protocol so this will be my journal in hopes of restoring my health.
Have started a 12 month juice feast today. I'm going extra long as I'm really not in good shape, not even able to tolerate solid food any more.
Hopefully this forum still has some life in it. Will probably update after my first week is completed.
My fucking blender blew up...
CD wasn't joking when he said a regular blender won't cut it. Postponing for a few days until I have a new one and will be buying a Vitamix.
Best of luck on this journey to you man! Keep us updated
Started juicing with the Vitamix, going much better.
Water fasting for 14 days would definitely be the easier option but it won't be enough for me - my intestines need a long time to heal, even the juice is sitting for hours in my stomach but I think my body will metabolize it quicker as time goes on. Increasing the amount every day and will work up to 6L per day.
Focusing on spinach, celery, apples, carrot and cucumber mostly. Might throw in some pineapple or watermelon on occasion but I want to keep it pretty simple since I'm going 12 months. I still don't get how guys are able to pump out there juice in 1.5 hours, it took me that amount of time to make 3L this morning. If any juice feast gurus have any advice to make things quicker please don't hesitate to mention.
Not much to update with at this stage, going to be a long process for me. I do sleep a bit better already and feel better as I haven't been able to eat solid food properly for months now so getting these nutrients in will definitely allow my body to start healing instead of declining. Just wish I thought of juice feasting sooner, not sure why I didn't - maybe because of the work required I had already unconsciously dismissed it.
Thinking about returning my blender and getting a good cold pressed juicer.
For 12 months I think it might be more efficient using a good juicer.
CD recommends not going past 90 days so I'll be breaking the juice feast nearing the end of April. Hopefully this is long enough for my gut and intestines to heal and allows me to reintroduce solid foods. Also I'll be sticking with the blender since I will get more use out of it after the 90 days are over. Was going to switch to a juicer if I was going to go for 12 months.
Noticed some improvements so far on the juice feast - sleep is better and gum recession is healing. For the past couple of days the bloating, diarrhea and brain fog has been brutal though, most likely just my stomach adjusting to this new way of eating but can't wait for it to pass.
Stomach is still turning and feeling really achy in my back, arms and neck.
I'm going to try removing apples for a day and see if I feel better. I have struggled with allergies to the majority of fruits most of my life so going to go pure vegetable juice briefly and see what happens. Oranges are the worst for me and grapes, pears and apples have been slightly behind so doesn't leave me with a lot of options for fruit.
Does anybody know if juicing bananas is okay? Usually could tolerate one or two a day without issues but I haven't seen them mentioned in any recipes for cleansing so I assumed no.
Honestly think I have to endure these symptoms and hope there's a light at the end of the tunnel, for me with how low my health is it might take 30-45 days on juice for that to occur.
Removed the apples this morning and still ran straight to the bathroom. On my way to work and stomach is still turning and cramping, brain fog also still present. Feel almost as bad but my juice tastes horrible without the fruit. Almost through the first week though.
If you don’t mind me asking, what Health issues are you trying to resolve ? It sounds like gastrointestinal issues on a base level , but am interested to see what led non pfs guys to embark on the protocol. Good luck
So I was actually PFS originally. Crashed end of 2016 and completely recovered middle of 2017. I got lucky using a mix of CD's protocol with some of Ray Peat's ideas. I began with a water fast and the diet I eased into over months was low fat Peat inspired and that mixed with CD's herbs, along with K2 and niacinamide seemed to be what my body needed to recover. I took really large doses of everything and if I could go back I would have done the same but at more sensible dosages. By the end of it my kidneys were so sore I was bed-ridden for several weeks and couldn't even lift a kettle.Quote:
Originally Posted by AltRoute
Despite recovering managed to tank my health back down through stupid experimental dieting and not paying attention to things that didn't agree with me as I would typically be busy with work and life. Since then I've had several times I've been almost back to that recovery stage and done something to set my self back and most recently it was adding 1L of orange juice to my diet for a month (didn't realise how much damage it was causing until after I removed it) which really destroyed my intestines and colon and afterwards the only relief I got was going carnivore (I think due to the removal of fiber it wasn't inflaming my intestines) but I think that was my worst decision and should have just juice fasted instead. So now I'm stuck in a state with damaged intestines, low stomach acid, bacterial/fungal overgrowth due to low metabolism and the reason I'm opting for CD's protocol is that I think it's one of the best health protocols for most conditions and it makes sense to me - especially if lead with a good cleanse.
So the detox has been very extreme for me. I can tell I am getting better though, even my receded gums have been healing slowly. The only issue is this detox is so extreme I don't think I can continue at my current job. At times I'm making 3 trips to the bathroom in a 15 minute window and sometimes I'm given no notice. Yesterday I almost shit my self and ended up leaving work early because I couldn't leave the bathroom.
Last time I took a semi solid stool there was a lot of blood because my intestines are very misshapen and twisted at the moment but my hope is they will heal with time on the juice fast. I think this will last a lot longer than a few days and might be the case through the majority of the 90 days and my boss is away for the next 10 days so I can't just leave now with no notice.
Today is day 7 and I know what to expect now but I am thinking that from tomorrow I will try and go back to solid food as best I can and hopefully not decline too much until my boss is back and give notice so that I can leave my job and do the 90 days on juice from home without worrying about working. I commute 3 hours to my job and it's in hospitality so I am around people at all times so this is why it isn't compatible with dealing with explosive diarrhea potentially every 5 mins. Hopefully by the time the 90 days are over I may even be able to find a better job closer to home, or ideally one that offers WFH so it may end up being a blessing. This isn't what I wanted as it will cost me ~$4,000+ to take this time off but I will just chalk it up to a cost of better health. Same for the guys that take weeks off to go and do a monitored water fast at a clinic.
I'm currently studying so I will just focus on my studies through my fast and it does bring in a very small income which can help with some of the produce cost. I think given my situation this is the best decision for me.
Hey, sounds like you're on the right track by leaving your job to focus on your health. Always aim for less stress or more benefits or ideally both when looking for another!
Have been to see doctors for some scans?
Lots of blood in stools can be harmless sometimes but it's always best to check it out! Also, inquire about frequent urination.
It's always nice to rule out anything potentially serious.
Anyways, I think you're doing the right thing man so good luck and remember that it will get better! :)
Just want to do an update since it has been almost a week since reintroducing solids.
So what I thought was detox I actually believe was just my condition being aggravated by the juices. Even after stopping the diarrhea is still persisting but ny colon isn't as inflammed - when I stopped the juice feast after 7 days it felt like my entire bowels had sunken in. Despite my experience and based on all the research I did during my week I do think it's effective for most, just people with IBDs should proceed with caution and consult a doctor they trust. For my self I much prefer water fasting but I'm still glad I did it as it has hopefully led me out of the carnivore hole I've been stuck in the past year. Still have lots of inflammation and in pain today after I discovered how bad my UC dislikes kale (even well cooked), but I think spinach has been okay so going to stick with that as my main source of greens until I'm out of this flare.
Due to my condition being POTS and UC there isn't much reason for me to hang around as the methods used for recovery for my self (if still possible with the damage incurred on my intestines) will differ a lot than what PFS guys should be doing so thanks for putting up with me and good luck to all the guys that are currently fighting PFS, just know there is a way out (I can speak from experience). I would still be recovered if I wasn't an idiot and was more careful when I was 'out of the woods'.
Peace.