Hi all, Sorry I haven't been on in a while. Things have just been hectic here lately. My love has been channeling its way here though ;) Flushes 5-8 Previously: I shared my experiences of my liver flushes 1-4. Where I left off was: having breakthroughs with issues with my mom; softer skin; less bloating; loosening in my neck and right side of body; and becoming more in-tune with my body. I’m still working on my bloating, bowel movements, and regulating my hormones to have regular menstrual cycles. As of now (May 2010), I have not bled since January 2010. I know it stems from hormonal/thyroid imbalances, which is linked back to the liver. My skin is pretty soft once again, with only a slight, occasional roughness around the love-handle region. My relationship with my mom continues to get better and better as we are able to communicate on a deeper level than ever before! My mom has also began speaking to and rebuilding the broken relationship with her (at one time, closest) sister. What an absolute pure joy that has added to my life :) Flush Results Well, my 5th flush, I must say, was the absolute most difficult flush ever. I felt as though I had had one of the worst hangovers. You know the kind where you tell yourself, “I’m never drinking EVER again!” Yeah, I told myself that, even though there had not (obviously) been any alcohol involved. What I did learn was that taking orange juice with the olive oil does not work for me, and that getting only 3 hours of sleep after drinking the flush, and then doing a coffee enema is not a good idea, AT ALL. I still can't drink orange juice. I was miserable, and was seriously debating if I could stomach another flush. But I did :) I have found that grapefruit juice is my friend. Since I have starting using that as my mixer, I have had such smooth sailing through my flushing. No nausea at all! I also make sure to get adequate rest on the night of my flush. Another great bonus tip that has added much comfort to flush week is juicing. Since I already don’t produce enough bile to break food down, juicing (especially ginger) is the perfect answer. My bloating stays way down and my liver doesn’t feel “full.” I have just been informed how ginger actually helps your body produce bile (which is apparently where I’m lacking). If ever I am constipated, ginger, over anything else, is my night in shining armor! On the night before my 7th flush, I had heard from my previous love who is now engaged to be married in a couple of months. Fun, fun! No, but really, it was a good recap and closure on that chapter of my life. It did cause me to be a bit disturbed the next day, and also grateful to be flushing out any residual anger that may have been attached to that relationship. So when I did flush, I got out 20+ of the biggest stones I’ve yet past! Wooo buddy ;) (Check out Liver flush #7 in the photos) Now, for the kicker… While taking an “off” week from flushing, I got a stomach virus :( so I started to take the Echinacea tincture (from the superb, herbal apothecary). I felt its effects immediately! Who says herbs have a slow affect? So I continued taking 1tsp of it, 3x’s a day for 3 days. I did however, become constipated with a blockage. This is when I realized what a miracle ginger juice was. What was causing the blockage was a bunch of plaque followed by a bunch of fungus! I never had fungus come out before. It is spongy and, well, just weird. My coach, who I was staying with while I was sick, had taken the Echinacea as well and also expelled mad fungus. As she was explaining how Echinacea kills bad cells (including cancerous, and fungus), it occurred to ask if that’s why we had just expelled all that fungus. You could see a light bulb go off in her head. Ah hah! So I am taking Echinacea in my protocol for a bit and beginning a juice fast. I still need to bleed. In order to do that, I need to fix my thyroid. In order to do that, I’m working on clearing out the candida, cleansing and repairing the liver, and also supplementing my thyroid with kelp. I must say, that since I’ve started adding these into my program, I have had significant improvements with consistently less bloating, more energy, and feeling like I’m actually in my body. It’s been a struggle getting here for sure. Like when I was sick, I began second guessing what I have been doing, and was allowing all that self-doubt to come out. But hey, better out than in right? That process has allowed me to step up the ladder of wellness and closer to balance. I felt as though I got a glimpse in how scary being truly sick can be, and honored to have that insight. I'm a healer by nature so this experience has gained me further understanding into that process of recovery. So, for anyone out there who reads this, I feel compelled to state again (because you need to be reminded)stay positive. Don't allow the "scary", not so good feeling days get you down. You are better and stronger than that. It is merely a stepping stone in your journey to health. Peace and Love