A new frontline has opened up in this war.  The line has been clearly drawn.  It extends around my body between my lower ribcage and my navel.  Now is the time for placing bets, but I warn you, the sides are equally matched, and the winner is anyone's guess.  Yes, there is a battle being fought, between the volume of liquids that enter my body through my mouth and the volume of liquids that enter my body through my anus. The mouth had the upper hand until yesterday, when I began including a quassia wood chip tea enema.  

I also began taking the tea orally, though in a much smaller amount than via the enema.  The result: incredible die-off and the passage of yet another large worm.  A worthy adversary?  Perhaps.  The man in the black pajamas?  Perhaps.  They have been putting up a good fight.  But perhaps I've found my ally in the quassia wood.  The tea is questionably one of the top ten most bitter substances in the world.  If you are hung up on the taste of things, you will never include this in your regimen.  But if, like me,  you have a serious infestation of Far Eastern worms, I would recommend you try this tea.  6 small doses have already slain one of these Hydra-esque beasts.  

I've only been able to find two old and differing recipes for the tea and its dosage online.  We made our best approximation and this is what we're doing. 

Soak 1/4 cup of quassia chips in 2 quarts of water overnight.  In the morning, the "tea" is already quite bitter, but we bring it to a boil and simmer it for 20-30 minutes for good measure.  Take a 1/4 cup of this 4x/day on as empty a stomach as possible, and reserve a pint of it to use as an enema.  When doing the enema, don't dilute it and retain for at least ten minutes.  Try to move it to the ascending colon by laying on your right side.  

We will see how this assault plays out in the days to come.  If anything, the extremely bitter taste should prove positive for liver week.  

Ahh, liver week.  Today was Day 3.  Days 1 and 2 went well with nary a noticeable effect.  But today, the return of gallbladder twinges foreshadows a great struggle in the coming days.  It came on thirty minutes after the drink, and returned again with each coffee enema.  At least this time, I am comforted knowing it's temporary and will subside after the week.  I need only tread gingerly and I will make it through, after what I hope will be a Niagara Falls-like flush.  

The condition in the bathroom took a turn for the worse.  At the fault of both repeated H/C showers and cheaply manufactured hardware in an old building, the hot water faucet handle stripped into a free spin, and I spent the better part of the afternoon waiting for "Cesar" to come replace it.  In addition, the consumer-grade chlorine filter that I purchased 3 weeks ago at the local "hardware" store has both sprung a leak and completely "thrown in the towel" in regards to removing any noticeable amount of chlorine.  Yes, I have found the thread here and ordered the appropriate replacement.  But in the days until it arrives, I must be haunted in the shower by visions of a urine-laced public pool and/or my afore mentioned 8th grade first hour swim class.  I have a strong aversion to chlorine and it does not make the H/C showers any easier.  The jiggly toilet handle?  That's nothing new.  But when you combine it with the slow draining sink and the towel rack that tumbles to the floor if pulled from the wrong angle, the whole picture starts to get comical, particularly when I spend the bulk of my day "lounging around" in this 5-star paradise.  

It may also be the right time to reveal another one of my "Pro-Tips" for you all to write down: When you're extremely irritable from bad die-off, it's best not to have a fight with the enema hose connected to the bucket of coffee hanging above you.  When it disengages from the bucket (and it will), that coffee will pour all over you, and the hose will have won.  And when that happens and you are in a bathroom like mine, remember not to pull too quick or hard on that towel, or down will come the towel rack as well.  

My upper lip has become permanently chafed, I think from the cayenne in both the tinctures and the ACV bombs.  I need a good balm, coconut oil doesn't do the trick.  I don't think I will ever enjoy the taste of molasses.  I would rather just pickle some sugar cane with garlic and jalapenos and take that.  Raw, local honey is too expensive.  

I tried the lobelia today.  I took two droppers-full, and it definitely relaxed/mellowed me out.  It's definitely not something you want to take right before your weekly fencing class.  I was enjoying it quite nicely till the die-off from the quassia tea kicked in and I got mad at a butterfly for landing on my bad knee.  I'm going to take it tonight before bed and see if it helps me sleep.  

The physical state of my body is about the same.  It's hard to tell where things are with all this die-off, since it aggravates my tendons and ligaments.  But soon enough I will claim my victory.  

That's about all of it for now.  In the days to come, I foresee much die-off and liver chaos.  All butterflies (and kittens, too) be forewarned.  It's hard to write these silly posts when I'm in the heart of it.  It would have been impossible this morning.  But I'm sure I'll think of something and try to get a picture or two.  Take care all.  

-JT