"I could use some reassurance that others have been in this place, made it through and thrived"


-I have. My detox took 3 months, I woke up one day and it was as if someone had turned the light on :)
I was very close to give up in the middle of it.


-one of the bromide detox symptoms is depression, so hang in there.
What you could try; and this is only based on my own experience, is to jump up to several 100 mg or even up one gram of iodine
-the high dosage may make you push through the detox, instead of being stuck, and at least you may experience some of the good symptoms of iodine; wellbeing, sharper brain, energy etc.
A combination with coconut oil usually put the energy on.
And cayenne if one are sluggish; I used this a lot the first year.

For Depression and also coldness; warm shower, then as cold as you can take, then warm, then icy cold. This will start the endorfines and circulation in your body. A mood enchanter, definitely.

one other option is to change type of iodine, or take two different types. SSKI , magnacent etc.
Trapper is the man to talk to about it.

*what Ginagirl said* and...

I used to get a couple of "sinus infections" a year. Or so I thought. When I gave up gluten those sinus infections magically disappeared . I also used to have exercise resistant weight issues. Not so since giving up gluten. A couple of introductory links:

http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/


Dr. Davis focuses on wheat moreso than gluten but his blog is chock-full of good info.

Also, THE repository for celiac & gluten-free info:

http://www.celiac.com/


A lot of people cannot imagine giving up gluten, I cannot imagine ever eating it again, I feel so amazingly well. Cravings are gone, feeling out-of-control is gone, weight issues are gone, random aches and pains are gone. I feel like a teenager:)

Pain is a good sign. It means that the Iodine is working, m'dear. A LOT of posters have reported breast pain. I experienced it, from full-on pain to a feeling of electrical energy. Please review this thread below and follow the links in the thread:

//www.curezone.org/forums/am.asp?i=2054520


When I was on the protocol I wore a sportsbra that was just enough too big that it did not impede lymph flow. Best to go braless but we know that that is not always possible. Go braless when you can though.

Prepare yourself for new breasts:)

You're using magnesium, aren't you? That should help with the palpitations.
An occasional epsoms salt bath helps, don't overuse as it can dry out the skin.

As far as the emotional stuff, just hang in there. You're in for a whirlwind. A lot of us have "found our voice" with this and sometimes we need to watch that, in personal relationships, like, ummm HUSBANDS. Just hang in there. Find an outlet for your "negative" emotions. Negative in quotes because there really is no such thing. Anger and Depression are natural and they are states that need to be worked through and used to gain further understanding of ourselves. gaaah, that sounds kinda hippy-dippy, huh? oh well, best I can do right now:)

and, WELCOME!!!

Welcome Trekkie! Wombat and Gina have given some great insight, thus in terms of 'tips' I have nothing new to add. However, I did want to encourage you to hang in there.

The detox phase is brutal, this coming from someone who has been on the protocol for just over 6 months, and I would say in the past month the worst of the detox is finally lessening. For me, it is the bromide stench (almost gone now), metallic taste in mouth (still have it some days), some Acne flare ups (almost gone), sinus drainage (worst for me usually after upping the dose but it passes) and definitely the depression. I have been struggling with the Depression for a little over a year (after a molar pregnancy and additional losses) but the detox brought it back with a vengeance. There are more good days than bad, though, at this point. It is progress.

As Gina mentioned, the pulse dosing (taking breaks between days) really helped me get through the rough patches. And on those days, I do the salt loading.

I agree with Wombat 100% about the wheat... I cut it out 3 years ago. I do have the occasional relapse around holidays, and an amazing local pizza joint, but I usually have a really rough week after, so it is not worth it. Wombat also touched on some interpersonal/relationship type of benefits. All I can say is 'amen' to that. I have been better able to articulate my emotions and communicate with my husband in moments of difficulty. That was one of the first things i noticed differently, that I definitely consider a benefit that I wasn't expecting. It surprised me really.

Well sorry for the blabbering on, I hope you get through this tough phase and can start to see some benefits firsthand. Oh yeah, I wanted to add -- It took me nearly five months to actually see a significant temperature rise, too. Mid day I have historically been 97.6-97.9, tops. Now I am at an average of 98.9.

Best of luck to you!

The following is just my uneducated recommendation and will likely differ from the advice of others:

For the painful breasts and lymph nodes I recommend that you self-massage the sore areas a bit every other day with enough pressure to cause discomfort but not too much.

Kidney pain has always been a sign for me that things are not right. I believe kidney pain is usually from the kidneys being challenged by having to eliminate a lot of toxic or foreign stuff that they would not normally be doing. I would recommend a short fast from all your supplements and possibly even food for a couple of days to give your kidneys a change and a chance to catch up. Something inside you or, something you are daily putting inside yourself, or some reaction between those two things is likely causing your kidney pain. I have fasted numerous times with just liquids for up to three days at a time, and it seems to do a body good. This last winter I lost 40 pounds in about 4 months while intermittently fasting and eating a low carbohydrate diet while in between fasts. I do not recommend taking weight off that fast however. I was under severe stress at that time and got quite weak. Putting your body into a fasting (self metabolizing) state occasionally is good. I believe the body prioritizes and metabolizes junk, unhealthy cells, and unwanted fat, and other similar sludge first while endeavoring to preserve what is most necessary. With no food or supplement input for a few days the kidneys, liver, and body can make great progress on righting any imbalances by selectively breaking down and excreting the things they always correctly know need to be done. Your kidneys have been keeping you alive flawlessly without ever letting any imbalance or toxicity kill you up to this point. Your kidneys are not party to the latest fads in supplements or swayed by the scant and poorly executed medical studies on most of those supplements; somehow they possess the correct knowledge on how to handle most natural, and even many unnatural substances in such a way that your body chemistry stays balanced at the precise point where your bodily functions all work and you stay alive. If only we could ask them for our nutritional advice! Well, we can't, but, when you have kidney pain, your kidneys are indirectly telling you something is not right. Your safest bet may be to ignore all the medical experts and let your body sort things out free of supplements and your diet choices for a few days. Likely your body is daily being given something that is causing a problem that may clear up quickly on a short water or juice fast.

It is in my opinion safer to take a break from your supplements than to increase them on the recommendation of well meaning strangers and to try to power past some unknowable imbalance or condition. If you or they guess wrong, you could end up taking a bad situation past an unforeseen tipping point and unleash a cascade of ill effects, while if you back off the worst case is that you have only possibly delayed your healing from what was ultimately the right prescription. I personally respect the opinions of those who have taken greater liberties with supplements than I have dared, but I also personally chose to err on the side of caution while my health is generally good and does not yet call for drastic measures. I'd listen to your kidneys.