I am dealing with severe inflammatory problems too. Mine is nerve root inflammation that has caused terrible pain and has weakened my legs to the point where I cannot walk without a cane. I have also gained a lot of weight. I didn't know it was all connected. I got everything I need to begin a cleansing program much like I suggested to you, but was too weak to drive to the health food store for Maple syrup. I may use some evaporated cane juice until I can make it there.
The reason I suggested that you do not do the P&Bs right now is to allow the cleansing drinks to soften the mucoidal material in your colon a little longer. If you think you are ready, you can try fiber, but my most successful experiences with P&B came after I did the Master Cleanse.
I am not a "by the book" person either, but I do believe that beginners to The Master Cleanse should do at least one according to the book. Then, they can modify the cleanse to suit their needs. Master-Cleanse seems to work as is for a lot of people, but some of us need to make some changes to meet our own needs.
Oh, another idea-if you think you need some liver cleansing, add some fresh apple juice or beet juice to the carrot juice. A clean liver helps the bowels function better. Celery juice (as I'm sure you already know) will help the kidneys.

I think it is simple how the weight came off me--I had a lot to get rid of and in particular there was a lot of water weight at the beginning because of edema. The fast is a diuretic and so is the SWF (Salt-Water-Flush) in my opinion. I also drink about 200 ounces of purified water every day in addition to the Master-Cleanse and mint tea and SWF. I need it because I am 6'1" tall and weigh 227--plus I exercise (run or yoga or walking --something every day) and live in a dry climate. Everyone is different. If I didn't have the edema or larger amount of weight to lose it would have come off more slowly.

I am planning to run a half marathon in March and to ease off the Master-Cleanse by the book and eat well which I do anyway. I also think my weight increase in the last few years could be, in part, from coffee. I am also taking thyroid meds but have been for years--they were increased in December and it takes awhile for that to kick in so part of the weight loss could be that my thyroid is finally getting in gear.

Again, this is an individualized process but I encourage you to follow it by the book if you can. I have done juicing fasts before and smoothie fasts with protein powder and I have never had more energy than this first Master-Cleanse I'm doing.

Good luck and keep posting on your progress!

Amen Dave...and to add a few thoughts to the wonderful insights you passed along...

I feel that there are expectations that people bring to The Master Cleanse which depending on what they are, they leave the experience feeling great, or feeling disappointed. I did an extended fast to improve my digestion and to clean out my digestive track and colon from years of fecal buildup. I had read stories of autopsies of people, for example, Elvis, who had something like 40 pounds of impacted debris in his guts. This made me realize that I could recover a certain degree of function and lessen the burden on my own body & organs if I only did what I consider a bowel/colon flush.

I also expected it to demand discipline although certainly after day 20, the challenges became more mental since the boredom of the cleanse set in. So the challenge then was to fall back on my long term goal and to push aside my cravings for something tasty or different. It also was a good look at how I used food and what I used food to mask.

For me, food was a good way to dampen my psychic feelings since I am a visual person but also a "feeler". I depend on how food *looks* to me and how I *feel* about eating it. So, a revamping of my inner landscape to channel those needs in a different way was needed.

I used essential oils to give me choices and the variety I craved, and I used my diffuser to sensitize my olfactory nerves to reacting differently to the cues I was sending out. Essential oils are a great way to heal and one other aspect which is not discussed much is that the cleansing does produce emotional reactions as the layers are sloughed off and flushed away. So, the challenge is to *feel* these feelings and allow the waves of emotion to wash over you and then still, to let them go...something you stored because at the time you perhaps were not ready to accept or handle it but now, it is time to release it and all the other sheet in your life.

I gained a fresh appreciation and synergy with my body and felt so grateful that by the power of the choices I was making, *I* was contributing to the healing of my body. All healing is essentially self-healing, whether we ingest herbs or whether a doctor operates and gives us pills. At some point, it is our body which takes the ball and runs with it. So, the body mind connection is important and expectations are important and if you have expectations that go beyond the parameter of what you are doing, it is much easier to defeat your self talk and disappoint yourself.

I came away with better-great digestion, a sense of lightness around my middle, better-great elimination, and definitely the sense of control Detour is describing. I OWN my choices now and can never ever again say, "I couldnt help myself...".

This does not mean I will never eat french fries or ice cream, but it does mean that I will take responsibility for the balance I seek in my life. The ripple effect of that newly regained or gained perspective effected other parts of my life and relationships as well. I would hope that more people find those gems in this experience and lean more toward those rewards rather than the disappointments I read more about that the weight-loss expectations which are mainly a side-effect of the cleansing process have been made the focus and that there seems to be a trend toward touting this as a weight loss method which is unfair since The Master Cleanse does what it does so well and almost effortlessly. There was for me also, a profound sense of freedom in relinquishing "choices" and adhering to the discipline of the cleanse.

And like Detour said TOO, it is the effect of the cleanse which will promote the later efficient processing of calories and bringing into balance, weight and energy levels. No one is the same either...each of us bring our history of good or bad eating behaviors to the table along with life events which contributed to the stress and reactions of our guts and digestion to it. So detoxing on The Master Cleanse can be different but essentially the same. That is why it is nice to have feedback and the ability to share and allay each others fears and celebrate each other's triumphs.

Just try to keep in *mind* that you can set yourself up for failure or success by your level of expectations. Wish yourself success and go for it, one day at a time, knowing that in the end, it does not matter how much weight you have lost, but it is how you decided to take your health in your hands and *won* just by wanting it enough to do something....

be happy, be well,
Zoe

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