Re: Answers: +edit Re: Quickie...
Phew. Okay.
I hear you on the Sutter thing.
I think, from what you said in the private message, that the reason colon cleansing with IF#2 and Effexor (or any anti-depressants) has proven so *rocky* is because the charcoal/bentonite is altering the drug in the bloodstream. This would be the reason I get super panicky when using the IF's for a few days? Yes?
The reason I checked Sutter (who has a fairly aggressive, black-white approach) was that colon cleansing was proving so bumpy, but you didn't have the full picture of me being on an anti-depressant. So...should I get a batch of IF#2 with no, or reduced, charcoal/bentonite?
I understand the car analogy. Anyone who can read that whole thing should be given a cookie, although not if they are colon cleansing. We know you don't do brevity. Would one *have* to do a full IP program to see considerable benefit? As money is an issue...would a simultaneous colon/parasite/liver/kidney/eating correctly/hydrating suffice? And laying off the stupid chemicals...
(On ashwagahnda, I was mixing in too many other nasties (cigs, pot, bad coffee) to see continued benefit.)
HERE'S THE DEAL: On the coffee, cigarettes and pot. I'm not addicted to any of them, and haven't touched them today since reading your post above. I have been a coffee drinker for about 9 years, have only smoked pot regularly recently, and started smoking on and off at 29 (I'm 32 now) when the whole barnyard went up in flames. Similar story to a lot of folks: unresolved (even unrealized/buried) childhood trauma, professional instability, bigtime current family problems (the really f-cked families stay that way forever, as the really psychotic members who f'd people up in the first place tend to stay that way through time, or worsen).
However, my nerves are shot. To use a line from an e-mail I sent to Uny, "they're not only shot, they're outside with a chalk outline around them." I only smoke cigarettes when I get panicky, there is never a steady stream of pot around and the coffee has been a "friend" for about a decade. Maybe that's when my adrenal issues began.
So, coffee and smoking are basically as counterintuitive and counterproductive as you can get. Why? (Uny asked me to post the top five reasons why each is a crackpot move, so here goes...) Apparently, the major reason is that with each cup of coffee, and especially for those of us with adrenal issues, you're simulating the exact emotions that your hairy ancestors went through when a lion chased them across the plains.
COFFEE IS EVIL
1. Coffee initiates serious neuron activity, right from that first cup of the day. It doesn't take a genius to see that there might be a downside to all of this neuron activity. In fact, uncontrolled neuron firing creates an emergency situation, which triggers the pituitary gland in the brain to secrete ACTH (adrenocorticotrophic hormone). ACTH tells the adrenal glands to pump out stress hormones—the next major side effect of caffeine.
2. Everybody "knows" that caffeine makes you more alert and clearheaded. Think again. A cup of coffee gives you a wakeup jolt because it triggers a stress response. Your adrenal glands are prompted to kick out the same stress hormones that are released when you perceive an external threat or danger. Your muscles tense, your blood
Sugar elevates for extra energy, your pulse and respiration rates speed up, and your state of alertness increases so you're ready to wrestle with or run from environmental dangers.
3. It generally speeds up our body by increasing our basal metabolic rate (BMR), which burns more calories. Initially, caffeine may lower blood sugar; however, this can lead to increased hunger or cravings for sweets. (ALWAYS good to plow down the Twizzlers and Milk Duds on a colon cleanse!)
4. Although we think of caffeine in coffee as the "wake-me-up" chemical, chronic use of it may cause fatigue, headache, moodiness, and
Depression in some people. (Nice.)
5. Caffeine doesn't add energy to your system, it just burns up your reserves at a faster pace. You get a short-term boost at the expense of long-term jitters and fatigue. (I'm headed over to Starbucks to picket after this post. What a complete sham.)
SMOKING SUCKS (Your live out of you, esp. if you have adrenal issues):
1. From Wiki: By binding to ganglion type nicotinic receptors in the adrenal medulla nicotine increases flow of adrenaline (epinephrine), a stimulating hormone. By binding to the receptors, it causes cell depolarization and an influx of calcium through voltage-gated calcium channels. Calcium triggers the exocytosis of chromaffin granules and thus the release of epinephrine (and norepinephrine) into the bloodstream. The release of epinephrine (adrenaline) causes an increase in heart rate, blood pressure and respiration, as well as higher blood glucose levels. (Almost as bad as Uny's car analogy)
2-5. I'm getting verbose here and a lot of the stuff on the Web regarding nicotine and adrenals has to do with testing on rats, so apparently they can't even find humans to test cigarettes on, which should tell me that they are bad for me.
It's all shite, mate. All of it. Yet, when you or I get panicky, like millions of others of Americans with adrenal issues, it's right to the cigarettes, coffee, pot, road rage, whatever. Whatever your little "friend" or "toy" is. I don't ENJOY any of the above, they don't solve my "issues" when I'm doing them or done doing them, and I'm set back from healing.
I'm committed to stopping them. I think the key is not letting IF#2 alter the Effexor in my bloodstream, right?
I see your recommendations for supplements and the like. I will wait until you reply regarding which elements of the IP can be tackled separately, if they can.
Annnnd, what do we do to get me off the Effexor?
Matt