As someone with suspected moderate to severe toxicity, I had been warned that if hadn’t done enough foundation work on my gut and liver then I would struggle with the anti-microbial stage. When these bugs die they put a strain on the gut, liver and kidneys.
Looking back, the main reason I gave up on the gut work was because I didn’t have any success with the mast cell stabiliser ‘Ketotifen’ which had apparently helped so many others. A friend with obvious and severe gut issues was having success with it so it’s pot luck. I had big expectations but it made me way worse so the next option was to use probiotics, gut friendly nutraceuticals and foods like milk kefir. Good probiotics are expensive and making kefir is time consuming so along with some other excuses I skipped it. Bad decision.
Before I go on, if there is some ongoing stress in your life that you can do something about, then this can be a huge help. The gut wants blood around it, this can’t happen when you’re stressed out all the time in flight-or-flight mode. And I realise the illness itself causes stress that we can only do so much about (but usually more then we think) so this issue is different for everyone. Too much fake light from devices is not good for the gut, I’ve minimised my usage particularly at nights and it has definitely helped, particularly with sleeping. It’s takes constant experimenting.
Back to the gut program – I also thought I was strong enough at that point to start the anti-microbial program which included products such as Artemesia, Fungus Fighter, Vermez (a NZ product, similar to Para-Shield). An anti-microbial program has bug killing ingredients such as Walnut Hull, Clove, Oregano Leaf, Pau d’Arco, Wormwood, Olive Leaf Extract, Garlic etc. Some also take Niacin the blood thinner so the ingredients can get into all the nooks and crannies.
Initially I started well but as the weeks progressed I got weaker. My will power to get better kept me going but it got to a point where was rapidly fading away and had no choice but to stop. I didn’t follow instructions properly either – I started taking small doses of everything instead of ramping up one product at a time to full dose and then moving on.
After a demoralising day or 2 I when back to the drawing board and made a plan for the gut and liver work. I’m currently tolerating well the Milk thistle for liver and a kidney support (both HerbPharm products from iherb).
For gut i take Slippery Elm (mucosal lining healer) and should really make some magic gut tea to sip away on all day which includes slippery elm, marsh-mellow root and licorice.
Probiotics include sporadic batches of kefir, ramping up FiveLac powder and looking to add something like Vivomixx. This all seems to be working because every time I increase dosage I get headaches and fatigue but it clears relatively quickly. I take a binder in the mornings and sometimes at night away from anything else consumed. (Dr Shultz Intestinal binder). And Dr Shultz #1 to get things moving; very effective.
I will wait until I can tolerate maximum dose of the gut and probiotic products and only then will have another attempt at the bug killing stage. And then comes the extraction of toxins from inside the cell which will most likely involve Alpha Lipoic acid and some form of chelator/binder such as DMSA to escort it pout of the body. I did an “Andy Cutler” round of DMSA (extra-cellular detox / outside the cell) a few weeks ago and that went well but I tried ALA alone and that was a disaster so be very careful with this as it crosses the blood brain barrier and allows toxins to travel in and out. It is VERY easy to shift toxins from relatively safe locations to not so safe locations and make yourself MUCH worse. Which method I use will be decided in the future with consultation with professionals matched with what I think i can handle.
As desperate as we are to get these toxins out of our bodies we have to be patient. Big mistakes will only delay recovery.
My recovery program is currently based on:
- Connie Fox detox program – thyroid, gut, heavy metal detox. – Dr Klinghardt.
- Dr Jack Kruse circadian rhythm guidelines
- Root Cause protocol – importance of magnesium and diet
- Paleo Diet – nothing that can feed the unwanted bacteria associated with toxicity – sugar, booze, bread – most high glycemic carbs.
Next update will be when I attempt the bug killing stage again. I hope this post has helped and given you some clues as to what to do next or possible root causes.
Hi John, Thank you for your blog. My husband and I both have high levels of several metals, mostly lead and mercury. We’re not sure how we got them but suspect it happened when we lived on a ranch in a large agricultural area which used lots of pesticides and we drank water from a well that hadn’t been tested for pollutants. The symptoms were slow to develop -mainly severe insomnia for him and anxiety/panic attacks for me. That was 20 years ago and we’ve just found out about the metals. I have been unable after many many tries to get off of the antidepressant which I was prescribed for the panic attacks. It really helped at first but I didn’t want to stay on it forever and not knowing what was really causing my debilitating anxiety I just figured it was issues from my childhood. I hope you don’t mind reading all this; the reason I’m writing is to let you know that as someone new to this process of detoxing I LOVE your blog. I have been reading and researching like crazy and am learning a lot but your blog makes it all come together. Please keep writing! I am also working with Connie Fox and Josh Macin (Detox Dudes). Our detoxing has been a slow go due to the fact that we are both sensitive to many of the recommendations and keep having to back off. My husband doesn’t tolerate the ketotifen and I’m not sure I will either. Even the M Water proved to be a problem. Anxiety that was under control before the detox is now a major problem. Thanks for listening and best wishes for your complete recovery! I will continue to check in periodically to re-read your posts and see if there’s any new ones. Sincerely, Winona Stewart, Carmel, California
Hi Winona, thanks for sharing some of your experiences; you’re more than welcome to write about what you’ve been through. This blog and all the comments just show what a minefield it can be, and everyone’s recovery is slightly different. Once you have your thyroid balanced and done some gut and liver work then you can expect some symptoms to lessen. Don’t worry if Ketotifen doesn’t suit you, there are other options. It either does or it doesn’t so we have to go with the flow.
You’re lucky you have an understanding partner to work through it all with because most symptoms are so invisible and even the closest family and friends can struggle to understand. I’m aware of Josh Macin but I’m not signed up with him. Is there anything different that Josh adds to the mix, I understand he initially learnt from Connie?
I couldn’t get the M-Water to New Zealand so I haven’t added that but yes, all the stages can be slow going for sure. I’m advising myself here also when I say just take it slowly and be consistent. I’ve recently snuck in a couple of DMSA rounds (before finishing anti-microbials) against advice – the first one went okay ( 20mgs DMSA) but the second (with DMSA 20mgs/ALA 3mgs) knocked me around a bit so I’ll put that back on the shelf for a while. It’s easy to get a false sense of health and try to ramp things up too soon; and suffer for it. It’s typical that we can be so desperate to get back to full health that we rush it and inadvertently set ourselves back.
Hang in there and all the best with your recovery.
PS: I love California, we went via Carmel and our way to Yosemite, beautiful – i hope to get back there.