Gonna Get Well

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Welcome!

Hi everyone, I’m Christi and I’ve struggled with some aspect of health for most of my life. It’s not the most interesting thing about me for sure, but it has shaped the path of my life and allowed me to become really tough. I continue to pursue that which I love and have some pretty great adventures. As grateful as I am for the character development and all, I’d really like to be a vibrantly healthy human. Here is my blog on what’s been wrong and how by God’s grace and healing I am going to set it right.

Carnivore 2 Update: 11 Weeks

Wow! Things are really getting good! I am feeling pretty awesome! I have great energy and my weight dropped by the end of these two weeks to 125! Incredible. I began Dr. Ruscio’s probiotic at the beginning of week 10 and I am so excited to do the next step in healing my gut.

I have lost 15 of the 28 pounds that I gained after going off Carnivore 1. I am so encouraged! Comparing my experience to last time it seems that weight stays nearly constant for about 2 months from the start date and then the pounds start falling off. Losing weight by eating as much as I want of a completely nourishing food is the best!

Biggest story of the week.

I’m continuing to gently walk for 30 minutes 5 days a week on the treadmill while I do my brain retraining (another post on that soon!), but the breaking news is that I’m beginning a routine of 2 days of resistance training with my husband at the gym. So here’s what happened. The first time we did about 20 minutes of squats with barbell, lunges, leg ups and dead lifts, not cross fit style of racing intensity, but nice and calm. Nonetheless I came home and was so exhausted that I had to go to bed and practically passed out immediately! When I had to teach I was so fatigued that I honestly wasn’t sure if I was going to have to cancel the rest of the lessons for the day. I was wiped out physically and mentally. Additionally the DOMS I experienced were so intense that almost a week later I could hardly sit without pain. I was a bit discouraged because I felt that my physical reaction was not appropriate to the amount of effort I exerted. I thought, “This is not a profile of a healthy person here! I have a long way to go.” But the next time we worked out 4 days later on arms and shoulders I went very mindfully to not overdo it. Result: I felt amazing. I had incredible energy all day and the best part was that I felt strong and upright playing the violin and sitting while teaching. My husband wasn’t convinced that I did enough weights for typical break down your body so it can rebuild stronger style workout, but I couldn’t be more thrilled. Getting stronger and not having to go to bed after a workout is a yes! I am going to go at a gentle speed as my body continues to heal. I am elated that I have the kind of energy I have which allows me to even slowly begin a key piece of fitness and health.

I’m back to drinking mineral water every day. It is expensive no doubt, but my body craves it. I feel more hydrated and balanced somehow. I don’t know how to describe it, only that I feel better drinking it.

My blood sugar is stable with the exception of pushing dinner too late in the evening if I have a morning meal. Typically I eat around 10:30am and at 6:30pm. Yesterday, I worked out and then didn’t eat until 7:15pm and it wasn’t pretty, otherwise blood sugar is stable, but boy do I need to make sure I eat dinner on time!

Seasonal allergies are a bit of a pain presently, but I find that the people around me are complaining a lot more than me, so I’m seeing it as a win! I’ve been reading a lot about histamine and have learned that it can be a big problem for people who have damaged guts. I was fascinated to learn that fermented foods which are high in histamine might not be a great idea for someone trying to heal their gut. Darn! That was part of my future healing protocol! I have much to rethink. At any rate I’m chugging the Curcumin Max, Quercetin and fish oils. I might add C and Zinc which I have learned also break down histamine.

I’m sticking with doing coffee enemas once a week which really helps give me a boost especially when I start to feel bombarded from the allergies by the end of the week. This seems to be a good maintenance plan.

I could do better with sleep. I’m averaging about 7.5 opportunity hours to sleep, although the sunlight, humidity, birds, clogged air filter, allergies, who knows what disrupt my sleep a few times a week. I would like to try going to bed a little earlier to see how this affects my energy.

So that’s my update! –Big wins for the week: weight loss and resistance training. Carnivore works! Good luck out there! I hope you have many blessings this week.

Supplements I’m Currently Taking

Currently I’m taking these supplements daily during May, 2021. I find them to be essential for where my health is at.

Vitamin D: for all the reasons you take D, but also for my brain. I find that I have intrusive thoughts when I am low in D, magnesium and B.

Vitamin B: for intrusive thoughts and also to see if there was a correlation between my arms going to sleep at night. After taking it in high doses it stopped although it could not be correlated. I’m curious as to how much B I really could use, but B is one that it is possible to have negative effects with too high a dosage so I’m being conservative.

Magnesium Glycinate: for intrusive thoughts, deep sleep and calming of the nervous system as well as a muscle relaxant. With Carnivore I find that muscle cramps are frequent.

Magnesium Threonate: I thought that magnesium glycinate was helpful for the brain, but I learned that it’s mag threonate that helps with brain function. I recently ordered Magtein and am giving it a try to see if I notice a sharpening to mental sluggishness and decrease in intrusive thoughts.

Quercetin, Curcumin Max (containing ginger) and Nordic Naturals Omegas: for seasonal allergies. I swear by these. I don’t think much of them while I’m taking them because I still do become affected by allergies, but woe to me if I stop! Then I’m like, “Hey why are these allergies slaying me?” I look forward to the day when my gut is healed and I break down histamine better. I know I will see an improvement in how I handle seasonal allergies, although it’s better than it used to be!

Probiotics– Michael Ruscio’s Lacto-Bifido Probiotic blend: to heal my gut! I am so excited about these. In the past I didn’t have success with probiotics. I found that I had bloating following taking them so I didn’t stick with them. After reading about how probiotics is essential part of the plan to heal your gut, I got really excited to try them again. Ruscio’s website talks about how different people can not do well on a particular blend, but can have great success with another. His website offers 3 different blends to choose one. I’ve been doing this for 2 weeks and so far so good! I don’t notice anything either way, but hopefully it is helping to rebuild my microbiome!

Carnivore 2: 9 weeks

Lewis Ginter Botanical Garden, Richmond, VA

This week seemed to be a turning point in Carnivore 2. I had substantial more energy each day. I am so excited! I felt energized most evenings after teaching and practicing all day. This is what I have been hoping for!

The week wasn’t perfect. There were perhaps two days where I was groggy from the severe spring allergies and moved slowly needing a lot of coffee, but the overall trend was moving up!

I did have a couple cheats though. Due to lack of preparation I either ran out of meat or had to leave the house for a gig and hadn’t time to cook, so my husband handed me some collagen bars he had gotten. They were pretty healthy as far as bars go with 22 grams of carbs as opposed to the ones with 40 grams or upward. I felt fine after eating them and think they did help, but I don’t plan on making it a habit.

The awesome thing about getting more energy is that it then gives me the ability to exercise more which gives me more energy! I love this upward spiral! In addition to 4 days of moderate walking for 30 minutes on a treadmill I was also able to start doing a few daily squats, pushups, planks etc.. and about 10 minutes of stretching a day. I look forward to seeing what next week will bring.

My weight is still between 132-134, so no weight loss this week. At the end of Carnivore 1 I was 112. I will be pleased when I lose some weight, but I am patient.

Electrolyte situation is manageable, but needs improvement. I sound like a broken record. Electrolytes again, the one code I wasn’t able to crack the first time around. Agh! Last Saturday I went for a 12 mile bike ride at a easy going pace. The ride was terrific; just the right balance of pedaling hard and coasting, definitely not deserving of leg cramps. But the following day and days thereafter I had terrible DOMS. Such an extreme reaction! I read through my blog to see how I handled it Carnivore 1. I learned that I had supplemented for sure every time I would do any moderate exercise, especially if it was not routine. So lesson re-learned.

Additionally, each day I practice violin I have arm and hand cramps. One day this week I tried drinking salt water in what I think now was too high a dose and my brain got foggy and it didn’t even help my muscles. Doing that was kinda dumb since a few weeks ago I was having terrible reactions to that electrolyte powder containing a healthy dose of salt, but I wanted to isolate intaking salt only to see if it would help. It did not. Curious how drinking a ton of salt water while doing sauna therapy is so helpful, but detrimental if my activity is less demanding.

Again I learned from rereading my blog that in the past I would divide an electrolyte packet into 4 servings and sip ONE serving throughout the day or two. I might try this. Perhaps my body does really need the electrolytes, but cannot handle taking them all at once in a high dose.

So far however, it doesn’t seem that I have any problems high dosing magnesium. I take 5 capsules of whatever mg they are before bed and several throughout the day. I also spray magnesium spray on my muscles to help the cramping, which it does although not solve entirely. I love the relaxing and calming effects of magnesium.

Arm and hand cramps notwithstanding I am physically having good success practicing the violin. Being healed will be one of the greatest joys of my life because it will allow me to play the violin effortlessly. In the past there were symptoms ranging from pain to numbness, muscle weakness,sloping fatigued shoulders to a shifting unnameable misalignment that would strangely change my entire relationship to the instrument on a daily basis. I can say with gratitude that these days are far fewer and this week I had some successes that make me see that the end goal is not out of sight any longer. Praise God!

Well that does it for week 9! Best wishes cracking the code of all your health puzzles! Even the smallest steps are moving us forward.

Carnivore Take 2: 2 Month Update

One gets around Tortuguero, Costa Rica by foot on mostly mud paths.

Transition:

I remember that leaving carbs behind and transitioning my body to get all its fuel from protein and fat last time was very challenging. My electrolytes and blood sugar (I recently found out that these are related!) were giving me such difficulty! This time was no exception. Unfortunately in my blog 1 year and a half ago I left off writing just about the time I was dealing with electrolyte imbalances so I don’t remember how it righted itself. Darn! I really wished that I had documented it.

So this time on the diet I chose to supplement with an electrolyte powder, but it wasn’t helping. I was having terrible blood sugar drops, reactive hypoglycemia, where I would eat and my fingers would turn blue. I started shivering. I couldn’t think. I was light headed. At one point I was even wondering if it was so bad that I was going to need a doctor. After a certain point in the day I couldn’t get anything accomplished.

Then I tried to just eat more; in fact on and off all day. It helped the symptoms, but did not fix it. I was still spacey and deprived of energy, but at least it wasn’t verging on catastrophe. After dealing with these terrible problems for about 3 weeks I tried stopping the electrolyte supplement altogether. Bingo. I didn’t have one more problem with my blood sugar dropping. No more blue fingers, frighteningly desperate feelings or maximum brain fog.

I’m not sure if it was tampering with the electrolytes that caused the problems or if I was having an allergic reaction, but nonetheless problem solved. What a relief!

Access to Tortuguero is by boat or plane, a necessary trip to visit the sea turtles

Observations:

Weight:

I really needed to get my weight under control. I had got to 140 pounds! Eek! Between 3-4 weeks I lost 10 pounds, but for some reason the weight on the scale came back up, fluctuating with a net loss of only 3-5 pounds. It’s allergy season and I tend to hold a lot of water when I’m particularly reacting. But I am patient because I knew that last time I did this it took a few months before the weight started coming off fast.

Energy/fatigue:

My energy levels are definitely over all much better than they were, but I still have random days where I feel exhausted. I remember last time I had these days where I would have to go to bed and sleep and sleep. After that period of rest my body would kick into the next level of health. Whether it’s because I’m busier with kids now and don’t have the same amount of time to listen to my body and rest or I’m busily out of touch with myself, I can’t tell if these days of overwhelming fatigue is a sign of healing or sickness. Sometimes the symptoms are the same! Ugh! But I can tell that overall I am getting more energy. My strength during the day is the same, but in the evening I can go for a lot longer.

Allergy intolerance:

I believe my progress is complicated by allergy season. I get supremely bloated like I’m 6 months pregnant with a tight all over feeling. My sleeping has not been as high quality as well.

Cramping muscles:

My muscles are cramping and burning more than usual. Magnesium spray helps that, but I am suspicious that my electrolytes could use a little help, but I’m not going near that for a long time after what happened.

I have had my arms go to sleep quite regularly at night. I am trying to rule out a Vitamin B deficiency. It is either that or my pillow which suddenly feels really uncomfortable. I’m waking up with a neck ache.

Ground beef sensitivity:

Last time on Carnivore I developed a sensitivity to ground beef. That was a bummer because it is affordable. This time it seemed like I could handle it, but after two months I’m started to wonder. Sometimes I can hardly finish it and my stomach bloats. I’m not sure if it’s the high fat content or the blended in bacteria that doesn’t agree with me.

Another observation is eating a few days old meat in the fridge has very negative consequences. I had brain fog and felt droopy immediately following eating it. My shoulders slouched so much I could hardly hold my body upright to play the violin. I will take note of that!

2 month update summary:

So I still have a lot of challenges to overcome, but the fact that my energy has improved even somewhat is encouraging and keeps me going. I know that I achieved amazing results in the past and look forward to what is to come.

Good luck this week on your health journey. Keep going! I believe it’s going to get better!

How I am Eating Now 2021

the view from our lodging, near Turialba, Costa Rica

So in the last post I told you about all the amazing improvements in my health from eating Carnivore for 10 months. But what happened from May of 2020 until now? Did I stay on beef, water and salt? How am I eating now?

My husband Sam is very supportive of the Carnivore diet. In fact when I met him he was also eating a very beef heavy diet and followed Jordan Peterson and knew all about his and his daughter Mikhaela Peterson’s radical health improvements from eating a beef only diet. I thought he was going to be shocked when I told him that I only ate beef. But he didn’t think it was weird at all! Amazing! This is my kind of man!

Across from a small family owned coffee plantation, Turrialba

Sam and I married in March of 2020 and after 10 months of Carnivore I was truthfully getting tired of only eating meat, Sam’s support notwithstanding. I love to cook and now I had step-kids for whom to make dinners and spring was coming and then summer BBQs and beach vacations and birthdays and life felt so celebratory! I decided to go off the diet and see how my health would do, but I didn’t have a systematic plan. My gut should be healed right?

Not only did I decide to go off only eating beef, but as is possibly typical of happy newlyweds, special occasions were not limited to rare events, but life seemed like an ongoing special occasion. I ate Keto during the week, but well there’s dates, camping weekends, beach trip, major holidays, many birthdays and the list goes on and on. I didn’t even attempt to watch what I ate on these numerous events or have an overarching WOE plan. All I knew was I was freed from eating only beef! Additionally, I was so used to being thin and looking fantastic that I guess I forgot that eating “normally” for long would mean that I might not stay in those size 26 skinny jeans.

So how did this work out for me? Well, not badly for the short term. I did have a blast and food did play a key delight in many of our festive occasions. Our camping cooking is legendary and we have wonderful memories to relish. But, in the end after 10 months of going off all beef, I gained not only the weight that I had lost while going on Carnivore, but I gained 10 additional pounds on top of that, making me the heaviest I had ever weighed in my life! Yikes! My husband also gained about 30 pounds. Even the dog gained 10 pounds! Of note is the fact that the kids slimmed down a lot since we married, because even though I was lenient with myself, I wanted to make sure that the kids were optimally fit and ate the best food. If only we would take care of ourselves the way we do our kids!

Our petite plantation guide and translator

But weight was not the only issue. Some of the progress that I had made on Carnivore was backtracked. I had frequently poor energy, fatigue, poor quality of sleep, felt sick, had back problems, parasite activity and clogged sinuses. And how does it work out to have a full time job, marriage and two kids without optimal energy? Not great! We knew the vital energy we had when we got married and what that felt like, being able to go all day and crush it and also realizing we both couldn’t fit into our clothes anymore and were so tired and sick all the time, we both knew the time was NOW to get back to work. This stops now.

If I go back on Carnivore will it have to be forever? I don’t think so, but wanting my gut to be healed is healed is different from it actually being healed. Wanting it to be so does not make it so. Also going from eating all beef to immediately anything I want including pigging out on whatever I want every weekend is not a sustainable WOE. Time to reset and develop a plan.

So February 21st of 2021 I went back on to an all beef and salt, and occasional cheese and scotch diet. I wanted to get back to looking good, feeling attractive, having consistent vibrant energy and not being sick in any way. Here’s the plan

Step 1: Strict Carnivore. Get back to feeling AMAZING and lose the weight.

Step 2: Once I feel great again, do a protocol to heal gut through probiotics, sauerkraut juice, bone broth etc.. Terry Wahl has guidance for this.

Step 3: Reintroduce foods systematically and slowly.

Step 4: Evaluate.

As always, thanks for reading and I wish you too a week of staying the course!

Incredible generosity and hospitality of the beautiful Costa Ricans of Turrialba

Carnivore Diet Review: 7/19-5/20

So I have a lot of catching up to do! I left off writing in August of 2019 which by then I had been on the diet 12 weeks and seen massive improvements from Lyme/mold and a wrecked gut/immune systom etc.. bringing me a huge upswing in my energy and almost complete remission to a parasite co-infection. I was still having problems regulating electrolytes and with muscle tightness and continued to have severe reactions to chemicals, bright lights and fumes when exposed.

I ended up staying 100% no cheating on beef, water, salt, coffee and occasional hard liquor diet for a full 5 months, through the day before Thanksgiving of 2019. FIVE MONTHS! I took 2 days off for Thanksgiving and then went back full Carnivore until the week of Christmas.

After a week of eating copious amounts of sugar during Christmas vacation I developed a disturbing eye condition. Green mucus flowed from my eyes and they swelled caked shut overnight. In the morning the green pus like mucus was glued to my eyes. I thought, I better go back on Carnivore. This is pretty freaky.

I remained on Carnivore with infrequent special occasion cheat days till about April or May of 2020, even honeymooning with an airfryer in the hotel room. That is dedication! So in total I did 100% Carnivore for 5 months and 90-95% Carnivore for another 5 months, totaling 10 months.

Who would knew from this picture that we had 3 days of miserable wind and rain!

Even though I wish that I had kept a careful log throughout the 10 months, here is my general analysis of where I was by April 2020, and probably already here by December 2019.

How much I ate:

I averaged 2 pounds a day, eating 3 pounds during my period.

What I ate:

I developed a sensitivity to ground beef for some reason. I had heard that some people could not tolerate the bacteria that didn’t get killed in the cooking process. Who knows? I also didn’t feel as good when I ate roasts. Perhaps again the bacteria did not all die due to low cooking temperatures. At any rate I enjoyed some roasts, tenderloin, sirloin, stew meat, ribs, London broil, ribeyes, New York strip, and brisket. My favorites (duh) were brisket, ribeye and London broil. So delicious! Wow!

Weight:

During this time I lost 18 pounds, dropping from 130 to 112 pounds.

Blood Sugar:

Felt completely stable. I would eat or not eat as I felt hungry. My blood sugar didn’t spike or drop after or before eating. I felt energized all the time. Before I was on Carnivore I would have to eat breakfast or I would have a terrible time throughout the day. Even if I waited too long for lunch, having had eaten breakfast, bad things would happen. But on Carnivore I would just eat when I was hungry or if I felt my energy or brain function dip a little I would eat and then I was fine.

Digestion:

Going to the bathroom was about a 5 second deal. Best digestion of my life.

Energy Level:

I had tremendous energy! Around this time (pre-Covid)I was teaching a full load, preparing concerts and performing, working out and hanging out with Sam and the kids on a daily basis (minus concerts.) I would then return home at night to do laundry and odds and ends aiming to be in bed at a decent time so that I could return to Sam’s in the morning to see the kids off for school. It was intense! Sometimes I was tired from not getting enough sleep, but I was thriving! I am so thankful to God for giving me vitality at this time to do everything I wanted to do and fulfill all my responsibilities at this pivotal period in my life.

After March 15, 2020 the YMCA closed the sauna. This unfortunately was a staple tool which boosted my energy from good to outstanding. I incredibly missed as I still do the cleansing and energizing power of the sauna.

Brain Fog:

After the electrolyte situation stabilized over the first few months my brain was clear and focused. I had no sluggish cognitive function.

Parasites:

Prior to eating Carnivore I had a horrifying tapeworm, liver fluke and other undiagnosed worm infection in addition to what looked like Candida or rope worm. I had unsuccessfully used many natural herbs and supplements to cure the problem and finally immediately prior to Carnivore I purchased at least 4 different pharmaceuticals from Canada (which in the US would have totaled over $18,000) and I was set to try these heavy guns next. I had ruled out every natural remedy I had read about or been prescribed. Thankfully and I can’t emphasize that word enough Carnivore obliterated any signs of the large parasites; no worms, no flukes. Praise God. I did see signs that I may have continued to have very small parasites, but it was so minor I wasn’t that concerned.

Electrolytes:

This is an area I really wish that I had documented. I had struggled with this for months dealing with brain clarity, that panicky out of control feeling you get when you feel totally spacey, limp and weak, muscle cramps and twitching, and as best as I can remember it finally balanced out. I consistently drank mineral water, but eventually stopped having to chug salt during the day unless I was going to work out or go to the sauna. Then I would be careful to supplement. I still do have memories of tight muscles occasionally so I am not 100% positive that the situation was perfected, but it got SO SO much better.

Supplements and lifestyle tools I was using during Canrivore:

Stephen Buhner Lyme protocol/Dragon Botanicals:

I didn’t notice any added benefit from taking the maximum dose of Buhner’s Lyme protocol. I believe I have beat Lyme. Thank the Lord!

Coffee enemas:

I wouldn’t do these daily any more, but would if exposed to something or having a rough allergy day. Sam’s old house had visual mold growing all over the glass in the sunroom and Ursula’s fur would constantly clog the filter. Coffee enemas to the rescue!

Liposomal Glutathione:

I loved this detoxifier but Sam said it made my breath smell funny, or maybe not so funny: rotten eggs!

Charcoal:

I mainly used this after drinking liquor. Charcoal drastically reduced any after symptoms of drinking.

Mineral water:

For intake of electrolytes and because it’s delicious!

Magnesium, salt and potassium:

For maintaining electrolytes as needed.

Vitamin D:

Who has enough vitamin D in the winter?

Quercetin and curcumin supplements:

Huge help for inflammation and seasonal allergies.

Going to the beach is a place of rest and healing

So now you’ve heard all the incredible success. What problems did I continue to have during those 10 months of Carnivore?

Symptoms I still had after 10 months of Carnivore:

Muscle Cramping

Signs of smallest parasites

Bloating related to allergies/ pet dander/mold–Occasional tight feeling body

Exhaustion and brain fog just talking about mold

Occasional muscle twitches/spasms

Reactions to perfumes, fumes, bright lights and electromagnetism

Reactions to going in stores like Walmart, Target and Home Depot

Read my next post to find out how I’m doing now a year later and how I’m becoming free from reactions to fumes, lights, smells and electromagnetism. VERY EXCITING! Till then, may your health be or become full of vitality!

I’m Back!

I suddenly disappeared from my blog back in September of 2019 after regularly publishing weekly posts . I was loving chronicling my experience on an all beef, salt, coffee and occasional whisky diet and my quest to conquer Lyme and Mold Illness, and then I left off writing until my recent post on coffee enemas. Why would I do that?

Sam and I were married on Monument Terrace in Lynchburg, VA.

Wait to you hear! I met the man of my dreams in August of 2019, fell in love, got engaged, married in March 2020, became full time step-mom to two kids who no longer went to school due to Corona virus and bought a house this past July! What an unbelievable year and a half! Wow!

Now my health is far better than at the time of my last posts and I am ready to return and write all about it again. Going back and rereading my old posts has been very helpful in tracking my progress and even learning about things I had forgotten about. I got to the end of my posts and even I was curious to know how my electrolytes worked themselves out, to see at what point I started losing so much weight and when I turned the corner to possessing consistent energy. I’ll never have that precise timeline now for the past, but I do look forward to sharing my most recent updates on Carnivore and telling you about a major breakthrough I’ve had through rewiring my brain. I hope you have seen much progress in your own health and life is good! I look forward to meeting you here for my next post!

Coffee Enemas to the Rescue!

Sheep’s Meadow, Cole Mountain, Vesuvius, Virginia

Recently I met with a friend with Lyme Disease who had the unfortunate but all too common Lyme co-infection: parasites. Yikes!! Not many people talk openly about this, for obvious reasons, but it is an affliction that many Lymers carry. It is an awful subject of which I’ll go into more detail in a later blog post, but here I wanted to talk about how to pull out the big guns and blast these mini horrors with the ancient tradition of coffee enemas. I’ll share where to get the equipment and go about the procedure of doing a coffee enema which is AMAZING for not only detoxifying the liver, but drawing parasites out of the body. How do I know this? Ahem, first hand experience.

First step: buy the equipment. A quality stainless steel bucket and silicone tubing can be found at Purelife. You don’t need a large bucket because you will only need to hold 2 cups of coffee solution. You can purchase here: https://www.purelifeenema.com/purelife-usa-made-medical-enema-kit-1-25-qt-304-stainless-steel/

When you are finished rinse out the bucket and wash nozzle with gentle soap, let it dry and then store for later use. You can also purchase a tube wire cleaner. Every few weeks or so you may want to clean out any residue that has built up over time. I generally replace the tube every few months if I am actively using the enema kit. I read that you can boil water and submerge the tube, but when I tried that I found that it didn’t really clean out what I feared to be mildew. Obviously, it’s best to not let it get to that point and just replace it.

Next, purchase the coffee. Since the coffee will be used to detoxify you need to make sure that the coffee is at the very least organic; however, getting coffee selected, processed and roasted specially for doing coffee enemas is the best. Coffee such as W.A. Wilson’s Gold Roast Coffee is roasted to maintain the maximum amount of caffeine in order to achieve the most powerful results. Since the coffee is going up the other end you will not need to worry about being affected by the caffeine. You can purchase here: https://sawilsons.com/

Next, brew the coffee. To make 2 enemas, which you will want to do back to back, put 3 tbs. of coffee into a saucepan containing 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil and then boil for 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Let solution come to room temperature (obviously) before using. You may also make 2 batches at once and store the remainder in the fridge for the next day. Some people may want to try working up to the full 3 tbs. if they are very sensitive to new foods going in their body. I started with the full 3 tbs. and had no problems, but I have heard that it can be a lot for some people.

Lastly, do the enema. People who have not experience with doing enemas may feel hesitant or put off by the idea, but it’s really not a big deal! Lie on your right side, put coconut oil on the nozzle, insert the nozzle and hold liquid for 15 minutes before expelling. Repeat procedure again for the 2nd enema. I have watched the entire seasons of the Mexican series La Piloto while doing coffee enemas. I should be fluent in Spanish by now. Enemas can be an excuse to get caught up on all your podcasts, youtube videos and netflix shows!

Finally, reap the benefits. I originally started doing coffee enemas to help me cope with the raging detox symptoms from taking Cholestyramine. I couldn’t function without doing morning and evening coffee enemas; the amount of toxins that the medicine was pulling from my body was too severe for me to handle. The dramatic reduction in my symptoms was astounding, but I had no idea that parasites were going to start coming out of my body. This was a sobering event that continued for a year as I worked with my doctor. Regardless of whether or not you experience increased energy or gain aid in expelling parasites, coffee enemas are safe and healthy. At the very least it is worth giving it a try! Coffee enemas may become a major tool in your Lyme/mold healing kit. You may run for the gold roast every time you start herxing and leave the bathroom with renewed energy!

After the enema, a homemade electrolyte booster feels great! This is a big help for me following an enema. I mix a tbs. of honey with the juice form 1/2 -1 lemon and 1/8 tsp. of salt in water. The amount of salt fluctuates depending on how much salt one needs. I find on a keto or carnivore diet that I need much more.

Best wishes! Let me know if you try it and how you feel!

Carnivore Update: Weeks 12-13

Three months and more on an all beef diet! At this point it feels pretty routine. People ask me how long I’ll do it for and I say as long as I see improvement. After the three month mark it feels like I could do this for a year, no problem. Sadly for the time being I have no travel pictures for this blog post. Alas my computer is in the shop and the outlook is grim. Oh dear!

Well folks, it was kind of a bummer, but week 12 was pretty rough. This was the 2nd full week of taking my new supplements to fight off the smallest remaining parasites and I was certainly feeling the repercussions of that. When parasites die in the body they release the heavy metals that have been contained inside of their bodies. I read an article somewhere that parasites can actually help the very sick by consuming the metals within their host’s body thus alleviating the symptoms of heavy metal overload, and that perhaps that is the adaptive strategy of our biology which allows them to remain or even invites them in so to speak. Of course they also contribute to a disaster in other ways, but I found that to be an interesting theory. Somehow maybe the last three years these insane monsters were keeping me alive. Who knows, but they have outlived any use and I want them GONE!

Anyway, this die off has resulted in my being much more stressed by the heat, experiencing burning from inflammation, worsening of circulation in hands, stooped shoulders, being bloated and very uncomfortable. My stomach fluctuates back and forth from severely bloated to normal.

I noticed that my overall energy levels started to dip, definitely struggling with my stamina by the end of the day. I am familiar with this cycle all too well, the must feel worse in order to get better. It can be very draining and discouraging, but I know now that this flare in my symptoms is entirely due to the war waged in my gut: enzymes vs. parasites and unfortunately the aftermath is felt in the rest of the body.

Because of this flare I needed to do whatever possible to support my liver in detoxing from the heavy metals as well as expel dead parasites, so I resumed doing coffee enemas which definitely keep symptoms from worsening. It sounds weird, maybe gross, but seriously if anyone is suffering coffee enemas are a major tool to functioning as well as possible in a rough situation.

On a different front I went through that unique cycle exclusive to beef eating where I need to rest in bed for about 2 days, feeling absolutely exhausted in a very peculiarly sweet and pure way, not from feeling awful with a Lyme/mold flare, but that my body is demanding deep rest in order to heal. Even though this is rather inconvenient now that my work season has begun, I get encouraged when this happens because I know that healing is taking place. I always feel better after this happens.

Apparently three months into beef eating I am not cured of my chemical sensitivities. After spending a good deal of time carefully combing through each aisle while shopping at TJ Maxx looking for a gift I became impaired from breathing all the odors from candles and whatever else smells up that place. I started feeling very ill and we continued more shopping at Target. By that time I was very spacey and for the first time in a long while my body started violently twitching. I had to hold on to my mom in order to walk and not stagger out of the store. Highly unpleasant but I’ve experienced that before; I can’t even tolerate Walmart or Home Depot. I hope some day to help my nervous system heal so that it is not so highly reactive.

All this being said; however, I still had mostly good days, gave a violin performance for senior citizens of which I was proud and played a solid wedding gig with a sharp brain. Even though I wish I did not have to feel worse to feel better, I am happy nonetheless that the last remaining parasites are being targeted. It is also interesting to me to see the relationship between the attack on parasites and the worsening of my symptoms. I see how and what specifically is related to parasite die off.

So I’ll keep fighting the critters and hopefully soon they will be gone and I can return to the all positive upward spiral of progress I’ve seen with this crazy all beef diet kicking the Lyme/mold/reactive nervous system/inflammation seven headed monster’s ass. I hope you are finding encouragement in your road to health vitality!

How I discovered that paying for mineral water is worth it

James River, Natural Bridge Station, Virginia

I started buying Perrier and San Pellegrino as a treat. I mean really, it’s as treat-y as it gets on an all beef diet, because how else can you splurge? It’s really something how excited I started to get about having some carbonated water in an ice cold glass. It was the equivalent of having my evening beer or ice cream. Here I am relaxing with my seltzer! I would even bring it over my friend’s house or a party so I would have something “celebratory” to drink while they drank wine. Livin’ it up.

I also, to make myself feel better about my budget, was buying some Kroger brand seltzer that I could chug more frequently. But I found that it went flat pretty fast and inexplicably I found myself drawn to the Perrier or Pellegrino. It just seemed better. A few weeks into this new delighting of the mineral waters I went to attend a music retreat at a camp on the coast of North Carolina. I bought about three six packs of Perrier to stock up for the trip. There is typically lots of wine drinking at this retreat so I was ready to fill my glass up and clink glasses with my seltzer.

When I got to the camp I was reminded of how terrible the tap water is. Drinking the water is a last resort. Now normally I just chug our filtered tap water all day. Especially in the summer, are you kidding me, I drink at least 8 glasses a day. I figured at that rate I would probably drink through my Perrier in no time if I abstained from the tap water, but so be it. I was not going to drink it until I had nothing else. It was, ick, yuck, gross, bah!

So I drank my Perrier as much as I wanted and I noticed that I was only drinking 3 bottles per day, about 1.5 liters. Now I was mostly rehearsing, playing baroque violin all day with little time out doors in the hear or doing any exercise so I wasn’t needing to rehydrate from fluid loss; however, seriously, only 1.5 liters? That was interesting.

I got home from camp and found myself just craving the mineral water. Whaat? Why? Did I really just find it to be such a treat, or so delicious? But how much more delicious can it really be? It’s still water. I began to think that it was something else. That my body just really wanted it. It made me feel good. But why? Was there anything really special about this water? I really only bought it because it was from a good water source and had carbonation. But I wondered. So I looked it up.

Perfect day for tubing the James River, except that the water is so slow!

Wow! Cool! Perrier and San Pellegrino are laden with bounteous minerals! Since I have struggled with my electrolytes, no wonder I was craving these waters! According to the Gerolsteiner mineral calculator online Perrier contains 688 mg of minerals and San Pellegrino 939mg, including calcium, sodium, magnesium and chloride. So when I drink this amazingly rich water I am not only hydrating my body much more efficiently but recharging with so many of the minerals in which I have consistently over time been deficient. Also when one drinks a lot of tap water and then pees it out, precious minerals go down the toilet as well. I like how I need to drink less with mineral water, pee less, retain more electrolytes as well as supplement naturally.

SOLD! Spending the extra money on these nature’s elixirs are worth it. If I get a good deal I can get a liter for $.79. Probably if I buy in bulk somewhere I could get a better deal, but $.79 is not bad. Full price in the grocery store they are about $1.79. Since I’ve been drinking about a liter per day I feel like it is helping my mineral/electrolyte situation immensely. I am still supplementing a little every day, but I am feeling very stable now for about 3 weeks. This is such a huge deal. Thank you Perrier and San Pellegrino. Now all I have to do is decide which one I like better.

*Oh and a little note, upon poking around while writing this blog, apparently the true definition of seltzer is just plain water with added carbonation. So neither Perrier or San Pellegrino would be included in this far inferior category of peon waters.

Cheers! prost! and hydrate well friends!