Lemonade Fasting and other testing...

[dings35]

Hello,

Okay, I'm ready to tell what my new plan is. You can all read through and see how this works for me to decide if it is something you want to try.

Some background - I got interested in alternative medicine because I've been struggling with p during my pregnancy years. I have PP all over my back, butt, hips, thighs, scalp, belly, and chest. Had GP on my lower legs several years ago and Pagano's diet helped with that. But this PP is a different ball game for me. I did his diet again for about 6 months this past year and never saw one lick of improvement. I got depressed, quit etc.... My mindset before was something like "I'll eat this way for 6 months, hopefully my skin will be clear, then I'll find out my trigger foods and get my new food plan in order for the rest of the my life." Well, my skin did not improve - just got progressively worse. So I quit - gave up and said "give me ice cream!!"

But I can't live like that either. So, I have to do something.

So now I want to get my system "cleaned out", "rebooted", if you will, before I start back into the way I need to be eating. I also need to set myself up for a lifestyle of healthy eating; not just a 6 month trial of eating differently. I'm on day 2 of the lemonade fast http://www.thelemonadediet.com/. I'm hoping to stick with it for at least 10 days. Not easy to do - I'm a homeschooling mom of 3 kids and wife. I make 3 meals a day for my family. I could use some support if anyone wants to join me on this fast!

Anyway....I'm also waiting on some test results - did a stool test for excessive candida, and did a leaky gut test. I'm trying to find out what is wrong with my body. I did a blood test for candida and it showed I was mildly high. I also did a blood test for an underlying strep infection and it was negative. I'm looking to do any testing I can to find out what the heck is wrong inside me.

This isn't a skin thing - there is something wrong inside of me and it's just showing itself via my skin.

I'll keep you all updated. There is hope.

Deb

[MikeK]

Good luck, Deb. Fingers crossed that this turns out to be your "wonder drug".

Take care. Feel better and please keep us posted.

Mike

[Dulane]

You are hopeful if nothing else, Mike. A lemonade fast is just a way to clean out the cupboard. Then the work begins for Deb.

Deb, I have some ideas, and I'll PM you. Hang in there on that diet. I wish I'd known you were getting ready, and I would have done it with you. (My fridge is too full and no kids to feed it to!)

I'm doing spirulina big time right now and seeing progress. Spirulina will also clear you out, but not near as fast as the route you have chosen.

Deb here's a link for you:
http://www.mipsoriasis.org/forum/showthread.php?t=314

[GitOverIt]

LOL Dulane I already told her about glyconutrients. in a PM and told her where to find your mini lecture on it....also told Barbara about it and look what she did.....

http://www.healthiertalk.com/viewtopic.php?t=1686

thats the world wide web for you!
I'm racking up more to get in on the bandwagon.....I see a Steve on the healthier talk is already using it................ it seems.......

P.S. Barbara is a member of heathiertalk that has a mild case of P

[Bryar]

A warning about http://www.thelemonadediet.com/ , use it for information only.

I placed an order with them over a month ago and I'm still waiting. They have not responded to my inquiries about the status or cancellation of the order so now I'm disputing the charge with AMEX.

[dings35]

I did, too. I ordered over a month ago and nothing yet. I acquired all the products myself and am doing it without their "kit". I plan on trying to track them down once my package arrives (if it ever does) and get my money back. Lots of luck, ey? Will AMEX help you track them down?

While their customer service may be horrible, I'm hoping the fast is effective. Was that your only warning - about their lousy delivery - or was there anything else?

Deb

[salvadore]

This is the pure aloe vera in capsule form. Go to the website. It is anti-viral, anti-inflamatory. Psoraisis is related to Bowel health. Heal your bowels and P will heal as well. That is the research that I have seen. This product is helping me immensely.

In the meantime do a search of Collodial Silver that is supposed to kill the bacteria in Candidia. Taking the extracts into the mouth will give relieve almost immediately! I have done the lemon juicing in the morning and it is only temporary relief. Good luck.

[dings35]

Thanks for your note Salvadore. I'll look into the Aloe Vera. But what are you talking about with the colloidal silver - you say when you take it you get immediate relief. Relief from what? I am rarely in a state where I need immediate relief with this p. I just have the ongoing daily flaking and redness, occasional itching, but nothing that says "I need to do something right now!". So, what symptom are you talking about that gets relieved with the colloidal silver? I'm curious and may look into it further.

Thanks.

Deb

[dings35]

Well, I'm on day 11 of this lemonade cleanse. I am actually on the "coming off the cleanse" phase. Today I'm to take only OJ (I know, high in sugar, but I'm just following the cleanse instructions) and lemonades when I'm hungry. Tomorrow is the same except I'll add a light salad for the evening. I can't wait! I've never been so excited for a salad before!

My test results are in. I tested for leaky gut (drinking a sugar solution and send in urine samples) and tested for candida (via a stool test). Meeting with the doc tomorrow. I'll let you know what I find out. The secretary making the appointment for me read my leaky gut test results and said "within normal limits" . So..... hmmmmmm....leaky gut may not be my problem??! I'll discuss with the MD tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I lost 12.5#. Feels great, but likely won't stay off for long. :-(

Take care,

Deb

[dings35]

I finished the 10 day cleanse. The 2-3 days that follow are just about as tough as the 10 days. For those 2-3 days you have fresh squeezed OJ and more of the lemonade, that's it. Then the 3rd day you start having a light salad for the evening meal. The 4th day it's back to normal eating, with the presumption that you'll stay on a mostly raw diet - lots of fruits, veggies and nuts. I've stuck to that, except for a few bites of Rice Dream ice cream!

I went out jogging this morning - the best I've felt in many weeks. It feels good to have about 12# off me. I feel like I have another tool on my toolbelt of health now. When I start to feel sluggish and a little on the heavy side, I plan to do this cleanse again. If I were to guess, I'd say I'd do it about twice a year. The lemonade really was pretty good. And I mixed it up some by making slushies with it - just adding lots of ice and blending it up - tasted great on these hot summer days.

As for the p - no immediate change, but I didn't expect any.

Saw my doc on Friday. Here's an update about the tests I've done:

Food Allergies - (blood test this past spring) - allergic to MANY MANY foods (more than this doc has ever seen) Interesting - because I have no immediate symptoms (that I'm aware of) when I eat any foods
His recommendation -avoid those foods for 1-2 years and retest

Candida - (via blood test this past Spring) - High, but not extremely high
His recommendation - go on Doug Kaufmann's Phase I and II diets (www.knowthecause.com) - it's basically a no-yeast anti-candida diet; and continue to stay away from allergy foods

Candida - (via stool test a couple weeks ago) - showed minimal amounts of overgrown candida in my gut. This wasn't as high as I would have expected given the above blood test but...
His recommendation - same as above

Leaky Gut Test - (via a sugar ingestion/urine collection test a couple weeks ago) - showed that my gut is not currently leaky, but that it was in the recent past. Not sure exactly how he knew this but...
His recommendation - continue to do what I've been doing to keep my gut healed - really all I've been doing that I know contributes to healing the gut lining is the SE tea. So, I'll start that back up again now that I'm done with the lemonade cleanse.

His next recommendation - Heavy Metal testing. Currently discussing with my dh to decide if/when I'll do this test. These tests are starting to get to our budget!


So..... in summary, I was disappointed at the results. I was really looking for something to just jump out at me that says "WOW! Look how messed up this part of you body is - go focus on getting that healed/corrected." But there wasn't anything huge that jumped out at us. I guess I should be happy that nothing is really hugely out of whack, but when you're sick with this p, you're looking for that smoking gun, you know?

We talked a lot about genetics. I asked a question that's been bugging me for months now. I've heard many people say about certain diseases "It's genetic. There's nothing you can do about it. You just need to take those drugs." I asked him if that was true. He said absolutely not. Many people may be walking around with the same genetic "defect" we have for p. But they have lived in an environment and/or have a lifestyle such that the p genes have not kicked into gear. They have not woken their sleeping giant, in other words. For the rest of us - something in our lives has woken our p genes. And we can do some things in our lifestyles and environments to help put it back to sleep.

He said, Do NOT stop doing what you've been doing just because these test results aren't giving us a lot of information about what is wrong inside you. If you do, what if the other pieces to the puzzle start falling into place, but you've taken one piece away - your p is not going to surrender until all the pieces are in place. For example - let's say I stop the diet, but start taking the right types of supplemental fish oils. My body is going to say, "So what?" But if I keep on the diet, and start consuming the fish oils together, my body may start paying attention.

I spent over an hour with him. And I still left with more questions. But we had to quit due to time. I will ask more when I meet with him again in a month or so.

Anyway.... I hope this thread is helpful to any of you contemplating lifestyle changes as a major (if not only) remedy to your p.

I'll send more updates as my journey continues.

Thanks for listening!

Deb

[GitOverIt]

Hi Deb....outstanding.....so happy for your accomplishments on the fasting.....it's not easy I know!
As for the heavy metal testing....I'm sure we all have unwanted metals in our bodies....anyone that has had their teeth worked on in the last 100 years anyway! I've been reading about those things too and started the CHLORELLA for that reason....I'm also taking the spirulina ...here is a good link about the two

http://www.chlorellafactor.com/

and here is Mercola's post on it...his are pretty expensive ( but explains it so well on the need for chlorella) and Swanson's are the same ...YAEYAMA only less expensive...

http://www.mercola.com/forms/chlorella.htm

here is swanson's

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/webap...atalogId=10051

I know keeping our body healthy is expensive (but we are here to help each other find bargains too... ) and probably more costly than going to the dr. for a script for the insurance to pay....but in the long run I think you will be happy....after all the docs can't give anything as yet that is lasting ....so far from what I've seen it is a temporary fix........
good luck to you.....

[mariajohnson]

Hi everyone!

I just read Deb's posting about trying a fast. I think this is my next option too. My brother in law said he had psoriasis for years and the only thing that took it away for him was fasting (he said for about a week) and changing his diet (he's pretty much a vegan now).

Deb- I just wanted to encourage you on your fasting. I think your doing the right thing and your not alone. I'm gonna start fasting soon too. I hope you will post what your results are after your fast. I would love to see if it helped!

Thanks for sharing!
Maria

[ouchyk]

Hi everyone!

I just read Deb's posting about trying a fast. I think this is my next option too. My brother in law said he had psoriasis for years and the only thing that took it away for him was fasting (he said for about a week) and changing his diet (he's pretty much a vegan now).

Deb- I just wanted to encourage you on your fasting. I think your doing the right thing and your not alone. I'm gonna start fasting soon too. I hope you will post what your results are after your fast. I would love to see if it helped!

Thanks for sharing!
Maria

That was a post from three years ago. This is Debs last post http://www.psoriasis.org/forum/showp...&postcount=527 she was on a regiment of sunshine ( dead sea ) and a psoriasis clinic using certain oils which can be easily found on the internet by various companies, psoriaisclinic ( I think that was the orig name ) had some issues with the FDA and customs, they have a new website now, but I don't know anyone on the regiment....

I have a good friend who does a lemonade fast for 10 days. She's away right now when she returns I will ask her to post to you.

Good luck,
Karen

[misba]

Depriving your body of proper nutrition by fasting is not a way to improve your health.sort of seems like you're spinning your wheels.
but if it makes you feel better, go for it. i just think if you incorporate some healthy lean meats or fish that it would be much, much better.
---------------------------
Misbah

Don't over-react emotionally to the Lemonade Diet.


The Lemonade Diet Cleanse Recipe

[MadCat]

I did something very similar but not with powdered lemonade.

I drank pure fresh vegetable juices ~ a juice fast detox.

Worked wonders for a number of small niggly issues.

Good luck if you can make ten days, just take each day as it comes and don't be too hard on yourself if you give up.

However, you really can't go back to your old ways of eating and expect to maintain whatever improvements you get. You will really need to overall your whole diet if you want to see on-going benefits.

Angela Stokes is currently doing a 92 day juice fast, makes my 6 days one seem quite piddly in contrast

More info about Angela Stokes here:

http://www.rawreform.com

Anyway good luck with it.

[eso]

Day 3

It's funny, I can stick with the plan all day but I miss the lunch with my coworkers and eating dinner with my family. It doesn't seem right when I sit down in the evening with my wife and son for dinner with a glass of water... And my 2-year-old son looks like he's worried that I'm not eating with them.

Well, I had planned 2 more days and I should stick to it. There will be more opportunities to eat...

[ladybuglady3]

I've been watching this thread since it reappeared this year. Last night I decided to try it. Not for my p but because i'm in a weight loss competition and I've been slacking on both diet and exercise.

Is it suppose to be pretty spicy? It's noon and I'm not hungry so that's good but it seems too strong.

[eso]

Is it suppose to be pretty spicy? It's noon and I'm not hungry so that's good but it seems too strong.

Yes, it's spicy. I keep a jar with the cayenne on my desk and add it fresh for each serving. It is still spicy, but the pepper is part of the cleansing process.

Day 4. It actually seems easier today. I have read that the first and 3rd days are among the hardest. Having gotten over that hump I'm considering sticking with it even though I've got the birthday party this weekend.

eso

[ladybuglady3]

Wow! You're brilliant! I added the cayenne to the entire days worth of lemonade. My mouth is on fire every time I drink it. Some almond milk and cookies would be a nice soothing touch...