motrin

[brenda's bug]

I was wondering, do any of you take motrin or tylenol? I am having severe body aches and headaches and was wondering if it would help or hurt. I am now day 17 100% raw.

Oh one more thing, in Alissa's book there are no peanuts used, is there any reason for that?

[SHANE]

I sometimes take Tylenol for a headaches, but only if I first can't get rid of it by drinking alot of water. I hate headaches!

[yeahbethany]

Since it sounds like you are detoxing (on day 17, its highly probable), taking pain relievers would not help the process at all. Your body is producing aches and pains while doing its housecleaning, and so you would not want to hinder that by using any medications. It would help in the short term, but you would not detox fully, and your body will just "try again later."

If you want to get at the cause, and not the symptom, just ride it out. eating as lightly as you can can help speed up the process! And drink lots!

hope this helps!

[brenda's bug]

thanks, I needed that, I have felt nothing like this before! I can barely walk my back hurts so bad, this am. I have gone to the bathroom like 5 times already. Surely it is detox. thanks for the help, I want this over and done with so no medicine! Just hope it ends soon, Thursday I fly to Providence.

[FEELIN'GOOD]

I sympathize with you Brenda... I have those darn annoying aches too... not so much with my head, but my body fills bruised to the touch at times... I just remember that it is healing time, and my body is breaking free from this shell I have placed around it from eating so badly my whole life... I haven't taken anything for it... but a warm bath helps or a dip in the spa. I agree with staying off the meds... let your body do what it needs to, otherwise, you will just deal with it more later... Hope you feel better.

[Melissa]

Brenda,
I fully understand what you're going through. I'm in the process of getting rid of fibromyalgia (I refuse to say "I have fibromyalgia!") and my muscle soreness can feel like I've been kicked by a horse, incredibly sore. Sometimes my ribs hurt like they're broken. Headaches, neck aches, the whole works.

The good news is that the soreness has definitely gone down a lot since getting through the initial two weeks of detox. But detox is not a quick process, nor is it linear, for those of us with complex healing to do. I'm in my second month of 100% raw and two years ago was raw for 4 months before falling off the wagon. This time is for good, a lifestyle rather than a diet experiment. I saw how bad I felt when I "splurged" on cooked and processed foods. I'm beginning to accept that detox is in my body's "hands" and isn't controlled by my mind and will. To borrow from a popular phrase, I've decided to "let go and let raw" ! There's a wisdom operating that will heal us if we give it time. With that said, here are some practical tips I've used:
1. epsom salt bath soaks (in warm rather than blazing hot water)
2. coffee enemas
3. lots of water (this is the hardest for me, but I try)
4. rest
5. go easy on the nuts and dates
6. if it's really intense and you absolutely need to put the brakes on the detox, in the past I've eaten a little bit (a cup?) of cooked brown rice
I know some folks may not agree with this strategy, but when I first went raw two years ago, my detox was so bad that if I didn't eat a bit of rice I would probably have ditched the whole effort and eaten worse things.
Good luck!!!

[Olive]

My understanding with peanuts is that raw ones are not always safe to eat due to a toxic mold issue. I miss them sometimes, especially on Thai salads, but I'd rather not risk the mold thing!