Detox symptoms

[kileyc]

hey everyone,
i have been asking a lot of raw food gurus about detox symptoms and no one can tell relate to what i have been going through, so i was interested if any people can relate to me.

I have no energy, i am weak, fatigued, can barely work or even take a walk outside. No weight loss. I have had lightheadedness, extreme dizziness, problems with my heart. All this has lasted 3 months.

Now over summer when i first went raw i didn't have any problems, but then when i went raw again back in november all these problems came up. I have been 90-100% raw but probably a total of 10 days with cooked food out of the 3 months, and that was more in the beginning thinking i needed to try and slow down the detox but nothing changed. So can anyone relate or does this sound a little too sever to be detox?

Because right now the doctors are saying i have a mystery illness. All my blood came back okay but i am waiting to do an ultrasound on my heart and see a neurologist. So just some input would be great.

THANKS ALL
:)

[T-Bird]

In my 1 year of raw this was my experience:

Slowly increasing energy over about 3-4 months with episodes of detox here and there. (also started exercising at the 2 month point). A little less sleep needed, more energy for projects around the house getting done in the evening. Beginning of month 5 I was feeling really great for about 3-5 days. Then the clouds went back over me. No episodes of "detox", just feeling kinda run down, occasional negative mood, tired, listless, watching TV in the evening rather than doing things. Eventually leading to the same energy level and sleep requirements I had before. This lasted about 6 months. I'm well into the 1st month of year 2 now.....

Despite this - I do believe that I'm healing - in some way at some level and I have to stick with it. I can't explain how I managed to continue on at 100% raw through all this. Pigheaded, stubborn, refusal to be wrong, I can't imagine.

But - I think I may be picking up a little bit, now quite sure yet. I said if I didn't feel better by the 1 year mark I'd go get a full work up by a doc. Not quite sure if I'll cash in on that (or cash out given the expense, lol!) but I'm just kind of seeing where this is going right now....


So yeah - a long slow unremarkable detox, rather than feeling great followed by the classic "flu-like symptoms. I think that's what I've been doing, maybe you too?

[sport]

Are you eating enough.
Perhaps you could use fitday.com and put your food in to see if you are getting enough calories.
Are you getting enough water.

[DeniseM]

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I would definitely not write off those symptoms as detox, especially if heart problems are involved. IMO you're doing the right thing to get this medically investigated.

What kind of blood work did you have done? Did they test for nutrient deficiencies and electrolytes? If not, get that done ASAP -- it sounds like it could be severely low iron or even a B-12 issue, if nutrient related.

There are so many possibilities. Extreme candida, diabetes, a parasite, chronic undereating (although that's less likely if there has been no weight loss, unless you have insulin resistance or PCOS)... Is your current weight in a healthy range? Did you have any health conditions before coming to raw, or did these problems all crop up only when you switched your diet?

Also, could you post what you typically eat in a day? (Including the amount of all foods -- ie, "2 bananas and an orange in a smoothie").

I hope you can get to the bottom of your health situation! What a mystery.

[kileyc]

I'm so sorry you're going through this. I would definitely not write off those symptoms as detox, especially if heart problems are involved. IMO you're doing the right thing to get this medically investigated.

What kind of blood work did you have done? Did they test for nutrient deficiencies and electrolytes? If not, get that done ASAP -- it sounds like it could be severely low iron or even a B-12 issue, if nutrient related.

There are so many possibilities. Extreme candida, diabetes, a parasite, chronic undereating (although that's less likely if there has been no weight loss, unless you have insulin resistance or PCOS)... Is your current weight in a healthy range? Did you have any health conditions before coming to raw, or did these problems all crop up only when you switched your diet?

Also, could you post what you typically eat in a day? (Including the amount of all foods -- ie, "2 bananas and an orange in a smoothie").

I hope you can get to the bottom of your health situation! What a mystery.

THank you for what you asked, i am pretty sure i have pcos which i think is part of the weight loss. i don't know about the under-eating i mean maybe i am but i haven't lost any weight and i am bloated all the time. For blood work, i have done everything im great on iron and all. Tomorrow i am actually going to the doctor to get my pcos results, and do an ultrasound on my heart.
I am posting my food on the raw challenge this month, i will be more specific so people can give me advice on it. I don't count calories and won't try because it just messes with my head too much. I try and just listen to my body.

[DeniseM]

THank you for what you asked, i am pretty sure i have pcos which i think is part of the weight loss. i don't know about the under-eating i mean maybe i am but i haven't lost any weight and i am bloated all the time. For blood work, i have done everything im great on iron and all. Tomorrow i am actually going to the doctor to get my pcos results, and do an ultrasound on my heart.
I am posting my food on the raw challenge this month, i will be more specific so people can give me advice on it. I don't count calories and won't try because it just messes with my head too much. I try and just listen to my body.

PCOS could definitely be playing a role in some of this... still quite a mystery though. Let us know what the test results are for that, and what's going on with your heart! Hang in there -- things WILL get better and you'll eventually get to the bottom of this. :)

[Green_Woman]

Hmm... I wish you well with the diagnoses. In the meantime, to those of you who were talking about feeling crappy for long periods of time on Raw, I make these suggestions....

When I start feeling run down or listless, first: I look at my diet.

Am I getting enough variety of fresh foods?

Am I eating enough fresh foods?

Am I getting enough greens and am I rotating them frequently?

Is there a specific raw/living food that affected me negatively in the past that I might have forgotten about and allowed to re-enter my life that may still be causing negative affects at this point?

Second, I look at my lifestyle:

Am I working too many hours without rest?

Am I EXERCISING?? Sure, maybe I FEEL like lying on the couch, but is that really going to help me? No - but getting up and MOVING will help. :)

Am I allowing myself adequate time for sleep?

Am I depressed? Why? What can I change?

Is there a relationship that's draining me that I need to remove myself from?

And the list goes on...


By all means, continue getting a medical diagnoses... that's precisely what modern physicians are sometimes good for, diagnoses and trauma medicine.... but also look at your Diet and look at your Lifestyle. Your Body may be giving you hints to CHANGE something....


"The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results."

[kileyc]

To Denise:
thank you, i got my test results, so far heart not sure about, and i got the results from the ultra sound for pcos and nothing came up, but my hormones are still off so i am not sure. i am feeling quite frustrated now, trying not to be negative but still its hard. feel like only raw person who gains weight not loses.

AND i completely agree with negative thoughts don't help, so i am trying to let go of this but its hard.

[Revvell]

Without knowing more about your daily food program for at least a week; where you live; what's around your environment; what mental/emotional traumas you've had; what drugs you take or have taken; what's new in your home/environment/life, etc., it would be VERY hard for any of us to guess what's going on.

Quite a few gain weight on raw; very few on 100% raw.

I hope you find out what it is. I know it's got to be frustrating.

[T-Bird]

AND i completely agree with negative thoughts don't help, so i am trying to let go of this but its hard.

Keep in mind that negative thoughts and bad moods etc. can be a part of detox. When the thoughts go south - head for the water.....a hot Epsom salt bath. Also - make sure you're sweating every day, epsom bath, sauna, steam room, running. Sweat the gunk out.

With the weight loss, mine was very slow. I'd lose 3 lbs - then they'd be back - for 3 whole weeks! But then one day - they'd be gone again, for good.

My weight lose didn't correspond to anything in particular at all. I could eat very lightly for a week or two, no effect. In a time crunch ended up eating a lot of nuts and dried fruit - no effect. It just went in it's own time.

I don't limit myself with anything - well only due to monetary considerations. But I do try to get at least 6, preferably 8 cups of greens per day, and try to focus on the "serious" greens of spinach, beets, chard, kale, collard,parsley, cilantro, etc.

Whenever I have doubts, or get negative, I think logically - what could be healthier? If this can't heal it, what can???

Maybe you need to heal something before your body can lose the weight?

And so I stick with it. I haven't hit the phenomenal energy and peace I was searching for in the beginning, but after a year I'm slim again, and my completion is wonderful. The weight loss was slow, and took many pauses and detours - regaining what was lost, etc. But I made it.

Keep at it. There isn't anything healthier.

Get your greens, eat whatever else raw you feel like, and be assured that you are giving your body what it needs to heal. But the reality is that it will do that in it's own time.