Hi DV,
Sorry it took so long to respond. Sometimes I forget where I posted and every week or so I look at the list of my posts....

When your docs talk about juice fasting long term, how long are they talking about? Have you ever done a juice fast before?

I have never done a juice fast for more than 2 days. When I juice, I do it in addition to my regular diet. It might be purely psychological but, I get light headed and "antsy" and cant sleep when I fast. At HHI they said it was because I was detoxing and because when we aren't using all that enegy to digest food there is alot of excess energy and that is why sleep issues and jittery feeling.

I have spoken to people who have done longer juice fasts and they say once you get past a few days, all those issues level off.

It must be so frustrating to be allergic or react badly to most meds. Does that mean supplements and vitamins as well or prescription or OTC only?

When I had reached the point when nothing seemed to help my crazy Lyme Disease symptoms (this was decades ago) I did Vit C IVs and all kinds of injections like magnesium,b12, calcium and it helped me quite a big. My doc tried so many things back then, natural thyroid and bovine colostrum and these weird vibrational concoctions....when I am desperate, I will try anything.

How did your meetings go with the specialists you met with a couple weeks ago?
Any new treatment plans?

It is late and I am nodding off.
It is so great your husband juices with you.
I had not heard of a Breville juicer...will look into it as my juicer is old and a pain in the butt to clean.

Take care...Diandra

Hi Diandra,

No worries about responding. I, too, often forget where I have posted.

I have met with specialists. We have not drawn up a new treatment plan.
We've exhausted most options. Specialists need time to confer with one another and we all meet again over the next two months. I am challenged with multiple conditions. In many cases, the treatment of one condition is contraindicated in co-existing conditions. If/when we identify potential treatments which are okay for co-occurring conditions, they are few in number and I am often allergic to those few. It's often very frustrating.

All of my specialists are fine with a strict juice fast -- with lower calorie veggie juices. My primary care doctor feels this may have the best potential for change (detox and fewer meds, lower daily prednisone dose, possibly).

I have also done juicing by combining it with solid food. I am dong this as my first stage of moving into a strict juice fast with no solids. I am also increasing raw foods right now. I will slowly transition into a strict juicing program. My PCP would like to see me do a strict juice fast for up to 30 days, under his supervision, and depending upon my tolerance. Time will tell.

He is a fan of the documentary, "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead." In the documentary, Joe has autoimmune challenges and is on daily prednisone. He cannot get off the prednisone and keeps feeling worse and worse over time. Joe goes on a juice fast. He also travels the U.S. and talks to people about diet, health challenges, juicing, lifestyle. He juices with a (Breville) juicer in the back of his car when traveling. (I did not know he was using a Breville until I had already bought mine, upon advice of a couple of experienced juicing "gurus," not affiliated with Joe. In the documentary, Joe is a beginner at juicing.)

I am very lucky my husband enjoys juicing.
He is very open-minded and had also participated in a full year of a"macrobiotic" diet when I tried that approach. He also took macrobiotic meals to work for lunch.
He is extremely supportive and enjoys learning all about dietary approaches.
He gets a bit creative with any protocol and has fun.
He won't be attempting a strict juice fast. He needs more than juice in order to attend to his career, etc. He will continue to juice once a day and will help me with juicing. I am very fortunate.

After a strict juicing protocol, if I can tolerate strict juicing, I then intend to fully adopt a level (of 3 levels) of the Wahls protocol.

Great to hear from you on this, Diandra.
I remain hopeful for our healing, yours, others', and mine.

Warmly,
DejaVu

P.S. Diandra, I have also done vitamin IVs and injections in the past. I have done comprehensive supplemental regimens. I have also done a few things that were probably "nonsensical." I need a newly refined plan now. I am currently trying to put together a helpful new plan.

Dear DV,
It sounds like you have a rather terrific, open minded team of specialists.

I did the strictly raw, vegan program for 21 days at HHI, with vegetable and wheatgrass juicing. This was 11 yrs ago. I got off all my prescription meds and stayed off them for 2.5 years because I stayed on the plan.

I think trying this juicing plan, under the direction and watchful eye of your medical team may be very helpful to you. You just need to be careful to get enough protein. We juiced sunflower sprouts, which are a good protein. We also did alot of cold, blended soups with some nuts and nut milks and seeds. Don't know if you will be doing anything like that.

I saw some rather remarkable recoveries when I was at HHI in Florida.
One 86 yr old woman had gangrene in her foot, she was diabetic. She did not want to have her foot amputated. Her daughters researched cures and I met her in her 5th week at HHI. Her foot was saved and she rose from her wheelchair and walked to get her certificate on graduation day....there was not a dry eye in the house. If I had not been there to witness it, I would not have believed it.

If I was rich, I would attend one of these programs again but I am trying to recreate a similar program at home. It is just alot easier to be at one of these places were everything is done for you and you have the support of all the other attendees who have health issues they are trying to cure.

Sorry for going off on that tangent...point was, I think you will do very well on the juice fast. It really clears out your system. I look forward to hearing how you do. Let us know when you begin so we can cheer you on!

My best,
Diandra

p..s. I did see Fat, sick and nearly Dead. Incredible.

Hi Diandra!

Thanks for continuing to share on this topic.

I had searched your post on HHI and had read what you had shared earlier.
I am glad you had the opportunity to go to HHI! You were able to witness, and to experience, some of the potentials with juicing, etc.
Your story is remarkable! I am also amazed by the story of the elderly woman saving her foot!

I have known most of my doctors for over 20 years. One used to give me a hard time about vegan diets, macrobiotics, etc. He is now a strict vegan. Two of my doctors are now vegan. Two are vegetarian.

You make an excellent point about protein! Thank you!
I had not thought of nut milks/soups. I am still doing research on the details of a lengthy fast, to make sure it's safe and truly healthy. I had felt reassured when my PCP said he would be available to watch over me closely during the fast. Meds may need adjusting, etc. He had suggested the juice fast.

After the first documentary "Fat, Sick and Nearly Dead," a sequel was filmed. Many health advocates were concerned people may juice for long fasts and not truly understand how to do so safely. Joe has responded with his second documentary. Joe has also started a web site where people can learn more, can obtain recipes and can share in an online community : http://www.rebootwithjoe.com .

Diandra, I'd wanted to let you know the Breville will not juice wheatgrass. There are also all levels o a Breville, quite a price range. There are often sales on them as well, as they are sold in many kitchen stores, at some department stores, etc. It does not extract as well as some of the very expensive juicers. However, it is much easier to use and to clean. There are separate small wheatgrass juicers available as well. You likely know this; however, I try to write for additional readers as well.

I don't expect to start a strict juice fast for another week, possibly two. I want to get my body more ready by adjusting my diet now and want to be sure my bases are covered. I hope to maximize my chances at a successful and rewarding experience.

I never feel like you've gone off on any tangent. I enjoy your posts very much!

Thanks again!

Warmly,
DejaVu

My daughter and I have been re-evaluating our daily smoothie and especially the amount of spinach and almonds and some other things we've been using in abundance.

She only has one kidney and the other one, although functioning well, is overworked as it would be. That said... having only one means she has to be particularly careful.

A recent thread in the Peripheral neuropathy forum had a couple of links in there posted by Febuary and mrsD. They set off a lot of conversation here between my daughter and myself regarding the amount of certain foods that she has been consuming on a daily basis - thinking we were doing the right thing.

I will post the links below that Febuary and mrsD posted.
They're particularly interesting and educational to those who are consuming large amounts of oxalates. We don't use soy products but we were eating loads of spinach and almonds.

http://www.townsendletter.com/Jan2015/green0115.html

http://www.westonaprice.org/health-t...nic-disorders/

I'm not sure if that's of help to anyone else but it's certainly an eye opener for us.

I'd like to introduce Dan "the Man" MacDonald. Dan teaches juicing in a very "down-to-earth" manner.

I have followed him for several years now and have learned a great deal about juicing and more.

Dan has a collection of videos on youtube.
An example: https://youtu.be/Iu4L5WF5klk
(Yum! Those juices look delicious!)

He also has a web site: http://www.regenerateyourlife.org

There are so many sites on juicing, it's easy to get lost!

Almost everyone I introduce to Dan enjoys his very "down-to-earth" demeanor. He teaches which veggies, herbs and fruits are useful for which health goals. He shares a lot of information which lends understanding to recipes. If one can master the info., one can be very creative with juicing.

it's a good idea to fully educate yourself. It's important to understand safe long-term juicing before getting into long-term juicing.

To Our Healing,
DejaVu

Hi Lara,

Oh! A very important point!
I am forever explaining oxalates to people.
It's an important point for juicing.

Kale is a low-oxalic vegetable, for instance. Many sing the praises of kale for this reason, as well as it's bioavailability of calcium, etc.

Many juicing "experts" suggest mixing high-oxalic acid foods with low oxalic foods, or simply using low-oxalic foods.

The USDA list the oxalic acid content in various vegetables:
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Main/docs.htm?docid=9444
You can see, for instance, spinach is .97g/100g and kale is .02g/100g

Thanks for the links, Lara! Those are great resources!
Lara, you have raised a super important point.

This is just one example of why it's important to "study up" before getting into any long-term juicing!

I saw an old friend two weeks ago. She was in rough shape. She had started juicing green spinach and was drinking spinach juice, in large quantities, several times a day. When she had told me what she was doing, I'd urged her to get her iron levels checked. Test results: Extremely high iron overload.

Another example of needing an understanding of what to juice and why-- and how much-- and when.

Thanks, Lara!
Warmly,
DejaVu

Hi DejaVu.
Been thinking about you.
Have you embarked on your juice fast yet?
Would love to hear how you are doing.

my best,
D,