Okay, so... I have been 80-100% raw for about a year.

I cleared SO much stress out of my life. I get plenty of rest. The only cooked food I eat is steamed veggies and potatoes prepared with love... no breads, nothing greasy, nothing toxic...

And I am SICK SICK SICK!!!

I have been sick for about three weeks now, and I literally do not know what to do with myself.

Week #1 was Tropical Blazing Fever Week. Then, week #2 was Monstrous Snot Week... and after all symptoms nearly abated, I seem to be launching into week #3, Horribly Painful Swollen Gland Week.

Now... Since I have been sick, I started having a love affair with a Green Star juicer. At least 50% of my daily calories have been coming from FRESH, ORGANIC JUICE. I'm still resting. I've been taking oil of oregano, used some homeopathic remedies when I broke out with pink eye. Warm sea salt water rinses help temporarily with the inflammation in my mouth.

Just when I was nearly better, I got some top of the line Cat's Claw in the mail, and started taking a low dose of that twice daily. Cat's Claw is supposed to SUPERCHARGE the immune system... like, people undergoing chemo cannot take Cat's Claw because the chemo will not work. Dying AIDS patients deemed incurable miraculously have their immune systems restored with this stuff. (And I got mine from a very good source...)

And since I've started the Cat's Claw, which is supposed to be anti-inflammatory, my throat SWELLED UP and it hurts to talk!

So, what do I do? Ride it out? How can someone doing everything right be sick for sooooooo long? Is this DETOX? After a year, really, detox, still? Could Cat's Claw have stimulated a further, deeper detox?

What do I do? Go to the doctor's, bend over, and take antibiotics? Last time I took antibiotics, I got acute colitis for about three months and a period that lasted 33 days... I *DO NOT* want to take any antibiotics! Like, antibiotics may take away whatever is plaguing me, but they will destroy my life with 10,000 new plagues. They did once already... No more traditional doctor's visits for me.

What do I do?! I am at wit's end! I want to get better! I've been living on mostly JUICE! RAW ORGANIC JUICE!! ARRRGGHH!!

(Input is graciously, graciously welcomed. Thanks in advance!)

I would eliminate the Cat's Claw and DEFINITELY the Oil of Oregano. When I took Oil of Oregano after being raw for years, I felt like a chemotherapy patient and it darkened the skin under my eyes. Oil of oregano will burn your internal organs. After my experience, I think it is poison.

I would try to consume ONLY fresh raw fruits, vegetables, and their juices, plus a small amount of nuts or avocados if desired, with NO supplements, and see if you are still having these symptoms.

My hunch is that it is something other than the fruits, vegetables, and juice that is CREATING toxicity in your system.

By the way, always do the opposite of what a medical doctor tells you to do. If they recommend antibiotics, take probiotics. Antibiotics are designed to kill ALL the bacteria (good and bad) in one's digestive system. Taking antibiotics creates an ideal condition for candida further down the road.

it's probably not the cooked food, or detox

i would say it's simply one of your herbs or oils..or not enough vitamin c? I think i don't get sick because of all the fruit that has vitamin C in it that i eat. it's usually one of the more extreme-packed (superfood, i'll say) things that causes some sort of immune response

Anyway, no one here can really tell you what it is; if i were you i would see a hygienist or a doctor in chinese medicine; or try taking out different things one at a time to see what happens

don't be discouraged

I've been leery about the Oil of Oregano, definitely. It really does burn going down.

I get over 1000% of the RDA of Vitamin C, and I have been getting that daily for about a year now... courtesy of raw foods and my senseless addiction to berries!

I think there are a lot of practitioners of Chinese medicine in the area... doesn't that fall under the "herbs and supplements" category, though?

Always take oregano oil judiciously and with an edible carrier oil. It's highly caustic! Also, it kills all pathogens effectively, which, if it happens too fast, can concievably result in sepsis--your spleen, liver, and kidneys can take only so much. A word of hope, phantom: before embarking on my raw transition several years ago, and while under tremendous stress at school and work, I developed a horrifically bad sinus infection with pink eye. I had not had pink eye since I was eleven, and went swimming in a polluted lake. Apparently, the bacterium that caused my initial infection in childhood can lie dormant for decades and resurge in crisis. The doctor gave me a fistful of antibiotics, and I though, great, I'll be cured of this but I'll die of clinical hepatitis. I threw the scripts out and started taking silver. Four days later, I was well. Lastly, I'd get off the potatoes. Nightshades are tricky once you start clearing out. Their phytochemicals go straight to the joints and bones and inflame them. You may as well take bella donna and have done with it. Seriously, I hope you feel better soon. I believe whe we ail we must lessen the metabolic load on our bodies as much as possible. Drink lots of clear water and water- and enzyme-rich green juices[lettuces, sprouts, pineapple, papaya, mango] and sleep, for god's sake, sleep! Your body knows how to repair itself. Clear the path for it and be patient. Please keep us posted on your condition. All healing energies your way.

Be your own doctor ad figure it out yourself usually is the best advice. You have everythng to do this with.

Are you staying home from work now during your sickness? Perhaps now would be a good time to get quiet, stay at home in bed, and eat as little as possible, perhaps doing a water fast.

oil of oregeno is used to euthanize fish i just learned recently .. it deadens nerves ... cant help but wonder what it does to humans ..

since 2002 ive had what i would consider at least 7 major detoxes , the last 3 or 4 following Bryans advice of rest rest rest and more rest and water



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/2008 07:12PM by Jgunn.

Phantom,

Are you still consuming cacao? Perhaps you ought to back off of it until your health is excellent once again.

Wow, thank you, everyone, for the thoughtful and informative replies!

That is CRAZY about the oil of oregano. The homeopath I spoke with didn't say anything about taking it with a carrier oil (*disappointment and concern*)--but I was taking it with water and it was awful. It really burned and did not feel good going down. I'll see how I feel tomorrow, the oil may have been complicating the swelling/sickness/etc.

I knew a guy who would take drops directly out of the bottle... O.O

That's interesting about the pink eye, and pathogens lying dormant. I've had some nasty sore throats in the past, and last fall it was a sore throat/mouth infection that led to the whole wisdom teeth->antibiotics->death and dying->discovery of raw food. It could be so many things... The microintelligences in my body never send me an invoice for the repairs they are making. =\

I've been going wild with fluids and fresh juices. My rest status is good, I've had a lot of time off work. I do not consume cacao regularly... I haven't even had a Larabar in weeks! :O

I will keep a status posted.

Getting sick like this right now is just blowing my MIND. I have been wallowing in the looking/feeling great department with raw, started running again, the destructive binge days are gone, I no longer live with chronic smokers (I visited a party at my old place a few days before getting sick, though, and there was also a TON of cigarette smoking there), I dumped the stressful job for a great one... Everything was just SO GOOD, and then I got SO SICK. There is no immediately apparent cause-reaction.

Such is the universe!