Hi everyone,

I haven't been around much, but this is still my all-time favorite raw food forum. *blows kisses to everyone*

I'm still raw, just about three years now. However over the past six weeks, or so, something has been going wrong in my body. I'm pretty sure I have lyme disease (got a round rash on my neck, under my hair that was noticed around the same time that my joints started hurting).

My shoulder joints, mostly, are so painful that I am limited in what I can do without the pain bringing me to tears. The joint pain has gone down into my right wrist, my neck is stiff and painful, and my elbows are starting to feel a bit uncomfortable. My knees are beginning to sound crackly, but they are not hurting. The pain is definitely the kind that sends a signal that something's wrong. I'm fairly certain it's lyme, even though the initial testing came back negative (it can be difficult to diagnose, it seems).

I immediately went to the doctor when I realized the strange rash, coupled with the joint pain, could mean something serious like lyme disease. I insisted on getting lots of bloodwork done to find out what's going on. The doctor (not a holistic one, my wonderful holistic doctor sadly passed away) said my test results were better than his and I have nothing to be concerned about. "What about this sudden debilitating pain, though? I'm otherwise healthy, how can you explain this pain?" His reply: "Maybe you have fibromyalgia or arthritis." UGH

Anyway, I've been all over the place researching, trying to make informed decisions, and then it hit me. I need to do what I tell everyone else to do: Listen to what your inner guidance tells you. Well, I've been getting a message to water fast, possibly with some lemon, so that's what I'm doing. I started this morning without thinking about it...I wasn't hungry and I had a feeling that I shouldn't eat. Then I took a nap and before waking I had the knowledge that I was doing what's right for my body at this point.

Here's the question, though. I've never water fasted before. This feels like the right thing to do, so I don't think I'll have an overly difficult time sticking with it. My test results showed some low/high levels of some things and I'm wondering if being low in some things means I should/shouldn't fast for a long time?

If you're an experienced water faster and think you could look over my test results and give some sort of guidance, I'd really appreciate hearing from you. I don't feel like posting my results right now in public, though, so I'd rather email them to those who are experienced water fasters who think they might be able to help.

Thanks so much!

Lots of love to all of you,

Wendi
(Gypsy Ardor)
XOXOXO

Hi Wendi,

In the past few years, I have done a few short and a few long fasts. My longest water fast was 23 days, and my longest master cleanse 39 days. The only piece of advice I have is consider a daily salt water flush. It takes a little bit of getting used to, and you probably won't believe this until you try, but it makes the whole experience a lot more pleasant. I'm talking about a fast that lasts longer than about 5 days. Any shorter than that, and you probably won't notice much of a difference from the salt water flush.

Thanks, kleinphi. I don't think I'll be going 23 days on this water fast, since it's my first time and I'm not feeling all that great. I absolutely LOVED the Master Cleanse before I was a raw foodie, however. That was very easy for me to do. As for the salt water flush, I couldn't do that on the MC and I definitely don't feel drawn to doing it right now. I know a lot of people feel great with the flush, but it just doesn't feel right for me. Thanks, though!


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I'm on day four of my water fast. Yesterday and last night were tough (headache, acid burning stomach, and general overall not feeling well). I had intense cravings for macarroni & cheese and mashed potatoes (which I haven't eaten in over three years, since I went raw). The thought of raw foods made my stomach feel worse, but those comfort foods from my childhood seemed like they'd make me feel so much better (in reality, they probably would have made me vomit after being raw for a few years and then eating stuff like that).

I'm still hoping someone can answer my question. If I have some low levels of things on my bloodtest, should I keep the water fast short? I don't want to cause more problems in my body.

Thanks, everyone.

Love,

Wendi
XOXOXO

Wendi,

If you are paying attention to what your body is saying, it will tell you when to eat. Given the symptoms that you are experiencing, I think your body is healing some old stuff, and if you can manage it, fasting longer would serve.

If you get really low on a nutrient, you will start to desire a food that contains that nutrient. But as you also notice, you are detoxing old stuff out, so you are craving foods you haven't eaten in years. Those foods of course have no nutrients you need, but they contain the toxins you are currently releasing.

As for the arthritis & fibromyalgia, these sound like acute detox symptoms, which is great, because that means your body is releasing stuff. Why its great is because when you get these same symptoms in a chronic way, it takes a lot longer to heal from them.

Thanks so much, Bryan. I've always valued your opinions and advice. *HUGS*

I'm feeling a bit better today, but the burning feeling in my stomach isn't very nice. I'm resting a whole lot, to allow my body to focus on healing.

It's amazing that after a few years raw, I'm still detoxing stuff! That's what it definitely feels like though, to be craving things from childhood like that.

Thanks, again!

Lots of love to you,

Wendi
XOXOXO