I have been sick with minor cold stuff on and off for the last two or three months, but after finishing one relatively long coughing deal (like two whole months of it) I got better for three days, and now I have this achiness ALL over in my bones and joints. Most worrisome is that it hurts to breathe - like there is something down deep in my lungs. It's not my kidneys or a UTI (but drank 8 oz. 100% cranberry nectar just in case), because the pain is just below my shoulder blades. When I cough or hic-cup it just kills and when I walk (like from Les Schuab to the car today) I go into fits of hyperventilation because I can't breathe until I stop moving again. I had walking pnemonia back in 1994 and it felt just like this.... so my question is... obviously this is some kind of detox but what do I do about it? I don't want to take antibiotics for the obvious reasons. We already eat a lot of raw garlic and onions. Drank some "Breathe Easy" Traditional Medicines tea, and about 75% raw. No dairy - mostly some quinoa, p.b. on tortillas, vegetable soups. Should I be worried, or will this pass on it's own with a stricter raw diet and/or possibly a light juice fast? Anyone gone through any of this deep lung pain?? Got a little bit of the chills too.

-Angie

I wonder what your temperateure is?

and it seems like that's a pretty severe detox for only being about 75% raw.
In fact, my opinion is that at 75%, it's more like a very healthy diet than cleansing...everyone's different and you know your body and yourself.

I'm very curious about what Bryan and David have to say.
(and everyone of course!)

but this sounds fairly concerning...

measure twice, cut once.

"In Watermelon Sugar the deeds were done and done again as my life is done in watermelon sugar." ~r.brautigan

I make paintings

I'd advise a light juice fast, very light walking/exercise in fresh air, and reasonable sunbathing at non-peak sun hours......until your symptoms pass. If you are in a CRISIS......then do WHATEVER you feel will best aid you through the crisis....then go back to living your life in a way that you've evaluated best leads you to the goals that YOU'VE identified.

-Just my opinions.

-David Z. Mason

WWW.RawFoodFarm.com

I had strong cleansing reactions when I first went up to ~50% raw, and I ate a healthy vegan diet for many years before that and *never* ate SAD (though I did have 15 months of hormonal drugs and novocaine to detox from when I was younger). So I don't think it's surprising or concerning that you had a strong detox reaction at "only" 75% raw. My experience is that most people experience strong cleansing reactions once they hit between 30-80% raw, depending on how healthy they are. I think the more one has to detox, the more likely one's detox reactions are to be more severe and to happen at a lower percentage raw. So to me, it sounds to be definitely like a detox reaction. DMZ's advice for handling it is great!

Best Wishes

You can try taking some very warm water (what you can stand in being warm)mixed with sea salt and use it like nose drops..do each nostril at least 10 times and it seems to help bring up that stuck yellow mucous. I also gargle with it to break up chest mucous.

Take some very warm water, add in freshly squeezed lemon juice, with raw honey and or blackstrap molasses and that's soothing, gives you vit-c and with the molasses some b-vitamins.

Take a hot bath with some hydrogen peroxide, epsom salts, and baking soda bicarbonate..it's very alkalizing. Or if you don't have all 3 just use the one or two you do have. I pour in about 1 C of hydrogen peroxide 3%, 1-2 Cups of epsom salt.

You want to expell the mucous and infection deep in your lungs, so steam or dry sauna would be helpful also, make a tent with a hot water bowl and towel tent and breath that in. Let your nose drip, your mouth water, spit into a cup, cough it up..whatever feels good. Do that for a couple days, for 20 minutes at a time. It's very helpful.

Love,
Prism

I have only been raw for 11 mos. I Know the deep lung pain and chills you speak of. I would not hesitate to see a doctor. I took meds for a similar problem 4 mos after going raw. Maybe being raw doesn't cure everything right away. You cannot live if you can't breath. Ten yrs ago a 36 yr old neighbor died of pnemonia. She spent a month on life support at Jefferson hospital in Philly.Remember Jim Hensen, creator of Sesame Street Muffets? Died of pnemonia. I would stay raw, but get it checked out, and maybe it'll never happen again in your life, but get it better now. Take care and stay raw. Val

I like what David says: lighter eating. Also, you might want to consider more bed rest and getting more sleep until all the symptoms disappear. If you can, reduce or eliminate your obligations so your can get total rest and your body can devote all of its energies into your healing.

An update -

I tried most of the suggestions, especially Prism's with the drinks and baths and breathing hot steam and whatnot - and it seems to have passed, although I didn't hack anything up. Call me weird, but it's strangely satisfying to cough up huge green chunks of mucus that you know have been in there forever. LOL I remember doing that once! I'm wondering if it was actually a dislocated rib, because all of a sudden the next day after I posted this I woke up fine... but that doesn't explain the chills. ??? Could have been both! Who knows! Well, I feel better and will come back to this thread if I need to detox in the future. Thanks everybodee!

Angie

Maybe now is a good time to go 100% raw?! I think depending especially on the cooked foods, or other SAD foods, you can keep making that mucous in your body and while being high raw is good, being 100% would be a goal to attain. I felt really good when I was 100% raw and lost the initial 70 lbs.

I'm getting ready to go to 100% raw again, because I've been doing very well on a high percentage, but still I will get some detoxing issues, and I recently am getting over cold symptoms that I had for about 5 days..I did all the things above, and am still doing them. The baths are very good to do a few times a week even when you are feeling well.

It's funny I want to go 100% raw at this time of year, but I know I can't heal much farther without doing it. I'm trying to get my thyroid to heal and function on its own after 30 years of being helped with thyroid meds and now that I'm off those, I am on Iodine daily. I tried going off that and or lowing my dose but my thyroid is not ready I believe. But with 100% raw foods I believe it will heal much quicker.

I certainly ended up with depression very quickly after going off the Iodine, within days and as soon as I went back on and started to up the dose, my depression left me and my energy came up.

Love,
Prism