Now that I was not a prisoner of gluten anymore, I was amazed at how long food would actually last in my digestive system before I was hungry again. The foods I now ate were high in fiber and made me feel fill fuller for longer. It reduced the amounts of time I’d want a snack or even something sweet because most times with wheat it is also paired with sugar. So with less sugar as well, pain and inflammation of how my insides used to feel, was now becoming less frequent. I could only wish I had been told this sooo much sooner, how much pain and damage could have been avoided. When I was a child/teenager/young adult, I could eat and eat and eat and nothing ever stuck to me, (no weight gain). My old neighbor used to say I had a hollow leg, but at times I would feel stomach sick and headachy until the meal I ate passed, which was usually fast. Only now do I know why…gluten intolerance. What a difference it is being gluten free, I now eat my meals and I don’t have that heaviness or pit in the bottom of my stomach but…now foods stick, one cookie is now like a box…what a catch 22. I’m still happy to be gluten free though.

I still had allergies but not as intense as just a few weeks prior. My nose used to be a constant faucet. I should have invested in Klennex or Puffs for some return on the dollars I had contributed over the past 3 decades. The nasal drip was becoming embarrassing with no way to control it. But all of a sudden I wasn’t leaving the house with a box of tissues in my pocket anymore. It was more of a habit that I would take a few just in case.

Within a few weeks I didn’t feel like I needed as much pain medication and made a visit to my doctor to see about decreasing the Codeine. Since the introduction of magnesium, kale, various vitamins, electrolytes, milk thistle and probiotics, I felt I could manage a decrease with no worries. Beginning this path of pain medication and being told it would only increase, I had happily decreased my meds from 800-600mg of codeine down to 200mg of codeine over the past year and a half… 40 mg of Propranolol (beta blocker to slow the heart) twice a day was cut in half to 20mg of Propranolol twice a day…no more antidepressants or triptans…and minimal usage of Atasol 30’s (perhaps an extra one or two throughout a month, only if needed).

My doctor was always cautiously concerned about me decreasing my medications knowing how bad the pain had grown into. Seeing how the illness had changed me, his main fear was wanting me to not regress and to be able for me to maintain a quality of life that was encouraging to us both. So, he always cautioned me about any decease. But once again in my heart I felt I had to decrease these medications as much as I could. I have always been thankful for both practices, I just wanted to find the happy medium for myself. I was and am no dummy, I know both medical theories are needed, and I am soo thankful I live in a time where both are available to my family and me. With reserve, we guardedly decreased my Codeine to 100mg twice a day. I gave a rewarding sigh, while he held his breath. I am thankful for his care. A therapy my family doctor had always encouraged me to try was acupuncture. My fear of needles kept me from giving it a try but I desperately wanted to. My visits became few with my western doctor and became more frequent with my Naturopath and Holistic Medical Doctor.

I began feeling like I could participate in my own life again but I was still micromanaging every aspect just to keep my head above the water. I knew there was still more work to be done. As proud as I was about decreasing to the level of medication I was now taking, I knew more could be done with food to be able to decrease even the supplements. Anything that came in tablet, capsule or pill form could still be decreased to something more natural so that the liver did not have to work so hard on digesting and dissolving the capsule casings and hardened tablets and instead return to its orginal meaning of cleaning and making the hormones and chemicals our bodies needed to keep our organs healthy all on their own. I could feel my gallbladder and liver still heavy inside me and started a new path down the liver detox research path. I came across many web pages and sites endorsing the liver detoxes but still needed more information to satisfy the questions still afloat in my mind. During another weekly trip to the local bookstore, I came across my new favorite literary piece of indulgence. “The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse” By Andreas Moritz. I excitedly purchased the book, researched his biography and workings and read the book twice. Comfortable with his approach and experience, I began to embrace the idea of doing a liver cleanse.