Have you ever done a "colon cleanse"?

eminenz2

eminenz2

Cathlete
Not a "high colonic" or an enema, but a colon cleanse, where you take high doses of fiber, drink lots of water, etc.

What were your experiences? Was it totally gross? Did you have to run to the bathroom twenty times a day (remember, I'm a teacher and can't always get to the BR "on demand")?
 
RE: Have you ever done a

I've never figured this "colon cleansing" practice out. Whether it's the active enema or drinking flushing agents for a week or two.

I had to purge myself for a colonoscopy and it only took 36 hours. The doctors prescription?

Saturday afternoon I could only eat light colored jello (no red, orange or purple), chicken or turkey.

Saturday after dinner 1 12 oz bottle of magnesium citrate and more jello.

Sunday morning jello.

Sunday afternoon, total fast except water.

Sunday at 6pm start drinking one 8 oz glass of etheylene glycol every 10 minutes until 1 gallon was gone.

By Monday morning I was flushed;)
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Yep. Sorta graphic description follows:

I tried a colon cleanse using a product called Nature's Secret Super Cleanse at the suggestion of my sister, who attritubes her clear skin and energy level to regular cleanses. You start with one pill a day and increase dosage by one pill a day until you have 2-3 bowel movements a day. If/when you start to get diarrhea, you drop your dosage by one pill and stay with that number until you get diarrhea again, then decrease by one pill, and so on (now that I think about it, it's a pyramid system!);) Eventually you're supposed to taper off the pills because you'll be having 2-3 bowel movements a day on your own, and thus your colon is cleansed and working well.

OK.

Problem 1: the pills contain herbal laxatives, two of which are fennel and licorice. The smell of licorice makes me ill and it was VERY difficult to actually swallow them without gagging.

Problem 2: I don't eat perfectly but I do eat a lot of fruits and veggies and drink a lot of water. In retrospect, my colon was probably working fine. One pill made my digestive system rumble uncomfortably. Two pills gave me violent diarrhea, so bad it felt like a stomach flu. It took me three days to "cleanse" those danged pills out of my system.

Moral of story: if you try a cleanse, ease into it and go the natural way. I find that an extra quart of water a day and a bowl of Fiber One, in addition to the fruits and veggies I already eat, is enough for my system to "cleanse" naturally.


Allison
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Thanks for the info!

My grandmother died with colon cancer and I was wondering if this would be a good idea to do every year or so to help with colon "health" (in addition to all the nutritional considerations, drinking water, etc.)
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Yes - I started doing these in 2003 after having a rather long bout of constipation. I now do them annually. I get the stuff from Drnatura.com. It's a daily dose of high fiber powder (which I mix with soy milk and a tblsp of Ovaltine for flavor). Then you take a bunch of herbal pills the rid your body of any parasites that have taken up residence in your digestive system and in the evening, you drink a nice tea, which contains senna (a natural and mild laxative). The first time you do it, it's suggested that you do it for 1 - 3 months (I did it for 2). It was a little gross, but I never got diahrea. The only thing that was gross was that the parasite pills really do work! Apparantly, everybody gets these little suckers inside them (especially meat eaters). One day I definitely saw one.

As far as going to the bathroom twenty times a day, it didn't happen. I had one really good movement a day. Which was great for me, because I was a once or twice a week if I was lucky person prior to finding the cleansing system.

Now I take the fiber supplement every morning and have for over a year. I did my second annual cleanse in November and didn't notice any of the parasites.

I don't know if I've noticed any physical change with my hair or skin. I am much more "regular" now. I discovered that I had hypothyroidism while on the first cleanse, and that causes constipation. So now between having my thyroid on track, and taking the fiber everyday, I feel 100% better.

The cleanse will get rid of some extra weight and bloating if you're a chronically constipated person.

If you're serious about doing a cleanse, do one that is gentle like the one I did. It's horrible being someplace where you don't have access to a private bathroom whenever you need it.
 
RE: Have you ever done a

I saw this one on the Dr.Natura webpage and it looked a little , I don't know, scary - esp. the testamonials about what people were finding in their toilet, but your story makes it seem less scary.

Thanks for taking the time to post!
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Did you see the enlarged picture of the parasite on the website? It's so gross! But don't worry, it's not quite that nasty in real life. Really, what I found in my toilet wasn't as bad as what other people relate. At the risk of being too graphic, there was one time where there seemed to be a lot of pieces of rice in my poop (and I hadn't had rice in weeks). Then one of the pieces kind of wiggled.

It was more the thought of knowing that had been in my body that was disturbing and the fact that the cleanse got it out of me made me a lifetime customer.

The tea is very nice. It's also got chamomile in it, so it's really relaxing. Drink some while you're in a warm bath and you'll just have a nice mellow attitude for the rest of the evening.
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Donna...thanks for your post. I have suffered with constipation most likely due to IBS (never diagnosed) for quite some time. I just started a colon cleanse yesterday. I just never wanted to take any prescription drugs as I have read they only work for a minimum time. I rarely get diarrhea so I am not too concerned there. What I'm taking is similar to what Allison took but a different company. I am hoping for good results...:)...Carole
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Do you really think it can help with long term colon health? The possibility of colostomy bags in my future is not too appealing.

YES, I DID see the pictures. Then people describing what they saw was completely gross. I mean the idea of that stuff coming out your butt (too get a little graphic myself!) AUGH!
 
RE: Have you ever done a

I would think this to be very irritating to your digestive track. Isn't the key to keep yourself cleaned out daily by eating plenty of fiber and drinking lots of water?

I don't know how doing this once a year is going to help that much.
 
RE: Have you ever done a

I agree. The best way to keep your colon "clean" is to eat a lot of fruits and veggies and high fiber foods and limit meats and fats. In fact, in third world countries--where their main diet is similiar to the above--colon cancer is very rare. I think that the more you stimulate your bowels with laxatives, the more your intestines will depend on them.

Just my humble opinion! Take it or leave it!
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Hello,
I did the DrNatura.com thing for 2months and just ended it. I feel great! I was always constipated and like someone posted earlier, I had a BM about 2x per week! I THINK I follow a diet w/ lots of fiber! I try to eat 5-8veggie/fruits per day. I also eat LOTS of high fiber rich cereal/grains/breads. I was still not going very regularly.

Some people have trouble w/ their BM and I was one of them. I did take the tea, powder and pills and I did SEE those parasites! yuck!! But, it made me feel better that I didn't have those in my body anymore!

I now take metamucil for regularity and I'm still eating fruits/veggie/whole grains/high fiber foods. I also drink TONS of water! I'm pretty regular and have a BM once a day.

To the person that said that this might harm your digestive system, I don't agree. Like I said, some people have problems and this helps. If you don't have problems w/ Bm, then I can see where this would not be a good thing to do....

JMHO

take care:)
Gloria
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Well, I am the one who thought it would irritate the digestive track and I do have problems with constipation. I find that fiber and WATER is the key. My doctor explained to me that if you eat lots of fiber and don't drink enough water, the digestive system cannot appropriately push out the waste.

My problem is I have allergies and take an antihistamine every day. Constipation is a side affect. Also, if you're drinking tea, eating bannanas or rice, it's countering the affects of the fiber, so I stay away from those.

Everyone needs to do what works for them.
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Yes, I think generally, you need lots of fiber and water to keep your colon healthy. But my understanding is since no one's diet is completely perfect, sometimes debris that is meant to be passed gets "stuck" and by doing a cleanse, you can loosen the waste and flush it out.

What I have read on the web suggests that herbal cleanses are very gentle and don't generally cause irritation.
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Since you have colon cancer in your family, I can see your interest in the treatment.

Having IBS, sometimes things irritate my digestive track more than it would other people. I guess that's why I take a more conservative viewpoint.

Good luck :)
 
RE: Have you ever done a

Since I have an appointment with my DR soon, I will probably discuss it with her too, before I make my decision.

I can understand why people with IBS would be hesitant to try something like a cleanse.
 
RE: Have you ever done a

I absolutely believe it helps with long-term colon health. Before I started teh cleanse and daily fiber supplements, it didn't matter what I ate, how much water I drank and how much exercise I got...I was always constipated. Of course, that's also because my thryoid wasn't working. If you don't go enough, you may get an impacted colon. That can just get completely nasty.

Now, I probably could get away without the fiber because I'm on thyroid meds, but I just take it in case there are days where I don't eat enough fiber.
 
RE: Have you ever done a

I think Donna and I have done the same cleanse. I just recently got done with 1 1/2 months of it. No visible parisites, but some odd, rubbery-looking cordy stuff one day, that's supposed to be from impacted fecal matter in the intenstines (isn't this a pleasant subject? )

I never have problems with constipation because I eat primarily whole foods, and I don't believe in taking fiber supplements on a regular basis, because your body can get too used to them, but I do believe that a once-a-year cleanse is a good idea.
 
RE: Have you ever done a

I would find that this would make me miserable. I find those who stick with a high protein diet,like Adkins, or many bodybuilding type of diets, would find that this can lead to constipation. There are no grains, starchy veggies are left out, and fruits are left out. So you run to laxitives or some other means. I find adding in some things like sweet potatoes, or whole wheat pasta, or just add in some unprocessed bran can help and drink lots of water. Eat high fiber grains like spinach and broccoli. Add in higher fiber greens, this help as well. Also you could add in a bowl of high fiber cereal before bed like, All Bran Extra fiber. I will warn that if you have not been doing this you could still be miserable for awhile.
Diane Sue
 
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