#ive been noticing small things to indicate weight loss

[sk1nnysuccubus]

found out i weigh a LOT more than i thought i did. i know im losing weight but just knowing that im so fucking heavy makes me want to die.

[missmonsters2]

About You || Part IV

Gif by: giuliacommissions (please check her out if you’d like to commission her for gifs and other work 💞)

PAIRING: Wanda Maximoff x Fem!Reader/OFC

Summary: Wanda had never known loss like she has until she lost Pietro. It’s debilitating. She can’t eat, can’t sleep, can’t even leave her house. Life is fading fast, and she’s not sure if she even wants to hang on. Enter you, a stranger that reconnects her to the daily things that makes life beautiful.

Warnings: Deals with loss & grief and the spectrum of emotions and depression that comes with it. Please note there is no glorification in any of this. Loss, grief, and depression are nothing beautiful. Also, please don’t hesitate or reach out for help if you are in a dark place. Love you, lovelies 💘

Genre: Angst & Romance

NOTE: Did you forget about this series? I wouldn’t blame ya LOL Please drop a comment if you’d like to be part of the tag list! 😚

PART I || PART II || PART III

PART IV of X

Translations + Transliteration Пьетро - Pietro

Count: 1497

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“Honestly, you need to get out more.”

Wanda huffs as she tries to refocus back on her painting. Pietro has decided to come visit her during his lunch hour from work and he seems to be in a mood of harassing her on her social skills—or really lack of.

“I don’t know if you noticed, Pietro, but considering that my form of a 9-5 job includes me sitting in this studio all day painting solo. There’s not much I can do about human interaction.” Wanda dabs her paintbrush in the blue of her palette, coming back up with a steady hand as she continues her work.

Her brother admires the unfinished art his sister is creating, but he grins when he hears her reply.

“If that’s the case, I can totally introduce you to someone. They would seriously be perfect for you; hopefully, help you loosen the stick up your—”

“Пьетро!” She yells, accent thick as she glares at him, a slight blush on her cheeks. She rolls her eyes as she hears his laughter.

“Alright, but seriously, Wanda. I could introduce you to someone.”

Wanda focuses on painting again, absently noticing how she’s got the color green on her thumb, but she’s pretty sure she didn’t take out green today.

“Not now, I’m pretty busy with work.”

She whines when she feels Pietro flick the back of her head.

“Look at you, all grown up and busy with work.”

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You’re about to leave Wanda’s after doing her dishes and sweeping the floor. You’re seemingly checking to make sure you have all your things when you notice for the first time that’s heavily pouring outside.

There’s thunder and lightning, you can barely see in front of you when you look out the window.

You hum before Wanda appears beside you, looking out the window as well.

“How did you get here?” She asks softly.

“Driving,” you answer absently, still staring at the harsh rain pouring outside. It’s not like you haven’t driven in this weather before. You’re quite adept at driving in harsh conditions being overly cautious when on the road. You’ll quite often take the back roads knowing there won’t be other cars.

“This is going to be a bitch driving home,” you sigh, turning around to leave when you feel something pull at the end of your jacket.

You turn around to see Wanda looking at you seriously.

“It is too dangerous to drive,” she tells you plainly.

“It’ll be fine,” you tell her with a wave, but Wanda doesn’t let go of her hold.

“I don’t know how long it’s going to pour for, and it’s already getting pretty late,” you purse your lips.

“You can stay the night.”

You think Wanda would be more reserved about you letting her invade her space. After all, she had been quite clear about wanting you to leave and that you were a nuisance, but then you see the look in her eyes and the seriousness in them.

She won’t say it, but you don’t need her to.

“Okay,” you agree gently.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

You find it kind of hard to fall asleep on Wanda’s couch. Not that it’s uncomfortable because her couch is weirdly better than your bed at home, but you can definitely hear the walls expanding and contracting and the drops of water from the sink.

You’ve probably lain in bed for hours now, wide awake. You sigh quietly, getting up and moussing your hair. You’re probably not going to get much sleep at this point, so you get up and to pour yourself a glass of water.

And then you hear it.

It’s quiet with Wanda having her door nearly shut, but the sound traveled through the small crack.

It was a groan.

And no, not a sexy groan, but a groan that indicated she might be in pain.

You bite your tongue, debating if you should go check because you’re not sure if Wanda would appreciate you entering her bedroom, but you hear her groan again and immediately go check. Opening the door slowly and quietly, your eyes try to adjust to the dark room. You do see a mass of hair in the bed and vague figure tossing and turning.

Making your way in, you kneel on the ground beside the bed, looking over at Wanda. Her face is scrunched up, a light sheen of sweat on her forehead, and lips trembling.

“Пьетро…”

It’s comes easier than you think it would to brush your cold fingers against her warm cheeks, watching as her face settles and unconsciously rub her face closer to your hand.

Honestly, it feels like someone is slamming a hammer right into your chest because you never thought seeing a stranger hurt like this could hurt you too.

Because she looks lost like you do.

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Wanda can always tell if she’s had a nightmare. She wakes slowly, blinking in the dark. She feels different, but Wanda cannot exactly explain why.

Slowly getting up, she felt a weight drag on her hand.

Looking down, she noticed you sitting on the floor, hunched over her bed with your hand intertwined with hers.

Her eyes traveled over your bare shoulders and arms, noticing the lack of blood and tiny goosebumps, a sign you’ve been there for quite some time.

Wanda wriggles her fingers, feeling the warmth, and thinks about how hard it must’ve been to sit there as long as you did.

She can’t help but think how stupid you are.

But stupidly kind.

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷ 

You watched Wanda’s face, dazed and stoic and pursed your lips as you finished up cooking.

Perhaps she was mad?

It felt like you did cross a line.

“Listen, Wanda—I’m sorry about the…hand-holding—”

“I’m hungry,” Wanda cuts you off, and you say nothing more but licking your lips as you bring the dishes to the table.

The two of you eat in comfortable silence until Wanda decides to break it again.

“Why three months?” She asks, stopping your spoon from entering your mouth mid-air. You put the spoon back down in your bowl and look over at her.

“I hardly think a month will change you, so I asked for three,” you say simply.

“Three months won’t change anything either,” Wanda argues back.

“Then I will just ask for more,” You scoop more food onto your spoon again. “If you’re so sure you’ll want to die, then it doesn’t quite matter if it’s a couple months later, does it? You can spare me more time, can’t you?”

Wanda bites her tongue.

“Why are you doing this?” She’s gripping her spoon harder then she means to, but she just doesn’t understand.

You look over at her thoughtfully.

“I want to know you.”

⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷⋆⊶⊷⊶⊷⊶⊷

“Are you warm enough?” Wanda asks unsure as she looks at the blanket and pillow you’ve got on the couch.

You hum, “Yeah, I’m fine.”

Somehow, you’ve negotiated to living with her because if you want to help her, then you need to be with her. Less time together means more likely you’ll begging for more time in the end.

That’s what you told Wanda anyways, and she seemed to reluctantly agree.

Wanda walks back to her room, settling in her familiar bed and sighs as she looks at the ceiling.

All this eating together, sleeping, talking, and sharing…it was only for three months.

After three months, she can say no to more time and everything would go away.

Even though that’s what Wanda kept telling herself, she kept tossing and turning in bed. Her hand kept clenching and opening, and she already knew what she was missing—or wanted, exactly.

Wanda liked holding hands. She wanted the handholding. It felt good, the warmth and steady pressure.

It was a mix of both pride and fear that stopped her from getting out of bed to ask you. So, she lied there, thinking about with family you don’t get a choice. She would hold hands with Pietro when he cried the first time he was rejected from his dream job, or when his long-time girlfriend moved to another city. And while she was always willingly there for Pietro, she did realize one thing.

Wanda liked having the choice.

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When Wanda woke through the night again, she knew right away it was different.

She sat up and hesitantly wriggled her fingers, feeling the familiar warmth and pressure. Looking down, she found you sitting on the ground by her bedside again, the similar lack of blood and goosebumps on your arms.

The wriggling seemed to wake you slightly as you hummed quietly, eyes still closed before you intertwined your fingers more intimately. Your thumb pressing into the back of Wanda’s hand and fingers lacing together.

She lay back down facing you, watching you as your head rest on your free arm, unaware of anything.

How stupid, Wanda thought.

You were going to catch a cold like this.

But Wanda was already smiling.

PART V

[keladryhawklight]

July 627

Kel & Sandor's Apartment, Cathedral District - Mid-Afternoon

Late in the afternoon, Kel was found in the kitchens, a plethora of paperwork spread out before her. In the center, laying atop a small stack of papers was a small jar in which lay an odd creation. It was magicked, an arcane device one of the medical magi researchers up at the hospital had given her on loan for a number of weeks. In amongst that lay her violet volunteer medic badge for the Libertas Medica Azeroth association, and the royal-blue insignia of a recognized surgeon of Stormwind. For two weeks now, she had been planning this surgery, and this evening, it was finally coming to a head. She paced around the table, hands crossed over her chest as she thought, debating technique and tactic with herself. Plotting recovery, and the concerns she would need to consider, stopping only occasionally to sip from a lukewarm cup of coffee that stood on the counter behind her.

The jar, not too distinctive in look, was special in a sense. Not in the fact that it was magicked, but in what it contained. After returning from leave, she had spent a few long, lonely nights in the research wing of the Stormwind hospital looking for the answers to the question of replacing scarred flesh with rejuvenated, young skin. How one could go about doing so, how delicate the stitches needed, and what sort of drainage site she could allow for. She leaned into the table, reaching for the jar. Holding it up to the light, she examined the contents within. The ultra thin flap of skin had been growing in the jar now, it's progress bolstered by the power of arcane magic, natural healing, and Kel's own Light. For the last two weeks, it had been it's own experiment, growing steadily within it's own little sterile environment. Each shift in the hospital had been accompanied by hours in the research wing with a medical arcanist, examining the flap, recording it's growth, and keeping critical eyes on each developmental stage. And now, here it was. Roughly two inches in width, by two inches in length, ready to be cut and stretched to fit to a wound that had left her charge in considerable physical and emotional distress. It was something she was entirely pleased to have finally the chance to accomplish, this graft.

Her gaze returned to a sketch on the table. The visage of her charge lay before her, the wound outlined in red ink, and the surgical plan in blue. Her fingers traced the lines very gently, around the eye socket. There would be a bisection of the eye, that was unavoidable. She could neither avoid that, nor restore vision to where it had been lost. The optic nerve had been too badly damaged for her to be able to restore that precious gift. It was unavoidable, unfortunate, and had been one of their biggest losses to date. She had sat down with her charge about a week prior to discuss options for proceeding, for recovery, and for return to a normal lifestyle. The two had sat in relatively easy discussion, but Kel had understood the underlying plea for something more. Even if Sight could not be restored, aesthetic was something that would go a long way to restoring confidence in self, in looks. By the time she had left, Kel had had a very good idea of the good that could come of this.

"Please Light," she murmured, tracing her fingers over the eye. "Let me give this one thing. I understand Sight is out of the question, but this. Please allow for this gift to be given freely. I ask, I beg for the Light to see fit to bless her, to allow its mercy to wash over her. To see her through the other side, and through the recovery with little pain. I call out to you as my guide in this time of need. In this, I ask for you to guide my hand; be my strength, my surety, and my spirit in service. I beseech you to remain with me through these hours, to remain with her through the night unto the morning and guide her dreams through recovery. I ask for the pain to be light, and for her spirit to sense that confidence in self lost in the actions of war. For all that I have asked, I pledge myself unto your will, and implore that your will in this be done. I ask this in the name of the Light, for the mercy of the Light, for the shepherd that is my Light."

The Hospital - Surgical Ward - Evening

Standing at the head of the surgical table, she watched silently. Dressed in a surgical frock, her wild tresses bound back, she was unusually serious, her demeanour solemn. Gloved to the elbows with thin, flexible work gloves and a mask about her face, she simply watched for a moment. Around her, hospital staff bustled, preparing for the surgery, their moves practiced and precise. The preparation and resting of instruments, recording their patients vitals and current sats, and then finally the quieting of the room just before the procedure began. It was understood that this was a quick procedure. Non-invasive, simply delicate. The longest portion would be the micro-stitching that would take her the most work. It was the one place where she could not afford to lose concentration, to let her focus slip for even an instant. She closed her eyes, sent a small prayer skyward, and took in a long slow breath, letting the familiarity of a surgical ward wash over her. Mismatched violet eyes opened, and found her assistant nurse waiting nearby for the indication for the procedure to start.

"Prepare anaesthesia, and administer, if you will," she nodded, murmuring lightly. "Any unneeded personnel may now exit the room. Could someone please start the clock."

The familiar tick of the clock starting sounded in time to her heartbeat, slow and sure. The weight of the surgery fell onto her shoulders; not compressing, but simply as though a well-worn mantle rested. Her eyes followed the assistant nurse as the liquid tracked through the IV. First the sedative, and then immediately following that the antibiotic, and then finally the painkillers that would keep her from waking. The sedative was powerful enough to keep her charge from waking, from moving. Despite it being a non-invasive procedure, she preferred her charge be completely sedated because the work area was so entirely delicate. She watched as they performed a few quick tests to test the power of the sedative versus the consciousness of their charge, and when the woman on their table did not respond to any of their calls, the Nurse nodded her satisfaction.

"She is ready," the Nurse nodded, answering her quietly after a moments. "You may begin her procedure."

Kel nodded, and then took a step forward. The first step was marking the work area. She had two markings to make. Finding the red marker, she drew gently, her fingers delicate as a butterfly's touch against the fire ravaged skin. She could still hear the shriek of pain in the back of her mind some days, smell the stomach-turning scent of burning flesh. It was knowledge she would be cursed with, the memories of that terrible day. Against the echoes of the cries of agony tattooed on the back of her mind, she worked in silence. Reaching for the blue marker, she began to outline her work area, to where her stitches would be affixed. Her micro-stitches were small enough that she could nestle them around the woman's eyelashes under her eye, and follow the circle up around her eyelid, leaving behind the bisection that crossed over her eye in a diagonal line. The flap, although biological flesh, had the tiniest bit of stretch to it thanks to the power of the research arcanists. It would come in handy in this case, she knew.

She laid the marker to rest on the tray for instruments used, and reached for the small plate that held the flap, laying for the room to see in all it's odd glory. They had lucked out; the shade was not so different from her charge's own skin colour to be glaringly noticeable. Setting it nearby, she began to shift her charge to a position that would accommodate the work she was about to do; settling a fairly flat rest beneath her cheek, she turned the woman's away from her and looked up to her assistant.

"The area is marked. Please prep the surgical sutures while I get the graft in place," she asked quietly to the assistant Nurse. The two of them had a system that worked; by vocalizing their steps, they taught those that happened to be in the room learning with them, and formalized the process. It prevented catastrophic mishaps from occurring, and promoted the betterment of patient care for their team. They usually worked in comfortable quiet, a familiarity of companions. Neither needed to chatter to fill the air between them, for they worked in tandem with one another.

Grasping a pair of delicate forceps and a small surgical hook, she set to work, focusing on the flesh before her. The graph was strong enough she did not have many worries about it tearing while she adjust it to fit to the woman's face. A small slice in the flap was made to accommodate for the bend just at the corner of her eyes. A few strips of medical tape held the top of the graph in place while she worked, fitting it to form around the blue-marked area.

At her elbow, a tray with a needle and thread fitted made it's appearance. She glanced up at the clock, murmuring her quiet thanks. They were about forty-five minutes into the three hour procedure.

"Re-check sats, vitals, and effectiveness of anaesthesia, please," She requested as she readied to begin her sutures. The room bustled into activity for a few brief moments before she picked up the needle. Her mismatched eyes met those of her assistant, watching and waiting for the nod in return that would signal the go-ahead for her to begin the delicate part.

"Sats and vitals are holding steady. Patient has met all necessary criteria to move into the second phase of her procedure," the return came a few moments later. "You are cleared to begin phase two of this procedure."

"Excellent Mairi," she murmured softly to her assistant. "Thank you for your hard work tonight. Tis most welcome, and most appreciated."

Her stitches began, daintily affixing skin to skin. The thread they chosen was a sterile silvery white, so that even when she finished it continued the appearance of healing scar tissue. It would certainly be less of a shock than the ugly black thread she used so often in the field. She hummed quietly, a soft tune she could not remember the origin of as she worked, her voice low, a dulcet alto.

If I what I feel is the only truth, and if I beg for a much needed reprieve,

Can I still leave behind my naiveté of youth? Or will I be crucified for choosing to believe?

Cause what I feel, is the only truth for me. And i get by on my naïveté of youth.

Oh Light, oh Light, I believe.

The time passed between them as Kel worked, the clock ticking in time with the slow and sure beat of her heart. The flap was cool to the touch, the blood receptors waiting to be affixed to skin. It would take a few days before it truly took to it's new home, and began to heal properly, but to her critical gaze it was taking well to it's host. Slowly, every so, the graph was stitched into it's final resting place. Her work was interspersed with the every so often request for a vitals check, the occasional beep of a machine around them, and the odd whispered request from a passing by night duty nurse. The clock chimed the 11th bell as she worked, not long afterwards tying off the thread, clipping it as close as she dared. Ever so lightly, she wiped away the excess blood from her stitches, brushing the antibiotic ointment into the fresh wounds, leaving only the tiny drainage area clear for the wound to breathe. She took a breath, stepping back for a moment. Rolling her neck, she sighed. Time to dress, and move her back into a recovery room.

"Mairi, would you please finish?" she asked softly. "I trust you to dress her eye appropriately. Nothing tight. Please recheck her medications, and allow the sedative to wean. Push the antibiotics and the pain relief, the sedative can stop. I will meet you in the recovery ward in a few moments."

Kel & Sandor's Apartment, Cathedral District - Early Morning

It was just past 4 and half bells in the morning when she finally made her way back through the silent streets of Stormwind. The odd guard patrolled the area, illuminated by the torch he carried high, but everything was quiet. The world itself slept at times; the troubles seemed to ease in the earliest hours of the morning, in that time before the moon set, and the birds awoke. Some guards she recognized, the odd Sergeant or Lance Corporal from her work with the LMA. As she past, she offered them a nod and a tired smile before continuing on her way. Neither stopped to talk to the other, it was far too early and far too quiet for that.

About an hour ago, the last of the sedative had worn off her charge, and she had left the woman sleeping in a recovery ward. Her wife had accompanied her for the trip, and slept nearby after they had gotten her settled. She had come through remarkably well; Kel had worried that the sedative easing would be a difficult process, knowing that the trauma of the injury was still reasonably fresh. Under her watchful gaze, and influence of the Light, she had assisted her charge out of the foggy darkness of deep unconsciousness, and sent her into the dreamless sleep aided by the Light and by the relief only their medicines could bring. Mairi, and the other staff would see to her needs throughout the rest of the night while Kel returned home to rest. If they needed her, she was not far away.

Their dwelling soon rose before her, and she smiled in relief as she finally reached her sanctuary. This, this was the one place where the world truly fell away. Hardship mattered naught within these walls. Opening the door quietly, she stepped through the portal, closing the door just as quietly behind her. The soft snuffling of Duke at her feet greeted her, his tiny paws tiptapping on the wooden floors. He grunted up at her, desperately desiring scritches from his mistress, food, or even better, a walk along the docks. But tonight, she simply wanted one thing instead of their customary jaunt along the harbour. She stepped out of her boots, hanging her coat on a nearby hook as she addressed his quiet grunts and snuffles.

"Shush, you little cretin," she murmured, bending down to rub behind his ears. An amused smile twitched her lips upwards into a faint smile. "I know Sandor walked you before you went to bed. And you were fed. You're not dying. You're not starving. You're simply spoiled rotten, because you know how to con Sandor. Your tricks however, do not work on me."

Picking him up, she tucked the pug under her arm, carrying him with her as she padded through their dwelling. She could hear Sandor as she entered their room, settling Duke down near their bed. The soft whisper of his breath in sleep, with the occasional murmur. Utter contentment filled her heart as she regarded him in the dim firelight. He had kept it barely stoked, enough that she could see where she was going when she returned. His arm thrown over where she normally slept, he waited for her always. Silently, she removed her work clothing, slipping into one of his oversize training shirts. The soft scratching of Duke making his way up onto their bed reached her ears as she moved in the dark.

Her knee hit the bed, and she knew in that moment she had woken him, for in the dying firelight, his green eyes glinted warmly up at her. His arms came around her, tugging her into the curve of his body as she joined him. The softest of sighs escaped her as she settled into his hold; the kisses they shared in greeting interspersed by soft words between them soon fell to silence. As the moon set, soon the sun would touch the horizon, but for now they simply went together into dreams, wrapped up in body, in soul.

Mentions: @blixvoronin

[robertlong12]

Beyond Needle Marks – How Substance Abuse Affects Skin

The damage caused by substance abuse becomes increasingly challenging to camouflage. You may see the signs in yourself; you may see the signs in someone you care for. The mirror rarely lies. Your reflection will eventually reveal the burden you work so hard to conceal.

Substance Abuse Damages the Skin

For those who are relatively healthy, skin changes are often the first recognizable indicator of substance use and abuse. This may explain why dermatologists are often the first of the medical professionals to recognize the early signs of substance abuse disorder.

For better or worse, your skin is a reflection of what’s happening inside your body. The chemicals fueling your addiction will impair your skin’s ability to repair and heal. The effects are cumulative. While chemical abuse will cause your skin to take on a dull, unhealthy tone, certain types of substances are known to cause specific skin concerns. Some of the common skin concerns include:

• Infections

• Ulcers

• Vascular damage

• Mouth sores

• Skin flushing

• Hyperpigmentation

• Breakouts

Accelerating the Aging process with Stimulants

If you are indulging in any type of stimulant, you potentially expedite the aging process. Your heart beats faster, and your body needs to work harder to keep up with the increased demands. Under the strain of stimulants, your body produces the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol breaks down the collagen and elastin in your skin.

Collagen is the support structure within your skin. Elastin keeps your skin supple. When a body is under the stress of chemical dependency, the loss of collagen and elastin will result in saggy jowls, drooping eyelids, loose skin, wrinkles and deepened folds around your nose and mouth. In fact, stimulant abuse can cause you to look decades older. When you combine the effects of collagen loss with the potential weight loss and malnutrition associated with stimulant abuse, the acceleration of skin aging is even more pronounced

The Scars and Scabs of Methamphetamine Use

The chemical imbalances and dehydration caused by drug use, particularly methamphetamines, can result in uncomfortable and troubling sensations on your skin. You may feel like you have bugs crawling on your skin and below the surface. The sensations can be maddening. You may respond by scratching or picking at your skin. Irritation leads to more scratching and picking. Repeated skin irritation and skin injury will result in sores that heal slowly, or not at all. This cycle will scar your skin.

Sores that are slow to heal, blisters, scabs, and scars are some of the more recognizable skin problems associated with methamphetamine use. Commonly called meth sores or meth mites, these sores most commonly occur on your face and arms.

Since methamphetamines also interfere with blood flow, meth sores can appear anywhere on your body. Methamphetamines destroy blood vessels, interfere with your body’s ability to repair cellular damage and can also cause leathery looking skin.

The Enlarged, Protruding or Damaged Veins of Intravenous Drug Use

Many IV drugs are vasodilators that can also induce vasospasms. That means that IV drugs will cause your blood vessels to expand, but then quickly contract. Vasospasms disrupt your circulation, which results in pain, swelling, skin ulcerations, skin infections and blood clots.

Approximately 88 percent of intravenous drug users will also develop chronic venous insufficiency. Venous insufficiency means the valves inside your veins that keep your blood flow moving towards your heart don’t close properly. Leaky valves allow the blood to flow backward into the veins. This results in enlarged veins that can bulge and twist, varicose veins.

Severe venous insufficiency can also result in skin ulcers that are difficult to heal because of the decrease in circulation. This skin on your lower legs can discolor and take on a rough, scaly appearance. This is more than a cosmetic issue. Vein damage increases your risk of deep vein thrombosis (blood clots) and raises your risk of developing a life-threatening pulmonary embolism (a blood clot that travels to the lungs).

Cellulitis as a Consequence of Skin Popping

While most microorganisms living on your skin are harmless, they can cause devastating consequences when entering your body through an injection site. When veins become damaged by drug use, some IV drug users resort to skin popping, injecting drugs under the surface of the skin. Skin popping is linked to an increased risk of cellulitis, a rash-like skin infection caused by staph or strep bacteria. While this form of bacterial infection is not contagious, it forms a tender, hot, red swollen rash that spreads rapidly.

Cellulitis requires prompt medical attention. Left untreated this infection can enter your bloodstream and lymphatic system. Cellulitis can cause chronic swelling of the infected limb, or worse. Although it’s rare, cellulitis can destroy soft tissues, requiring surgery to remove the damage.

Staph and Fungal Infections Due to Immune System Impairment

Substance abuse disorders disrupt your immune system. They make it difficult for your body to fight infections, this can result in an increase in infections that your once healthy immune system could have eliminated before it could cause any problems. You may find yourself prone to staph infections and fungal infections, particularly on your feet, where fungus thrives in the moist environment. If you are prone to psoriasis or eczema, you may find your flares more frequent and increasingly difficult to manage.

Surface Indications of Alcohol Abuse

Skin flushing can be an indication of alcohol abuse. Alcohol is a blood vessel dilator. Alcohol breaks down to acetaldehyde, which can cause a histamine release, which is the same thing that can happen during an allergic event.

With long-term alcohol abuse, you may also notice an increase in spider veins, small, broken capillaries close to the surface of your skin. Spider veins are often the most noticeable on your face, neck, chest, arms, hands, and abdomen. Particularly in those with liver damage.

The damage to your liver caused by alcohol dependency can also cause jaundice, the yellowing of your skin and eyes. This discoloration is an indication that you have an excessive amount of bilirubin in your system. Your liver normally breaks down bilirubin, but the function has been impaired by alcohol. When treated in its early stages, jaundice caused by the alcohol-related liver disease can be improved.

Increased Severity of Breakouts and Acne

Because of the increased amount of cortisol produced under stress; you may also find that your skin reflects the internal struggle by breaking out. Cortisol increases inflammation; acne is your skin’s response to the inflammation cortisol causes. Acne can also be aggravated by the skin picking habits associated with meth use and the simple fact that addiction may cause you to overlook your basic skin care needs.

Drug and alcohol abuse can cause inflammation, malnutrition, and dehydration. It weakens your immune system and damages blood vessels. Addiction adversely affects your body’s ability to heal. Your skin reflects the damage, while your brain, bones and internal organs continue to pay the price.

Restoring your appearance may be enough motivation to get you, or keep you, on the right path to a drug-free lifestyle. It may not. But as you conquer your addiction, you will see the signs of your progress. You can be assured that the improved health of your skin is a visible indication of the healing within.

Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9943219

The post Beyond Needle Marks – How Substance Abuse Affects Skin appeared first on Grow! 420.

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from Grow! 420 https://ift.tt/2vYSPip via IFTTT Beyond Needle Marks – How Substance Abuse Affects Skin Long Robert https://ift.tt/eA8V8J August 20, 2018 at 07:41AM

[artsoccupychi]

Herxheimer Reaction: What Is It, How Do I Clear It?

What is Herxheimer reaction? In the past 5 years, my team and I have guided almost 13,000 people through a 26-day process of systematically cleansing their colon, liver, kidneys, gallbladder, lymphatic system, and blood. The benefits are profound and are noticeable for virtually everyone completing the Herxheimer detox program. This article is to help you understand common “Herx” reactions and how to clear them quickly, keep reading for the details.

Herxheimer Reaction | Everything You Need To Know

In this article:

Health Benefits of Detoxification

Herx Reaction Definition

The Toxic Body Burden

How Chemicals Affect Our Body

Researchers’ Interest on Chemical Exposure Treatments

How The Chemical Industry Evolves and How It Significantly Affects Our Health

Why Human Detoxification Is Important

The 6 Most Common Herxheimer Reactions

10 Tips To Achieve Relief From a Herxheimer Reaction

The Coffee Enema

Conclusions for Detoxers

  Health Benefits of Detoxification

While the focus of this article is temporary Herxheimer reaction symptoms experienced by detoxers, many profound health benefits make the detoxification process well worth the effort. Weight loss achieved by our participants is an average of 12.5 pounds in 26 days. Inflammatory conditions often disappear, digestion improves, and many symptoms experienced (some for many years) improve. Clearer mind, positive and stable mood and many more benefits are reported by virtually all detoxers.

Herx Reaction Definition

The reason we offer a detailed, live support to people through the cleansing process (which may be daunting for new detoxers) is that, in an increasingly toxic world, many people experience what science calls the “Herxheimer reaction.”

It’s also called the “cleansing crisis,” that is, the phenomenon of temporary Herx reaction symptoms that may result as your entire body, mind, and spirit tend to its Toxic Body Burden.

As yeast overgrowths, cancerous cell clusters, parasites, and bacteria are starved in the detox process and die off. The weakest parts of your elimination pathways may become blocked, clogged, and overwhelmed, leading to pain, fatigue, and other uncomfortable Herx symptoms.

Our goal is to help you understand common “Herx” reactions and how to clear them quickly.

The Toxic Body Burden

The Toxic Body Burden can be explained in this equation:

A (toxic exposure and input) – B (successful ongoing elimination by your organs) = C (Toxic Body Burden)

Your Toxic Body Burden may be higher, or lower, than someone else’s, due to exposure and due to how well your elimination pathways are functioning.

How Chemicals Affect Our Body

In a world where over 80,000 chemicals have been approved for use in your air, water, food, and medications, we have health challenges unique in the history of the world. Two hundred years ago, your great-grandparents might spend their entire lives encountering few, if any, synthetic (or man-made) chemicals at all. This was before the industrial age, mechanization, the global spread of manufacturing, the biotech industry, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Unfortunately, the human body was not designed to (and has not adapted to) assimilate, or eliminate, the massive exposure to heavy metals, persistent organic pollutants (POP’s), volatile organic compounds (VOC’s), and many other chemicals known to be toxic. Thousands of these chemicals have now been well documented to cause cancer, neurodegenerative problems, heart disease, and autoimmune response.

Researchers’ Interest In Chemical Exposure Treatments

Virtually, no M.D.’s or other medical professionals are trained on how to help people eliminate the residuals of chemicals that build up in the organs and tissues. But, human beings are trapped in the ubiquitous toxic soup we breathe, drink, eat, and medicate with.

The problem of Toxic Body Burden is not acknowledged in schools of medicine, nor are doctors taught how to help their patients heal after exposure to its treatments of burning rays (radiation), and IV and oral chemical-drug therapies. Fortunately, outside those disciplines, many researchers and functional practitioners, however, have been studying and experimenting with solutions to these problems.

It is a strange set of circumstances, indeed, that has led to many “biological,” “functional,” and “holistic” practitioners beginning to specialize in the need to detoxify the body (and rebuild a heavily taxed immune system).

How The Chemical Industry Evolves and How It Significantly Affects Our Health

Two hundred years ago, the body’s sophisticated, built-in systems of elimination were enough to clear the metabolic byproducts of normal digestion and exposure to the various substances we have encountered in a lifetime. Then, the chemical industry became ubiquitous in the modern world, giving us plastics, amalgam dental fillings, pesticide and herbicide, and preservatives galore, just as a few examples.

Expecting our liver, kidneys, digestive tract, respiratory system, lymphatic system, and skin to do their work flawlessly for 99 years, despite thousands of times more exposure than they were designed to handle, is the equivalent of driving your car through the 1930’s Dust Bowl for years, without changing your air filter or oil filter.

Why Human Detoxification Is Important

I have spent 25 years studying human detoxification.

I have traveled all over the world, evaluating the practices of biological practitioners in 19 clinics who help human beings heal from their toxic exposures.

I have experimented on myself, after my early exposure due primarily to dental procedures, living in populated areas with bad air and a poor diet in my 20’s.

I eventually took a very scientific and complete detox protocol I developed, based on best practices worldwide, to a beta test group. And since then, more than 12,500 people have followed and benefited from what I believe to be the most doable, comprehensive, and supported detox protocol anywhere. Many of them come back for bi-annual detoxing.

What can you expect, as you begin to eliminate years’ worth of toxicity that is primarily stored in your fat deposits? (Be thankful for your fat! It attracts toxins and keeps them out of critical organs where they could kill you. As you eliminate toxicity, your fat stores will burn more quickly as they are not needed anymore.)

But, what can you expect as aberrant growths die and break down, attempting to move through your organs of elimination?

What happens as toxins get trapped, or circulate?

And, even when you undergo a detox, what happens as they flood out through the detoxification pathways? How can you open and optimize your elimination channels?

Undigested proteins, plaque in your gastrointestinal tract and blood vessels, bacteria in your blood, and neurotoxins that normally have a hard time escaping the brain and nervous system finally begin to vacate the body. What is the worst a “detoxer” can expect?

The benefits of detoxing are profound. In addition to decreasing your risk of cancers, autoimmune disease, and heart disease, the vast majority of our detoxers report at least a dozen noticeable, immediate health benefits.

Many of our detoxers also report the following classic Herxheimer reactions or the signals that the body is dumping chemical toxicity and die off. Most of the symptoms occur in the first 7 days, and caffeine headaches often begin on day 1.

I explore each common Herxheimer reaction in the order of the frequency with which they are reported to us.

The 6 Most Common Herxheimer Reactions

1. Headache

Most commonly, headaches are associated with caffeine withdrawal and eliminating residuals of the toxins in coffee and other products such as caffeine pills and drinks. However, this reaction is also indicative of neurotoxic chemicals, flooding through the neurological system. People who eat fast food, processed food, commercial seasonings, commercial salad dressings, ramen noodles, sugar-free gum, artificially sweetened sodas and drinks, and many other products are consuming two very common neurotoxins that food manufacturers love, but the human body hates:

Monosodium glutamate – the excitotoxin responsible for the famous marketing slogan “Bet you can’t eat just one!”, known to make salty snack lovers overeat.

Aspartame – a chemical sweetener that is sometimes sold under the brand name Nutrasweet.

Even if you complete a 26-day detox, or do it twice a year as we recommend, everyone should learn the common sources of these neurotoxins, since food manufacturers now hide it in other ingredients. Get the FREE wallet card I’ve prepared for you, so you can keep it in your wallet and avoid all foods with these ingredients in your ongoing food shopping and prep.

2. Gut Reactivity (Diarrhea, Constipation, Bloating, Cramps, Nausea, or Allergic Reactions)

People who undergo a deep cleanse of their organs of elimination usually do so because they are suffering from many symptoms. I wish that everyone would begin bi-annually detoxing before they are ill, but my experience has been that people begin to study how their body went wrong only after things begin to feel very wrong.

Unfortunately, we have an epidemic of modern gut disease, which comes from inflammation, and some of our modern medications and foods are actually tearing tiny holes in the lining of the gut, causing “leaky gut syndrome.”

While medical doctors are mostly unaware of this phenomenon, and/or unable to treat it with the pharmaecopia (drugs help cause the problem and do not cure the problem), more and more functional practitioners are diagnosing it and trying to help their patients heal their gastrointestinal tract. What most people don’t know is that the gut isn’t just for digesting food. It’s your “second brain,” and in your 30 to 35 feet of alimentary canal, small intestines and large intestine (colon), trillions of “probiotic” organisms are the cruces of your immune system. They keep the “bad guys,” viral and bacterial organisms, molds, yeasts, mycotoxins, and other threats to your health, in check.

A healthy gut has more probiotic organisms than the entire cell population of your body. When you use antibiotics, which destroy the bad bacteria, you also destroy most of that population of “good bacteria” as well. This can give rise to a host of long-term, miserable conditions that make autoimmune misfires likely and take your immune system into very low functioning.

After an antibiotic treatment, many, if not most people, will suffer from SIBO (small intestinal bacterial overgrowth), Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, and many other new diagnoses, as a result of losing your protection against the bad bacteria and inflammation. And, while a modern, stronger antibiotic therapy kills more bad bacteria, it is also much harsher against your gut’s microbiome. And other drug medications also take a toll on the microbiome, including over the counter NSAID pain relievers such as acetaminophen, Aleve, and aspirin. So, people with pre-existing gut inflammation tend to notice, in a detox protocol, that they are reactive to some foods. Some will have histamine reactions (which a doctor will prescribe Benadryl for the short-term reaction and steroids to suppress the body’s response for a longer period).

Some detoxers report reactivity to healthy foods like lentils, whole grains (including non-gluten, non-hybridized, and organic grains), fruits, nuts, and seeds. The most likely gut reactions, however, to our own detox protocol, are actually related to the high quantities of natural plant fiber you are eating.

Most Americans eat only 11 grams per day of fiber, and on the detox, you are eating 3 times that much. While this is actually a much healthier quantity of fiber, the body often adjusts—with more, or less, output—for a short time.

See the suggestions below for increasing output and clearing these cleansing reactions if you go more than 1 day without eliminating or experiencing other gut symptoms.

3. Temporary Flare-up of Inflammatory Conditions

While most detoxers with known inflammation report very strong improvements in their achy joints, puffy fingers, and other conditions, in the short term, as chemical toxins flood out through the pathways, a short-term flare-up is not entirely uncommon.

These may be related to temporary food sensitivities due to gut issues (see number 2), but more often, it is just the quick but heavy release of chemicals that leave the cell and go through tissues, joints, neurological pathways, and the blood on their way out.

4. Fatigue or Muscle Weakness

The vast majority of our detoxers report very significant gains in energy as a result of following the protocol. However, during the 26 days, the body devotes far less energy to metabolizing food, as participants eat only clean, organic, whole plant foods. And, therefore, the metabolic system can turn its attention to “autophagy,” or breaking down aberrant cells and bacteria, mold, and fungi.

Also, cell salts are shifting as we eliminate table salt and increase potassium, increasing the potassium ratio in the cells and allowing inflamed cells to release fluids and excess sodium. This, and toxins flooding through musculature can cause periods of muscle weakness or overall fatigue.

Most often, during the cleanse, you may feel fatigue if you work out or do something strenuous, and we caution participants who are distance runners, extreme athletes, or otherwise very active to listen to their bodies and be willing to slow down to honor this very important process.

Generally, short periods of fatigue pass after the initial cleansing or healing crisis. Most of our detoxers report having to find something to do with the extra energy they may not have experienced for years.

One detoxer over the age of 60 posted a photo of the snowman she went outside and built, and others report undertaking painting the house or tackling another work project that had been back-burned due to perhaps years of chronic, low-level fatigue that is resolved as the body eliminates years’ worth of Toxic Body Burden, during 26 days of cleansing.

5. Breakouts, Rashes and Other Skin Issues

Rashes are not necessarily a “skin issue,” as many people assume. They are usually the external manifestation of a gut or liver issue.

Some rashes are related to highly toxic microorganisms trapped in root-canalled teeth, and others are symptomatic of heavy metals on their way out of the body.

These are the most common reasons for a rash or other itchy or painful skin condition erupting during a detox program, but there are many chemicals that, as they make their way through the detox pathways, show up as a “signal,” like a warning light on the dashboard of your car, on the skin.

(Taking Benadryl may ease itching or pain, but as a treatment for the root cause, it’s tantamount to putting a piece of duct tape over the warning light in your car’s dash, as you drive it.)

When people have skin reactivity, indicating a clogged liver, I highly recommend a practice that is used by hundreds of practitioners worldwide, which will sound very strange to a novice detoxer. That is the coffee enema. I explain this practice below and recommend it as a “Level 2” practice in our detox because it is very effective at quickly eliminating the offending toxicity from the body. I have seen many hundreds of detoxers suffering from a Herxheimer reaction get quick and complete relief from coffee enema, and for that reason, we encourage our detoxers to open their minds to the practice. This is easier to do when you understand what it is accomplishing (see below).

6. Lightheadedness or Vertigo

As we increase potassium and decrease sodium in the cells, healing is taking place in billions of inflamed cells. Trapped, dirty fluids are being released. However, when this process is happening too quickly, dizziness can occur, or you may feel lightheaded when you stand up from a sitting or prone position.

See tip number 5 below, adding a bit of salt back into the diet. For most people, you are not becoming sodium deprived. Most forms of sodium on ingredient labels are the element sodium, not the NaCl, or refined table salt, which most people eat far too much of. This is what we are flushing from the body, and natural sodium is found abundantly in the plant foods provided during the program.

However, to slow detoxing down, you can add a teaspoon of salt water to your food or water once or twice a day, which will usually alleviate symptoms. (Use an unrefined salt like Original Crystal Himalayan, Celtic sea salt, or Real Salt.)

Other possible less common Herxheimer reactions are cold feet and hands, fuzzy teeth or tongue, mood swings (especially anger or sadness), mucus in the nose or back of the throat, blurry vision, eliminating whitish chunks via the mouth or in stool, sleeplessness or over-sleeping, and heightened sense of taste or smell.

10 Tips To Achieve Relief From a Herxheimer Reaction

Here are some simple tips if you’re experiencing a cleansing crisis:

1. Drink More Water, Herbal Tea, and Fluids in General

They are your best friend in flushing the entire system of gastrointestinal tract, liver, kidneys, and blood.

2. Perform a Transverse Colon Massage, Twice Daily, Including When You Wake Up in the Morning

This will help break up “catarrhal mucoid plaque” that your high-fiber diet is assisting with, as well. It will stimulate normal peristaltic activity, which is important when you dramatically change your diet.

Start on the lower right, in the soft part of your abdomen, above the pubic bone. With your fingers or a tennis ball, massage deeply in a circular motion, slowly moving up the abdomen toward your head. Below your navel, move laterally across the transverse colon, all the way across your belly, to the left side, and then continue massaging down, on the left side, until just above the left-side pelvic bone. Doing this twice a day will help break up blockages and stimulate contraction in the organ.

3. Rest More

Expect to get more than 8 hours of sleep in a day. Take short naps, meditate, and if you believe you have high levels of toxic exposure, as evidenced by symptoms prior to your detox, plan for more sleep because your body does an important work while you rest that isn’t possible while you are active.

I often coach athletes, who are used to constantly pushing, that in this season, it’s important to respect the body’s requests for a slowdown.

4. Slow Down The Detox

Slow down the detox by eating fewer greens, eating more cooked foods, or adding a scoop of vegan, organic protein to water or to your green smoothie.

5. Get A Whole-Foods Electrolyte Balancer If Lightheadedness or Dizziness Persists

If lightheadedness or dizziness persists beyond two days, try getting a whole-foods electrolyte balancer in a glass of coconut juice, or make it the base of your smoothie. (You can find this at any health food store, or Costco.)

If symptoms persist, you may wish to add a teaspoon of salt solution to your diet. Stir 1 tsp of Himalayan salt, Real Salt, or Celtic Sea Salt to 1 cup of water in a jar. Shake well, and take 1 tsp of salt water once or twice a day until symptoms ease.

6. Be Patient and Know That Pain is Inflammation Leaving the Body

Most symptoms will not last longer than a few days, and for coffee drinkers, caffeine-withdrawal headaches will usually clear in the first week.

7. Consult A Physician If Herxheimer Symptoms Still Persist More Than A Few Days

If symptoms are severe, persist more than a few days, or your intuition tells you something more significant is wrong, seek the help of a trusted functional medicine practitioner who understands Herx reactions.

A typical M.D. will give you drug medications to cover the symptoms, so you do not feel them. But make sure you additionally attend to the root causes if you have significant health problems.

8. Use Ultimate Minerals

Ultimate Minerals is the best product I’ve ever seen to deliver every single mineral and trace mineral, which are “used up” in high quantities as the body metabolizes aberrant and malignant cells. Replacing your minerals with the same source plants that “drink up” these critically important compounds from the Earth is very powerful.

This is our best-selling and most-reordered supplement due to noticeable gains in metabolism, hair growth, better sleep, and stabilized mood. I take it morning and night, always—my number 1 most important supplement, year-round, in a world of depleted soils.

But, for a detoxer, it’s very helpful in keeping the body balanced with over 90 minerals and trace minerals in their most bioavailable form.

(Most mineral supplements are made from cheap chalk, or rocks, which, while high in minerals, are not very bioavailable. Every single process in the body draws on minerals, so getting them all in a balanced way from a bioavailable source is very important.)

9. Try Using ACS and ACZ Products

ACS and ACZ are products from Results RNA that are highly effective, which we recommend as you go through any detoxification protocol.

ACS is a nanoparticle silver, with 1,000 times the surface-area coverage, killing only pathogenic bacteria (not good bacteria) on contact. It has even shown to be effective against the MRSA bacteria, which is antibiotic-resistant. ACZ is a nanoparticle, highly micro-ionized zeolite, which is a boxy-structured compound with an affinity for heavy metals. Zeolite binds to them and allows you to safely eliminate them from the body, as you detoxify. You just spray each supplement 6 times, under the tongue, several times throughout the day (not with food).

ACS is also wonderful to have on hand for when you feel a cold or flu coming on.

10. Also, Try Coffee Enema

Try coffee enema. I will explain this next.

We highly recommend beginning daily coffee enemas in the first week of your 26-day program, and especially the day before and the day after, and the gallbladder flush later in the program.

Ideally, you will do one once a day. Twice a day is fine, but some people will find the caffeine makes them jittery, so if that applies to you, you may wish to not do it after 3 pm to avoid interfering with your sleep.

The Coffee Enema

Because the Herxheimer reaction is the body’s evacuation pathways becoming blocked or overwhelmed by a die-off reaction of yeasts, tumors, and other pathogenic growths, having a powerful tool to release these die-offs, and open the pathways, will be very helpful to you as you detoxify.

This practice seems very strange to anyone new to detoxing. However, it is used safely and effectively in functional medicine clinics around the world and was pioneered by Max Gerson, M.D., in the early 1940’s in Germany.

Gerson helped thousands of migraine sufferers after curing his own lifelong, crippling headaches, eating a clean, plant-based diet, and utilizing this method.

Later, he fled Nazi Germany and helped thousands of cancer patients in his long career. Not only does the coffee enema clear toxicity and pain, quickly, for anyone wanting to cleanse the body, but it also helps quickly eliminate tumor tissue breaking down in a cancer patient.

Every practitioner I’ve ever interviewed who uses this method swears by the profoundly clearing and pain-relieving effects.

When our detoxers are skeptical and begin their detox not planning to do coffee enemas, they hear the reactions of their new friends in our private Facebook page, and they almost always choose to “up their game,” invest in a $25 kit and get started achieving amazing results with this practice.

The protocol is to flush the lower colon with a quart of water first, to clear debris, and to make the transverse colon capable of holding a quart of organic, home-brewed black coffee at room temperature.

(Make a quart, but the first time you try this, you may not get that much into your lower colon, and that’s okay.)

Use an inexpensive home enema kit, which comes with a bucket or bag, tubing, and a tip, and you’ll want to have a new tip, for your kit, the next time you complete the detox program. (Most kits come with a few, and you can buy them separately.)

When you dump out any remaining water from the enema bag or bucket, fill it with room-temperature coffee, and then insert the tip into the rectum and lie on the floor, on a towel. Allow the coffee to flow in using the release valve on the tubing. You’ll hold the coffee in for 10-15 minutes if you can.

Many first-timers cannot hold it for more than a few minutes. That’s okay! The caffeine in the coffee does not go through your entire GI tract and become absorbed through the stomach, as it does when you drink coffee. Rather, the caffeine is taken up via the hemorrhoidal vein, which quickly causes the liver and kidneys’ ducts to dilate. The liver and extra bile will then dump into the lower colon, allowing you to expel the coffee and a great deal of toxicity quickly.

Most people feel amazing after the coffee enema, and this is not just the “buzz” from the caffeine. The body also produces far more glutathione—several experts say up to 800 percent more—which leads to a feeling of positivity and even euphoria, and this antioxidant is used in every cell for repair functions.

Enjoy it! Many cleansing processes are optimized when the body hyper-produces glutathione, the body’s master antioxidant, which is a pain reliever.

In cancer clinics, some cancer patients who are rapidly breaking down tumor tissue are advised to do the coffee enema up to every two hours! Head and body ache often disappear. The coffee enema is not a daily practice for outside the detox protocol, however. You want your body to return to normal peristalsis without assistance. You may wish to take a small-batched, high-dose probiotic with plant-based prebiotics, for a few months after detoxing, to rebuild any lost microflora in the lower colon from this process.

The liver filters your entire blood supply in about 4 minutes. So, even if you were able to “hold” the coffee implant for only 4 minutes, you still did a tremendous amount of good. Release it, and do your transverse colon massage to expel the entire amount into the toilet.

Conclusions for Detoxers

In summary, most people do not experience significant reactions that keep them from going to work, caring for their children, and carrying on a normal life as they complete a dedicated detoxification protocol.

People who do are likely highly toxic and/or have significant underlying health issues, making them most likely to have the most significant reactions.

The good news is these reactions are indicative of the body undergoing a very important and necessary process. If you experience a headache or temporary fatigue or any of the other common Herxheimer reaction symptoms, rejoice! They are temporary, and they are a sign that deadly chemical toxins are on their way out.

After detoxers complete the 26-day program, they are encouraged to continue forward eating a much cleaner diet. Pork and beef products, as well as most seafood, should be eliminated from the diet, permanently, if you wish to avoid food-borne pathogens, microbes including harmful bacteria, parasites, and the accumulation of excesses of protein fragments in the blood that often lead to an autoimmune misfire. It is clear that there are health benefits to eating wild-caught fish, but in the modern age, most animal products, including poultry, are highly problematic. If you return to eating eggs and poultry products after detoxing, it is wise to choose only organic, non-GMO, and free-range eggs, chicken, and turkey.

(If it is USDA Organic, the product is also non-GMO, in the sense that the chickens cannot be fed genetically modified corn or other products banned by organic certification.)

I hope this serves you in understanding how to clear die-off and chemical toxins as you undergo any significant detoxification protocol. It’s absolutely worth it!

Happy healing!

    What are your thoughts on Herxheimer reaction and the human detoxification health benefits? Drop them in the comments section!

Up Next: How To Find A Good Biological Dentist: 10 Questions To Ask

  —Robyn Openshaw, MSW, is the creator of the GreenSmoothieGirl 26-Day Detox, and you can get her FREE Video Masterclass about how your symptoms may be a sign of toxicity and learn more about how detoxing can resolve physical, emotional, and even spiritual issues.

She is a former psychotherapist, university professor, and author of 15 titles, including 2017’s Vibe and 2007’s The Green Smoothies Diet. She has lectured internationally in 450 cities about the power of bi-annual detoxification and eating a clean, whole-foods diet.

  Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links that help support the GSG mission without costing you extra. I recommend only companies and products that I use myself.

Editor’s Note – This post was originally published on Mar 28, 2018, and has been updated for quality and relevancy.

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