A Dose of Health

This post is not for the squeamish.

If you’re pretty close to your goal weight (I’d say within 10 to 20 pounds) and you seem to have excess belly bloat and your pant waist seems tight, maybe it’s the poop.

Hear me out…I’ll try to start from the beginning.

Quite some time ago when I first heard about the benefits of alkalizing my system, I started drinking lemon water. Although lemon is acidic, for some reason once it interacts with your system it has an alkalizing effect. I won’t go into the how to’s or why’s. There’s plenty of info available on the internet.

Anyway, somehow (can’t remember how), I started drinking a warm glass of lemon water first thing in the morning. In the glass I’d squeeze about ¼ of a lemon, a shot of organic apple cider vinegar and either pure maple syrup (or agave nectar) for sweetness.

I’d drink my glass of lemon water and go on about my day. Usually within an hour or so, the lemon water would have its way with my system. In other words it helps to clear out yesterday’s gunk.

It would only take a week of drinking lemon water in the morning to notice a change in my waistline and the scale. Granted, I did clean up my diet a bit while drinking the lemon water in the morning, but nothing too drastic.

Feeling good, then not so good.

The first time I happened upon the lemon water ritual, I did it for two whole weeks. About a week or so after I stopped drinking the lemon water, I had a weird sensation in my lower back. I though I had pulled something so I went to my chiropractor.

He adjusted me and told me I was completely balanced and aligned. Hmm, if I were so well balanced, why do I suffer from such discomfort when I bend over to touch my toes? I couldn’t touch my toes. In addition to that, there was an extreme discomfort (not an all out pain), in my lower back.

Signs of Aging?

I chalked it up to aging and though this was just something else I had to deal with. Well, it wasn’t old age (here’s where the squeamish should click away). It was a major evacuation! I don’t know if you’re familiar with the term ‘mucoid plaque.’ If not, check out these sites to get a real feeling for what it is (if you’re squeamish, don’t click on the links below).

Mucoid Plaque
Colon Cleansing
Dr. Natura

Not to get into the gory details, suffice it to say that when I was done, I felt like I could float. I felt much lighter, I was able to touch my toes and I was pleasantly surprised when I stepped on the scale. It appears that my couple of weeks of drinking lemon water is what set everything in motion.

The lemon water some how started to dislodge all of the mucoid plaque in my digestive tract. Because of the length of the tract (I’m assuming), it took a week or so to slowly dislodge the stuff to the point where it was ready to be evacuated.

In addition to getting rid of the yucky stuff, I noticed that my energy level improved and I felt great!

Fast Forward

About a year or so later, feeling the effects of a bloated belly, tight pants, etc., etc. I remembered the lemon water trick. For one week I drank lemon water in the morning and again, the very same results. At least this time, when I felt the discomfort in the lower back, I knew exactly what was going on (although the thought of what was causing the discomfort grossed me out).

Disclaimer:

The recipe does not work the same for everyone. Fine tune it for your system. Some folks have to drink lemon water for close to a month before they get the desired results while others find a week is more than enough. It all depends on your system and dietary/health habits.

Warning:

For those with more sensitive systems, one week is more than enough. When you find that the majority of your day is spent in the bathroom, discontinue the lemon water.

Another Disclaimer:

I’m not promoting or endorsing any colon cleaning product. I’m just sharing my lemon water experience. So, if the links above endorse a colon cleansing products, please proceed with caution and do your homework.

Well, after all of my recent posts on the colon, colon cancer and colonoscopies, I realized I hadn’t shared my experience with my life changing event.

The long and the short of it is that the prep work is the worst part and the actual colonoscopy was a breeze.

The Prep Instructions

There are several prep solutions used to clear the digestive tract before a colonoscopy. I was fortunate (or unfortunate) enough to have the HalfLytely prep. The instructions were to stop eating solids by 9:00 am, take two Bisacodyl pills (poop pills) at noon and then drink a ½ gallon of the HalfLytely prep starting at 6:00 pm. The instructions were to drink 8 oz every 10 minutes.

During the day I could only drink clear liquids such as tea, broth, coffee (without milk) and no red or purple liquids (so much for my glass of Merlot). All liquid intake must halt at midnight.

The Prep Lowdown

The instructions were pretty straight forward and not difficult to follow. If you tend to eat a lot, then you’re going to have a difficult time. Some folks are absentee eaters. In other words, they eat all day without realizing it. Other folks are just big eaters. If they go beyond 1 hour without food, their personality starts to change. If you fall into either of the above categories, advise your family to leave town whilst you undergo the prep. You’re going to be ornery.

I didn’t have too much of a problem with the prep. The HalfLyrwely Prep tastes bad no matter what you do with it so I recommend you refrigerate the prep the night before. Drinking it cold does seem to help a bit.

The Never Ending Bathroom Trek

My bathroom and I became fast friends. The HalfLytely is like the rinse cycle on a washing machine. It rinses all of the excess soap and softener for perfectly clean clothes. You can tell how clean the clothes are by the clearness of the rinse water. Think of yourself as going through a rinse cycle by the time you’re about done with HalfLytely. It’s amazing how clear things get.

The Actual Colonoscopy

First of all, I said it before and I’ll say it again, I don’t understand how anyone would voluntarily choose a career in looking in people’s rumps. That being said, I know for sure I was good and clear for the viewing. My appointment was at 11:00 and I’ve got to say that the procedure lasted all of about 15 minutes.

After confirming insurance and medical information, I was told to strip down to my skivvies (well less than skivvies) and put on one of those attractive hospital gowns with the opening in the rear. They strapped on a few monitors, told me to lie on my left side and then told me I would get sleepy in a few minutes (because of the anesthesia). I remember replying “This stuff works fast,” and the next thing I knew I was waking up from a most fantastic restful sleep.

My sleep was so sound that I asked, “When can I come back for my next colonoscopy?”

I was fortunate to have a clean bill of health, got dressed and went home. The whole procedure from check in to check out was about an hour.

Nothing to Fear but Fear Itself

There is nothing to be afraid of. Not going and not knowing is much worse.

There are a couple of good things that people don’t think about after having a colonoscopy.

The first good thing is finding out whether or not you have a clean bill of health. Which ever way the diagnosis leads, it’s all good. If you are all clear, no polyps no tears, then that’s great. It’s a sigh of relief and a good indication that you’re doing something right.

If the diagnosis isn’t so stellar, it’s also good. At least you now know what needs to be done in order to restore your colon back to health. It’s your opportunity to learn how to avoid repeating the same lifestyle habits that created the problem in the first place (Yes, even those with a genetic predisposition for colon issues can do something about your colon health).

Another Good Thing about Having a Colonoscopy

The second good thing about having a colonoscopy is that your insurance company gets to pay for you to have a colon cleanse. No longer do you have to watch those infomercials about the benefits of cleaning out your colon. You get to do it in one fell swoop and get to have someone else look in there to make sure it’s all clean. Doesn’t get any better than that (still can’t figure out why someone would want to look in folk’s rear ends for a living).

The ‘New Leaf’ Good Thing about a Colonoscopy

Now that your bowel is all clean and clear, it’s time to slowly reintroduce foods back into your system. It’s your clean slate and your chance to eat right, get the necessary fiber, and maintain a clean colon for optimal health.

At this time food absorption and nutrient absorption should be optimal. Try eating good healthy and organic foods (if possible) for a while. Give your body a treat. After all, you recently put it through a bit of a tough time trying to clean it out. Apologize to it by giving it quality food. Now is a perfect time to rebuild the intestinal bacteria with a few probiotics (Green Vibrance is my probiotic of choice).

Having a Colonoscopy Dispelled a Long-Held Myth

If you’re squeamish, then stop reading now. Go to another post or click on one of the links in my blogroll. For those of you who have the same sense of wonder as I do, continue reading.

I’ve watched a few infomercials and read lots of information about healthy colons and healthy bowel movements. I’ve long been told that adult bowel movements are small in diameter because of the junk caked up within the walls of the digestive system. To further drill in the point, some infomercials claim that adult bowel movements should be large in diameter. To back up the claim they refer to the size of a child’s stool (here’s your last chance to click away if you’re squeamish).

Unfortunately, I’ve had the …er…pleasure (?) of having to use the bathroom after a child has forgotten to flush. I’ve also had the …er…pleasure of having to view my child’s production as he and she (in varying stages of their lives), were proud to show me what they were able to do (what we parents must go through when potty training).

I would look at the production and marvel at how something so large could come out of such a cute little rump. We affectionately called them torpedo turds. Drop one of those on the enemy and they’re done for.

No matter how much fiber I ate, how clean my diet or how much water I drank; there was no way I could produce such a specimen. My quest for torpedo turds almost caused me to purchase one of the colon cleansing products. Instead I had a colonoscopy.

Now to the Myth

After a full cleaning and returning to a healthy diet, there is no way that I’m able to build a torpedo. Short of cultivating a diet of French Fries and Chicken Nuggets, there is no way on earth this body can do it. There are many levels on which I can compete with my kids. This is not one of them.