Introduction to my 40 Day Water Fast by journeyembarking Blog entry

Blog: Adventures in Self-healing: 40 Day Water Only Fast
by journeyembarking

Introduction to my 40 Day Water Fast

Intro to 40 day water fast. Details of why I'm fasting and what to expect.

Date: 11/17/2014 2:33:52 AM ( 10 y ) ... viewed 1190 times

I'm new to blogging and I'm new to fasting ..so why not start both at the same time? Although it is supposed to be a time of rest, I feel like I may need this as an outlet to help keep me on track. I have been educating myself on the power of fasting for quite some time now. I have read books, watched vlogs, read blogs, articles, etc. Most of those sources instruct to do a fast under the supervision of a doctor or fasting center, but I will be doing this alone at home. My general practitioner is very traditional and would not agree with this. I feel as if I've educated myself enough on the topic combined with my nursing background to be completely safe.

There are many different reasons from physical health to mental, emotional, and even spiritual connectedness that people attempt an extended water fast. Although my interest dabbles in a little bit of all of them, I am mainly in it for the physical health benefits. I'm 32 years old and starting to feel as if I live in a much older body. Embarrassingly, it is as if my list of ailments goes on and on: overweight, rheumatoid arthritis, eczema, horrendous seasonal allergies, low energy, etc. At 32 I should be out enjoying my life and the things that I love instead of worrying because the joints in my hands hurt too badly to open a jar. I will give you a little background on the main issues that I am hoping to see heal. I will be updating about these ailments and how they respond to the water fast as it progresses.

RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS**

I was diagnosed in the 2nd grade at the age of 7 with juvenile arthritis. Strangely enough, the onset happened after what my young mind thought was a brush with death. A neighborhood dog jumped it's fence and came charging after me. I turned and ran as fast as my little legs would carry me when my knees suddenly wouldn't work anymore. My legs didn't stop working due to weakness from fear. Instead they quit because of immense pain that settled into my knees. An adult in the neighborhood diverted the dog and I had to be taken home because I literally could not walk. After a couple of doctor visits and some testing, they decided upon the diagnosis of Juvenile Arthritis. I spent a few weeks in bed unable to bend my knees, but slowly the swelling went down and I was able to return to school. My doctor instructed me to take ibuprofen if I had any flare-ups and told me that I would most likely outgrow this. It really didn't bother me much until I hit 15 years old at which point I was sent to a specialist who confirmed that I had Rheumatoid Arthritis and started me through a series of drugs, all of which I was too sensitive to take. They finally settled on having me take 15-20 325mg aspirin a day. Now that I look back my mind is blown at the thought of such a high dosage! It worked for a while, but then my ears started ringing constantly, I developed a stomach ulcer, and horrible bruising. Just the simple act of leaning against my bathroom counter to put on makeup would result in striped bruising across my thighs. I quit taking aspirin and they suggested ibuprofen again. The following years, until about 19-20 years old, I lived on ibuprofen. My hips, ankles, knees, hands, wrists ..they all ached constantly requiring medication to function. Ibuprofen was my routine until one day I just got sick of it! I could not stomach one more pill! I had this inner uneasy feeling that regardless of pain, that amount of medication could not be healthy for me. I decided that I could power through the pain. I quit taking the ibuprofen and it was really rough for a while. I'm not sure if I forced a tolerance for pain upon myself or if I just somehow got better without the medication, but I felt better for a long time. Enter my boyfriend three years ago along with a new excuse to eat like crap all of the time. It is ridiculous really, but I am a total food addict and that paired with his unconditional love of me and of cooking - I just ran with it! Since we have been together I have gained an immense amount of weight, but most depressing was the return of my RA. I am still choosing not to medicate it, but the joints in my fingers, right wrist and thumb are extremely swollen and painful.

ECZEMA (be forewarned, there are pictures!)**

I don't know if I hate this or the RA more. Since around the age of 24, I have been dealing with horrible eczema around my ears, extending down into my ear canal. Not fun! At least I could hide it with my hair when it affected only my ears. As a gift for indulging in this new horrible diet, my body decided to extend the eczema to my eyelids and on the skin beneath my left eye as well as a small spot on my nose. I find it embarrassing and it definitely takes a toll on how I feel about my appearance. The following photos are of my ears. There are also a couple of my eye, but the quality of the photo is lacking and you cannot get a true idea.

You can see the my ears are the worst. They feel just like they look. I'm terrified that my eyes and nose will progress to the stage of my ears, so I am kicking my health journey into full gear! As I stated earlier, I will continue to take photos to document my progress in this area.

SEASONAL ALLERGIES**

My seasonal allergies are insanely bad! No amount of antihistamine can deter my allergies. They aren't so much "seasonal" as they are here all year long! I started becoming sensitive to pollens, dust, etc during junior high and it has increasingly gotten worse over the years. I have done everything from getting specialized AC filter, making everyone change clothes when they come in after they've been outside, neti pots, apple cider vinegar tonics, local raw honey, natural supplements, and I even did this weird laser light remedy, but all to no avail! Most people sneeze a couple of times when their nasal passages are irritated, I sneeze up to nine times and it's not just once. I usually have a series of these sneeze sessions. My eyes itch and are swollen from the allergy/eczema combo. My nose is constantly stuffed up and my ears are often blocked.

As you can see, I have plenty of reason to embark upon this health journey. I'm extremely excited about the potential healing that I can access when I let my digestive system rest. I know it is most likely not going to be easy, but I'm up for the challenge! The beginning of my fast is 12:00 AM on Monday November the 17th. Expect to see daily updates in regards to detox, weight-loss, and improvements upon aforementioned ailments.