I`ve been doing flushes for years and have experimented with the Andreas protocol, and have discovered some tips that might be useful for others. I have done at least 80 flushes. Some tips are useful for everyone, while others are only useful after you`ve done at least 12 flushes and your liver has regained health and strength. For convenience, I`ve suggested things in the order of steps we usually take during a liver flush.

1) No gallbladder. You can benefit from liver flushes to remove "gallbladder stones" whether or not you have a gallbladder. Stones form in the liver and are only trapped in the gallbladder, and sometimes transform into more dangerous substances if they`ve been in the gallbladder a long time. If your gallbladder has already been removed, you`ll notice that stones still form and you can remove them with the liver flush. If a stone gets caught on the way out, 1 cup of water with a tablespoon of epsom salts or other magnesium can remove the stuck stone within 20 minutes - that happened to me. Without a gallbladder, it is actually much more important to do flushes.

2) Before the flush: I can`t bear to drink 1 liter of apple juice or apple cider vinegar for 6 days before, so I take apple pectin for 10 days before to prepare. Apple pectin capsules, 500 mg each, 5 in the morning and 5 at night (5,000 mg per day). This variation was recommended to me by my colon hydrotherapist. The only side effects I have are a few days of watery stools at the beginning. Sometimes I add malic acid capsules, 700 mg each, 1 in the morning and 1 at night, during the last 3 days, and increase each day by 1 capsule in the morning and night. Malic acid seems to be hard on the stomach, so I usually take it with a little food. It takes longer, but I don`t have problems with gaining weight or skin eruptions on the face if I use this method, and I still get stones after the flush. Both apple pectin and malic acid are cheap.

3) ACV warning: If you are using one of the alternative preparation methods, ACV, do not consume apple cider vinegar mixed in water quickly! I used to dilute 1 tablespoon if apple cider vinegar in 1 cup of water (increasing to 3 tablespoons in 1 cup of water by flush day) to prepare, but one time I gulped a glass of the strong concentration and wound up vomiting extremely hard an hour or two later. If you choose this method of preparation, sip! Don`t gulp and especially don`t gulp the whole thing at once. You`ll be sorry if you do, and you could damage the lining of your stomach. I still can`t bear to consume ACV, and this happened years ago. Be careful.

4) Enhancing magnesium effect: Sometimes consuming epsom salts doesn`t work well, because many people are already low in magnesium and so their bodies absorb a lot of the magnesium before the magnesium has a chance to work as we`d like. To avoid this problem, magnesium can be consumed in the days preceding the flush.

5) Alternative form of magnesium to ES: I followed the liver flush protocol exactly for the first 22 flushes, which I recommend to everyone. After that, I deliberately experimented with the procedure, since it seemed that I was dealing with new stones and not the products of years of development. All the big stones were gone. I found the taste of epsom salts to be unbearable, and recently I`ve discovered a substitute. I use another magnesium product that is readily available online. The main component is magnesium citrate. The product is called, "Natural Calm" (the name might be removed by the moderators), it`s cheap, and it tastes like club soda. I do not sell this product, nor do I have anything to benefit from the sale of it. I believe it isn`t quite as effective as magnesium sulphate (Epsom Salts), but the taste is bearable and it still works.

6) Extra water consumption during the day of the flush and the next day is really helpful in getting the stones out as quickly as possible, so they don`t become digested (and the toxins recirculated). One glass of water after every second trip to the bathroom seems to be good.

7) When you can move after the OO/citrus drink: After the oil/citrus drink, the liver contracts almost immediately and strongly for about 20 minutes, and then less strongly for about an hour. I`ve felt that once this period of time has passed, contractions occur irregularly. Once you`ve done a few flushes, you become aware of sensations originating from the liver and can judge for yourself. It does not impair the flush to move about from this point on (1 hour after the oil drink).

8) Fat consumption, Newbes: Do NOT eat fat the day of the flush or the day the stones come out. The day of the flush, you want the bile to build up during the day. The day the stones come out, your main bile duct exiting from the liver is sore and inflamed due to the passage of stones, metabolic debris, and toxins, and is sensitive and sore. I forgot after my 6th flush and ate a salmon steak the evening after the stones came out, and did get an extra flush (several very large stones) but it hurt.

9) Fat consumption, Veteran flushers only: Consuming fat after this point might actually assist in further liver contractions while the stones are still soft and the biliary ducts are still flexible. Thus, fatty snacks might help. On the other hand, fatty snacks can cause nausea. This variation should NOT be done during the first 12 flushes, because it`s too strong while the liver is still clearing the worst of the long-standing stones and toxins and is not really strong enough to bear the extra cleansing.

10) Treating a sore butt: If bms become painful because of extreme acidic / alkaline fluids released late in the flush process (that`s what I experienced), applying coffee topically to the skin of the anus relieves (most) pain immediately. I discovered this when I followed up with a coffee enema. To apply, just pour a little coffee onto toilet paper and pat the sore spot with it. Additionally, coffee enemas are even more effective.

11) Sit up the next morning to facilitate stone exit: The morning after, more stones are likely to come out if you sit upright after the 3rd and 4th epsom salts drinks. Don`t stray far from your toilet!

12) Extra mini-flush, Veteran flushers only: To get the last few stones out, after the 4th epsom salts drink, I often eat a small fatty snack or take oil in capsules. It has to be a small snack to avoid nausea. My gallbladder was surgically removed when I was in my 20s, so I add extra small liver triggers throughout the flush to get as many stones out as possible; I can`t rely on the strong contractions by the gall bladder to clear out stones. All stones are coming from my liver, which in my case is inherently weak due to genetics. I didn`t start doing this until around my 50th flush. The liver contracts with the appearance of fat in the stomach, and the contraction is within seconds of the fat entering the stomach, but I believe that liver contractions are not as strong as those from the gall bladder.

13) When to do the next flush, veterans: The first 22 slushes, I followed the 5-week waiting period (includes 1 week of preparation) since I was removing old, long-standing stones. Since then, I`ve learned to listen to my body and mind. I know when it`s time to do the next flush when I start to dwell upon unpleasant events in my past for no particular reason. With a clean liver, I don`t seem to dwell on these thoughts. There is a definite connection between trapped emotions and liver health (I believe this to be true for all physical tissues and organs), and the emotions I connect with a cluttered/clogged/dirty liver are anger, resentment, and sadness. I suspect that I haven`t really cleared these negative emotions, but when I learn how to do this, I`ll no longer need to do liver flushes - or at least, I won`t need to do so many. Until then, liver flushes are a lifestyle and not a "quick fix" for me. The same might be true for others in this forum.

Hope this is helpful to some.

pc