I started oil pulling 2 weeks ago and have been lurking ever since. I have learned a lot and am thankful this message board exists.

I have been using sunflower oil by Hain with the exception of 2 days when I was visiting my mom; on one of the occasions I used sesame oil and the other occasion I used coconut oil. For the past 4 or so days I've been adding a drop of tea tree oil to the sunflower oil. I do not like the taste of sunflower but figure I will use it until I finish the bottle and then will probably switch to coconut.

I decided to try oil pulling because I have been undergoing a health crisis and have tried so many other treatments without success. I have been on 7 different Antibiotics since January and think I have a pretty bad case of candida as a result.

I had a dentist appt three weeks ago and learned that I have the beginning stages of periodontal disease. I have always known I had excessive plaque/calculus build-up despite brushing and flossing daily so I get my teeth cleaned & polished every 6 months. I had no idea that I was developing periodontal disease, however.

I had a "deep cleaning" at the dentist 2 weeks ago, also known as "planing and root scaling". I started oil pulling immediately after the appointment. I go back tomorrow for a cleaning & polishing.

As for my results so far:
-I seem to have a lot more energy and vitality
-My chronic constipation seems to have cleared up
-My Acne is gone

However, I have had a funny aftertaste in mouth ever since I started oil pulling 2 weeks ago... almost metallic. Anyone else experience this? What could it mean?

I OP'd with sesame oil once and had mixed results. I had a bowel movement within 2 hours of pulling (normally I'm an evening person). The movement was unusual in that there was a lot of it and it sank to the bottom of the toilet. Plus, I could have sworn there were two small white-ish translucent worms floating on top of the water. I would switch to sesame oil in a heartbeat if it weren't for the super dry skin on my hands, though. My cuticles were so dry that day that they cracked and bled. I do prefer the taste of sesame to sunflower but cannot tolerate the dry cuticles again.

As for the coconut, that was NICE! It was a very sensual experience and felt like I was eating dessert first thing in the morning. YUM! I didn't notice anything unusual from pulling with coconut oil but it was such an enjoyable experience and had such an enjoyable mouth-feel that it's my oil of choice so far.

It's taken me a while to build up a tolerance to keeping the oil in my mouth for any amount of time. I have a strong gag reflex. I think the first time I could only keep it in my mouth for 2 minutes. Now I'm up to about 5 or 6 minutes. It's getting less and less of a chore the longer I do it.

I don't plan to discontinue oil pulling any time soon and will most likely be hanging out here on this board frequently. So... hi! :)


velouria