The Purification Cleanse and the “Frienemy” Drug

Me and my birthday salad: My friend Laura thought this up. I thought the tomato with the candle was so cute and original.

Today I’m on the 9th day of a 21 Day Purification Cleanse. This cleanse has made me feel young and energetic. Brain fog went out the door with the gluten. Pain from all the tendonitis was down to a 2 or a 3 most of the time. Life was good.

On days 1-10 of the cleanse you are only allowed to eat fruits, vegetables, quinoa, approved oils, and the protein shakes and supplements that come with the cleanse. I have been eating delicious smoothies, vegetarian vegetable soup, and salads.

This soup was a life saver! Loved it! I made it with black-eye peas, lima beans, okra, turnip root, carrots, green beans, a pinch of salt, Rotel tomatoes, minced onions, minced garlic, black pepper, Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Thyme, Oregano, and Basil. Why do I have this need to capitalize the spice names??

Then on day 7 I saw my cardiologist, and they put me on Rythmol. This is a serious drug to treat my ventricular tachycardia.

I took my first dose of it, in addition to the Inderal I was already taking Friday night. Saturday morning I woke up and realized that Rythmol and I were not going to get along. I felt horrible. I checked my blood pressure: low but not bad low. I figured I just needed to get used to the new medicine.

I took another full dose Saturday morning, and I spent the entire day in bed. My head is whoozy, nausea comes and goes, my chest occasionally feels tight, and the fatigue does not play.

By Sunday morning, I decided that you can’t pay me any money to take another whole dose of this medicine. I think they are trying too hard to help me. I felt much better just taking the Inderal. My PA wrote out instructions for me that said, “If the new drug gives you low blood pressure, cut the dose in half, and call the doctor.”

Done. That’s my new plan. I did research on Rythmol today on the internet. I didn’t like what I found. I have seen it described as a “last chance” drug and a drug for “life-threatening arrhythmias” because the side effects can be so bad, and in some people it can actually cause arrhythmias.

In fact, most of the sources said things like, “used to treat life threatening arrhythmias like ventricular tachycardia.”

(Sources: Slideshow, WebMD, MedicineNet.com)

Heh?

My first thought is, “Am I missing something? I’m not THAT bad off.”

Have any of you ever taken this heart medication? I wonder if it gets better as your body gets used to it. They gave me this drug to help me, but I’m calling it my “frienemy” because I was finally feeling better before, and now I feel like I got ran over by, I don’t know, a bicycle or something. After all, it could always be worse.

I only took half of the Rythmol this morning, but I still felt nauseous, sluggish, and tired. My medication timer just went off, and I’m having this inner battle. There isn’t a single part of me that wants to take even one more half dose! I think I’ll skip it, y’all. It is nasty stuff.

***********

My precious friend Cassie brought us this yummy-licious chicken and veggie dish. We loved it. Thank you, Cassie! I need this recipe!

I know I keep mentioning the cleanse but not fully explaining it. I’m sorry about that.

First, here’s the website: Standard Process

I found out about the cleanse from my chiropractor. He knew I’ve been having a hard time, so he recommended this. It’s supposed to help clear out inflammation while also helping you figure out what foods may be causing you reactions. You eliminate all of the classic food allergy or intolerance foods for 21 days: no eggs, gluten, grains, dairy, no added sugar, no preservatives. You try to eat as cleanly as you can, mostly organic.

My favorite breakfast “shake”: (I don’t know why they call it a shake. It’s dairy free. It’s a smoothie, people.)

-1 whole banana

-1 overflowing handful of frozen strawberries

-1 teaspoon of coconut oil (Yep!)

-2 scoops of protein mix from Standard Process

-1 scoop of Whole Food Fiber from Standard Process

-around 8 ounces of water

-about 5 giant spinach leaves                                                                                                                                                 —

SO GOOD!!!! (I never measure anything. I know. This is why I could never write a cookbook.)

I am the only one here doing this. The rest of the family is still getting plenty of meat and potatoes. Don’t worry.

I have felt WONDERFUL during the cleanse. Actually, I started feeling better even just from cutting gluten. I’m hoping that when I finish my 21 days, I can still stick mostly to only cutting gluten. I want my oats and cheese back!

OH! Also, I lost 5 pounds, but that was mostly because I felt too horrid to get out of bed and eat yesterday, thanks to the heart medication. Before that, I ate too much fruit to lose weight.

Glorious news for this week: 

Tuesday is day 11, and on day 11 you get to add meats!  Can’t wait!!!

Okay. This post made me hungry. Time for a “midnight shake”….