For those of you who do not know, colon hydrotherapy is a colonic that forces low-pressures streams of water into the colon to flush out the intestinal tract and encourage better overall health. Doctors generally prescribe colonics in preparation for medical procedures; but many people, like me, are using them to improve health by removing toxins, promoting healthy intestinal bacteria, boosting energy and enhancing the immune system. (You can read more about it here.)
While most doctors argue that our digestive system removes toxins naturally, I disagree. (In my humble opinion), our bodies were not designed to eat processed food. I don't have to tell you what fast food, fried food or refined sugar does to the body. You can see and feel what it does to your body. So for me, a colonic flushes out all of the waste that accumulated over the years. You cannot tell me that 30 years of food from McDonald's and Burger King and Roy Rogers is used or even fully eliminated by our body. Of course not! You can see how it has stuck to our belly during this time. So, after thinking and researching for months, I decided to face my fears and do it.
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| Me, Nurse Bobbie & one of my friends |
Some friends and I made an appointment with Serenity Health Care in Charlotte. (I wasn't going to go alone!.) When we arrived, nurse Bobbie quickly made us feel at ease. She explained the process and after undressing and putting on a hospital gown, I told her I was worried about the tube she was going to use. Bobbie laughed and said it wasn't as bad as I thought. And you know, she was right. I had imagined, well, --- I'm not gonna describe what I imagined but it wasn't bad at all.
During the first 15 minutes, I felt next to nothing. And nothing was happening. She kept flushing the water "up there" but eventually took to massaging my stomach. Five minutes of that, I started to feel terrible. The pain in my stomach felt like I was having contractions. And then it started happening. The waste flushed out and soon after, my procedure was over.
Bobbie explained that I could only eat soup (vegetable and pureed) for the next 24 hours. And after that, I needed to replace the good intestinal bacteria with Acidophilus and avoid raw vegetables and meat. I also needed to drink plenty of water, herbal teas and electrolytes.
And I had a follow up appointment next week. Ugh!
I followed her instructions to the letter, but the first 24 hours were terrible for me. I felt deathly ill. I had no energy, no appetite and felt like I was getting the flu. I learned later that only a small percentage of people feel ill afterwards. My friends felt fine. As a matter of fact, they went to work right after!
When I woke up the following day, though, I felt fabulous! I had energy and for the first time in decades, I did not feel the need for coffee. And that's a big thing for me. I never imagined NOT drinking coffee. But, Bobbie said I needed to come back. She told me that I would not see a difference in my belly with one treatment. So, while I feel great and my diet has been impeccable, I'm looking to see if I can lose inches off of my belly.
Can't wait for next week!