Last month, I wrote how we were at a cross roads with healing Nicole’s failed kidneys. After many years of experimenting we can only say ONE experiment produced results:
Back in February 2017, Nicole fasted on water for 38 days, while practicing the Buteyko Breathing Method and receiving amniotic fluid massage. She went from about 5ml (1 teaspoon) of urine output a day to as much as 100ml (2/5 a cup) per day. On average her urine flow increased 13-fold and remained that way for months afterwards.
Sure, 100ml of urine a day may not sound like much. I produce five times that in the first five minutes after arising in the morning. So at the time we felt disappointed. We had expected her to be off dialysis after such a long fast.
Today, we are a little wiser. The fact she increased her average urine flow 1300% is a little short of a miracle. Even after three weeks of fasting she had already increased urine output by seven times what she started with.
So, if nothing else, we figured she could always fast more. A three week fast every three months. If 7x increase continues, she’d be producing at least 8 cups of urine a day within nine to 12 months. Bye, bye, dialysis.
Before starting another three week fast we decided to test out the claims of Dr. Richard Schulze (as mentioned last post). We purchased two rounds of the herbal kit used for Schulze’s 5-Day Kidney Cleanse — a liquid diet supplemented with his selection of renal clearing and healing herbs. The first go was with vegetable juice and broth. The result? No change in urine output quantity. Frequency went up but overall quantity did not.
Two weeks later Nicole tried again, drinking nothing but Schulze’s kidney stone dissolver recipe. This potent blend consisted of fresh pressed green “make you pucker” apple juice, plenty of of lime and lemon juice along with a strong serving of apple cider vinegar. The result form this second experiment? Nicole’s scanty urine output got worse. It decreased to just a drop or two a day. The dissolver formula also caused ceaseless rounds of diarrhea. The diarrhea became so bad that Nicole just couldn’t complete the last day of the 5-day ordeal due to lack of sleep, underwear and toilet paper.
So, Schulze’s approach proving a total failure, we decided to go back to what has worked (albeit slowly): Letting the body heal itself through water fasting.
(I must confess we also did flirt a little with celery juice therapy. And we plan on experimenting a little with that after this first 21-day spring fast. But we don’t have time to waste on what “might” work when we already know what did work. Besides water fasting is a lot less work and money then juicing organic celery imported form Georgia.)
We waited until Easter was over and the beginning of waning moon (considered by many healing traditions to be the best and easiest time to detox) to begin the fast. Last Monday, both Nicole and I stuck to just water, herbal tea and some herbal tinctures for the kidneys and parasites. The only calories came from celery juice for breakfast, vegetable-rice broth for lunch and carrot-beet-cabbage-ginger juice for dinner.
Easing our way into ketosis.
Yes, I joined Nicole for the beginning of the fasting marathon. I planned to go seven days on water to help her out. But I wasn’t proving much help. After 24 hours on water my knees became so inflamed I could hardly walk and my bowels cramped so bad I kept on finding myself on the couch.
Nicole, on the other hand, had no severe initial symptoms other than being extremely grumpy.
I switched to beet and carrot juice three times a day and that stabilized me enough that I could continue working, so Nicole could rest as much as possible. As Nicole eased into ketosis she became much more relaxed and content mentally. Physically, she has bee having some very intense detox effects, that come in waves, bringing a feeling or great relief when they pass.
She’s also only taking one unit of insulin a day — and still going slightly low. We are switching to one unit every 36 hours.
I’ll write more later. In fact, we’ve taken actions that should soon allow time to write a lot more. We’ve slowly started hiring help on the domestic front to give me more time to work (and earn enough to pay for Nicole’s $49,800 dental revision). We just completed interviews and have hired someone to work three hours a week (mainly in the kitchen). As income increases so will their hours.
This should allow me time to finally start publishing the long-awaited (at least, by me) Diabetic Dharma Journal, guides, books and videos. This way we can we share with you, in detail, our experiments, research, methods and success stories.
But for now, you will have to be content with this bare bones summary (or book a consult for more details).
In May I’ll report back here as to the results from this 21-day water fast. Will we see the same results as last time? Will Nicole’s kidney have made another seven times increase in functionality? She’s starting this fast in a much better state of health, having followed a vegan diet the last 16 months. Judging my the initial cleansing reactions her body’s going to make some serious progress towards rebuilding those kidneys of hers.
Sure, the odds are against her. But I love that line from the Star Wars films: “Never tell me the odds.”
Thinking outside the T1D Matrix,
– John C. A. Manley
P.S. For more information on why fasting heals check out: Fasting for Stem Cells: A Promising Cure for Type-1 Diabetes
P.P.S. We’ve learned all lot about the “dos and don’ts” of fasting with T1D. If you would like to know more I can answer any questions about our experience and progress so far in a one-on-one “this is not medical advice” Skype or telephone consultation.
