[M]y fourth liver flush has been a huge success, maybe thanks to Michael’s detailed instructions (THANK YOU). My first clue was that I was feeling unusually emotional in the morning which is a proven symptom of detox for me. Looking at what has come out, I feel absolutely, irreversibly certain that my chronic health problems and toxicity stem from a clogged liver drain (THANK YOU Tara for pointing me in this direction).
We know the liver is your detoxification engine, right? Well imagine you stuffed handfuls of stones and gravel into your car’s exhaust pipe – how would it run? Let me tell you – it would run just like my body has for the last 13 years, stalling out every few yards.
I did not adhere exactly to Michael’s formula, but pretty close and this is what I did:
- no fat at breakfast or lunch.
- no food or drink after 2 PM – basically agreed on by Hulda Clark (HC), Andreas Moritz (AM) and Michael Handels (MH).
- tried not to have any water after 2 PM but failed – drank one glass at 4 PM.
- drank 3 tablespoons epsom salt mixed with 3 cups of water between 6:00 PM and 9:30 PM. HC/AM/MH recommend 4 tablespoons Epsom salt mixed with 3 cups of water, saving 1 cup of this mix for post-flush. I use salt water post flush and less epsom because I am very sensitive. Hulda Clark and Andreas Moritz recommend 1 cup at 6 PM and 8 PM whereas MH recommends sipping 2 cups slowly between 6 PM and 9 PM.
- kept taking what I consider my critical supplements – vitamin C, hydrocortisone and magnesium glycinate.
- took 1/2 cup olive oil at 10:30 PM (should be at 10 PM according to HC/AM/MH) with no juice to avoid the sugar high from juice which would probably disrupt my sleep. And yuck, whereas I like the taste with grapefruit juice, the olive oil is disgusting by itself!
- 20 minutes of deep massage on the liver with a lacrosse ball and another massage tool.
- took three charcoal capsules and went to bed.
- woke around 3 am, took three more charcoal caps and went back to bed.
- woke again at 5 AM and drank a second 1/2 cup of olive oil without juice again (second flush is my own modification, but commonly done including by MH).
- another 20 minutes of massage with lacrosse ball and went back to sleep.
- at 8 AM, I drank a quart of water (4 cups) with 2 teaspoons of sea salt mixed in.
The runs started around 8:30 AM but I did not get any stones until around 2 PM.
The size and ugliness of my stones when they arrived really surprised me. I landed about seven stones that were large enough to hurt coming out, ranging up to fat butter bean size. I don’t know how to communicate this elegantly so I’ll say it crudely – they’re like small rocky turds!!
Another 10 stones were in the range of 1 to 4 pea size and then another 80 or so very small ones.
Since my last flush, I’m no longer getting any of the bright green liver stones which presumably are recently produced. Everything coming out now is dark green which I take as a sign they are old stones coming from deeper inside the liver, and have to think they must be increasingly toxic.
On another note, this was my first evening flush and the afternoon/evening fasting was extremely difficult and unpleasant for me. I ate three eggs with butter, avocado and goat cheese at 9 AM and didn’t start feeling better until around 11am. Next time, I might try adapting Michael’s formula to a morning flush. I’m already feeling much better now at 4 PM but the suffering was pretty intense while it lasted. I was nearly comatose from around 4 PM to bedtime and shaky in addition after 9 PM. Then, in the morning I still felt traumatized until my first meal had a chance to sink in.
To give you an idea how low my energy and brainpower was, last night, I told my wife “Please don’t ask me anything, or even talk to me,” and I was thinking “…or even look at me.” My ability to interact with anyone was near zero.
Update: in the days following this flush, I seem to have avoided the day of hyperactivity followed by three days of extreme fatigue that I experienced with my first three flushes. I’m hoping that’s the result of using charcoal. Other results include increased tinnitus and decreased sleep quality, both common effects of detox for me…
A week after – my bile flow has increased dramatically. As usual I’ve made too many changes in quick succession to have any idea what might be the main driver. Could just be a whole bunch of things together: successful liver flush, started milk thistle, increased mfolate, significantly increased fat content (with oil, eggs, cheese, butter and yogurt) of diet and reduced carbs. Anyway, while I’m very happy about it, I haven’t been feeling so well,
my sleep has deteriorated. Could be from detox or it could be from the kidney herbs which seem to do that last time. I’m still functional but not experiencing any healing feelings.
Another week later – my bile flow has decreased, but is still greater than before I started flushing, even though down substantially from last week. Guessing that my main bile duct is blocked once again and it’s time for another flush!
Hello Eric,
Just came across this site, like it alot! in many ways we got similar conditions.I myself also have done 4 liver flushes and besides the first one, it’s the same story – rise in energy, vitality, feeling of the bile flowing freely and with that my apetite for “paleo” foods comes back, but after 2 weeks, everything is even worse than before. Been more than 1 month after last flush, got low energy, cant even get my active B12 and B9 supplements which just arrived in post office, hope tomorrow ill find strength to get it. Also there’s chlorella tabs, and celtic sea salt in that package, i never ever had real sea salt, until few weeks ago,the salt was made for baths, but still tried a little, what happened ? that night, first time after childhood i felt the adrenaline rush while dreaming, and all the memories connected to this feeling just popped up in my mind, didn’t even remember that once upon a time i was feeling that way. Little confused – was it a followup improvement from my fourth liver flush, or I’m deficient in some mineral found in real sea salt, soon ill find out! If i truly have a methylation problem, that means that my liver and bile ducts haven’t healed from previous flushes, and i dont want to rush in, based on how the B’s and salt effect my health, I’ll decide about another flush. Hope my post was useful to you in some way, if so I’ll keep you updated. Best wishes to you, Irakli.
well Irakli, I look at it is a long process like a marathon! I try not to get my hopes up too far too soon… So much work to do to clean out decades of toxicity. Hang in there!
The green stones are saponified olive oil.
I have been prescribed such a liver flush one year ago and never tried it b/c I feel bad with just Epsom salts foot baths.
I am considering coffee enemas though.
I am glad your have renewed energy now, you are an inspiration!
“The green stones are saponified olive oil.”
sorry, but that’s nonsense Izzy – read Andreas Moritz ebook. no one that has done a series of liver flushes could ever say that. I think it would be worth trying even without the Epsom salts. There may be an alternative for relaxing the bile ducts too. Can’t remember.
Since I’ve never done it, of course I don’t know lol
The dr. who prescribed it to me warned that there would be green stones from olive oil.
His protocol also included lots of malic acid for 5 days prior to the flush. For sometime I was salicylate intolerant and reacted badly to malic acid, so I was always afraid of trying it and ending up worse due to the intolerances.
I tried it with and without malic acid – my impression is you don’t need it at all… After seeing what comes out of my liver, I’m absolutely convinced cleaning it out is going to pay off big!
Eric,
Long time reader, first time respondent. I’m stuck at 100 rounds and had to stop chelation as a result of liver problems like yours and Tara’s last month. I have a couple questions about the flush and your liver:
1-Do you think the olive oil causes the stones to be green or is this just the color of calcified cholesterol/junk?
2-I’m using golden coin grass to break up stones right now. Since you are avoiding Chinese herbs, have you looked into using Ursodiol or additional bile salts to help break up the stones?
3-Would you consider drinking coffee again even with the sulfur problem? I had to quite coffee two years ago because of chelation but noticed that when I drank it that I cranked bile more readily than I do today. I also read a couple medical studies about the connection between coffee drinkers and gallstone reduction.
4-Do you think a colonic before and after the liver flush might help you feel less crappy? I ask because I’ve been passing stones without having done a flush and they showed up during my colonic this week. So I wonder if some percentage of what was pumped out of your liver is still hanging out in your colon. Or is the salt water you drink after the flush sufficient for getting all of it out?
I stumbled upon another blog from a Frenchman who documents 22 of his flushes. He sent several sets of stones in for lab examination–this definitely has opened my mind about trying the flush along with your experience. http://www.agirsante.fr/index.html
Thank you for charting your journey in detail and allowing other sick-bodies to post comments or questions.
AJ
Thanks for writing AJ – very happy to read the French blog and I added it to my blog roll!
1- No way. Only someone who has not done a series of flushes could say or think so. My first flush produce bright green stones and subsequent flushes darker and increasingly larger stones. It’s obvious to me that each flush pulls out older nastier debris and it has nothing to do with olive oil. You could use almond oil or eat butter and it would do the same thing.
2- I don’t feel the need to take any extra stuff now. Flushing is going well without worrying about side effects from extras.
3- Impossible for me to drink coffee, my adrenals are way too weak.
4- It might, I’ve never had one. I think there are a number of other alternatives which might work for you including Psyllium, charcoal and bentonite clay. I think the charcoal helped me a lot. The salt water completely flushes out the stones but what makes Flushing really hard in my opinion is that it increases bile flow and if your liver is toxic, that means for some unknown period of time, basically until we are healthy again, we are re-absorbing some percentage of the toxins that are flowing out.
warm regards,
E
E,
My first flush went down successfully. Thank you for the recommendations and detailed instructions. The activated charcoal has definitely helped. I also added Health Force Intestinal Drawing Formula to the mix. It might not be good for everyone so take a detailed look at the ingredients. It sucks up a lot more than charcoal alone.
Do you think the flush starts a kind of “liver dump” (kind of like the dump phase in mercury detox) in the sense that space is freed up or the dam is busted and things just start moving? Have you seen any stones coming out days or weeks after a flush? I dropped about 400 during the flush and I just feel the liver pumping and pushing now in a way that I didn’t notice before.
I think the term “Liver Flush” should be sub-titled, “The Joys of Diarrhea.”
v/r
aj
CONGRATULATIONS AJ, 400 stones is a huge haul:D
I will have a look at the health force thing. I do think the flushing starts a virtuous cycle – after my fourth flush I had a huge improvement in bile flow and I have to think that all of my future flushes will benefit from increasing capacity to produce bile and of course better flow! today I finished up my fifth and will post a picture soon. I have not had any stones come out days or weeks after a flush. I think my liver was too bound up for that possibly related to genetic flaws that create choline and folate deficiencies.
-Eric
Congratulations!!! So how do you feel, in addition to thoroughly “purged”? It’s been a week: do you feel more energized? Any improvements or reduction in symptoms of heavy metals? Or parasites? Is digestion improved?
You said you are looking to get more out- how do you know you have so many, or that you knew you had them to begin with? Were you extremely nauseated? If you don’t mind me asking- this intrigues me.
Sorry to say Helen but if anything I feel worse. My understanding is that’s pretty normal for people with toxicity problems. In Hulda Clark’s book she says people with significant illnesses need to clear out 2000 stones before they get better. I’ve also read that it takes the liver a few months to heal after last stones are gone. So I’m figuring I have 16 months of liver flushing to go:)
I think my bile flow increased after this flush (as usual and possibly more this time) which probably floods my body with toxins. Haven’t slept too well and feeling a little run down – then I got another hemorrhoid which in the past were correlated with hard chelation rounds. I also restarted milk thistle which may have contributed to my bile flow increase. Then I started kidney cleansing herbs which in the past have made me feel bad.
Bottom line, I’m always too much in a rush and it all gets confusing when we make too many changes too quickly… I wish I could be one of those miracle cure cases for you but my health issues started 30 years ago or more and I am significantly disabled by my illness. I can fake being healthy pretty well for brief periods, but if you followed me around for 48 hours, you’d understand.
I do understand Eric- I don’t know if I am as ill as you, but my problems started about 30 years ago too and I can’t tell you how many times I have I rode the high from a tiny increase in energy, but behind the scenes I am still fighting narcolepsy, abdominal pain, nausea, painful digestion, profound weakness, cold/heat intolerance, slurred speech and much more. I have my temporary tie-me-overs too to get me through my responsibilities- sometimes they hold me over until I collapse again. It took me all this time to get this sick- I doubt I’ll get better over night either.
It is inspiring to see you persevere in detox that is so time-consuming and uncomfortable. I am in school- trying after all these years to qualify myself for a job that is not too demanding so I can feed myself. (Always too weak to sustain most jobs). The temptation is there to take anything that keeps me awake through homework. But I know it will take more than that to make it through the winter in the NE. One viral episode and I am in bed for months and would have to withdraw from school. Made that mistake hundreds of times before. I am ready for some real healing too- however long it takes, however crappy it makes me feel.
So I don’t find your response disappointing at all. If anything, it is preparing me for the next phase- not sure what that is yet, but I doubt it will be pretty either.
“the next phase- not sure what that is yet, but I doubt it will be pretty either.”
yeah, I’ve gotten used to that but at the same time still feel I’m on the verge of a breakthrough all the time lol, glad you’re not discouraged too!
Have you tried high-dose vitamin C for your viral episodes? how about Lipo C? I used to do IV C and believe in it strongly…
Yes! It is part of my antiviral regimen. Lifesaver! Very affective ‘tie-me-over’ with lots of health benefits!
great, it’s also one of those I’d have trouble living without..
Here is an interesting protocol for liver cleansing that you probably havent considered (involves cleansing the bile by consuming lots of.. beans)..I found it after noticing some of my symptoms (edema, insomnia, fatigue) are much improved after consuming high amount of beans.
http://www.karenhurd.com/pages/healthtopics/specifichealthconcerns/ht-shc-gallbladderdisease.html
thank you for your very informative blog!
Im curious why I am not getting email notifications of followup comments..even though I see you have indeed responded (thank you!)
fascinating! I would jump right on that bean protocol, but beans are high in copper and folate which I need to avoid. It did get me researching charcoal however and I’m thinking of using charcoal a little more in the days after the flush:) bentonite clay might also serve the same purpose but it is constipating so I have to avoid that too. another option seems to be psyllium which I know Michael uses after a flush.
Hey Eric, have you seen the http://www.sensiblehealth.com website? The lady who runs it sells chinese herbs that help more stones come out during a liver flush. At first no stones came out for her until she started taking the herbs before a liver flush. Congrats on getting stones out!
thanks Ron, yes Tara uses those herbs but I am a little too cautious to take herbs sourced in China. I did try using Chanca Piedra and malic acid but have a feeling that the pre-flush protocol is not as important as the actual flush day protocol…
Update: in the days following this flush, I seem to have avoided the day of hyperactivity followed by three days of extreme fatigue that I experienced with my previous flushes. I’m hoping that’s the result of using charcoal. Other results include increased tinnitus and decreased sleep quality, both common effects of detox for me.
I’ve also decided to take pictures of the stones next time and may do gentle yoga instead of liver massage in between flushes.
One question about liver/gallbladder flush in general. Have you ever come across flush protocols that involve the use of caffeine or capisaicin (hot pepper) to stimulate/aid the process?
No I haven’t Christian.
Congrats, Eric!!! So thrilled for you!!! Did you take any photos of your stones?! You should post them, too! 🙂
I agree with you on straight olive oil being disgusting — especially when taking the second dose of it, when you’re already so nauseous and sick. Bleh!
Interesting that you took the charcoal during the flush itself. Glad that worked for you. I’ve yet to take it, even late afternoon the next day.
Also good to note that you took the second dose of OO earlier in the morning, before the round of salt water. I’ve done it just the opposite, taking the next OO later in the morning after finishing the ES water.
That’s crazy that your stones actually hurt coming out! Wow. Must feel good to have those babies out 🙂
So did you eat already at 9 the morning after the flush? That’s great too, given your success. My nausea is always so bad that whole next day that I only end up eating a small amount that next evening. So with that, I end up fasting for two full days (I’ve given up with the steamed, plain veggies on flush day — yuck).
Your experience with extreme exhaustion and just being really, really sick fits right on par with my experience, too. The only thing that keeps me doing it again and again is knowing I feel improvement after each one, and getting stones out and knowing that they are what’s standing between me and health. We can do it!
Great job, Eric. Well done!
Thanks Tara 😀
I did eat at 9 AM the morning after the flush – only an hour after drinking my saltwater. I needed food in my system badly and at that point I didn’t care what the protocol was anymore lol.
It also seems to make more sense to me to do the second flush before the last salt flush.
And, all the stones came out in charcoal soup which I’m hoping may diminish my post flush fatigue.
After thinking about this a bit more, one thing I’m going to do that is not on anyone’s protocol is to use the lacrosse ball on my liver every night before going to bed. I think it could be very helpful, based on a little research and my experience with deep tissue massage on other parts of the body…
Excellent all around — somebody’s pumped and got their thinking cap on 🙂
It’s hard to say with the OO pre vs post water… It worked for both of us, both ways, and with taking the OO after the second set of water, you’re mimicking what you did the night before, and also reopening the bile ducts to allow for a clearer escape of stones with the second shot. I think the trick is in finding the right balance between the momentum and push of the OO, and an optimal dilation of the bile ducts… Just my thoughts anyway.
You’re using the lacrosse ball just below your ribcage, right? I’m not sure there’s too much effect right on top of the liver, on top of the ribs… I don’t think we can get much direct liver access (the intercostals are pretty narrow strips of tissue between the ribs) except nearer to the gallbladder. That being said, I’ve been doing that specific thrust my last couple flushes, and plan on continuing it. If you don’t recirculate a lot of toxins doing it between flushes (as I suspect would happen for me), I’d say it’d definitely be to your advantage!
I see your point about the timing Tara. It made sense to me at the time because I was just waking up drinking olive oil and going right back to sleep. But since next time I will do a morning flush again I may go back to your method.
I think enough of the liver extends below the ribs to where it becomes very effective with a lacrosse ball because it has a significant displacement and it’s like shaking or distorting a bag of water – the pressure must ripple through it. Michael suggested I give my liver a few days rest so I will pick up the massage again after I’m fully recovered. Discovered too that a golf ball also is useful for getting under the ribs:)
Hello Eric,
That is fantastic news. I am so pleased for you. You are on your way now. Still a ways to go, but what goods news!
thanks Michael, I guess you can tell how delighted I am!!! and of course I’m counting down for 2000 stones, estimating I may have 1700 or 1800 more to go:)