Well, I don't feel too bad today so I guess it wasn't that bad after all. I still wouldn't have another one done though.

Next time (in the fall), I will do a herbal cleanse instead.

Thanks for all of your input, I really appreciate it!

I don't mean to be terribly graphic, but I was awake for the WHOLE colonoscopy. Something about them forgetting that I was on a whole lot of morphine for all the pain I was in, and not realizing that versed (sedative) would do nothing for me...

Anywho, I watched the entire thing. And, as they went through, they "Sucked out" - LITERALLY - anything that was left in there. When they snaked back out, all you could see were the nice clean pink walls of my colon. I did not see any hair. Actually, that thought grosses me out more than remembering the colonoscopy!!

Another thing - the prep for something like a colonoscopy can differ. I had to drink a lovely beverage called "Go Lytely" which really turns into one of those "Ha -ha" things when you are RUNNING to the toilet every 10 seconds. They should call the stuff "Go Explosively". I've heard of other people using different types of things. My GI doc says that Go Lytely is the best at breaking down everything in there, and getting rid of most of it.

****PLEASE NOTE: I am NOT advocating a colonoscopy for weight loss!! It really was NOT a pleasant experience, and I was taking a LOT of morphine IV at the time...*****

I am the type of person who likes to know about everything ahead of time - which is probably why I'm not too gun-shy about sharing. Nothing irritates me more than getting ready for some medical procedure or another and not being able to find anyone else's experience on the net - you know, for those of us who WANT all the gory details! ;)

parasite cleansing
 

Have you tried an herbal parasite cleanse? I know a lot of people who have lost their bellies after a parasite/colon cleanse.

There is no need to "cleanse" your colon and anyone who tells you differently is just selling you something.

Seriously - guys. Really. Your colon cleanses itself. No one has 10 years of food piled up in their colons that's keeping them from absorbing nutrients. That's the biggest load of (if you'll excuse the pun) crap I've ever heard. If you did have some kind of impaction, you'd KNOW it.

And no cleanse will make you "lose your belly". If you have belly fat, sucking whatever waste is in your colon out isn't going to get rid of the fat. It doesn't work that way.

Your body is self cleansing. Eat healthy foods with good fiber in them, and consume enough liquid (water, broth, tea, whatever). That's all you need.

Anything else is hype and drama and an attempt to get you to pay for a product or a procedure you don't need.

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The science backs up Photo Chick. Removing and cleansing the body of mysterious "toxins," "bad energy," and "evil spirits" through fasting, enemas, and foods/drugs that cause hallucinations, diarrhea and/or vomiting have been used for thousands of years. These cleansing rituals have been given various medical and religious rationales and have existed long before the era of "processed foods, and yet science has never been unable to identify or find any such substances (and they've examined not only the patients, but the flushed material, trying to find them).

The body most certainly is self-cleaning, and attempts to clean the colon or vagina with douching, and colonics are much better at removing beneficial bacteria than they are at removing anything harmful. True toxins, parasites and heavy metals - are not removed by shooting water or other liquids up an orifice or taking substances that cause diarrhea or vomiting. Instead, beneficial bacteria (the natural cleansers) can be washed away.

It may help you feel "lighter," or "better," but the effect is mostly psychological - like throwing up when you're sick can make you temporarily feel better. It's not because toxins are released, it's because of the endorphins your body releases from the physical trauma. Now it's a relatively mild trauma (twirling around until you're dizzy will do much the same thing), and generally not dangerous (though there've been exceptions), but generally the only thing that's getting cleaned out, is your wallet.

I echo photochick and kaplods. I had a colonoscopy this past year (and apparently I have a beautiful and healthy colon, hurrah). Go lytely cleaned me out beforehand. The "weight" I lost was very temporary, mostly due to low level dehydration and to being empty...really empty. It returned pretty immediately. (I wasn't upset since I figured it was artificial.)

Wow.....I don't even know where this thread came from. It's from a year and a half ago! lol
Anyways, I never did the cleanse....not for any specific reason. I just never got around to it.
Thank you all for your opinions and advice though!

try eating mexican food - works for me ha ha.

Seriously tho -- i did an herbal one a few years ago, just made me 'go' like crazy and didn't feel one way or the other about it. Good friends of ours are both doctors and gave me what for! they said your internal organs are there for a reason, and we should just let them work their magic. As long as only good things are going IN, the getting OUT shouldn't be a problem LOL. And he really discourages the invasive ones, as someone pointed out - a lot of the good bacteria gets flushed away too and he's seen more than a handful of patients not recover the fluroushing good bacteria for 6 months or more. so like everything, beware and do what's the best for you :)

parasite cleansing
 

Hi and welcome,I started the parasite cleanse last week (the day I first posted about this) and it’s helped a lot in past several days. My stomach is definitely, noticeably flatter.

Are they claiming that most people have parasites???

If you wanna get technical about it ... we all have parasites. ;)

The definition of a parasite is an organism that lives in a symbiotic relationship with another organism and obtains nourishment from that organism. Some parasites are harmful and some are not.

We all have bacteria and organisms that live in our digestive systems (when they're healthy) that help us to digest food properly. If you remove those organisms, you screw up the balance of your digestive system and you can actually cause harm.

If you have harmful parasites - flukes, worms, etc.- then you should have those treated by a doctor and not mess around with home remedies and snake-oil sales tactics.

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The term parasite is generally used when the host is harmed. I was asking if the producers of these "parasitic cleanses" are claiming the general public needs to be cleansed of parasites, as the term is generally used.

I did Colonix for 3 months, as a pre-cursor to starting a real diet, thinking it would help totally flush out the system -- and lost maybe 5 lbs? It was a huge hassle, really gross and not worth the $300+ it costs.... They claim people lose up to 40 lbs, but I imagine that's only the case for older people who have had a diet with LOTS of meat and little veggies... No idea... If anyone wants to do colon cleanse, I'd recommend one of the 1 week products. Those are much cheaper and do flush the system out a bit.

Canadian Aimee, love the new pic!!! You are too cute!

As for this thread. I have been battling...sickness...for almost 24 hours now. Immodium is my friend. So it's funny this was here.

I had a Colonoscopy & Upper GI Endoscopy on the same day. One camera here & one camera there & then when they meet in the middle, the doctors wave to each other. :rofl:

If that bucket of "prep" stuff they give you doesn't clean out your colon, nothing will. I don't recommend being at home for this. Go to a hotel, where someone else will have to...do the laundry... :(

Everyone's going to need a baseline when they're 50 for colon cancer, so why not "get a cleanse" & get some test results & your ins company to pay for it? The worst part was the prep...and the sedative, which took away my filter & I said to the dr as they were wheeling me out, "Don't you have to buy me dinner now?" :no:

I got mine so they could see why I was anemic. My esophagus was bleeding. I got some pills. Then the next year I got further diagnosed with sleep apnea. I got some more pills & a machine to sleep with every night. Now I'm not tired & anemic & doing everything the dr's say & STILL not getting better. Now I am better. :cheers:

Slightly off topic but as I understood it all mammals evolved with parasites and immune systems adapted to them. The lack of parasites has been cited as the cause for some illnesses (where the immune system attacks the body). I saw one programme where a woman was given worms to treat her colon problem. Anyhoo...