HI Mary,
Your digestion should straighten out in a few more days typically. Also, the fatigue can be low potassium. The other thing I must caution you about is that even though you may feel tremendously better you have no more actual physical capacity. That is built up the old fashioned way, exercise, but start low and build up very slowly. I did it by walking to start with and went one driveway further, 50-75 feet each way, daily. When I started working my arms, shoulders and so on I started with no weights with 3 reps, built up by 1 rep a day to 50 reps, added 1 pound and dropped back to 3 reps and repeated the cycle. The physical rehab took several years. Now I can do physical work 6 hours a day, hike 2 thousand vertical feet each direction with several miles of distance and so on in a day and still be good for an active evening.
Hi Freddd - First, it's really encouraging to hear about your rehab and what you are physically capable of doing now. That is really amazing and I am really glad for you! I remember what I used to be able to do and hope hope hope I can get back to it, and I don't care if it takes a couple of years to get there.
My digestion is okay now, the detox or folate deficiency symptoms would always abate rather quickly once I stopped Rich's supplements, although my energy would still not be good. You're right about the potassium -it is helping my energy - I've had to be figuratively hit over the head a couple of times before I finally realized I need to be taking it every day, which I am starting to do as of yesterday. Again, I'm so grateful you blazed this path! I never would have figured it out.
About exercise - it's a little complicated - I think it's more than building up my muscles and my endurance. I generally can do 3-1/2 hours of moderate activity on a good day, and then have to be inactive the rest of the day in order not to crash. So on a good day, I can take a shower, wash my hair and dry it, and then maybe do the dishes (because I generally don't have the energy in the evening to do them, or may be risking a crash if I do them). Then I have my choice of activities: laundry, grocery shopping - each of those activities would use up the rest of my alloted activity time. Or if I'm really lucky, I can get to the library. So many of my days in the past have been spent either crashed, or sick (almost constantly sick) or detoxing (folate deficiency) where I basically couldn't do anything (no shower, no dishes, etc.) that on a "good" day, I'd have to do the essentials: shower, wash my hair, cat litter box, take out trash, grocery shop (which takes the most energy and uses a whole day's worth) laundry, etc. (of course not all of this on one day, I'd parcel out my activities very carefully)
So to do some exercise reps or walk down the driveway (on top of my other essential things I have to do) doesn't really work for me. If I didn't have to do anything else, no cleaning or shopping or cat litter box or anything, then I could monitor my steps and count them and see if I can do a little more each day, but as it is, I don't count my steps but I have a pretty good idea of my limits. If I keep feeling good on this protocol, I will try to push my limits a little bit (e.g., do the dishes in the evening), although it takes so little to send me over the edge into a crash. It's crazy.
Re getting sick: For many years now I have been sick (some sinus/respiratory problem) alsmot constantly. Every time I crashed (3 or 4 times a month) I would get sick, and also often be sick in between crashes. Just recently I have stopped getting sick so much. I think it is primarily due to a colostrum/lactoferrin product by Symbiotic I'm taking. Also the new protocol may be helping. What I'm trying to say is I may have more good days in the future and thus won't be desperate to have enough good hours to get my basic essentials done, so that on a good day I may be able to try some very light exercise, since I won't have to use it for daily living requirements. Or maybe I could even do a little gardening, which I have not had the energy for. My life for the past 13 years has basically been like having a very small bank account and having to spend it first on food and shelter, and generally nothing is left over for anything else.
Anyways, thanks again so much for your time and knowledge -
Mary
