Chapter 9: Healing Crisis
Two weeks later I began taking Essiac. I bought it at my local vitamin store. I decided I would take the capsules instead of the tea because it was more convenient for me. It did cross my mind that maybe they would not be as effective as the tea, but I was willing to take the chance. Something was better than nothing. I was looking to make some progress.
I began slowly the first week, starting with one capsule per day. I was being very cautious about side effects. The second week I added one more capsule per day. I was now taking two capsules per day, both at night. I continued like this through the third week. The morning of the day that I was taking Essiac for exactly three weeks I woke up very early. It was around 4:30 a.m., still dark outside, but I was wide awake, so I got up. I had so much energy that I didn’t quite know what to do with myself. I had not felt like this in over a year. I cleaned my house from top to bottom. I conquered little projects that had been on my “to do” list for an eternity. I was unstoppable. And it felt amazing!
Until…..the very next day.
I don’t know how many of you are familiar with the term “healing crisis”. Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary’s definition of a crisis: 1a: The turning point for better or worse in an acute disease or fever. b: a paroxysmal attack of pain, distress, or disordered function. c: an emotionally significant event or radical change of status in a person’s life.
I’m here to tell you….it is all of the above.
A healing crisis comes immediately on the heels of an energy “high”, and it is said that the severity and length of the crisis is equal to the severity of your illness. All of this was proven to me to be absolutely true. I was in bed for ten days. No exaggeration.
It began with vomiting. Then came chills. And not just any old chills, I mean chills so intense that I actually pulled the muscles in my lower back from my body contracting so violently. They would come and go for days, sometimes lasting up to 25 minutes. Very painful and uncontrollable. Then I developed a fever in addition to the chills. It would spike as high as 103, and then drop down to 97, sometimes within the course of a few hours, and this would happen over several days. I was constantly urinating. It felt like I was developing a urinary tract infection. I also had congestion and severe headaches. It felt to me that my body was doing a “reboot”, system by system, and the fever was an indication that it had moved on to the next one. It would spike at the beginning of a new set of woes, and then drop back down when the reboot was complete, or so it seemed to me. I was tempted to try to alleviate my misery with ibuprofen, but I figured that would be counterproductive to a detoxification or whatever this was, so I pushed through it. I could not eat. I could not sleep. I hurt all over. I was in agony. I questioned my faith over and over, but I still was willing to see it through.
Thankfully, both of my home schooled children were there to watch over and help me during the day while my husband was at work. I can tell you it’s a horrible feeling to have to rely on your children when you’re this unhealthy. I felt I was supposed to be taking care of them, not the other way around. But they are loving, understanding, and very caring children. And they were there for me when I needed them.
By day ten the vomiting had ended, as well as the fever and chills. The headache and the congestion had disappeared. I was still urinating frequently, but it was not painful. My body was suffering with residual pain from the muscle contractions, but I was able to move from my bed to the other rooms of the house, albeit feebly. My tongue was coated. I was more tired than I had ever been in my life. But my skin was the best it had ever looked - I was literally glowing!
I had just been through a healing crisis.
Life Lesson #9 - Sometimes things have to get worse before they can get better.
Graves Disease Lesson #9 - I truly believe that the build up of methimazole in my liver was a large contributing factor to the severity of my healing crisis, and of course, I’m sure there were others. The word “toxic” seems overused today. It is applied to the environment, to food, and even to some relationships. But did you ever stop and think about what it really means for something to be toxic? It means it is poison. When my doctor told me methimazole would be toxic to my liver, I didn’t really stop to consider the implications. I really couldn’t. I was incredibly sick at the time, needed something quickly to avoid a serious health emergency, and a prescription for methimazole was the answer offered to me, so I accepted it. I was prescribed, and ingested voluntarily, a poison. We live in a toxic environment. We eat toxic food. We encounter toxic personalities. And occasionally we ingest toxins in an effort to feel better. There is no escaping it. We can only try our best to minimize the damage.
I feel that the Essiac detoxified my liver, my kidneys, and my entire body. I was now able to function like an efficient machine. Forty five years worth of toxic build up had been taken out of my body by force. My immune system was now stronger and better able to fend off disease, and my newly cleansed liver and kidneys were now equipped to efficiently filter and eliminate it. I was a clean slate. I had reached a pivotal turning point in my illness and my healing and I was holding on to it for dear life. Nothing was going to stop me now. I had made progress!
- Dorian A., RN, CHLC
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