Common Healing Reactions & Symptoms: Instructions for Handling

by Nikki Moses © October 2015

Warning: The information on this site is intended for educational purposes only. Any recommendations are intended for individuals engaged in a Nutritional Balancing Program who are being overseen by Nikki Moses. No claims are made for any procedures described here. Nor are these procedures intended as treatments or prescriptions for any disease or condition. However, most people find them very simple, effective and safe when used as described here.

What Are Healing Reactions

A healing reaction is temporary symptom or symptoms that one experiences during a time of healing or detoxification in the body.  Just like muscles can be sore after a good workout, the body can have symptoms while it is healing.  A healing reaction can also occur when the body has a resurgence of immune system function. These are times in which the body “retraces” or goes back and heals old infections or other imbalances.

In other texts and methodologies, healing reactions may be referred as healing crises, flare-ups, Herxheimer reactions, Lucio’s Phenomena, retracing reactions, Jarisch-Herxheimer reactions, die-off reactions, purification reactions, the reversal process, aggravations or exacerbation.

Healing reactions are very common and are an essential aspect of all true and deep-healing methods. They can be unpleasant and can sometimes be intense, but they are not harmful. They are signs of healing.

Healing reactions may include symptoms such as:

Healing reactions can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few months.

If you are doing the program very well and encounter symptoms, chances are it is a healing reaction.  Remember that if any healing reaction starts getting too intense, you may simply reduce or stop your supplements for a few days, which usually slows the healing and lessens the reaction.  (Note: if your symptoms are infection-related, be sure to follow the infection instructions below.  Don’t just stop all of your supplements.)  Also, be sure you are drinking enough water, rubbing your feet, and getting enough rest.  Coffee enemas help with most healing reactions.  During healing reactions, a person may increase the number of coffee enemas being done to as many as 3 per day or even more.  Use judgment for your particular case and take into account any known sensitivity to caffeine when increasing enema frequency.

Infections

There are a number of highly contagious viral infections going around, so be sure you are not eating sugar.
Sugar feeds infection and weakens the immune system, so it is especially important to avoid sugar during flu season.  A single teaspoon of sugar (4 grams of sugar) is enough to take the immune system out for up to 4 hours and leave you vulnerable to infection.  Stevia is the best natural sugar substitute.  Be sure to try different brands to find one that you like.  Xylitol is also a great sugar-free, natural substitute for sugar that can be used in most recipes — just be sure to start slowly with it the first time you eat it, as it can have a laxative effect until your body gets used to it.

We have an extensive article on our website for flu and cold-type infections that covers tips for prevention as well as remedies if you catch one, so please refer to that as needed.  Most principles covered in this article also apply to other internal infections, whether it is something you caught or a healing reaction.   To see that article, click here.

For all types of infection, if you are already on Limcomin, you may increase the dose up to 18 per day for adults (less for children), as this supplement supports the immune system.

For ear aches, the single heat lamp is invaluable (click here for more info on single heat lamps).  You may shine the lamp on the affected ear for 5-10 minutes at a time up to 6 times per day.  If both ears are infected, limit heat lamp use to 5 minutes on each side per treatment for a total of 10 minutes each treatment, with up to 6 treatments per day.  You may also use Garlic Mullein oil in the ear which we do carry here.  For more information about this oil and instructions for its use, click here.

Remember the body can often fight off bacteria on its own, especially if it is a healing reaction (please see our cold and flu article for infection remedies).  In most cases, antibiotics are not needed.  Of course, consult a doctor if you wish and if symptoms are severe, especially for any type of infection around a surface wound such as a cut on the skin.

Bladder or Urinary Tract Irritation

Some of the toxins we have in our bodies are very strong irritants.  When they start to dump out of the body on our program, it is common to feel some kidney and bladder irritation as they are being pushed out through the kidneys.  It can feel much like a typical urinary tract infection.  You may have to urinate more often, feel burning while urinating, have trouble holding urine, have constricted urine flow, or feel like your bladder hasn’t fully emptied after urinating.   You may also experience some kidney pain and back pain near the kidneys.  The first thing to do is to drink more water.  This is often the only remedy needed.  If Renamide is on your list of optional supplements to take, then you may certainly take Renamide to help the kidneys (it is a kidney support formula).  Do not exceed the recommended amount on your list, and do not take if pregnant.

If you want to be sure the discomfort is due to detox, you may reduce or stop your regular supplements for a few days while continuing to drink extra water.  This will usually stop the detox, and therefore stop the symptoms.  If you are worried that you may have a bladder infection, a simple urine test will show if infection is present.   You may use a home urine test or visit a doctor for this, but be sure to confirm that bacterial infection is present before taking antibiotics.  It is very rare to actually get a bladder or kidney infection while on the program, so try drinking more water first and see if symptoms improve.  Even if infection is present, we can often naturally support the body through it.   So please try to contact us if you show a positive urine test for infection.

Diarrhea, Food Poisoning, Vomiting, etc.

An episode of diarrhea can occur due to detox, but this is a rare event and usually lasts no longer than one day.  In general, for diarrhea, first stop Paramin and GB-3 and any other magnesium you may be on.  If this helps, be sure to let us know that this occurred, so we can adjust your program.  If stopping these supplements doesn’t help, you may take activated charcoal capsules up to 12 per day for adults, and be sure to contact me.  We have a thorough article on diarrhea, vomiting, food poisoning and other digestive disturbances, so please refer to it here: Vomiting and Diarrhea.  Please take diarrhea seriously, especially if it is occurring multiple times per day; you can lose too much fluid and vital nutrients if it goes on too long.

Fatigue

This is the most common healing reaction.  Please see our article Why Fatigue Can Occur on This Health Program.

Constipation

Constipation can flare up at times on the program, especially during certain types of liver healing or liver stress.  Other factors such as travel and emotional stress can also cause constipation, as can dehydration, diet changes, etc.  A simple solution is to increase your dose of GB-3.  You may take up to 15 GB-3 per day as needed.  Also, be sure you are drinking your full water dose.   Drinking 16 to 24 ounces of warm water first thing in the morning will also usually help relieve constipation.  One may also try taking extra magnesium — this will only work if the magnesium is not absorbed from the intestines into the blood, so a low-quality, inexpensive magnesium product usually works best for this purpose.  Also, coffee enemas work very well to clear the bowel.  If you are doing one coffee enema every day, don’t be concerned if you do not have another bowel movement on your own.  If you are sensitive to caffeine and can’t do coffee enemas, you may do a water enema with up to 3 cups of water to help with constipation.

Muscle Cramps

Muscle cramps usually have one of the following causes: dehydration, low magnesium, low calcium, low potassium or poor circulation.  Occasionally, muscle cramps are caused by direct irritation to the muscles from a toxin being eliminated from the body.   We suggest drinking extra water as a first step (you may also need to try a different brand of water in case your brand for some reason isn’t hydrating you).  Also, be sure to eat more cooked vegetables to get more of all of the minerals above.  If increasing your water and cooked vegetables doesn’t relieve the cramps, you may try taking some extra plain magnesium up to 1000 mg. per day.   If that doesn’t help after three days, stop the extra magnesium and try extra plain calcium up to 1000 mg. per day.   If calcium doesn’t work within a few days, stop the extra calcium and try a plain potassium up to 1000 mg. per day.  We carry quality versions of these supplements here.  Whatever mineral supplement you try, only continue it for as long as needed.  Often the mineral will be replenished within a few days, and you won’t need the extra amount anymore.  There are times a toxin is dumping from some organ or tissue that blocks one of these minerals and causes cramping.  Once the toxin stops dumping, the cramping resolves.  Poor circulation is a little more complicated to resolve, so you would need to contact us if none of the above works.  In general, if the muscle cramps are severe, it is best to contact us for guidance.  Of course, at times when we are hard to reach, feel free to experiment with the above remedies.

A note about shoes and foot cramps: the foot is meant to roll and bend when walking.  Many of the shoes we wear do not allow this natural motion to occur.  You can see what the natural motion is by walking barefoot or in socks.  Flip flops are the worst shoes to wear because the wearer tends to bend the foot the opposite direction to what is natural in order to keep the flip flop on the foot.  This can cause the feet to be more prone to muscle cramps, especially at the end of the day.  Any shoe that doesn’t grip the foot and forces the wearer to arch their feet to hold it on will be a problem.  It is subtle and you may not realize you are doing it.  Try flexible shoes that grip your foot well, and when at home, wear socks with skid pads on the bottom or some other very flexible, conforming footwear.  Similarly, shoes that have a sole that is too firm such as some sneakers, some men’s shoes, boots, etc. also don’t allow the foot to bend properly.  But generally these aren’t as problematic as flip flops.

Headaches

Always stop all supplements when you get a headache.  Once the headache passes, start your supplements slowly with very small doses, and gradually work into the full doses.  Headaches are usually caused by toxins dumping.  As the toxins circulate on their way out of the body, they can cause a headache.  You need to give the body a chance to finish filtering out and removing the toxins before taking more supplements.  Extra coffee enemas almost always help and are best done at the first sign of a headache.  You may do more than one coffee enema in a day if needed, and if you tolerate them well.  Also, rubbing the feet, especially the toes, can be very helpful.  Drink extra water if possible.

Insomnia

Trouble sleeping can occur for a number of reasons.  You may reference our Sleep Remedies article for additional tips.  If you are having trouble sleeping, make sure to not take Megapan, Thyro Complex, Endo-Dren, Kelp and Limcomin near bedtime.  These can keep some people awake at night.  Also, have a snack of protein and fat before bed and avoid sugar.  You may take extra Paramin before bed and during the night.  TMG may also interfere with sleep, so you may try discontinuing it or taking less of it to see if that is the problem.  Most natural sleep aids are fine to try.  Sometimes a healing reaction is the problem, so you can try cutting back on all supplements to see if it calms down.  There will be times on the program when it is near impossible to find a remedy for the sleep issue, and you just have to wait it out until the healing episode passes.

Anxiety

Anxiety can occur due to copper detox, adrenal fatigue, blood sugar swings, mercury detox and a few other less common causes.  If you are experiencing an uncomfortable amount of anxiety, you may try increasing your Paramin up to as many as 9 per day to see if that helps.  If you get diarrhea from the extra Paramin, reduce the Paramin to a tolerable dose and add some extra plain Calcium instead.  Generally, supplements such as Megapan, Thyro Complex, and Endo-Dren can make anxiety a little worse because they are stimulating in nature, so one may want to temporarily reduce the amounts of these being taken.  That said, if the anxiety is due to adrenal fatigue, these supplements may be helpful.  You will have to test and see.   Limcomin can occasionally worsen anxiety, so you may test reducing that dose, as well.  Be sure to let us know if you are having to reduce or change your doses on a frequent or permanent basis.  If the anxiety is tolerable, please continue on your standard program.  Be sure to eat every 2-3 hours in case blood sugar instability is behind your anxiety.  Also, rest as much as possible and drink plenty of water.  Rubbing the feet can relax the body.  Saunas are also very relaxing and may help.  Chamomile tea can be helpful, as can Valerian herbal products.

Depression

Depression can occur while on the program and is usually due to either fatigue or the effects of toxic copper being dumped out or circulated in the body.  The article “Why Fatigue Can Occur on This Health Program” is good to reference to see the reasons fatigue occurs and also contains information about depression.  Generally, for depression, resting more is ideal.  Your body is basically demotivating you because it is tired.  Your body wants you to lie around all day so that it can rest.  Some people think this is being lazy, but if the body is healing during this time, this rest is not laziness and is actually necessary in order to recover.  In addition to resting more, if you are already on Megapan, Thyro Complex or Endo-Dren you may try increasing the amounts of those you take by 50%.  So, for example, if you take 6 Megapan per day on a usual basis, then you may try increasing to 9 per day temporarily.  If your depression gets worse when you increase one or more of these, then the depression is likely due to copper not to fatigue.  In this case, reducing Megapan, Thyro Complex and Endo-Dren to below your usual doses may actually slow the release of the copper and ease symptoms.  Similarly it may be best to reduce Zinc or Limcomin to slow the detox.

It is best during depression caused by healing to not over-analyze your life or make big decisions.  It is tempting when in the middle of the depression to try to figure out what part of one’s life is causing the depression.  If the depression is being caused by something physical then this analysis will not work and the person will often come up with the wrong “reason” for the depression.

Depression can last a while at times on the program, even up to a couple of months or more depending on the healing taking place.  It is usually mild and can come and go.  Sometimes it is stronger.  If the depression is severe, please contact us right away.

Heart Racing and Palpitations

In most cases, heart racing (a rapid heartbeat) while on a nutritional balancing program is caused by toxins dumping.  Sometimes the heart will also beat strangely, and it can feel like it is skipping beats.  This can go on for minutes, hours or even days.  What is occurring is that toxins that have dumped out of organs, fat and other storage sites are now circulating around and irritating the heart.  It is not dangerous but can be a bit alarming.  The heart will beat faster in an attempt to get the blood pumped more times through the kidneys so that the kidneys can filter the toxins out of the blood.  If the kidneys are slow at removing the toxins, the heart will beat even faster.   The first solution is to drink more water to help the kidneys filter the toxins.  Also, rubbing the feet can be helpful.  Sometimes a coffee enema will also help.  If it is disturbing you, then stop the supplements for a day or two to slow the healing and detox.

Other less common causes of a racing heart are indigestion and food allergies.  These similarly are not dangerous.  A more rare cause of a racing heart is Grave’s disease or hyperthyroidism (an over-active thyroid).   When the thyroid is over-active, the heart will beat too fast.  This is a condition usually accompanied by other symptoms of a hyper thyroid.  A simple blood test to check thyroid hormones can confirm if one is indeed hyper-thyroid.   If drinking more water and/or stopping the supplements resolves the racing heart, then it is very unlikely that hyper-thyroid is the cause (hyper-thyroid is quite rare).  Typically, if caused by a healing reaction, the resting heart rate will not exceed 120 beats per minute.  If you have any concern over a racing heart or other heart symptoms, feel free to consult a doctor, but please realize that this is a very common symptom when on a nutritional balancing program when certain toxins are being released by the body.

Joint Pain

This is one of the most common healing reactions.  Certain toxic metals are very pro-inflammatory.  They are very irritating to any part of the body they come into contact with.  When they are floating in the blood on the way to the liver or kidneys, they can interact with the joints and cause joint pain.   Clients have called us wondering if they suddenly have arthritis only to have the pain suddenly stop after a couple of days to a couple of weeks.  The most common areas to experience this pain are the hands, knees and hips, but any joint can be affected.  Extra coffee enemas can help, and also be sure to drink your full water dose.  A single heat lamp aimed at the painful joint or joints is often useful to help encourage the toxins to move away from the joint more quickly.  Eating enough cooked vegetables helps the liver to filter the toxins out.  But, in general, just give it time, and it will pass.

Severe bloating

This occurs for the same reason as joint pain and urinary tract irritation on the program.  When irritant toxins are passed from the liver to the small intestines, they now have to move down through the entire intestinal tract on their way to the bowel where they are then released through your feces (otherwise casually known as “pooping them out”).  They can irritate the intestines on their way through and cause a lot of bloating, sometimes severe and prolonged bloating.  We have seen some cases of bloating last for a couple of months during a long detox reaction.  A single heat lamp aimed at the abdomen can be extremely helpful.  Also, coffee enemas help to clear the intestines.  Another trick that often helps is to rub your back right behind where your waist is.  You can put your hands on your hips and use your thumbs to rub the whole area of your back between the rib cage and the hip bones.  This area is linked to your intestines, and rubbing it can help to relax the intestines.  Of course, you may have someone else rub it for you, too.   Rubbing the feet is also extremely helpful, especially focusing on areas related to the liver and intestines.  A handy foot chart we like can be found here.

Sometimes it is very hard to find a remedy for the bloating, and one just has to wait it out.  Reducing the supplements can slow the detox and provide relief.  But even a healthy diet can continue a detox once it has started, so stopping supplements won’t always stop the detox and the bloating.

Another cause for bloating is fungus or other infections in the gut being killed off by the body.  The same remedies above apply.  Also be sure to drink a lot of water to help flush the intestines.

Other Symptoms

There are many other symptoms that can occur from healing reactions.   Any old or chronic symptom can flare up during a healing reaction.  This means you may re-experience old symptoms that you haven’t had in a long time.  This can include old injuries that healed improperly or healed with toxins embedded in the tissues and are now being cleaned up and healed properly.  Additionally, new symptoms you’ve never had before can also occur while on the program.  So just because you do not see it listed above, doesn’t mean that it is not a healing reaction.  Please contact us for help as needed.  We can help you to determine if what you are experiencing is indeed a healing reaction and can guide you through it.

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