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A NUMBER of patients have remarked, within the first two weeks of the treatment, that they cannot "stand" the diet and wish to discontinue it. They based their opinion on the following occurrences: Nausea, headaches, in some cases vomiting, spasms in the intestines, more gas accumulation than usual, no appetite, inability to drink the juices, and difficulties with coffee enemas. All of the above are symptoms of what we call "the reaction period". These reactions appear with the present treatment after from three to six days, and in more difficult cases after eight to ten days; they recur almost every ten to fourteen days, and later once a month. There is no connection with menstruation in women. However, in some cases, I observed the return of menstruation which had already ceased for years. The return occurred after three to four months of the treatment, with intense spastic pain on both sides of the lower abdomen. As far as the regular "reaction periods" are concerned, one may observe that the patients vomit some bile with an offensive odor. I assume that this bile, flowing out of the common duct, causes some spasms in the duodenum or the upper small intestines, and flows over into the stomach, producing nausea, bad breath, coated tongue and reluctance to food, and even to juices. At such times patients need large quantities of peppermint tea, served with some brown sugar and a bit of lemon. They drink one to two quarts of this liquid a day; some patients consumed as much as four quarts in 24 hours. These masses of tea wash out the accumulation of bile from the stomach and duodenum, relieve the patients of the spasms, and permit them to resume the intake of juices and administration of coffee enemas. The juices must be mixed with gruel; patients refuse to take cooked food, but accept raw grated apples, mashed bananas, applesauce. Such a "flare up" may last from one to three days. After a "flare up", patients feel greatly relieved, normal circulation resumes, the yellowish color with an occasional tinge of jaundice, which sometimes is noticed on the sclera of the eyes at these periods, disappears, and patients are able to eat and drink again. With the present treatment, and more frequent enemas, we reduced the "flare up" period for the most part to 24 hours, and in rare cases, to two days. The first "flare up" is the most violent one and is usually accompanied by severe headaches, weakness of the entire body, bad mood, and feeling of depression. Patients remain in bed.
Subsequent "flare ups" lose in violence and duration and can be made more easily bearable by more coffee enemas. Some patients increase the number of their coffee enemas by themselves, some taking as many as eight or ten or twelve in 24 hours, as they feel great relief after eaeh coffee enema. Some of the patients suffer outbreaks of perspiration or offensive odor during these periods; these persist a little longer than other symptoms. The aromatic acids eliminated during these reactions are so intense they may form chemical compounds with the paint of the walls and ceilings of the patients' rooms, and these compounds cannot be removed by soap and water or other cleaning methods. The room often had to be repainted after the patient's departure.
At the beginning of the treatment some patients assume that these are allergic reactions and refer to them as such in their reports to physicians. Some claim that they never could stand orange juice; others say they could never take even a small piece of apple, and still others claim they could never stand tomatoes or peaches, prior to the treatment. One patient reported that she had been unable to take even a half grain of thyroid in 20 years, as her metabolism was always minus 20 and less. All physicians tried to give her thyroid and lugol solution, starting with the smallest doses and in weak solution. With this treatment, she was able, almost from the beginning, to take up to five grains of thyroid and 18 drops of lugol solution, half strength, per day.
Laboratory analysis shows a trace of albumin and a greater amount of sodium in the urine during the reaction periods. The blood count shows a relatively higher number of leukocytes (up to 12,000-18,000) and an increase in lymphocytes if the lymphocyte count was abnormally low before, or a slight decrease in lymphocytes if the lymphocyte count was abnormally high before.
The detoxication during the reaction periods gives the patients a great psychological relief; generally after a few days they lose their fears and depressions, and demand getting out of bed. Their feeling of well being is supported by conversations with other patients, who report similar favorable effects after these "flare ups" . Clinically, these "flare ups" are favorable reactions and should be regarded as part of the healing process.