Recognizing the Symptoms of Liver Disease

People with candida (as well as cancer) often have a compromised liver from all the toxins that the liver is trying to eliminate from the body, and from all the toxin killers like grapefruit seed extract, oregano oil, colloidal silver, etc that are used for die-off and the die-off itself. The liver needs to be paid attention to and cared for as a slightly compromised liver can be healed with proper diet but once the liver is scarred (e.g. cirrhosis), the liver is too damaged to heal.

Here is an interesting article on identifying symptoms that could reflect damage to the liver or liver disease itself:

Knowing the Symptoms of Liver Disease Could Save your Life

Knowing how to recognize the symptoms of liver disease can save your life. As with so many illnesses and diseases, liver disease, if spotted early enough, can be arrested, and cured (providing the causes have been identified and are avoided in the future), and your liver can fully recover, growing new healthy tissue to replace any that has been damaged, just as long as the disease has not been allowed to progress too far – hence the importance of knowing what the warning signs to look out for.

An organ and a gland

Your liver is the largest internal organ (and also the largest internal gland) that you have in your body. In a healthy adult, a normal liver will weigh somewhere between 3 - 3.5 pounds and it plays a crucial role in a number of body system functions.

The functions of the liver

The key functions of the liver are to detoxify your blood, and to enhance your digestive system by creating bile, which helps to break down the fats that you consume into small pieces, making them easier for your small intestine to absorb. But that’s not all. Here is a quick summary of what your liver does for you:

• detoxes the blood, filtering out any harmful and unwanted substances like drugs and alcohol

• produces bile to aid digestion

• stores some of the body’s vitamins and iron

• stores glucose

• converts glucose into sugar that the body can use when the body’s sugar levels become depleted

• processes hemoglobin, insulin and a variety of other hormones

• converts ammonia into urea, an essential ingredient for healthy metabolism

• eliminates old red blood cells, which produce fecal matter which is normally brown in color. This is why when your stools are discolored (i.e. not brown); it can be an indication there is something wrong with your liver function.

Without a healthy liver, any holistic health lifestyle will become severely compromised, and depending on the nature and severity of disease, could prove fatal, which is why it’s so important to be able to detect and interpret the early symptoms of liver disease.

Hepatic disease

Liver disease is also sometimes referred to as hepatic disease. When any type of hepatic disease affects up to three quarters of your liver tissue, that’s when a significant increase in liver function can be detected.

The causes of liver disease

Liver disease can be brought about in a number of different ways:

• its cells may be inflamed, as with hepatitis

• the passage of bile may become obstructed, as in cholestasis

• a build-up of cholesterol may occur

• the flow of blood to the liver can be damaged

• the tissue of the liver may be attacked and damaged by toxins

Alcohol abuse and cirrhosis of the liver

The most common cause of liver disease in North America is alcohol abuse. The final stage of liver disease (when the liver sustains severe scarring and cannot regenerate replacement tissue) is known as cirrhosis of the liver, and this is responsible for approximately 25,000 deaths per annum here in North America.

The classic symptoms of liver disease

The most frequent and common symptoms of liver disease include:

• bad breath

• black circles beneath the eyes

• bad body odor

• brown blemishes on the skin

• coated tongue

• discolored stools

• flushed facial appearance

• inflamed palms and soles of feet

• swollen eyeballs

• jaundice, the yellowing of the skin which can often also be evidenced in the whites of the eyes

• nausea

• pain, which is felt in the uppermost right hand quadrant of the abdomen

• increased tendency to perspire excessively

Some people also suffer from fatigue and weight loss.

These symptoms of liver disease relate to hepatic disease in general, but there are also many different, specific, illnesses or diseases that affect the liver, and each of these has its own specific symptoms.

Gallstones

The symptoms of liver disease that are associated with gallstones, include pain in the upper right quadrant of the abdomen, vomiting (from having eaten a fatty or greasy meal), and if the gallbladder itself becomes infected, this may also bring about a fever.

Cirrhosis of the liver

As hepatic disease progresses and reaches the stage of cirrhosis, the following symptoms of liver disease may often appear.

• a tendency to bruise more easily - because the liver is no longer able to efficiently clot the blood

• itchiness - the result of bile salts being deposited in the skin can cause itching

• enlarged male breasts - a condition known as gynecomatia and can be brought about by upsetting the balance of sex hormones, and an increase in the hormone estradiol in particular

• erectile dysfunction - the upsetting of the balance of sex hormones can also bring about a reduction in sex drive and cause the testicles to shrink.

• feeling confused - feelings of confusion arise when the levels of ammonia in the bloodstream become too high. This ammonia is normally removed from the bloodstream by a healthy liver, but when liver health is compromised, the sufferer may experience feelings of confusion.

• feelings of lethargy - also potentially brought about by the increase in blood ammonia.

• decrease in muscle tissue - a compromised liver will also reduce its production of proteins, and this can lead to the wasting of muscle.

• swollen stomach veins - because blood pressure becomes increased with a cirrhotic liver, the blood flow to the liver can become compromised, possibly resulting in a swelling to the veins around the stomach area.

The unusual metabolization of fats

Another of the prime symptoms of liver disease is the abnormal metabolization of fats (your metabolism), which can manifest itself in the following ways:

• elevated levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, at the same time as decreased levels of HDL cholesterol.

• hypertension or blood pressure caused by your blood vessels becoming blocked by fatty deposits, potentially leading to stroke and heart attack.

• fatty tumors and lymphomas developing in the skin

• significant weight gain that could lead to obesity

• difficulty in losing weight, even though you may be dieting

• a sluggishly slow metabolism

• bloated stomach

• the appearance of cellulite

• developing a roll of fat around the upper abdomen a.k.a. your own armchair.

Symptoms to look for with your digestive system

The symptoms of liver disease can also be seen in relation to the digestive system and can include things like:

• constipation

• hemorrhoids

• indigestion and/or reflux

• the inability to tolerate alcohol

• the inability to tolerate fatty food

• irritable bowel syndrome

Symptoms relating to blood sugar levels

The symptoms of liver damage that relate to blood sugar include things like:

• developing a craving for sweet things

• unstable levels of sugar in the blood, also known as hypoglycemia

• the onset, in later life, of type II diabetes

Symptoms relating to your immune system

Poor liver health can also affect your immune system in which case the symptoms of liver disease to watch out for include:

• developing new allergies such as asthma, hay fever, and hives

• excessive itching

• developing skin rashes

• an increased incidence of autoimmune disease

• developing fibromyalgia

• an increase in the incidence of viral and bacterial infections

source

Spot the symptoms of liver damage and give your liver the chance to recover

The health of your liver is not only crucial for a continued holistic health lifestyle, but is essential for any type of healthy lifestyle. The power of the liver to heal itself from many diseases brought about by alcoholic or non-alcoholic fatty liver is quite amazing, provided that the disease is spotted early, so knowing what the potential symptoms of liver disease are, as discussed above, and keeping a watchful eye out for them is absolutely crucial.

Leftover Lentil Soup

In my house there just is no adherence to the food culture of "breakfast foods" in the a.m., cultural breakfast foods like milk and cereal, eggs and toast with orange juice and coffee, pop tarts (actually, why is that even a "food"???), biscuits or muffins spread with jams or jelly, sausage or bacon. Not one of these foods with the exception of gluten-free biscuits or muffins could safely be put between the teeth of a person with candida. Candida requires lots of green chlorophyll, low acid, hormone-free and bacteria-free, sugar- and gluten-free and of course low-carb ... and with that combination the expected outcome is nixed breakfast fruits (ah, the sugar!), breakfast breads and toasts (oh, the carbs!), breakfast drinks (yikes, no orange juice and double yikes, no coffee or most teas!), meats especially pork (yow, the bacteria, hormones or even food additives in the processed meats).

When people hear what I don't eat, they're shocked and of course I get the inevitable question, "Then what DO you eat?!" Well, I eat lots and lots of vegies ... even for breakfast. But that doesn't mean that my meals are green, green and various shades and hues of green. I need calories too, especially in the a.m. when I start the day. My gall bladder also needs to clean itself out after resting 10+ hours from not eating, so I need to have some fat in the morning to get the gall bladder to 'squirt' its toxins out. Just an aside, people who skip breakfast or eat low-fat in the a.m. - for example, have a slice of toast and a cup of coffee - are setting themselves up for gall bladder problems in the future. The gall bladder must evacuate its toxins regularly every morning so that toxins do not build up and eventually form stones.

People with candida already have liver problems from the accumulation of bacteria, parasites and virus toxins in the blood, and because the gall bladder and liver work closely together, caring for the gall bladder is especially necessary for preventing further destruction among the already compromised organs. For this reason, I have a little oil every morning.

Actually, every a.m. the first thing I do when I get up is drink a very tall glass of water and then sip a tablespoon of flax oil, particularly trying to get the oil to coat my upper esophagus where I know there is bacteria buildup [foamy cottage cheesy buildup seen through on-going views of a laryngoscope, and if I eat "wrong" I can even feel tight in the area]. I've used coconut oil too. Both flax oil and coconut oil have anti-bacterial qualities and actually can fight against bacteria, and this oil-sipping every a.m. has helped keep the bacteria in check in the last few months when I had to stop the more aggressive anti-bacterial treatments because they were interfering with my vitamin A.

Anyway, even in my a.m. breakfast food I try to include a little more oil just to get my gall bladder to gush. From my liver cleansing in the past, I was surprised to see gall stones appear, and so I seriously must take care of my gall bladder. So my "breakfast foods" eaten at least 15 minutes later, often have another tablespoon of oil, e.g. coconut oil (sweet) or olive oil (savory), whichever is most complimentary to the food.

Today's "breakfast food" is a great big energy-giving bowl of soup. Prep time: 10 minutes. And then I rushed out the door but knowing I had fed my body well.

Leftover Lentil Soup

3/4 cup leftover lentils
2-3 stalks celery with leaves
6 baby yellow tomatoes, diced
several leaves of fresh mustard greens*
1 avocado, chunked or mashed
2-3 tablespoons premade lemon-olive oil dressing
1 - 1/2 cups water

Heat the leftover lentils and water. While heating the soup base, chop the celery and add to the soup. Chop the tomatoes and mustard leaves and add when you turn off the heat. Stir them in to slightly soften but not cook them. Add the avocado and it's complimentary lemon-olive oil dressing last.

By the way, the leftover lentils with this recipe can have been seasoned in any way. Sometimes I make Italian-seasoned lentils but most frequently I use North African spices. For ideas, see North Africa Millet Stew. As for lemon-olive oil dressing, I always keep a small bottle in the fridge. I keep the dressing in a single beverage sized glass bottle (to prevent oil and plastic interactions). To make a bottle:

Lemon Olive Oil Dressing (1 small bottle)

2-3 lemons fresh squeezed (approx 2 ~ 2 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice per lemon)
equal amount of olive oil
1 large garlic clove per lemon, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

Fresh squeezed is wonderful, but flavors marinate delightfully if left a couple of hours.

*My holistic chiropractor told me this past summer that a person shouldn't eat mustard greens as they are used to make mustard gas and the greens themselves have an effect on the nerves. I made this recipe before hearing that (just didn't print it) and have no plans to eat those yummy things again until I do some research on this. IF they really do have that neurological effect, then I don't want them in my body. Wow, hard to believe that something that perks a salad up so well might not have such a great perky effect on the body as a whole.

Aulait's Bloodwork

On April 17 Aulait had blood drawn to find out why she was so sluggish, listless, and just sick overall. Oh my poor baby, it turned out that she had liver problems, gall bladder problems and very low white blood cells ... those were the three biggest problems. Oh, so sad! While I can do liver cleanses for myself, I had no idea how to clean out Aulait's affected liver and gall bladder. I know that when the liver registers as being bad on a test, then the liver is already 60% or more impaired ... oh poor baby!

Anyway, I'm posting Aulait's bloodwork. One day when I have time to research this better and as I gain more knowledge about treating bacteria or eating better for my own health problems, maybe I'll come across something that I should have, or at least, could have, done for Aulait to better stabilize her health. I know that Cafe, my other cat, could have been greatly benefited by barley green powders and other healing powders if I would have known about them as nutritional therapy back when she was having her kidney crystals 3 years ago. I improved a lot when treating Aulait's health issues and my own.

As for the following blood panel charts, the second chart is especially hard to understand as there are no normal-ranges. I'm just posting all 3 blood panels in the order that they were given on April 17 - respective times for the following tests are 5:41pm, 5:47pm, and 6:03pm. Given Aulait's history of thrombocytopenia, I would have given the third test first, but I wasn't the vet. (My original vet would have immediately tested those points as he was the one who diagnosed Aulait with thrombocytopenia almost 2 1/2 years ago. I moved and so took Aulait to an English speaking vet because it's very hard to explain medical problems and nearly impossible to understand them in Korea and wanted to discuss some points with the vet this time ... although my last vet was awesome about writing down the Latin and I could look up those points later - but then that was the problem, later, and I always have questions.)



LOL! The cat's eyeview of a hot cat!

 Steroids!

Aulait was treated with prednisone and two other serious drugs before I thought to ask what the vet was giving her. I was stunned! I didn't want my cat getting STEROIDS. Prednisone is steroids and if she had candida like I thought, then there would be many side effects from the steroids actually FEEDING the candida! I experienced this - absolutely horrendous! But a shot can't be undone, and really there were no alternatives, so I probably would have had to agree in the long run.

After that, I watched her so carefully to see if she would have problems. She seemed to have a bit less energy - she didn't have much to begin with - than before for about 10 days, and then for the next 10 days she really picked up! And I started looking for a caretaker for her while I would be on vacation ... but then those optimistic thoughts utterly crashed as she rapidly declined again, and lower than before. The only bright times during the day were in the afternoons when she hadn't eaten for a while and she would feel a bit playful.

But inevitably, she would go hypo (as before), and as soon as she went hypoglycemic or had eaten (food reactions!), she would yowl at me to help her. If I didn't move, she would curl up in a pitiful ball and try to sleeeeeep away her misery.

I don't think the prednisone benefitted Aulait. The vet was surprised that she hadn't "picked up" after 3-4 days ... but if she had candida like I thought, then the prednisone was not the solution to the problem. What were my choices though? I had syringed nutrients into her mouth off and on for a couple of years and was just clueless about what more to do. Some day ... hopefully ... I'll find a better solution. No human and no cat should have these awful experiences!

Liver Cleanse

The liver is the most important organ in the body. It cleans more than one liter of blood per minute, but if the liver is congested (in medical terms, fatty) it can no longer effectively clean the blood and there is gradually a build-up of toxins, ultimately making the person very sick. For people with candida and cancer, the liver is sadly over-crowded with toxins, for instance, dead bacteria that cannot be transported out of the body because there is so much!

Last summer a colleague lent me a book on doing a liver cleanse. Honestly, I never considered the liver as playing such an important role in the cleansing of the body from candida die-off, so the book was totally informative. The book The Liver and Gallbladder Miracle Cleanse: An All-natural At-home Flush to Purify and Rejuvenate Your Body was a very good read. However, if I hadn't bumped into some of what he said earlier in my research, I might have discounted this book and its info as Andreas Moritz is a horrible grammarian, has lousy to awful punctuation and in the latter part of the book even has dyslexic and incomplete sentences. The information was great but he lost a lot of credibility by his utterly poor proofreading skills.


Anyway, I had been experiencing more and more discomfort - changeable throughout the day but more obvious after eating something with lemon juice and olive oil (which causes movement and the body's attempt at flushing of liver "stones") - and so as soon as I read the information on the gallbladder and liver flush, I knew I was going to try it to get some relief.

Yeast Infection Liver Cleanse

The following is a compilation of two sources for liver cleanses: The Yeast Infection Liver Cleanse and The Amazing Liver Cleanse by Andreas Morita

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 – 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
4 tablespoons Epsom Salt (Magnesium Sulphate = MgSO4)
3 glasses water (24 fl oz), divided into 4 portions

RECOMMENDED — For a few days to a week before the cleanse, avoid animal and dairy products and fried foods to maximize the effect of the liver cleanse. Eating food at room temperature also prevents the liver from getting chilled and reducing the effectiveness of the cleanse. During this time also, avoid taking medicines, vitamins and supplements unless absolutely necessary in order to not give the liver any extra work. The day of the cleanse or the day before, do a colon cleanse (colonic irrigation is best; colema-board irrigation is second best; a coffee-enema is third; last resorts, 2-3 day fruit and veggie diet will help clear the colon). A clear colon minimizes discomfort during the cleanse, prevents back-flushing of oil and toxins, and so helps with the swift elimination of any gall or liver stones. Cleansing the colon prior to the cleanse is highly recommended whereas cleansing out parasites first (a 3-week process) is essential (the liver cannot be cleanse if parasites reside in the body).

THE DAY OF THE CLEANSE — In the a.m. have a light breakfast that does not include sugar, dairy, meat, spices or processed foods. For lunch eat plain cooked food like steamed veggies with rice, and avoid protein, oils and fats as this requires more digestion and may cause nausea during the cleanse. Carefully follow the schedule below for best results!

2 p.m. – Stop eating and drinking

6 p.m. – Dissolve the 4 tablespoons of Epsom salts in 3 cups of water (room temp water is best so as not to chill the liver). Drink 3/4 cup or one-quarter of the preparation as quickly as possible. This will start to (further) clean out the colon as well as dilate the ducts, thanks to the magnesium in the salts. [Set out the lemons and olive oil so they will be room temperature by 10 p.m.]

8 p.m. – Drink the second portion (3/4 cup) of Epsom salts. Get everything done so that at 10 p.m. when you drink the lemon-olive-oil concoction, you can immediately go to bed.

9:45 p.m. – Pour 1/2 cup (measured) and 1/2 - 3/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice in a shakable container, and shake to mix. Go to the bathroom the last time(s).

10 p.m. – Beside your bed while still standing, drink down the lemon-olive-oil mixture and immediately lay down. Lay either on your back with your head elevated or on your right side for the oil to have its most effectiveness on the liver and gall bladder. Lay completely still. Do not talk. Try to sleep. Best results will be achieved through a relaxing, sleeping body. You will have no pain or discomfort as the magnesium has dilated the ducts and they are well lubricated with oil. If you feel nauseous during the night, either you did something wrong in prepping for the cleanse like eating heavy food, or you are detoxing too fast and the bile is back-flushing back into your stomach. Prop yourself up to prevent further back-flushing and try to sleep.

6 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. – Upon waking but not before 6 a.m., drink down the third portion (3/4 cup) of Epsom salts. It’s best to stay vertical for this evacuation time, so get up, read or move around. Go to the bathroom as needed. The Epsom salts will now help you evacuate the stones that were spilled from the gall bladder and liver during the night. Many of the stones float, so guestimate how many you are evacuating. Green stones are definitely from the liver as they are covered in liver bile; they are mostly cholesterol, come in many sizes from small to even as large as 1”, and float easily. Tan and white stones are from the gall bladder and are composed of about 10% cholesterol; when small, they float but the larger ones sink. Black and red stones may also be evacuated. Also, white chaff will appear floating on the surface and getting rid of these millions of tiny crystals is important for preventing future stones.

8 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. (two hours after the first a.m. Epsom salt drink) – Drink your fourth portion (3/4 cup) of Epsom salts and continue to move around.

10 a.m. – 10:30 a.m. (two hours after the final Epsom salt drink) – You make have a little fruit juice (or veggie juice for people with candida). After 1 hour, you may have a piece of fruit or some veggies. By noon, you may eat a very light meal. You should be back to normal and feel the first signs of improvement by the evening or the next morning. However, continue eating light meals for a few days as your liver just had major surgery, albeit non-invasive surgery.

2 – 3 DAYS LATER, FOLLOW-UP PROCEDURE — People who do a liver flush/cleanse often have a few stones remaining in the colon. If any remain, a person may have irritation, nausea, infection, headaches, abdominal discomfort, thyroid problems, etc. as these stones become a source of toxemia to the body. The colonic irrigation is the only sure way to eliminate the remaining stones but a coffee enema followed by a warm water enema will have remarkable results. To doubly ensure the cleansing effect of the enemas, in the a.m. on the day of the follow-up colon cleanse mix 1 teaspoon of Epsom salts in a glass of warm water and drink it. Later that day do the dual enemas.

ON-GOING CLEANSES — If you evacuated stones, you will need to repeat the cleanse in 2 – 3 weeks, waiting only as long as 2 months for the next cleanse. Not continuing the cleanse and removing all the stones would probably cause more problems than if you had not done the first cleanse. You may need to cleanse anywhere from 5 – 12 times, depending on the severity of your problem and the amount of stones being evacuated. Cleanse until no more stones appear. Do not cleanse when sick though. It is recommended for liver maintenance that the liver cleanse be done twice a year.

CAUTIONS — Technically, anyone with a history of gall stones, bladder infections, etc. should not do the liver cleanse until he or she has done a bladder cleanse (see Bladder Cleanse Tea) first. Also, people with a history of colon congestion or constipation should do 2-3 colon cleanses before their first liver cleanse.

My Results

2011/6/3 - 1st cleanse - 650+ stones (pea-size average, 25 or so were white meaning gall stones - much to my surprise!)
2011/6/15 - 2nd cleanse - 100 stones (irregular shaped, pea-size and smaller)
2011/7/6 - 3rd cleanse - 50 stones (average size of a nickle!)
2011/9or10 - 4th cleanse - ???
2012/2 - 5th cleanse - ???
2012/3/31 - 6th cleanse - not many, got constipation because I ate too soon and didn't drink enough water because of the water problems I've been having. Felt sooo much better though after this cleanse! Like a new person!


The stones that I counted are only the "floaters" and not the heavier ones that sink (like those pictured above). Some people use a wire net to find out their results, but gross, I just can't be bothered. I figure that as long as some "floaters" appear, I should continue doing flushes.

Sourcing for the picture of the liver and the gall stones is from the The Holy Kale. The Holy Kale also has a variation of directions for the Liver/Gallbladder Flush.

A very good after-the-flush first light meal is steamed cauliflower and broccoli and well coated with more fresh lemon juice, olive oil, lots of garlic and maybe a little sea salt. (I take a knife and quickly cut the steamed vegies into smaller pieces before putting the dressing on.) The fibrous steamed vegies will move gently through the GI track and the lemon-olive oil dressing will require a last final squeezing flush from the gallbladder and liver. After eating, try not to be stationary in order to aid the body in expulsing the detox materials. Be sure to start drinking plenty of water to aid in the GI flush and to keep the kidneys well-flushed after the heavy salt solution of the night before.


Factors affecting gall stone production include:

Natural Health Techniques offers this information and much more on gallbladder and liver stone development. This site includes signs for recognizing the stones as well as their own version of the flush.

• Obesity — the more weight you have the more likely you are to form stones.
• Excess Estrogen — increases cholesterol (a major component of gall stones) and decreases the contractions of the gall bladder.
• Ethnicity — Native Americans and Mexicans seem to be predisposed to make stones for some reason.
• Gender and Age — Women are twice as likely to get gall stones than men, and women over the age of 60 have a higher frequency as well. I’ve heard doctor’s say that anyone over the age of 40 usually has gall stones.
• Taking Cholesterol Lowering Drugs — More cholesterol is secreted in through the bile when on these types of drugs. It seems to make sense that taking natural substances to decrease cholesterol would also influence this, but I know of no scientific studies yet to show that.
• Fasting and Dieting — As the fat is mobilized, it passes through the digestive tract and therefore the gall bladder.
• Diabetes — Have higher levels of triglycerides which are passed into the gall bladder and make up bile.