As many of you may know, I have recently been through my second bought of cancer. This time is was a lymphoma, and between the cancer and the chemo therapy, my immune system has been severely compromised. As it became clearer to me what the problem was, I went searching for answers on the internet. Very recently, I ran into an article about fasting in USC News. After a discussion with my doctor, I decided it looked like a better therapy than any I have tried so far, and that I would try it.
The therapy consists of “2 to 4 days of fasting on a regular basis for six months”. The regular basis, is every two weeks. I have chosen the four day fast, and the first week I did it, I quit eating on Thursday evening, and fasted Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. The first two days were not bad, though a bit low energy. I actually did some work in the yard on the second day. Mid day Sunday, I got a burst of energy, as the fat burning cycle got cranked up, and my energy level improved. However, on Monday, when I woke up to go to work, I barely got through my shower without collapsing, so I broke my fast with some crackers, so I could go to work.
At the tail end of my second cycle of fasting. With my initial experience, I changed my tactics and ate my last food on Wednesday evening, Fasting Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. My hope was that I could work through the first two days, and take the weekend as the energy was available, expecting to break my fast late Sunday afternoon.
Sunday morning I was very weak and a bit dizzy, and very happy I didn’t need to go to work. Strength improved over the course of the morning and I was able to do some chores. I suspect it takes some time and water to get the fat burning cycle to kick in after sleeping. This is much better than the early morning, but still no where near normal. I broke the fast early afternoon with some eggs, and had no problems getting beck into eating food.
The following weekend, my faulty immune system kicked me to the curb again, and by mid-week I was seeing the doctor again. He took blood tests, and found some things that suggest we will be testing my blood a lot, until he figures out what’s going on. Both this, and another, recent blood test, show slightly elevated white cell counts, and several other issues that have him interested in looking further.
After leaving the Dr’s office, I dragged myself home and decided to start my next fast a day early, so I could be done a day sooner, as I was already home, and sick. Over the next several days I began to feel better, and by the end of the fast I was feeling substantially better, although weaker than normal after a fast. I can’t tell for sure, but I think the fasting helped kick the other symptoms.
I still have a ways to go, but my body seems to be settling into the idea of fasting with very few problems. The physical collapses are still a problem, but hopefully will improve as the therapy continues. I am very optimistic, and look forward to reporting further as this therapy progresses.