Linsy’s Struggle with Herxheimer Reaction
My assistant Linsy is known around here as the Queen of Herx. This is because her healing journey involved just off-the-charts sensitivity and massive reactions to any kind of anti-pathogen or detox agent that resulted in the Herxheimer Reaction (pathogen die-off).
In addition to her sensitivities, she had extensive food and environmental allergies. If all of this sounds familiar to you, then you will likely learn a lot of helpful tips and tricks from my interview with Linsy below.
Linsy’s Healing Journey
As someone who has walked a difficult pathway of healing from IBD, Linsy is now clear of any colitis symptoms. And her allergies and sinus issues are almost completely cleared up.
She also continues to follow some of the protocols in Listen To Your Gut; taking ongoing healing supplements for her gut, while also being proactive on the mind/body aspects of healing.
You can also download this as a Podcast, or listen to the audio here:
Show Notes
Jini Patel Thompson interviews her assistant Linsy (the Queen of Herx) for in-depth info and strategies on how she dealt with her off-the-charts sensitivities and still managed to heal her ulcerative colitis using entirely natural methods.
If you’d like to work with Linsy for personal health consultation, click here.
Linsy details how to manage anti-pathogen protocols, like wild oregano or olive leaf, whilst providing the body with effective detox procedures to minimize reaction and discomfort from the die-off effect.
- Jini’s book on natural healing for Gut Infection
- Jini’s book on healing Crohn’s, colitis, and diverticulitis using an elemental (bowel rest) diet
- Jini’s flagship resource book on healing protocols for ALL symptoms of IBD
- Jini’s blog
Here is a list with the names of a few different binder options and then you can choose which one is best for you! Just find which one your body needs and do your own research and consult a professional to see which one suits you best!
Binder Options:
- Bentonite clay
- Activated Charcoal or Charcoal
- GI DETOX (A powerful, strong combination binder, for some, has been very helpful. Please consult a professional before use of this binder for your specific condition)
- Sun Chlorella (this is usually considered a light binder for most people, Jini’s MultiAbsorb Immune product has Chlorella in it)
- Chlorophyll (similar to Sun Chlorella this has been known to help detox the body, so could potentially help purge the toxins out)
- Sprouted chia or flaxseed (This can be taken on its own or in the BCPH shake. It must ALWAYS be taken with lots of water to avoid constipation)
If you liked this post, you might also like:
Why You Must Clear Pathogens Before or During an Elemental Diet
Using Probiotics During & After Antibiotics
THIS IS HUGE – thanks Jini and Linsy! I was going well on the protocol, suspect allergies, but don’t have the ability to check around here, but knew enough to take things slow, and FORTUNATELY didn’t have as sensitive of a reaction as Linsy UNTIL I decided to try to clear my arthritis using Dr. Saul’s protocol of juicing veg juices.
I was eating a salad a day and doing fine, so thought I would try a single glass of juice. Unfortunately, because of unplanned happenings, ended up with 20 oz of juice. Definitely far more than i was planning for first time, but considering that Dr. Saul says the juice loses its value after something 10-20 min, i decided not to waste it, but to drink it all.
I have been paying for that decision for 7 days now. I was pretty sure it was die off symptoms, but could find nothing to do about that, but suffer through it. Sad thing is I once had Bentonite Clay when I tried doing a cleanse for yeast (the only cleanse I ever attempted), but had to move during COVID, and somethings never made the move. I only used it that once, don’t know what happened to it.
Anyway, as folks HOPEFULLY transition to healthy eating, I hope someone else is able to find this information and not have to suffer thru. Sad thing is that the shakes were always fine for me, but the die off reaction was so bad, even the shakes caused me such severe gut pain and such severe gas, I refused to eat more than 1 drink a day. The pain lasted 4 to 6 hours, and even after that I would feel like my stomach had run a marathon and was literally shaking from exhaustion! It probably was. : ). Believe me I will have Bentonite Clay around after this!
Hi Mel! So nice to hear from you and your personal journey! Sorry to hear that experience happened to you though, sounds rough!
It can be challenging knowing what to eat sometimes when your cleansing/detoxing etc…I totally get that!
This is a fantastic resource when it comes to food as Jini breaks down all trigger foods for IBD! https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/ltyg-basic-dietary-guidelines-which-diet-is-right-for-you/
Also, here are Jini’s low residue diet suggestions https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/jinis-low-residue-diet/
And how and when to use bowel rest which you may find helpful since you were doing juicing 🙂
https://blog.listentoyourgut.com/how-when-to-use-bowel-rest-for-ibd/
I second the notion of yours that I hope people learn this info sooner than later to not suffer. Learn from my own experiences and mistakes, so you don’t have to go through them!
As regards bentonite clay, it sounds like for you it did wonders which is fabulous! If, however, you do ever have a problem or, in this case (it’s lost with your move), I would also highly recommend these two products, which are both binders! GI DETOX is a full spectrum binder, so it’s great, but many can be very powerful. But these are in capsule form, so for some, they are easier to consume for many people. Just thought I’d add that in case you need it! And drink tons of water with all of these 🙂
https://amzn.to/3bVb0dP
https://amzn.to/3wvMlV6
When it comes to die-off reactions, I 100% know what you are experiencing! But I think what you did with the binder is a great start! When I was getting die-off reactions, I would go on Jini’s elemental diet, do an infrared sauna as often as I could as well as use a small amount of liver tone (only 1-3 drops) https://shoppe.listentoyourgut.com/natures-answer-liver-tone-alcohol-free-extract-1-fl-oz/ This would help me properly detox so I wouldn’t feel so crummy. This was in addition to the binders! Initially, you may feel worse when you detox but then begin to feel better, but the above should help with the severity of reactions!
We also have a great series and Q and A section on our YouTube channel that you can check out where we answer questions from our readers. We have one coming out soon on bentonite clay and a HERX reaction one reader got on it, and how I navigated that personally. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhCVMUC8Q2s&t=326s
I hope nothing for the best for you and your health!
Linsy
Hi Linsy and Jini,
I am in a bit of a crises and needing some feed back as to whether you have seen this before. I want to be brief, so will try to be concise. UC, left sided, 4 years ago diagnosed. Bad reaction to steroids and aminosalicylates that were prescribed. UC developed due to food poisoning episode and huge “safety” stress at the time. Decided to heal myself, changed diet to totally plant based, used some clinical trialed supplements, including all the probiotics studied in university trials up to 2020 I could find. Did really well for those years, some small flares, but changed things and would swing backto remisssion. Primary issues at start and in flare ups were frequent and urgent diarrhea, blood, splenic flexure pain, low sigmoid colon pain. Fast forward to end of this November. Started having tenesmus, then gas with stool expulsion while standing, and constant spasm in rectum. Went on an elemental diet, plant based ensure drinks and clear veggie broth for 2 weeks. Felt great, no symptoms at all!I Easy bowel movement once a day. Early last week was turned on to Jini’s Listen To Your Gut by naturopath friend. Researched whole site, bought ebooks and ordered 3 probiotic strains she suggested – acidoph, bifid, bulgar. Did not get Natren, as could not afford. Friday probiotics arrived, made yogurt in plant based milk with one capsule to ensure potency. Solidifed in 2 hours. Saturday took 2 capsules – equivalent of 2 billion CFU of each strain – in water on empty stomach. 3 hours later began to feel really bad. Urgent frequent diarrhea, intense left juncture pain, rectal pain and what felt like rectal blockage, lots of blood, cold sweats, nauseous, dizzy, feverish. Did not take anymore probiotics. Have been in same situation now for 5 days, not alleviating, though certain the probiotics are out of system.The chills, fever, etc. have abated, but blood pressure and heart rate change (BP low, heart rate increases) when on toilet and weakness. Have toilet foot stand and squat when defecating, finding best position and deep breathing into relaxing muscles. Using abdominal massage and also massage around rectum. Blockage feels like it is on outer left of colon, towards hip. The blockage feels like in start of sigmoid colon, as using comfrey salve on finger and no pain or pouching in first 3 inches of rectum, but pain at very tip where sigmoid starts. I keep a daily journal, have for years, and there were no other changes, from Saturday, than the probiotics to what I ingested. No extra stress (other than feeling this horrible!) had occurred at start either. Just wondering if anyone has experienced this type of intense reaction to such a minimal dose of these 3 strains of probiotics? As well how one determines whether they have a fissure, an abscess, or a stricture without resorting to invasive sigmoidoscopy?
Whew, that was a lot for you ladies! I really appreciate any perspective or thoughts you may have.
Thanks so much!!!
Hi Pam! So sorry to hear this. Unfortunately, we cannot comment on whichever probiotics you took as we are only familiar with Natren brand. Natren is the only brand that Jini recommends, and that has a long-term history of therapeutic potency and safety. If you subscribe to a service like Consumer Reports, for example, you will see that most probiotics do not even contain what is listed on the label, so you really have no proof of what you consumed, without further investigation, or having the product tested by an independent lab.
To clear any kind of intestinal infection, or overgrowth of bad bacteria, many people use Jini’s wild oregano oil protocol – but again, only the brands recommended by Jini. When you are able to start Natren, it’s recommended to start with an extremely low dose of only ONE strain. I actually started with just a pinch myself, as I was extremely sensitive. You can start as low as a pinch and SLOWLY work your way up to the desired dosage of that strain, THEN add in the next – and so on and so forth.
When Jini began taking Natren she could only tolerate 1/16th of a dose for a while until her body acclimated. It took me months just to get to a ‘starting dose’ because I also had extreme reactions like you. So if I was you, when you can afford Natren (its well worth it) try one strain at a time and slowly increase until your extreme symptoms stop. All my best!
Hi Linsy,
I am having a hard time increasing the dose of the probiotics – I started with 1/16th teaspoon of Megadophilus at bedtime but every time I increase, I get so bloated and constipated. I stayed at 1/16th teaspoon of Megadophilus then added B. Infantis 1/16th teaspoon and I felt good. My symptoms were gone the following day. So I increased the B Infantis to 1/8th teaspoon with the 1/16th Megadophilus and I was fine. Then I increased to 1/4 teaspoon with 1/16th of Megadophilus and I had bloating and constipation again. I went back to 1/16th of B Infantis with 1/16th of Megadophilus and I am OK. I am taking 10 drops of WOO 3x a day with no issues.But I am concern that if I am not supplementing with probiotics enough, my gut might become more unbalanced. How did you balance increasing probiotics and WOO? If I stay on high dose WOO and low dose probiotics, would that create a problem?
Also, I am thinking of doing a week of elemental diet to see if I can have a better chance of ramping up the probiotic dose if my gut is at rest more. Did you take probiotics while on the elemental diet?
Thanks.
Hi! Great questions!
If it were me, I wouldn’t worry about the probiotic dosage versus the wild oregano. As long as you are taking the probiotics and WOO 1.5-2 hours apart, remember to never take them at the same time! I had a very similar journey and I just really had to listen to my body and its needs, as a top priority. rather than push an agenda!
The fact that you are getting the doses in on a consistent basis is the more important part, not so much the amount 🙂
If I were you, I would just keep going and accept that it takes as long as it takes. It may be worthwhile to try an elemental diet and see how that works as everyone’s system is different. The only way is to test it and see if it helps. In the meantime if you get reactions when increasing amounts, perhaps look into opening your detox pathways, this is what I ALWAYS did. So what I did was infrared saunas, Epsom salt baths, and grounding to stop reactions and help with discomfort.
Much Love!
Hi Linsy,
Thank you so much! This is very helpful. Yes, I am thinking of taking chlorophyll to see if it might help with the detox. I listened to the podcast of Jini with Dr. Dean and Phoschol was mentioned. I will try it as I feel that my cells definitely need help with repair and regeneration to function better. For Absorb Plus, I can tolerate the Unsweetened Vanilla but I am a bit concern if elemental diet could feed yeast more.
Thanks again.
Claire
Hi Linsy,
I looked into grounding and I am interested to try it. But it is winter and I stay indoor most of the time. Have you used some things for grounding inside your home? Are you familiar with the products on this website?https://www.earthing.com/collections/all?sort_by=best-selling
Thanks.
Thank you for your comment. Linsy suggested that grounding indoors is a good alternative when outdoor grounding is not possible due to unfavorable weather conditions. She uses a grounding tool daily on her work desk to eliminate negative energy emitted from electronic devices, such as computers. Here’s the URL for the tool she uses: https://hoogahealth.com/products/hooga-grouding-mat. I hope this helps!