Today is our first day of fasting, and there is a system here at Buchinger-Wilhelmi.
The easy part
To start off the fasting, I was given two supplements to be taken through the duration of the fast.
- Basica Compact tablets to act as a buffer to prevent build up of uric acid. (my dosage – 2 tablets taken 3 times per day)
- Magnesium supplements to prevent magnesium depletion. (my dosage – 1 tablet taken in morning and evening)
Note that diabetics should take magnesium supplements anyway, as diabetics excrete magnesium along with the glucose through the urine.
The hard part
Warning: this is a bit gross.
Right after my morning nurse visit, I was given my Glauber salt. Basically, you get three things:
- A pitcher of salt water
- A glass of diluted lemon juice for taste (the salt water doesn’t taste so good)
- A pot of peppermint tea to drink ½ hour after the Glauber salt
Then I was instructed to stay by the toilet for the next 5 hours. Good advice.
For me, this wasn’t as bad as it sounded. While excreting liquid feces out my butthole is never pleasant, at least this was not accompanied by the chills or dizziness that comes with food poisoning. This was sort of a “clean” diarrhea experience, if there is such a thing! (Update: my wife read this and told me I omitted a key piece of packing advice. Bring Charmin from the US. The toilet paper here at the clinic is a bit “rough!”)
The doctor here told me that cleaning out the digestive system prevents people from getting hungry, and I have to admit that was true. I did not feel hungry at all.
That said, this is a pretty traumatic start, and both the doctors and nurses sagely advise to take it easy the day of Glauber salt. There are many activities on the calendar here at Buchinger Wilhelmi, and I didn’t take advantage of any of them today!
By 6pm, both my wife and I were ready to take our vegetable consommé in the salon. She had the pumpkin broth. I had the turnip broth. Both were good! We also got to meet a few folks who shared the common experience. I actually kind of enjoyed the bonding, and I think it’s a key part of the experience fasting as a group.
Results from morning nurse visit
- Blood pressure: 152/88 – basically unchanged
- Blood sugar: 121 – actually down from the day before despite all those carbs!
- Weight: 72.7kg (159.9 lbs) – down 0.8 kg from the day before
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