The Dark Side of Detox

The unexpected emotional and physical challenges of the Medical Medium’s 3:6:9 cleanse — and the lasting results

Introduction

A few months back, I called a friend to catch up and share some disappointing news: after taking multiple treatments at a Lyme clinic with an 80–90% success rate, my lingering symptoms were unaffected. Though my arthritis had basically healed through lifestyle changes, my exhaustion, digestive issues, and dampened immune system had not and even my doctor was puzzled.

My friend had been on a long journey herself to heal cancer and knew better than anyone the frustration of feeling medically stuck. But this time, she was upbeat and excited to share a book that had transformed her own health recently: “Medical Medium Cleanse to Heal” by Anthony Williams, popularly known as the Medical Medium.

I looked up “Cleanse to Heal” and was impressed by what I saw. The book has an average rating of 4.7 stars with over 16,500 reviews and testimonials, overwhelmingly positive. As I downloaded a sample and began reading, I was fascinated by how the author explains chronic illnesses such as Lyme disease. Williams attributes the source of chronic Lyme symptoms not to bacteria, but to aggressive variants of Epstein Barr virus- which I had tested positively for in the past- combined with toxins and heavy metals that congest the liver and block healing.

The only thing about the book that gave me pause was the author’s source: an internal voice he refers to as “Spirit.” Though spirituality has always been an important part of my life, the analytical part of my mind struggled with what the author acknowledges as “…therapies that may not be mainstream or well-documented by researchers yet.”

But given the overwhelmingly positive reviews and comment headings such as “It healed my ‘incurable’ chronic illness,” “so incredibly helpful, and really effective,” and “It works!!” by those who had tried it, I was willing to give it a shot. Besides, I knew after four years of Lyme treatment that conventional medicine had nothing to offer me in healing a chronic illness, so my only hope was to try something new.

The Rollercoaster of Detox

On a Monday morning when I felt ready and had all of the necessary ingredients, I started the Medical Medium’s intensive 3:6:9 cleanse, which focuses on liver and heavy metal detox to improve overall health. I began my day with lemon water, celery juice, and a heavy metal detox smoothie. As I drove to the market to get more apples and celery before work, I was in a great mood and looking forward to seeing improvements in my body as the cleanse progressed.

That’s why what happened a few hours later caught me by surprise.

Driving home from a quick appointment in the afternoon, heavy thoughts began to cloud my mind: Why hadn’t I done enough that day? Why hadn’t I done more in the past few years even? As I took a deep breath and tried to shift my focus to the music playing on the radio, waves of anger and anxiety arose. Rolling down the highway with the music turned up, I screamed to let out of my body whatever was aggravating it. The internal storm continued over the next few hours as I alternated between anger and exhaustion, one moment wanting to scream and the next feeling as though a paperweight had been dropped on my brain and I couldn’t seem to do anything.

That night, I pushed through my remaining work and went to sleep around 8 pm. The next day, the pattern repeated itself. Shortly after I drank the heavy metal detox smoothie, the dark thoughts came, followed by anger, followed by exhaustion. Every day as I went online for work, I pulled together all my energy and focus to get everything done before I fell asleep again.

It was an emotional rollercoaster I hadn’t been on since my early days of Lyme disease treatment. At that time, emotions would overwhelm me with no obvious cause, leading me to punch a pillow or cry to get some relief. I never knew whether the emotions were caused by the Lyme itself or the medications, which were known for causing strong Herxheimer (die-off) reactions. I couldn’t tell whether I was getting worse or getting better, as both felt equally uncomfortable.

Three years later, going into the cleanse, my health was significantly better thanks to lifestyle changes, but all the old emotions reared their heads again. The same spiraling thoughts, sudden anger, and depression that I thought I had moved past. The same total exhaustion. Of all the reviews I had read, I had only seen beaming faces and success stories, no mentions of feeling like hell.

I turned to the Medical Medium himself to see if he made any mention of intense emotions related to detox. In a chapter titled, “The Emotional Side of Detox” in the book, he shares the following:

“We live with a lot stored up inside of us- emotions, toxins, viruses, unproductive bacteria- and they’re more tied up with each other than anyone realizes.

If someone feels sicker during a cleanse and they’re dealing with more pronounced fatigue, it’s.a sign they’ve been viral for a very long time…When they cleanse, it’s bringing out even more neurotoxins. Tricky as this is, it’s what we need to do to heal. We need viruses to die, and when they die, they’re going to release neurotoxins and dermatoxins.”

Light at the End of the tunnel

Despite the fatigue and heaviness, I felt pushing through the cleanse, shifts in my body began to appear. My digestion was clearer and better, my joints felt more elastic and hydrated, and- unexpectedly- the bags under my eyes disappeared and my skin began to glow.

After observing my cleanse with some skepticism, my Mom looked at me over dinner one evening and commented, “You’re glowing. Your skin looks the best I’ve ever seen it.” I looked in the mirror and saw she was right. My cheeks were pink and my skin looked soft and hydrated. The deep circles I had carried under my eyes for the past decade- which the Medical Medium attributes to a congested liver and bloodstream- had faded away.

Though I didn’t have the foresight to take identical photos before and after the cleanse to document changes, below are photos taken before and towards the end of the cleanse, both without makeup. Despite differences in lighting conditions, the bags under my eyes and overall skin quality are noticeably better in the second photo.

I was still falling asleep by 8 pm most nights and worried about my total loss of energy- but the improvements I saw were enough to give me hope and keep me going.

Post-Cleanse Insights

Two weeks out of the cleanse, I finally feel I have enough perspective to give it an honest review:

A few days after completing the Medical Medium 3:6:9 cleanse, my skin is still bright, the dark circles are still gone, and my joints feel lubricated and more elastic (not 100% dexterity, but closer to it), and my digestion is improving. After a short break, I’m going to restart the cleanse again, this time with my Mom joining. After observing the shifts in my health during the first cleanse- including my mood swings and exhaustion- she went from being a supportive skeptic to a curious participant.

More importantly, I want to share what others left out of their reviews, which I wish I had known the first time around:

• You’ll feel worse before you feel better: In order for toxins and pathogens to come out of your body, they must first be released into the bloodstream and removal pathways. As the Medical Medium and many functional medicine practitioners note, this process can cause intense emotional and physical symptoms. Hydrate extra to help your body clear itself more easily.
• You’ll feel exhausted: My exhaustion lasted not only during the cleanse, but for a few days after. Though I can appreciate in retrospect the amount of work my body was doing during that time, I wish I had prepared ahead of time and cleared my schedule ahead of time to give myself a chance to rest.
• Your feelings and sense of self may be shaken up: The most surprising lesson I learned was how intensely the chemical effects of detox could stir up feelings. Old emotions- anger, sadness, disappointment, frustration- came out of nowhere and brought up painful memories of the past. As suddenly as they came, they were gone. If you’re entering into any sort of detox, give yourself space to let these pass through without attachment. Scream in loud traffic, punch a pillow, cry if you need to, and don’t take it personally.

And finally,

• Be very kind to yourself as you allow a cleanse to heal your body. Give yourself permission to do what feels like nothing — to the extent you’re able- since your body is already doing a huge amount. And celebrate the determination and personal investment it takes to stay on course until you’ve made it to the other side.