That was a lifetime ago. However, I still clearly remember those past events.
I was diagnosed with a benign tumor. I started poisoning myself with various drugs, the disease persisted (or rather it did not give a darn). It progressed steadily and incessantly. My doctors only cared about performance of paid diagnostics (irrespective of whether it was necessary or not). When diagnostics was over they refused to answer any of my questions. They tried to persuade me that BPH was untreatable and the best way (for them) was to perform repeated analyses (every day). And if you don’t want to do it, you should reconcile yourself to fate, join the ranks of those who suffer (hundreds of thousands of them), and finally let surgeons cut your prostatic gland out.
I did not want to join the ranks of potentially disabled. I began looking for means of treatment or at least partial alleviation of symptoms. I reached the point of where I was ready to try any extreme, if only it was rational.
I talked to my friends and made a conclusion that long-term starvation is the most acceptable option.
Full rejection of any food for a long term is considered curable (these are not my words). Long term means for 10 days, 30 – 40 days or even longer. After completion of the cycle you will need to follow a certain rational diet approximately for the same period (this is called exiting the starvation). In general you will have a difficult time to put it mildly.
Frankly speaking once I decided to visit a private clinic to get a consult out of naivety or stupidity (probably both). At that time I thought that doctors usually have something useful to recommend. Certainly I was wrong. I only wasted my money.
Therapeutic fasting
Well, starvation. Having thought about it for while I decided to try it.
The chain is no stronger as its weakest link. It was scary. Only stupid people are not afraid. What if long-term starvation will trigger some complication or other disease? From the very beginning I realized that I was responsible for my health. That is why I needed to be rational, not only starve myself.
I admit that I did not set myself the task of long term starvation. I tried to hold for ten days or so. I could not even think of more than fifteen days. I imagined worn face, staggering gait, and frequent losses of consciousness. But I managed to hold for 24 days. It was really difficult. Sometimes more than difficult. But possible. When I starved I managed to complete all my work and to help my wife with household chores (with efforts, of course). Starvation may be considered a rest for many body organs, but it is certainly a challenge for spirit. In my normal life I did not suffer from lack of appetite. I felt hungry every day: on the first day of starvation as well as on the last day (for some reason many people claim the opposite). I did not have time for preparation. Today I recommend to those who decide to try this method that they should prepare themselves for couple of weeks and try 24-hour starvation couple of times. I do not recommend starving for people with low weight.
24 days of complete starvation and 24 days of exiting from starvation. 48 days in total. Let me describe the chronology and my sensations.
2nd – 24th day. Stable depression. Any communication annoyed me. When I moved I always felt heaviness in my muscles, discomfort in joints. I needed effort for every step. Permanent dehydration. I experienced rare short-term vertigo. I administered an enema once every five days. Now I think I could have skipped that (when I started using boiled water that was already unnecessary). You should not disturb microscopic flora of your rectum, though this aspect is purely personal.
2nd – 48th day. You should control your heart rate and arterial pressure, especially after first meals.
2nd – 14th day. Maximum weight loss, up to 16% (total weight loss – 21%). Attention! This figure includes fat and water.
4th day. Impairment of vision. I felt recovery almost immediately when I started eating (on the 27th day).
13th – 21st day. Crucial point. I got a second wind and got used to difficulties in movement. I braced myself (successfully). 50% of the task is done.
15th day. Slight but ceaseless bleeding of the gums (imagine my bad breath; I had to stop communicating with people), vitamin deficiency (I immediately remembered about scurvy, but I wasn’t scared). I woke up at night 2 or 3 times to wash my mouth in order to alleviate unpleasant sensations and dry mouth (I did not want to drink). Bleeding stopped completely on the 34th day.
22nd – 24th day. The most difficult days. Unstable state of mind. Unconscious fear to catch some other disease. Desire to stop the test. Strong pressure from relatives. They begged me to stop.
25th day. Starvation has ended. I performed transrectal ultrasound once again. My doctor told me that my prostate decreased in size.
Nutrition. I was told to start from fresh juice. I tried drinking juice, but in one day I understood that such diet is disgusting. The next day I tried fruits, vegetables and porridge. My menu was simple. For example, mashed potatoes and tomatoes or boiled rice with carrot or pumpkin with apples, any porridge with olives. Onions are mandatory. Stomach that got disaccustomed to food might not digest certain products causing heartburn. Such products should be eliminated from your menu.
25th – 32nd day. Restoration of fluid balance. In seven days I gained 10% of my previous weight (This had nothing to do with fat. You just cannot accumulate that much fat in one week). Remember highlighted phrases. They are useful if you want to understand conclusions.
25th – 48th day. Consumption of meat, fish, and dairy products was restricted.
26th day. General well-being improved significantly. From that time I brought myself to thinking that I was glad that I managed to fulfill such a difficult task and that I could enjoy eating to fill my body with strength and energy.
27th – 32nd day. I added some salt, starchy food (rye bread), vegetable oil to my menu. Later I added various nuts and pumpkin seeds. Everything should be moderate.
49th day. I started eating products containing animal protein…
This is my point of view. I tried to explain it logically, but I suspect some people won’t like it. Such information involves many theories, developments, pamous (pompous) people, and hardcore followers.
However, I still believe that nobody should propagandize long-term starvation. Nobody knows how many lives it has claimed.
After every mistake an analysis should be made. Frankly speaking I never had any regrets about what I went through. At least I did not cross the line and I did not accumulate health problems. Success comes with hard work, thorough research, and overcoming obstacles. This test convinced me that if I accumulate enough knowledge, I can and I must fight benign prostatic hyperplasia. Rational diet and moderation in eating are fundamental factors of success. In my “Living without BPH” method I explain how to defeat the disease completely.
General conclusion should disprove the opinion of the majority. I claim that you cannot treat BPH with long-term starvation. Starvation only facilitates temporary alleviation of symptoms. I cannot call long-term starvation curable, because many people develop serious, unpredictable adverse effects.
Respectfully yours, Gennadiy Plotyan, the author, Kryviy Rih, Ukraine.