Wow, we went for the first of a four treatment Colonic Irrigation course yesterday. We have been talking about it for quite some time and we finally found somewhere local.

Colonic Irrigation, or colon hydrotherapy as it is properly known, has many benefits. You can read more about the actual treatment and benefits at the Association of Colon Hydrotherapists.

Someone recommended Pamela Chambers to us, who works from home in Camberley (01276 500470 - don’t forget to mention Truly Scrumptious).

Pam was great; she really put me at ease and after taking some information about me, the foods that I eat and about my medical history, etc. I began to feel quite comfortable, considering what was about to happen.

The Colonic Irrigation Treatment

The actual colonic irrigation treatment was better than I was expecting. I was asked to take off my clothes (bottom half) and sit on the side of the bed with a towel over me, whilst I was left in the room on my own.

Them Pam came in and asked me to lie on my side, poking out my bottom to the side with the towel still over me. She explained at each time what she was going to do.

Basically, she inserted a tube about 25mm diameter into my anus. Sounds gross, but it wasn’t so painful. When the tube is inserted, it goes in about one or two inches, you hardly feel it in there.

The tube is split into two cavities inside and has an ‘in’ and an ‘out’. The ‘in’ is where the water goes in and the ‘out’ is where the waste comes out.

She did warn me as the water was gently turned on. The first thing that tends to come out is gas. I didn’t see any of it but you could feel it ‘popping’ through the tube.

Having water pumped up your back-side doesn’t feel pleasant, but it doesn’t hurt either. Everyone is different but after the gas, nothing came out for a while so she turned the ‘out’ pipe off and kept gently pumping in water. This built up a certain amount of pressure, which was a little uncomfortable but after about a minute, she opened the ‘out’ valve again. She also started to rub my hip, which started some movement. I was expecting it to smell but it was very clinical with no smell or leakage.

After five minutes or so, Pam asked me to roll onto my back carefully and then proceeded to massage my colon, just above the pelvic bone. I could literally feel waste moving out and down through the pipe.

I stayed on my back for about five minutes and than rolled back on my side for a couple more. The actual treatment took about 35 minutes.

Pam gently removed the rod, which was okay and then I stood up to go the to the bathroom. Again, I was expecting it all to leak, but I managed to walk across to the toilet taking my time (not rushing with legs clenched).

This is just to get rid of all the remaining water and is a little bit like having a wee out of your bum (yeh, I know it sounds gross - I’m only telling you so you know the in’s and out’s if you fancy it).

When I finished I had a look and could see little bits of very solid waste in the toilet pan. Because of the nooks and crannys in your colon (see this diagram of a colon), some of the waste can stay in you for quite some time so you may end up clearing some of that stuck on waste.

After the Colonic Treatment

One of the myths I busted for myself is that your bum leaks with water for the rest of the day - it doesn’t! I drove home afterwards feeling completely un-bloated but a little tired. I drank lots of water and my appetitive wasn’t great for the rest of the day (a pleasant side-effect?).

The next day, I woke up with more energy already. Colonic Irrigation is good for releasing toxin and allowing your body to soak in more nutrients from good food so I made sure I ate lots of quality food the next day, again drinking lots of water - which we should always do anyway.

Would I Recommend It?

If you are going because you think you will loose weight, don’t bother. If you feel bloated or don’t digest foods that well I would definitely try it. It’s not ‘addictive’ like some say and it doesn’t hurt so there is no damage that can come from it as long as you choose someone reputable.

The Association of Colonic Hydrotherapists have a list of Therapists all over the UK.