Everybody (or Every Body) Hurts Sometimes

Day 5 began with me feeling the worst that I have since beginning the master cleanse.  The lyrics of R.E.M.'s song, Everybody Hurts, might be a bit over the top compared to how I was feeling this morning, though.  The song talks more of an emotional hurt that brings on thoughts of ending your life but encourages you to 'hold on.'  Besides, it is not The End Of The World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine).

The pain I felt this morning was centered right in my abdomen.  I can only guess that people on the cleanse that feel this pain might very well consider stopping before the 10 days have lapsed, but it really wasn't bad enough for me to consider it.  Besides, I know exactly what caused it.  While on the master cleanse it is recommended that you use a laxative herbal tea to help get things moving.  The lack of solid food causes the intestines to take a break - peristalsis kind of stalls - because there is not much going on.  Unfortunately, your intestines have grown used to the built up wastes and no longer consider the need to evacuate it.  The master cleanse is designed to do that very thing, though.  Using a laxative of any sort - herbal or otherwise - essentially irritates the intestines.  It causes peristalsis to occur and encourages the built up wastes to move.
Not being a tea drinker, I opted to use a laxative in the form of a capsule.  Senna is one of the most common herbal laxatives on the market.  It is sold as a tea, capsule, and even as a syrup.  Tea is recommended so as to avoid any additional ingredients such as binders (tablet) or cellulose (capsule) but, as long as those are minimal, the alternatives are better than nothing.
I had previously used three capsules of the senna but it didn't really have much of an effect (the brand that I purchased recommended 2-4 capsules, once or twice a day) so I upped the dosage to 4 capsules last night.  This dose was certainly more effective but it accounts for the pain that I was feeling.  The only downside - if it really is a downside - is that I didn't do the salt water flush this morning.  The flush would certainly help clear out the wastes that the laxative-induced peristalsis freed up, but I just didn't think that I would be able to ingest that much water with the pain that I was feeling.  According to Tom Woloshyn's book, The Complete Master Cleanse: A Step-by-Step Guide to Maximizing the Benefits of The Lemonade Diet, the salt water flush need not be done everyday during the cleanse.