If you’ve ever started a detox, a gut protocol, or a hormone-balancing plan — and felt worse instead of better — this post is for you.
Take my 3 minute quiz “Are my drainage pathways blocked” to see what your symptoms are telling you!
Feeling foggy, bloated, or itchy when you're trying to “get healthier” isn’t just bad luck or a healing crisis. It’s often a sign that your drainage pathways aren’t open — and your body can’t keep up with clearing the waste.
Let’s break down what that means, how to spot the signs, and what you can do to support drainage before diving into deeper detox work.
Wait… What Are Drainage Pathways?
Think of drainage as your body's built-in plumbing system — the way it gets rid of waste, toxins, and byproducts of daily metabolism.
The three main pathways are:
Bowel Movements (via the colon)
Peeing (via the kidneys/bladder)
Sweating (via the skin)
When these systems are moving well, toxins have an exit.
When they’re sluggish, your body starts recirculating things it’s trying to get rid of — like excess estrogen, bacterial toxins, histamine, and heavy metals.
Detox ≠ Drainage
Detoxification, scientifically and medically called biotransformation, happens at the cellular level. But those cells can’t do their job if there’s nowhere for the toxins to go.
That’s why I always say:
Drainage is the first step of detox.
If you skip it, you’re more likely to experience symptoms like:
Die-off reactions
Worsened bloating
Hormone flare-ups
New food sensitivities
Crashes in energy and mood
🔍 8 Signs Your Drainage Pathways May Be Blocked
Let’s look at the subtle (and not-so-subtle) ways your body might be waving a red flag:
1. You’re Not Having a Daily Bowel Movement
Even if you think you're regular, ask yourself:
Are you pooping 1–3 well-formed, easy-to-pass stools per day?
Constipation is the #1 sign that your primary drainage route is sluggish.
2. You’re Bloating After Most Meals
If you bloat even when eating healthy, or feel pressure in your belly by evening, it could be due to toxins, bacteria, or histamine in fecal matter not being cleared well.
3. You Feel Foggy or Wired But Tired
Brain fog, mental fatigue, or feeling amped up but exhausted may point to poor lymphatic or glymphatic drainage. The glymphatic system is the brain’s own detox system, which drains into the lymphatic system, and eventually gets processed by the liver. If the colon is backed up, it stagnates the liver, and then slows down lymph and eventually the glymphatic system and brain are impacted.
4. You Don’t Sweat (Even When You Should)
Sweating is a major detox pathway. If you don’t sweat easily during exercise or in the heat, your body may be struggling to clear things through the skin, or your thyroid may be playing a role in sluggish liver and gallbladder function, which is critical for drainage and detoxification!
5. You Wake Up at 2–4 a.m.
Waking between 2–4 a.m. can be a liver stress sign. Your liver does major detox work overnight — and if it’s overburdened, your sleep may suffer.
6. Your Skin Is Breaking Out, Itchy, or Inflamed
Rashes, acne, eczema, or itchy skin can be the result of toxins being pushed out through the skin when other pathways are blocked.
7. You React Poorly to Supplements or Detox Support
If supportive supplements like magnesium or NAC makes you feel worse, it might be because your body is mobilizing toxins it can’t actually eliminate. As in, it’s trying to “detox” before it can actually drain toxins.
8. You’ve Tried a Detox Before… and Felt Awful
This is the biggest red flag. If you’ve done a liver cleanse, juice fast, or gut protocol and felt exhausted, moody, or itchy — your body may not have been ready.
🧪 Want to Know For Sure? Take the Quiz
If you’re nodding along to this list and wondering “How blocked am I?”
👉 Take my ‘Are Your Drainage Pathways Open?’ quiz here.
It takes less than 3 minutes and helps you identify where your detox pathways might be getting stuck and I’ll share my favorite strategies to support drainage right to your inbox.