This should probably be labeled under TMI. But I feel that this series of entries may be able to help many individuals out.
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I was planning to lay this down in one concise article, but things are progressing too quickly and the facts are too diverse. So, in a multi-part series, I’m going to be detailing my medical history, explaining the clusterfuck that is the modern hospital, medication, insurance, and the real answer to our longevity. I’m not a medical expert by any means, but have always had a love for the body’s biology.
Fact: our genes are mutable.
Fact: 46% of Americans take at least one prescription drug daily.
Fact: we have the technology and knowledge to decode our genetic makeup on an individual basis.
My history:
| 4 years of age: |
Contracted Mononucleosis. |
| 5 years of age: |
“Mono” was still running rampant. |
| 6 years of age: |
Contracted Mono, again, despite that being “impossible.” |
| 7 years of age: |
Started to have normal levels of epstein-barr virus. |
| 10-13: |
Chronic fatigue and general chronic illness. Resting heart rate around 170bpm. My exercising heart rate was 220bpm. |
| 13-16: |
Spouts of heart palpitations and racing heart beats (tachycardia). |
| 17-19: |
“Anxiety” issues. Neurologist prescribed Celexa (citalopram), discontinued 2 months after use. Also tried a beta blocker for heart issues, which did not do much. I generally felt “okay.” But I never felt right. Many OCD like symptoms began to creep into my day to day life. Social situations were impossible for me. |
| 20: |
Swore off drugs of any kind and moved to NYC. A hard place to swear off drugs. I became a very good photographer and started a very successful retouching studio. |
| 21: |
Woke up in a panic in the middle of the night clenching my chest with my heart beating so fast I thought I really was going to die. After being admitted to the ER, they could not remedy my heart rate of 170bpm. After giving me Ativan, I fell asleep and my heart rate continued at 140bpm, while I was sleeping. I was admitted. After numerous tests, they told me what I could have diagnosed, “you have a fast heart rate,” and kicked me out with a bottle of Atenolol, a extremely generic beta-blocker. Inefficient and physiologically conflicting. |
| 22: |
My birthday was soon after the incident at the hospital which spawned a year of change and research. Nightmares ensued from the Atenolol. I discontinued its use (which was somewhat difficult). I was basically useless for a good few months. I failed a tilt-table test miserably; and proceeded to find a doctor in Alabama, specializing in Dysautonomia – a diagnosis most heart doctors shove off as a myth, yet that nearly every astronaut experiences. I was prescribed a different betablocker, Zebeta, Lexapro, and Klonopin. My dosages were 5mg, 20mg, and 1mg, respectively. |
| 22.5: |
I began to come out of my “life coma”. But I knew things were not right. So, I began searching for something more. I wanted to feel alive. I didn’t want to rely on a pharmaceutical companies for the rest of my life. I knew there was a bigger picture to be seen. |
| 22.5-24: |
I discovered nutrigenomics with the help of Dr. Roberts. |
That’s my background. You probably didn’t want to know, but what I’ll describe in the next few installments may save your life – it saved mine.
An attempted layman’s explanation:
Let’s start with my symptoms. Dysautonomia: compromising, POTS, mitral valve prolapse (MVP), heart palpitations, premature heart beats, general tachychardia, and all the fun stuff that comes along with that, depression, anxiety, etc. It’s tough to swallow, but the nervous system is one delicate beast. Brilliantly engineered to constantly balance, but throw one variable out of whack and the whole system flips on its side.
Basically, it’s an imbalance in the conscious and unconscious autonomic nervous systems (parasympathetic and sympathetic).
What causes it?
Genetics. Stress. Anything can cause it, really. What we’ll find out is that, your genes and previous medical encounters play a huge role in the serverity, frequency, and duration.
So, what can you do about it?
The basic strategy that any doctor who acknowledges the disorder will do is presribe medications to counter-act any bad things. A betablocker to slow down your heart, lexapro for depression and fainting (vasovagal syncope), and klonopin to “reset your clock” and slightly stone you out.
My next thought was: so, why do I still feel like crap? “Cause your trying to cover up the real problems with drugs,” was my only answer. The drugs brought my day-to-day life back to a semi-acceptable norm, but not something that would allow me to function at the level I felt was acceptable.
And, like magic, I stumbled upon a certified cardiologist who didn’t mind thinking outside the box.
More to come…
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