Early Days

When did it all start? I don't know. At least by the time I was a young child in 1970's America I was having some issues. When I was four or five I had a large bullseye bug bite (unlikely a tick). I remember being really stressed in first grade (it seemed odd to me at the time also). By the time I left elementary school my muscles were constantly tight and I had a hunched posture. I wouldn't let my parents give me a shoulder massage because it hurt. It seemed I had colds all winter. My skin was yellowish. I got diarrhea whenever I had a test at school even though I didn't feel worried. I was a straight A student despite this, but with severe social anxiety. I definitely was different, but didn't know why.

Things got worse in college where I developed very painful RSI. I had to give up a computer science degree due to the pain. I worked in the tech industry but eventually had to take temporary disability. I became self-employed so I could work around my health issues.

I got such limited help from the medical profession that I basically stopped going to doctors. What was the point of paying to not be listened to, or understood, or helped? Frequent massage therapy kept my muscles going.

Almost two decades ago, I discovered that what I was eating was affecting my congestion level and I began experimenting with different foods. My eyes were opened to the fact that I had a lot more control than I realized. That was the beginning of my wide ranging and time consuming search for answers. I became my own research project and scientific experiment to figure out what was going on in my body. How could I find relief from the near constant pain and fatigue – or at least understand what was wrong?

After some recent breakthroughs, I feel that I am finally starting to understand my mysterious chronic health problems – which should give me the knowledge I need to reach my best achievable health. My plan is to continue to get healthier as I age!

I'll get more into the questions that my story raises in future posts. Why did my family not recognize how sick I was when I was younger? Why did doctors keep telling me I looked perfectly healthy and not take my complaints seriously? Why have most of my labs been normal? Why has this taken decades? And if you have a mysterious chronic illness, what can you learn from my mistakes and successes?