So there you go, 2 supplements a day, not too bad right? With methylation (and hence immunity) and detoxification supported, we've got both biochemistry and physiology supported. The beauty of this approach is that it's a golden parachute lying in wait if/when you need it. CFIDS and many other chronic illnesses are most often triggered by a stressor, whether it be an infection, physical injury, or emotional stress. Although we can't prevent coming down with infections without effective vaccines, we can try to limit their severity by modulating the immune response and prevent future reactivation of viral and bacterial infections.
In the perfectly healthy person, there are tons of viruses, but they're latent and don't cause any damage. We should never hope to eradicate infections altogether, but rather to put our immune system in a position to be the puppeteer at all times.
Now I've mentioned supporting the body's basic mechanisms a few times. Of course supplements are great, but the truth is, there is no supplement that can do your body's job as well as...your body. So here's the big kicker: if we know, either through testing or just paying attention to reactions, that our body doesn't agree with our level of stress yet we continue pushing, taking supplements is an exercise in futility.
3) Lifestyle modifications. Once again, the cheapest and most effective method of preventative healthcare. Maybe not the easiest, but hey that's what we patients/canaries in the coal mine are for right? We're here to tell you, "it can happen to you if you don't do ___." Fact: most patients of CFIDS have type A personalities--hard-charging, physically-active, ambitious, never satisfied. Chronic Fatigue sounds like a disease tailor-made for sloths, but lazy people do not get CFIDS, or at least I haven't met a single one in 2.5 years of communication. Ironic huh?
So that tells us one thing: you don't get this disease from sitting around and being content. But that's exactly what some of us need to be: content. I used to spend last remaining days at work dreaming about joining the Peace Corps and going to Africa; I wanted to join book clubs, rock-climb, hire a private trainer for basketball, sing in an SF a capella group, and train for a triathlon on top of that. But now, I'd smile for days if I could just walk...for however long I want, wherever I want, and not have to sit or lie down. See, perspective is all it takes for us to be content. We've become so spoiled as a society that no one's ok with being a specialist anymore, bless your soul, Adam Smith. Instead, we're obsessed with being jacks of all trades and still masters of some, a daunting task on paper if you ask me. Find out how much you can do without feeling rundown (not falling asleep in class every day like I did is a good sign), and be content becoming the best you can be, not what you feel you should have to be.
SLEEP A LOT. Enough to feel well-rested every morning. This underrated act has been the most important step in my recovery thus far besides antibiotics. Restorative sleep can mean the difference between staying home in pain for the rest of the day and getting out for some errands. Obviously my body is more sensitive, but the biology is sleep is the same for all of us: sleep regulates the body's production of growth hormones (the "master" hormone) and affects the brain's production of nerve cells. If I were Keanu Reeves (Ted and Neo both get to transcend the space-time continuum), I'd go back in time to make sure I got 8 hours a day. At all costs.
Don't exercise when you're tired or sick. Remember: no runner's high can escape the hard fact that exercise suppresses the immune system, especially in the morning (by virtue of raising cortisol levels). If you insist on sweating it out, use a sauna, burrito yourself in blankets, or lie out in the sun. Just no exertion. And when you're healthy, exercise all you want. Just don't let me see you doing it cuz I might trip you outta jealousy.
A few basic tips that are by no means easy to implement, but who knows, they might just save your life.
Now I've mentioned supporting the body's basic mechanisms a few times. Of course supplements are great, but the truth is, there is no supplement that can do your body's job as well as...your body. So here's the big kicker: if we know, either through testing or just paying attention to reactions, that our body doesn't agree with our level of stress yet we continue pushing, taking supplements is an exercise in futility.
3) Lifestyle modifications. Once again, the cheapest and most effective method of preventative healthcare. Maybe not the easiest, but hey that's what we patients/canaries in the coal mine are for right? We're here to tell you, "it can happen to you if you don't do ___." Fact: most patients of CFIDS have type A personalities--hard-charging, physically-active, ambitious, never satisfied. Chronic Fatigue sounds like a disease tailor-made for sloths, but lazy people do not get CFIDS, or at least I haven't met a single one in 2.5 years of communication. Ironic huh?
So that tells us one thing: you don't get this disease from sitting around and being content. But that's exactly what some of us need to be: content. I used to spend last remaining days at work dreaming about joining the Peace Corps and going to Africa; I wanted to join book clubs, rock-climb, hire a private trainer for basketball, sing in an SF a capella group, and train for a triathlon on top of that. But now, I'd smile for days if I could just walk...for however long I want, wherever I want, and not have to sit or lie down. See, perspective is all it takes for us to be content. We've become so spoiled as a society that no one's ok with being a specialist anymore, bless your soul, Adam Smith. Instead, we're obsessed with being jacks of all trades and still masters of some, a daunting task on paper if you ask me. Find out how much you can do without feeling rundown (not falling asleep in class every day like I did is a good sign), and be content becoming the best you can be, not what you feel you should have to be.
SLEEP A LOT. Enough to feel well-rested every morning. This underrated act has been the most important step in my recovery thus far besides antibiotics. Restorative sleep can mean the difference between staying home in pain for the rest of the day and getting out for some errands. Obviously my body is more sensitive, but the biology is sleep is the same for all of us: sleep regulates the body's production of growth hormones (the "master" hormone) and affects the brain's production of nerve cells. If I were Keanu Reeves (Ted and Neo both get to transcend the space-time continuum), I'd go back in time to make sure I got 8 hours a day. At all costs.
Don't exercise when you're tired or sick. Remember: no runner's high can escape the hard fact that exercise suppresses the immune system, especially in the morning (by virtue of raising cortisol levels). If you insist on sweating it out, use a sauna, burrito yourself in blankets, or lie out in the sun. Just no exertion. And when you're healthy, exercise all you want. Just don't let me see you doing it cuz I might trip you outta jealousy.
A few basic tips that are by no means easy to implement, but who knows, they might just save your life.