Fasting and Health

I was an active child. I played many sports in my youth, through high school. I even joined the USMC when I was 21, but shortly after that I started to have pain throughout my body. My feet were wracked with pain from nerve damage caused by high arches and no arch supports in the boots the military gave me.

By the time I was 23, I was home, but I tried to keep up with my sports. I played a variety of team sports and took up running 5k and 10k events as often as possible. By the time I was 25, the pain had spread throughout my body and the intensity of the pain was debilitating. By the time I was 32, I could no longer run, no longer play sports, and I was lost as to what was happening to me. I thought it was pain caused from playing all the different sports when I was younger.

I recall Feb 14th, 2012, I had gone out to dinner with my wife. I was in so much pain and my body were so stiff, that I could barely move. After dinner, which was sushi, I could not get up from the table. We began to discuss what was wrong with me and she suggested I investigate fibromyalgia.

My researched matched almost all the symptoms, but the problem is that fibromyalgia isn't a diagnosis. It is a term given to a general set of symptoms. Many people incorrectly say, "I have fibromyalgia" but that is like saying "I have a runny nose". What causes the runny nose? Allergies? Cold? Flu? If you are treating the symptoms, you aren't going to cure yourself.

In 2021, I was finally diagnosed with Gout. I had just switched doctors and my new doctor did not hesitate to tell me that I had Gout even without testing me. All the symptoms pointed to the disease, which I was told is the most misdiagnosed, most undiagnosed disease in America.

(Side story)

I had been seeing a doctor for over twenty years. I liked the doctor because he was friendly, but it took me twenty years to realize that this doctor, was shit. For the entire time that I was under their care, they rarely ever did blood work. They never did urine analysis. My condition only worsened, and I gained weight.

I can remember telling them the pain I was experiencing, and they did nothing to research it. No follow up. No effort to resolve the condition. In fact, when I talked about weight loss, they wanted to sell me this package deal with supplements and those pills to speed up your heart rate. BS.

I also noted that after I had the kidney stones, this doctor did not make any effort to follow up with me. They didn't even believe I had kidney stones. They didn't attempt to suggest I had them. I had to suggest that I find a Urologist because they made no effort to suggest seeing one. If this turd would have done their job, I might not be in the situation I am now.

In 2020 I had kidney stones and when I went to the Urologist they told me, “You have Gout".  Shortly after this, I switched doctors and I finally saw the light of how my previous doctor, I believe, deliberately was ignoring my condition. I should have been diagnosed with this disease twenty years ago. My father, who also used this doctor had similar health problems and even though he was never diagnosed with it, his symptoms were the same as mine.

(continued)

It took me over a year to realize that I had to become a vegetarian. I could no longer survive eating meat. I stopped slowly, removing various items from my diet. Eventually I found the pain dissipated. I started to feel better. I could walk again. I started to exercise. I lost weight.

I still have a long road to go. I want to get down to my high school weight. Yes, I know that sounds crazy, but that is my goal and if it takes me three years to do it I will continue to push until I reach it.

To kick start my change, today I am starting to fast. I will not consume any calories today except water or water with a non-sugar essential mineral additive. I will also be taking my supplements, which will assist in me keeping certain levels of salts or Vitamin C (extra)

I have learned to listen to my body. I can now notice certain things happening that cause me to take notice, when there is feeling that comes about during the day. How long does the feeling last? Is it sharp? Dull? What is the intensity.

I have learned that when you stop eating meat, after all those years of eating it, your body reacts to the loss of the protein. I've not yet resolved this problem. Because of Gout, I can not eat beans which are a major source of protein for vegetarian. Right now, nuts are my source, but I'm thinking of taking up yogurt to supplement my diet.