Question about your health history

I have thoughts on this, Aerose. For sure.

First, yes.

Second, the things that you describe are things that make a lot of people feel bad, and should make people feel bad, because they are bad for us - drinking alcohol, lack of sleep, overstimulation, etc. People learn to ignore their bodies from a very early age in order to cope with the modern world, not miss out, fit in, etc. If people paid closer attention and didn't cover up every little thing with drugs and distractions, then more people would feel "off" as well. Think about how many people "need" caffeine to get going in the morning, how many people eat food that makes them feel awful and pop a pill to "fix" it, how many people take painkillers every day for joint pain and headaches, how many people are on sleep aids and antidepressants, how many people "unwind" with alcohol and numb their brains with mindless TV because otherwise they'd go nuts with the pressures of their jobs and lives. I don't really know anyone I regard as healthy! (Not to say that all these things are bad, once in a while, just that if you really think about it, a lot of people are ailing but hiding it.)

Third, from raising a child and being close with lots of other families, I have noticed that some babies are "high-reactive" and some are "low-reactive" (these are actual categories, not just my terms). High-reactive babies tend to grow up to be introverts, tend to be more anxious and thoughtful, and actually have more sensory input receptors than other people (!!!). They will cry when the lights are bright because they are more sensitive to the brightness on a biological level. They will regard the unfamiliar as risky, because it's a little more overwhelming for them than for others. Low-reactive babies usually grow up to be extroverts. They sleep well, are happy with new caregivers, take more risks on a playground, and - key to your point here - are less sensitive to sensory input. These people probably are less prone to developing chronic illness.

My wonderful therapist also talked about this idea, slightly differently. In her decades of practice, obviously she saw many people with anxiety, and they all had a high degree of body awareness relative to people who saw her for other issues. Those with anxiety seemed to sense more - not that more was going on in their bodies, but that they felt more of it. And then when they felt these things and worried about them, she reasoned, their brains responded by cementing the neural pathway and making the sensation stronger. (Think of a traumatic or embarrassing moment. Remember all the details from that moment, as opposed to an average day? Big feelings cement things.) She looked into this from a physiological angle, and sure enough, her hunch was right. This is related to neuroplasticity and the methods limbic system retraining programs use to resolve so many types of dysfunction.

And I don't necessarily mean the sort of anxiety that involves wringing one's hands about every little thing. Anxiety, especially with panic, can be absolutely miserable. But some argue that the same characteristics that predispose someone to anxiety also make you sensitive to the feelings of others, make you really considerate and caring and accountable and responsible and compassionate. They make you a good planner, a good friend, a good employee a good neighbor, a good service provider. Caution and punctuality. Conscientiousness and being principled. These are the good sides of the anxiety coin. Some characteristics that can accompany anxiety are excellent traits.

I have talked about this and given it a lot of thought because my child has anxiety and all the wonderful things that go with it. I am working with her from a young age so that she doesn't grow up like I did - ashamed of the sensitivity aspect and trying to repress any stressful feelings. If she has healthy coping skills now and ways to channel her feelings, then they can be a force for good in her life, and maybe she won't end up sick like I have been.

Some of us are primed to feel more, primed to have regular sensations evolve into dysfunction, primed to have various systems chronically out-of-whack. When we add trauma to the mix, especially very smart opportunistic infections, some of us are primed to have stronger physiological responses that take more time to unravel. We're not doomed, but yes, I think there's a reason some people have a harder time than others. And we probably felt it all along.

The thing about the introvert/extrovert thing is that I always fit the extrovert profile perfectly. Always extremely social, did well in school, no anxiety, slept great, compassionate. Just that as I got older I noticed I would be overstimulated easily on positive things. Too easily excitable.
I rarely drank, especially for a young 20's kid. Maybe once a month. But when I did I would be laid out for days afterward- no one else was like that. If I got less than 7 hours of sleep I'd be very sick- others would be energetic and fine. There were always these little things but I'm wondering if apart from having the gene defects, if I was born with a bad gut and some limbic system miswiring at my core.

I'm sure there was something wrong with my health ever since I can remember. I'm not sure what it was, but I always seemed to be less strong than other kids.

Yeah my entire life I struggled with OCD and panic, both in the extreme sense.
I'm doing a lot better now that I got a lot of therapy.
But the intensity of both conditions always makes me wonder if it was Lyme related.
It was really bad, to say the least.

Yah my 23andme report is pretty poor. I definitely have a lot of issues with detoxing. The thing that has helped me the most has been changing and controlling my environment

sunny40 said...
Yes, yes, yes! I have always been one to get out of balance easily. I remember in junior high knowing if I didn't get my 8 hours of sleep there would be a price to pay.

Have you had any genetic testing done? Wondering if there are certain similarities between those of us who suffer from these things

Mark, you read my mind. This was exactly what I was going to say. This mercury idea IMO explains why I was having problems my whole life. That’s why I’ve latched onto it so strongly.

I was bitten by a tick (that I remember) at 16, 18 and 23. But I could never figure out why I had symptoms going back to 7-8yo. OCD bad, anxiety. Anger issues. I was a hyperactive child. I also complained of ill health, exercise fatigue. Initially I had assumed I had been bitten by a tick I didn’t know about at a young age. But this mercury thing makes total sense. I’m double MTHFR and can’t handle ala. I also went to a scum bag of a dentist who used to hurt me when my mom wasn’t present. Heard he went to jail years later for tax fraud. Anyway he had my whole mouth full of mercury, every baby tooth. I feel like he’d just make up reasons to drill teeth. I probably had 15 of em in there.

Anyway, I’m supposed to get my last 3 amalgams removed Wednesday w a biological dentist. My Herbalist scared me telling me about how she’s seen this backfire, if even a small amount of mercury gets out during the removal I could end up worse off. I already knew all this but after doing more googling I’m really chicken.
In my gut I know it’s the right thing to do to remove them but the establishment has done a good job of scaring me and I may chicken out. What do you think Mark should I go ahead? I’m appreciative of the Andy cutler group for the info they provide, but I also don’t trust them to tell me the truth about removals gone wrong, theyre a bit cultish.

dcd,

You said you’re supposed to get the last 3 out? The biological dentist already removed some? Did you have any issues? If not, I see no reason to fear getting safe (SMART) removal. I had about a dozen amalgams - 8 teeth affected, some with more than one filling. I’m still here and had no setbacks that I relate to the amalgam removals. As long as they’re removed properly, that’s the safest part from what I can tell. It’s the chelation that can really mess you up.

Aerose,

YES, I have always felt something was not right about me. I have posted about it before. I had trouble falling asleep and staying asleep the first 27 years of my life. I had ear infections, tubes in my ears, and abx for the infections once or twice a year from 18 months to 8 years of age. Frequent colds as a child. Playing hard and getting hot and sweaty outside usually meant waking up with a sore throat the next morning and another potential ear surgery. Frequent aching bone pains in my knees and legs at night from early childhood until I started seeing a chiropractor around age 40. Headaches started around 4th grade and typically occurred after lunch around 2 pm. Running or climbing stairs left me out of breath, with heart pounding and legs like spaghetti noodles (since childhood). Lifelong constipation that never concerned me until mid 30’s.

Sunlight hurt my eyes, made me squint hard, made me sneeze which then triggered headaches. Ears were very sensitive to sound, especially during childhood, in spite of hearing loss. Wind in my ears would give me earaches. Always had a much keener sense of smell than most people. Felt tired and groggy headed a lot. Never had the energy and stamina my peers seemed to have.

Ages 9-15 were better, healthier years. Sinus infections started in 10th grade and plagued me 1-2 x year until around age 30. Had painful periods and strong PMS symptoms which included cramps, fatigue, low grade fever, aching and weakness from the waist down, sometimes nausea, intestinal upset, OCD during the week before usually exhibited by compulsive cleaning, shopping, or other activity with an uncharacteristic burst of energy, and several sleepless nights.

Early 30’s were a period of better health - milder periods, 2-3 years between colds/sinus infections. Mid-30’s brought faint changes - concerns about lifelong constipation, more frequent headaches. Then the unexplained belching and occasional abdominal bloating started. Mid to late 30’s unusual feelings of heat, burning, redness, and surges of tightening in my face started. Four days after a flu vaccine at age 39, sudden onset of a host of life altering symptoms that changed my body forever.

WalkingbyFaith - infections since childhood is one sign of low immune cells. Some kids are born that way.

I might have mentioned this before (?)

Do you have a history of lower white blood cell counts?

Astroman,

Since learning about Lyme/co, I have suspected I was born with bartonella or contracted it very early. I have wondered if bartonella caused my hearing loss and many other things experienced early in life.

Christ I'm exactly the same- ear infections as a child, frequently sick then constant sinus infections in my late teens/early 20's which preceded all this