My COVID Miscalculation

My COVID Miscalculation

I’m the guy balancing the mattress on his head in the wind, going,” I got it, I got it!”

I have ALL things medical figured out, especially my own body… and oh, how often I am humbled.

My recent COVID-19 infection was no different. I should have listened to my wife.

What is it my wife advised? Well, after I finally felt like the Mack truck had finished rolling over me and then backing up so all 18 wheels could hit me again for 10 days with my infection, I thought I knew best and went right back to my previous activities and my beloved Crossfit routine.

My wife asked, “Do you think you are giving yourself enough time to recover?” because telling me I wasn’t is a sure-fire way to make me stubborn. I scoffed at her and kept on truckin’.

Well, I screwed up.

I am genetically inclined to have a pretty severe inflammation reaction from COVID-19, as proven with my PureGenomics report. My genetics did not disappoint here. Thank goodness I took all the right supplements to support this inflammation, like liposomal glutathione, zinc, Vitamin D3, Vitamin A, NAC, and selenium, to name just some of the cocktail I concocted. I did not have any long-term effects except that I still don’t need a  shower but once a week, according to my nose. My family may feel differently.

It turns out COVID-19 literally messes with your head. I did not rest appropriately, so my cortisol (the brain’s energy steroid) started going haywire. It was dropping during the day (super tired) and spiking at night (awake at 2:30 every night). Well, being Mr. Smartypants, I thought I would just supplement my way through this setback and keep my schedule of working out 4-5 times per week. I took Phyto-ADR, Sereniten Plus, and Relora to fix this “adrenal fatigue” or “HPA axis dysfunction” and did not slow down. I was served another piece of humble pie.  Without proper rest and giving my body a break, I did not improve.

It has been 2 weeks since the “ha-ha” moment that my wife was right, dammit, and have significantly curtailed my activity. Three months after having my brain invaded by COVID, I am finally getting things right in my recovery.

Listen to your body (and your spouse), do not work out unless you have no daytime fatigue and your sleep (quality and length) is back to normal. Take it slow.

Things are turning around for me now. My body is recovering. I am still supporting my brain and cortisol production with Phyto ADR during the day, Sereniten Plus, and Relora at night, but these were not the critical piece of my recovery. REST was.

The Long Hard Ride

The Long Hard Ride

I was cleaning out my house for the last time (it took me three trips from Ohio to Colorado to get completely moved) when I found a gift from my wife from years ago. It was a wedding gift: a leather-covered flask and on the front was the quote “For the long hard ride.” When she gave me this, we were riding horses in Kentucky every weekend, sometimes 25 miles a day. And when in Kentucky, do as the Kentuckians do and drink your Vitamin B (Bourbon). Life took us away from riding, 4 kids tend to do that, but this memento from my wife reminds me of some lessons from those days of horseback riding.

 

Lesson 1: No fear. 

The worst thing you could be on a horse is fearful. Because they know it, as they are very intuitive animals, and take their cues from the rider. This is counterproductive, as you lose control, and then bad things happen. It is a self-fulfilling prophecy. The same goes for now. When we are full of fear, we do not see the opportunities available to us, and we miss that which can improve our lives. Living in fear creates the sense of “not enough,” and there goes happiness. Meditation, yoga, and prayer are wonderful ways to center ourselves and live in abundance, where we are right now, at this moment. Give it up, let it go, and let in all the amazing great things that want to come into your life. The ride will go much smoother.

 

Lesson 2: A little goes a long way. 

I had occasionally overindulged with the aforementioned Vitamin “B” while riding. I went from enjoying myself to a miserable time, pretty damn quick. As we are at home the question “why not?” is often asked when it comes to things that are mood-altering. Harmless enough, right? Well, here and there, sure, it can be enjoyable and relaxing in small doses. The problem is large doses disrupt your sleep, you may become depressed, and you create a cycle involving said substances. To get out of the weirdness we are living in, the cycle may leave you constantly trying to crawl out of your self-induced mood changes. I encourage you to enjoy the long ride by not overdoing it early on, as it can make a long trip much longer.

 

Lesson 3: Be prepared. 

Early on, I bought saddlebags for all the things that can go wrong on the trail. I packed them with about everything I might need when I was going to be 10-15 miles from camp. Well, folks, we are a long way from camp right now. We need to be prepared. Whether it’s getting enough sleep, supplements to support immune responses, or eating right, these things will get us through like nothing else in our “saddlebags.” You can see my blog here on these things, but it’s important to realize that this has to be a lifestyle choice for the long term.    

 

Lesson 4: Get in a rhythm. 

This will be a long hard ride indeed if you don’t get into a rhythm. We rode gaited horses, if we were not in sync with the gait, man, it hurt the next day. Well, daily life is the same way. I decided after 2 weeks of flopping around like a fish and seeing how long it took till my body funk drove me to the shower, that I had to create normalcy in my life again. Now, it’s get up, meditate, drink my coffee, get a shower, answer emails, do things like writing my e-book that is halfway finished, or other projects I never got around to, like straightening the garage, go for a walk help make supper and have a family dinner. This has done wonders for my mood and outlook. A schedule helps. Going to sleep at night is much easier when you feel like you didn’t Netflix your way through the day.

 

Lesson 5: Maintenance for your horse. 

A lame horse is not good for a long ride, of course. They require maintenance. If you just thought you could pull it out of the stall and go, it’s probably not going to go well. When we get hit with this virus, we need to be prepared and all the things mentioned in Lesson 3 apply here. We can’t take Zinc and Vitamin D for a month or two and expect it to do the trick. The same goes for diet, sleep, and stress reduction. It is a long-term commitment, just like I made to my animal so that he could do what I asked of him. Your body is the same way.

 

I wish it wasn’t going to be a long hard ride, but until we get enough testing and tracking of people who are infected, this virus may be around longer than we like. This is not to discourage you, but to encourage you to not be a sprinter in this race, but to create abundance so that you find joy and contentment, no matter the circumstances. It helps on the “long hard ride.”

Two More Easy and Natural Ways to Combat COVID-19

Two More Easy and Natural Ways to Combat COVID-19

Going Nuts with COVID-19

One of the major concerns with Coronavirus is that it will lead to Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome (ARDS) which seems to be caused by the body’s own immune system attacking the lungs.   Interestingly, there is data showing that selenium, 200 mg a day, can help prevent ARDS, as well as increase our ability to avoid catching viruses in the first place. If you are a smoker, selenium is protective of your lungs and helps with lung inflammation. Food is medicine, and 2-3 Brazil Nuts a day provide you exactly the amount a body needs. There may be a run on Brazil nuts…this would be understandable, unlike people hoarding all the damn potatoes. Love me some taters.

* More is not better with selenium as it can reach toxic ranges with 800 mg a day. 200 mg is the “Goldilocks” dose.

 

Sweat It Out

I grew up with lots of anecdotal remedies, which were quite wise in retrospect, and one of those was to “sweat it out” when I got sick. In theory, you were to crawl under a blanket and sweat like a sinner at church until the fever broke. Come to find out, this was right on par. Taking fever reducers like Tylenol and Advil prolongs the illness, and allows shedding of the virus for longer, although it gives blessed temporary relief. Fever is nature’s way of fighting infection. We are putting one hand behind our back to fight illness when we take these items, although when in the throes of the flu, I have been known to knock back 400 mg of Ibuprofen just for some pain relief and sleep, so no judgment here. The body is wise. We may not always be comfortable with its wisdom, but we would do best to let the body/immune system fight the fight as nature intended.

*Babies, pregnant women, and those with cardiovascular disease should avoid temps of 103-104 and above, as this could be harmful.