{"id":157,"date":"2024-05-01T00:16:46","date_gmt":"2024-05-01T00:16:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/?p=157"},"modified":"2024-05-03T18:54:50","modified_gmt":"2024-05-03T18:54:50","slug":"just-an-idea","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/2024\/05\/01\/just-an-idea\/","title":{"rendered":"Just an Idea"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

It’s Wednesday, April 30, 2024. I’ve never felt older. Perhaps, because I’ve actually never BEEN<\/strong><\/em> older.\u00a0 Or…and stay with me here…the constellation of symptoms of my particular Dysautonomia have made me feel as if I’m a decrepit 80-year-old. I’ve been immobilized and discouraged for over a year. I’ve looked for answers. I’ve said prayers. I’ve visited doctors. And until yesterday, I didn’t have many answers. Okay. None. No answers. Zero.<\/p>\n

But yesterday I met with a muscular neurology specialist at the Cleveland Clinic<\/a> who confirmed my diagnosis and explained there are no quick fixes…or perhaps ANY<\/strong><\/em> fixes.\u00a0 Oh sure, this\u00a0 could be discouraging to any other octogenarian-to-be, but not for this cane-using, walking (okay, limping) wounded.<\/p>\n

Doc (we’re not on a first name basis yet) says that I have three possible options that might, could possibly, maybe, perhaps, conceivably make a difference within a year.\u00a0 Or not.<\/p>\n

First, I should consume a anti-inflammatory diet. Think “Mediterranean”. In fact, I’m pretty sure he said something about traveling to the Mediterranean (Italy, Greece, perhaps) and eating the food. Unfortunately, I’m not sure my insurance covers airline tickets and hotel rooms.<\/p>\n

Second, exercise using the Zone method and sticking with Zone 2 (whatever that is).<\/p>\n

Third, consider adding a medication to reduce my debilitating fatigue and clear up that pesky brain fog that’s plagued me for the last 14 months. Or was it 12 months? 10 months? Oh, who cares?<\/p>\n

Again, these are POSSIBLE<\/em><\/strong> remedies. These activities MIGHT<\/em><\/strong> bring about change. Fat<\/em> and Lazy<\/em> replaced by Greek Yogurt<\/em> and Long Hikes<\/em> COULD<\/em><\/strong> reduce symptoms, increase energy, and make for a more normal life.<\/p>\n

The next 365 days of pita bread and olives, leisurely strolls and pharmaceuticals will either make a difference or not. What to come along for the walk?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On April 30, 2024, after enduring a year with undiagnosed Dysautonomia, feeling aged and debilitated, the author finally received confirmation of their condition from a specialist at the Cleveland Clinic. Despite no guarantees for a cure, three potential remedies were suggested: adopting an anti-inflammatory diet akin to Mediterranean cuisine, exercising using the Zone 2 method, and considering medication for fatigue and brain fog. As the author embarks on a year of dietary changes, moderate exercise, and possibly medication, they remain uncertain but hopeful about improving their quality of life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2,4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-diagnosis","category-life-change","category-medical-care","category-symptoms"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=157"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":173,"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/157\/revisions\/173"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/curtaustin.com\/driftingthrudysautonomia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}