JamesMakan Originals

0x4…b5e

ERC1155

“Well Adult Male” I remember one day being declared a “well adult male” at a routine physical. I thought that was pretty cool at the time. This is after a few years of having some pretty gnarly symptoms, some of which I would later conclude were panic attacks triggered by autoimmune flares, attacks on my thyroid due to having Hashimoto’s. These went on for quite a while but I felt very separate from them in the sense that the body was having a reaction - spiritually and mentally, I wondered… but began to recognize the pattern and was able to trace it back to a physical cause. Gluten. Right during the peak of the gluten-free fad. I tried not to be one of those “gluten-free” people so I pretty much always kept it to myself. Now, it being 10 years later, I don’t give a fuck telling people. I have far more (apparent) food sensitivities now than I did back then. I went to a few doctors, by the way, and tried to figure out what was going on before cutting out the wheat and they really had no clue. No one checked my TPO antibodies (confirming autoimmunity) until several years later. So I got kind of lucky, randomly benefiting from food elimination. I used to eat pizza daily, it was quite a bummer. But the panic attacks pretty much went away. I eventually stopped smoking and switched to vaping and I was cutting down on coffee. Later on I noticed I started having more issues, lethargy, reduced stress tolerance, et al. This was shortly after I began working out at the gym where I initially started out gaining lots of strength but then I just “hit a wall”. I started getting panic attacks again and I felt like I just couldn’t “push” anymore. I started cutting back the weights each day and by the end of the fourth week of difficulty, I quit - I decided I was better off taking a break and going for long walks. It was like a neurological resistance was kicking in. This along with some basic supplementation seemed to start me back in the right direction. Every day I was walking and feeling better. But then one day I got heat stroke because I live in Florida; but this was so strange after 10 years of having no issue with the heat at all, the inability to tolerate heat was becoming more and more apparent. So I kept my walks near the house for a while so I could loop back and cool off more easily. I started building a little patio for my motorcycle and it was all fun and games again until, God damn it, I stepped on a rusty nail. So annoying, I call my mom to see when I last got a tetanus shot and it has been longer than either of us could remember. So I go to the doctor to get one. They tell me all they have is a TDaP which is “more bang for my buck” anyway because its 3-in-one: Tetanus (what I sought after), Diphtheria, and Pertussis. I tell them how it had been going, lowered heat tolerance, anxiety, lethargy, neuro weakness, etc. a little nervous to get this bad boy because my stress tolerance seemed to be kind of iffy over the last few years. They said I shouldn’t worry about it so I take my chances. Unfortunately, I subsequently ended up getting tunnel vision, nearly blacking out for the first time ever (after having gotten numerous shots in the past, giving blood etc. with no obvious reaction) and it took me an hour to be able to even stand up and leave the place. A couple weeks later I felt encephalitic and I couldn’t stand up or walk for 6 weeks. My chest was heavy, my brain felt like a smoothie. Intense pressure, swollen, I couldn’t tolerate noise, light, people, anything. I am so lucky my wife was there to help me because I was literally pissing in water bottles to conserve energy. As soon as I was able to confront it, I saw urgent care, a cardiologist, doctor after doctor. After I loaded up on adrenal supplements for several months I was able to walk and start doing some activities again. It was like my adrenals were so tired out from having panic attacks the prior years they stopped working. And although I was able to get some improvement with alternative medicine, supplementation and some spiritual counseling (given the intensity of the situation) - really huge improvements compared to where I was stuck on the floor - I have learned to really be my own advocate because to this day, 6 years later, I am nowhere near 100%. I know I may have been predisposed based on genetic factors and I didn’t do myself any favors smoking, living off of coffee, pizza and energy drinks, pushing myself to the limit in my teens and 20s (I love to work) but it is a shame I didn’t fully understand, truly, what the risks were of this shot (as encephalopathy is listed as a real side effect on this particular inoculation) and no doctor up until this point had recognized the autoimmunity given the many symptoms I described. I am not an “anti-vaxxer” but I believe you are really obligated to look, observe, analyze and determine what is most survival for yourself and others. THIS STORY IS AN ANECDOTE. It is MY reality. But I tell it first, because it is catharsis and second, because it may open someone’s eyes to the fact that no two bodies are identical and will not necessarily respond to a medicine (or supplement) with no consequence - and the consequence can be devastating. Therefore I cannot understand how the thought of a law can even be entertained that would potentially force someone to subject themselves to life-threatening reactions. I have achieved far better results eliminating triggers, increasing protein intake and reducing stress than using medications (all of which I have tried so far have given me adverse reactions) and although I will continue to avail myself of western medicine as I continue to try to diagnose and treat whatever is still going on with this body (because having Hashimoto’s is far from an answer to everything), do note that I have spent tens of thousands of dollars over the years trying to “get back to normal” all while struggling to work in spurts and making too much to qualify for help. Ironically, there is a vaccination injury fund that potentially could have helped but I was so debilitated that the sequence of events were poorly documented, I ran out of time before I could untangle the steps and find someone willing to help on the case. I guess I just feel that this system is not a perfect one and it is worth it to take the time to familiarize yourself a bit with how it really works and gain a position where you are causative over your health and not pushed around by being in a state of ignorance, propaganda, fear of being ostracized or the unwillingness to look. COVID has hardly really even entered my universe. I have been stuck at home living an isolated life years before the pandemic. This is not meant to be insensitive towards those who have been harshly affected by it, are wearing masks, getting vaccinated and making efforts to protect themselves and others. But if you suffer autoimmunity or have any qualms at all about receiving a treatment that may have very real side effects, take another couple days to really look at the data and weigh the pros and cons. Talk to several doctors and regardless of what ANYONE says, friend, enemy or family, listen to your own integrity and if there is a conflict or something doesn’t make sense, sort it out to the best of your ability so that you are satisfied. This is one of the longest posts I have made in a while but trust that it really barely offers a glimpse of the story; the amount of terror, grief, and amazement at how little is really known medically - how complex the human body seemingly is and how strongly certain ideas are pushed, repeated as fact and sometimes without context and how some people demand that all contradiction must be nullified. Wishing everyone the best.