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Dad’s Corner
THE DIVIDEND

By: Justin P. McCarthy   |  April 7, 2023

 

For the better part of three years, I’ve been in open conflict with an array of persistent, nagging health issues. These span multiple systems, inside and out, and have–with limited exception–trended worse over time. They are the sort of distractions that can turn a great day into simply a good one, a good day to “meh” and a bad day to a struggle. To be clear, I could be much worse off, and I am grateful for every moment I have–but I very much want my time to be less encumbered by these concerns.

Long inclined toward troubleshooting and, more recently, biohacking, I’ve sought help from my general practitioner, an allergist/immunologist, a gastroenterologist, a functional MD, an integrative MD/RD, even a naturopathic physician. I’ve read over twenty books, listened to hundreds of hours of podcasts, scoured scores of Reddit forums and Quora discussions for insights both expert and experiential. (Go ahead; ask me anything about our enteric microbiota! Or epigenetics! Or mast cell degranulation! Or… anyway, you get it.)

I’ve tried intermittent fasting, elimination, Whole30, paleo, low-histamine and other diets, plus a fasting-mimicking diet. I’ve experimented with a veritable pharmacopeia of supplements, tested my blood and [nevermind] for countless markers, common and arcane. I’m fairly certain the National Phlebotomy Association has a conference room named after me at its Maryland headquarters. I’ve run my 23andMe raw data through something like ten online genetics reporting sites, looking for hints into why my body is being so inconveniently uncooperative.

For all this, I’ve found far too many things which make me feel worse—or worse than they should–and a scant few that make me feel better. We humans are 99.9% genetically identical to one another,^[1] though we differ in enough meaningful ways that the same underlying pathology can present entirely distinctly in different people, and the same medication or supplement that relieves you of the crushing burden of your chronic malady might do nothing for your neighbor–or make her hallucinate, or lose her memory, or otherwise induce further suffering from among a grab bag of agonies, some downright cataclysmic.

Despite a dismal success rate, I keep at it, determined to alleviate–or at least significantly mitigate–my symptoms and uncover the pathogenesis of my affliction. The costs of all this biological adventurism are considerable. Beyond the money, this exploration takes up a lot of time. I make a point of trying not to let either the illness or the quest to be rid of it interfere with my day-to-day work as a stay-at-home parent or our family activities, though they often do. Mostly, though, I sacrifice things like writing, reading, boating and getting started on that voice acting career I’ve been thinking about for a while.

I want to live as small a fraction of my life as possible dealing with this problem, and to free up as much time as I can for all of the other things I want to do–for myself, with my family and friends, and to help others.

If you or someone you know are going through something similar, I want the same for you! So, what’s worked for me, so far? Aside from the one supplement which basically fixed my gastrointestinal tract,^[2] I’ve gotten the best results through deliberate, targeted modulations to my meditation, exercise, diet and sleep habits–or “MEDS,” as Brooke McAlaray cleverly arrayed them in her book, Slow: Simple Living for a Frantic World.

When I first started feeling off a few years ago, I thought, “I’m reacting to food; maybe something’s broken in my gut–let’s try a bunch of different probiotics (or prebiotics, or enzymes…)!” When I started itching all over, it was, "Let’s go down the list of mast cell degranulation inhibitors (to stop the release of all of that histamine)!” This pattern continued, the bottles of supplements piled up, and all the while my wife, channeling her inner Cassandra, kept saying, “How much are you sleeping? Are you moving enough every day?”

At the beginning of this year, when I was feeling the worst I had in a long time, I decided I’d finally start paying more attention to those foundational practices which, when properly done, are indisputably correlated with better long-term health outcomes (see links for each, above)–regardless of which particular health challenges a person faces. I figured, progress was slow on solving my more esoteric issues, but I could control my MEDS immediately. I got immediate results.

Making small, deliberate improvements to your MEDS habits over time might not be sexy, but it will result in a healthier, happier, less-stressed you if you stick with it. I’m not going to share a bunch of tips^[3] on how to improve these keystone elements of your life–people produce them by the petabyte–but I will give you a very firm (and yet non-violent) nudge to take a close look at your MEDS habits. I guarantee there is room for improvement!

Have I solved all of my issues? No, but my ongoing efforts to tweak my MEDS have led to me feeling better overall, with more energy for my family, my hobbies and my unwavering determination to figure this out.

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^[1] We’re also more than 60% genetically identical to bananas, which goes some way toward explaining all of this nonsense.

^[2] Nice try. Remember how different we all are and how what helps me might not help you? YMMV with this stuff, big-time! If you’re still curious: though I am in no way qualified to give medical advice, I’d be delighted to share some accreted wisdom and the specifics of what’s helped me with anyone interested. Just lob me an email.

^[3] Though I can’t resist one: Make small, iterative changes to one habit at a time, while quantifying and logging your outcomes. It can be so hard to tell how what you’re doing is impacting your health, especially if you’re not feeling well and you’re pressing a bunch of buttons at once.

 

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