Tuesday, October 31, 2017

The Final Outcome?

I said that I expected to get a resolution one way or the other by the end of October.  Here's where I stand as far as my pill requirements:
-ADHS adrenal modulator- need 3 pills, flexible dose
-Syntol Probiotics- currently on 4 but that should trend down
-Jigsaw Magnesium- can do without short-term.
- Molybdenum and Adenosyl B-12*
-TMG and Methyl Folate*
-PABA and GLYCINE**

*- Must be taken together. If one is taken without the other, it's worse than neither but the doses are somewhat flexible.
**- THIS ONE IS YUGE!!!  It MUST be taken together but it will ELIMINATE ALL OTHER SENSITIVITIES!!!  The sweet spot is most definitely 1000 mg glycine while the PABA dose is flexible.  If the current success continues, it will be LIFE CHANGING IN SO MANY WAYS!!  I put a question mark in the title because I've been burned too many times to declare victory just yet but all my research and personal observations tell me that PABA and glycine are the keys.

The bad news is that I do expect to be dependent on these pills or something similar for the rest of my life.  I'm okay with that.  There is a chance that down the road a few years, I may be able to get away with missing a day or two here and there but when defective enzymes caused by genetic mutations are the enemy, it's not going to go away.  The goal is to manage it in such a way that I can live as if I did not have these defects.

There will be some additional testing in the future but I'd have to say that no matter what I see in those results, the prognosis looks pretty good.  Suppose my ceruloplasmin is still on the low side.  I can take Whole Food C and that should raise it.  Before the glycine/PABA, the sensitivity was so bad that just a few specks would cause my whole body to tighten up within 60 seconds and leave me with a flu like malaise (minus the fever and congestion) for the rest of the day.  Hard to believe?  Yes but if you are a regular reader, you know very well that it's true. 

Perhaps a subsequent hair test will show that ADHS is not strong enough.  Fine.  I can switch back to Thym-Adren to get in balance faster and most probably will NOT have a bad reaction.  In short, I AM STABLE NOW.  If any test reveals a need for additional treatments, I can take them without fear of a terrible reaction.  GLYCINE/PABA HAS KNOCKED OUT ALL UNEXPLAINED SENSITIVITIES!!!  Never again will I be in a position in which I know exactly what is needed to get in balance but cannot tolerate it because of enzyme defects!!

I've recently run the equivalent of a 20:45 5K in a 3 mile time trial.  Given that I am 37 years old and my training has been spotty for the past 3 years, I'd say that's still pretty solid.  Consistency with the training is the key to improvement and with no threat of sudden relapses, I see no reason why I cannot jack the mileage back up to the 40 MPW range and add back some real interval workouts.
I figure my 5K fitness is worth about the following at other distances for a 30 MPW runner:
Mile: 5:50
10K- Sub-44
Half- 1:38 ish.
I see no reason why I cannot maintain if not slightly improve on those times until I am 40 especially with more consistent training to wipe out the headwind of aging.  It will get gradually worse from there but it will only be a few ticks per mile each year.  It won't be a situation in which I wake up one day in my 40s or early 50s and say "I can't do this anymore."  That should not happen until I am pushing 60 and even then, it won't hit all at once. 

As for the remaining 2 months of 2017, I will skip Vulcan but I do want to run the Magic City half (local) at sea level.  I also want to get in a local 5K and a Mile time trial.  If I can average just 29 MPW the rest of the way, I will finish over 1500 miles on the year.  By comparison, I only managed just over 1000 in 2015 and 1305 last year.

The projected completion year for my 50 state half marathon challenge is 2021.  By that point, I hope to be starting my Inhabited Continent Challenge.  Here's what's on my bucket list:
-Glasgow, Scotland (near the birthplace of paternal grandmother)
-Berlin, Germany (train to Poland)
-Cape Town, South Africa (possibly Durban)
-Jerusalem, Israel
-Hong Kong, China
-Rio, Brazil
-Santiago, Chile
-Melbourne, Australia (possible 1-2 day layover in Tokyo).
Most likely, I can only do 1 such trip per year.

Another piece of BIG NEWS:
If I am still healthy and stable by Thanksgiving, I will put myself on the dating market before Christmas.  I really believe there is a different vibe about me when healthy or at least stable. A smile from a stranger is common in the South and I usually don't give it too much thought but recently, I got the sense that a few women really did find me attractive.   Here's what I've noticed so far:
-More spring in my step
-Improved posture
-Better eye contact
-More pride in my appearance.
I know I'm not the most desirable guy out there but I'm certainly far from the least as well.  I fully expect to get some dates out of my online profile.  Whether or not I get a real relationship is another issue.  Stay tuned for another post on the subject regarding common mistakes in this area that I am determined to avoid.

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