Lecarpetron
Member
- Joined
- Apr 6, 2016
- Messages
- 192
@walker_in_aus Incredible post! I somehow missed it originally. You're right...biochemical tinkering always helps temporarily, but I'd get used to any pharmaceutical and it would stop working. Addressing the big picture of stress did much more good. I have been mostly zap free for months (a bad night every now and then but much improved overall) and I think these are the factors:
- I fixed my body temperature. I monitored it ~4 times per day and if it wasn't where it was supposed to be I took a hot shower to raise it. After well over a year of this (be patient, Steve Richfield fans!), my temps now follow the diurnal cycle well without intervention. No longer freezing during the day and too hot at bedtime.
- I can now do moderate exercise (walking 3 miles, yoga) without a stress reaction. This was a slooowww progression. I had to start with walking 100 yards.
- My blood sugar seems way more stable now than it did when I was getting zapped all of the time. Now if I accidentally undereat one day, I can make it up the next day. Two years ago, a day of undereating would cause a massive stress reaction at bedtime.
- Sun exposure. I work from home and can sunbathe at lunch for a window of about 6 months out of the year.
- Palate expansion. My airway has doubled in volume over the last two years from wearing palate expanders, preventing hyperventilation/mouth breathing.
- While I'm still in my job as a consulting engineer, I've accepted that I might not be in it for the long haul. I enjoy engineering, but consulting can be very stressful with an "overachiever culture" encouraging of absurd hours.
@Mad how are you doing with this? I went through a similar phase of little cooking and no cleaning.
Proposed root causes of chest zaps in this thread are elevated serotonin, hyponatremia, hypoglycemia, and poor digestion. Ray mentioned digestion/intestinal irritation issues. I still wonder though...what ARE chest zaps? Some sort of muscle contraction? I wish I knew more about the connection between digestion and heart issues.
- I fixed my body temperature. I monitored it ~4 times per day and if it wasn't where it was supposed to be I took a hot shower to raise it. After well over a year of this (be patient, Steve Richfield fans!), my temps now follow the diurnal cycle well without intervention. No longer freezing during the day and too hot at bedtime.
- I can now do moderate exercise (walking 3 miles, yoga) without a stress reaction. This was a slooowww progression. I had to start with walking 100 yards.
- My blood sugar seems way more stable now than it did when I was getting zapped all of the time. Now if I accidentally undereat one day, I can make it up the next day. Two years ago, a day of undereating would cause a massive stress reaction at bedtime.
- Sun exposure. I work from home and can sunbathe at lunch for a window of about 6 months out of the year.
- Palate expansion. My airway has doubled in volume over the last two years from wearing palate expanders, preventing hyperventilation/mouth breathing.
- While I'm still in my job as a consulting engineer, I've accepted that I might not be in it for the long haul. I enjoy engineering, but consulting can be very stressful with an "overachiever culture" encouraging of absurd hours.
@Mad how are you doing with this? I went through a similar phase of little cooking and no cleaning.
Proposed root causes of chest zaps in this thread are elevated serotonin, hyponatremia, hypoglycemia, and poor digestion. Ray mentioned digestion/intestinal irritation issues. I still wonder though...what ARE chest zaps? Some sort of muscle contraction? I wish I knew more about the connection between digestion and heart issues.