Mysterious Illness - Part 1

Ouch

Well… my newsletter sabbatical lasted rather longer than anticipated.

But we’re back in business.

I won’t pretend I didn’t enjoy the break. As much as I love writing this, it was needed.

Life happens in seasons, I find; we have our good times, and we have our tough times.

My last year has, I’ll be honest, been tough.

I’ve had my fair share of headwinds. But looming largest is a worsening of the mysterious illness that concerns us here.

It’s taken four years and five different specialists. But, finally, I have a diagnosis, a plan, and a story to tell.

Here’s that story.

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Ouch

In April 2020 something inside me broke. One day I was healthy, the next I was not.

It was a Sunday. A beautiful day if memory serves. I was happy. My lockdown had thus far consisted of reading, and meditation, and working on a new business called Unplugged.

And then something went wrong.

Without warning, or obvious cause, my skin began to burn. First just the back of my hands. But within a couple of hours my whole body burned, turning an angry red.

That night was brutal.

I woke up repeatedly, never getting more than an hour’s sleep before the burning pulled me awake. In the small hours of the morning I lay in bed in despair. What on earth happened? I wondered.

After 72 hours the burning faded to a prickle, still there but sleep could return. A small mercy.

But then, a week later, it was back and worse than ever.

Clearly something was seriously wrong.

First Diagnosis

My first port of call was an allergy clinic, and the rather serious Dr Mikhail.

Allergies were ruled out immediately- Doesn’t sound like an allergic reaction- and blood tests were orders. In the mean time I was given a whole host of antihistamines.

Mercifully they did the trick. I could sleep.

More good news followed with the blood test results: Elevated white blood cells. Probably over produced during a recent infection. It should all clear up in the next three months.

Thank God for that, I thought to myself.

But three months came and went. Any attempt at reducing the antihistamines brought back the burning. Dr Mikhail had little more to say on the topic; Give it another three months.

A year passed.

Life went on.

We launched the business.

But in the back of my mind lay a gnawing concern that this remained unsolved. The high dose of antihistamines clearly wasn’t a long term solution.

By this point I’d growing disenchanted with Dr M. The final straw was the suggestion of a monthly injection I could receive if things didn’t improve.

For how long? I asked.

For the rest of your life. Came the response.

And that was the end of my dealings with Dr M.

Clearly, if I wanted answers, I needed to cast a wider net.

With Western medicine having failed me, it was time to turn East.

Turning East

Western medicine, really, treats the symptoms. Eastern medicine, I learnt, treats the cause. I had high hopes.

A quick search led me to the office of Dr Dai, in Camden.

I wouldn’t exactly say he spoke English. It was streaks ahead of my Mandarin, sure. But, perhaps, just less than required for a doctor-patient relationship.

Our interactions largely consisted of laughing and nodding at each other, offering random words and phrases.

Cold and Evil came up as the diagnosis. Cold showers & exercising outside were banned. Whether it was the cold or me that was evil, I remain unsure to this day.

Next, in a bemused haze, I was herded off for some acupuncture.

Five minutes later I was lying in my boxers, with 20 tiny needles protruding out of me. Satisfied, Dr Dai bustled off and left me to my ruminations.

What has my life come to? I mused.

Thirty minutes later we were done. The needles were removed. And I was whisked off to a medicine counter, laden with goods, and sent packing; £250 lighter.

When I got home I discovered the goods to be 14 bags of, what I can only describe as, twigs and leaves.

Seriously? I muttered.

I eventually grew rather fond of my potion

My task, was to brew this concoction for two hours a day and drink the resulting potion. Potion doesn’t do it justice. An acquired taste to say the least.

Two weeks later it was back for more acupuncture and the whole process began again.

Another year passed.

I was, at least free of the antihistamines, but now shackled to this potion. Hardly an improvement. Any break and the symptoms would fire back up.

Dr Dai and I continued our laughing and nodding, but conversation never really got past the Evil Cold.

At some point I went back on the antihistamines. They, were at least, less hassle, with no obvious difference in results.

Life went on.

But then, in the Autumn of 2022, things took a turn for the worse. My health deteriorated. The real trial had begun.

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That’s all for today. Back for part 2 in a week!

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A Final Thought 💡

“When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot and hang on.”

- Theodore Roosevelt

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